Notes on Class

Diocletian-
The edicts were burned scripture and stealing of things
Christians were allowed to go to court and argue about there lost things
the second edict in the summer or 303 he ordered arrest of the Bishop and he said he did it because the first edict wasn't working as quickly, and by that he means trying to remove Christianity wasn't happening as quickly as he thought.
The third one was November 20th  and any priests couldn't make a sacrifice
in 304 all people to father in a public place everyone had to make a sacrifice and if you didn't you would get executed. they are sacrificing to Jupiter.
what he did with his power was: the edicts ordered destruction of scriptures and forced them not to go to worship
they striped a christian, whipped him till bleeding, vinegar and an then boiled alive because he was an innocent christian
they were torturing people in plain site and it was all ordered by an emperor.

This is why it was such a big deal of what Constantine did:

Constantine-
His dad didn't enforce the edicts and were both against persecution of Christians
He returned the churches and property to the christian
He was first roman empire to transfer to Christianity
He said everyone had to be treated equally
He made a law so that Jews couldn't have christian slaves
The event that made Constantine not persecute the Christians was that he genially believed the dogma Christianity which is a statement of belief, before a large battle he turned to god to help him and he had a vision of a cross above the sun with it saying "conquer by this" engraved across the sun, his mother was also a christian and he knew the roman gods have let him down before and same with the oracle
The soldiers saw it too, so they all got together an painted a cross on their shields and prayed and then went into battle and won
He went on to tell that the "christian god helped them win that battle"

Edict of Mulan-
he had become a christian but it made any religion excepted, there was no official roman religion at this point
If you wanted to worship in your own way you could
The Jews couldn't have christian slaves, and if you had your land taken away, it got returned to you without paying for it
They rebuilt the churches and everything, they made an effort to give back and right their wrongs
an Edict: an official law or proclaimed handed down from the emperor.