Coin of Decius Trajsnui. Brlttsh Maseom. Actual siae. Ckipper. Weight 803i graioB.
In point of time this persecution ranks as the seventh, but in point of cruelty it was only equalled by that of Diocletian. See Persecutions. For about forty years prior to the accession of Decius the Chris- tians had enjoyed peace, which only in some parts of the Roman empire was, for a short time, interrupted by a decree of the emperor Maximin. The efibct of this peace upon the religions life of the Church was, in general, not favorable. Cyprian, Origen, and other ecclesiastical writers complain that worliUiness, ava- rice, and other vices had become prevalent, and that marriages of Christians with pagans had become fre- quent. Soon after tils accession to the throne (proba- bly at the beginning of the year 250), Decius issued a severe decree against the Christians. The decree it- self is lost, the Edictum DecU A ugutti contra Chrktiamo$^ which was published in 1664 at Toulouse by Bernard Medonius fh>m Acts of the Martyrs, being spurious, as has been shown by TUlemont and Mosheim. The contents pf the decree are, however, fully noticed by Gregory of Nyssa and other ancient writers. It or- dered the civil magistrates to destroy Christianity by threatening Christians with the severest punishments, and by using against them tortures of every kind. It was sent to the governors of all the provinces, and most of them hastened to execute it They promul- gated the decree, and demanded that within a certain time every Christian should appear before the civil magistrate, and publicly declare his renunciation of
the Christian lUth; in the caae of leftMl, W«t
suffer severe punishment, even deatii.
Alexandria and Cyprian have given dHaifcid
tions of the persecution in the region of OaitkiKS a
Alexandria. Cyprian sa3ra that at the fint sm a
the impending persecation a majority of the hm
rta hastened to renounce the fisith, but his aeesBz
suspected of exaggeration. That the naaibcr of ^
tates was very large is also reported by Easetaw r
those who remained fiiithfiil, most left tiie d6m u
sought refuge in soUtude. Amoiig this cbn «a
many of the most celebrated biahopa, ea Cypriaa.Ift
nysius of Alexandria, and Gregoiy Tlisaieili'ii
This action was generally approved by theChse.
The number of those, however, who neitber hi m
apostatized was so great that, as soon as the tse ^
pointed for the execution of the decree azri^cdtk
prisons were not sufficient to contain those wk v9
arrested. Decius wished ezecntioos to be arak
but eveiy conceivable torture, if neoessaxy, Is be s
sorted to. Most of the civO magistrates viei rt
each other in inventing the most cruel tortaics; s*
a few showed a spirit of sympathy and lenieser. !^
number of those who succumbed to the tortuR Qe^
was very large. Many procured false eertificaies ^
they had abjured the faith Qibeikaieiy On tk ^
er hand, however, the number of tiiose wito &d «
were mutilated for the fisith was oonsidcrd^ i
Rome, Antioch, and Jerusalem the seveial Infaf
were nuissacred; Origen, famous among the esrir^
thers, was subjected to the most acate toftarcs. C
the ancient martyrologies abound In nanes of tk*
who are reported to have suffered maxtyrdoa s^
Decius, and Tillemont spent much time aadbh?!
sift the genuine raports firom the spurioos {Mmx':
iii, 188-189). Fortunately, the perBeeotioB of Drc
did not last long. About Easter, 251, Cypi^ cso:
return ftom his concealment. The war irinck ^ »
peror had to carry on against the Goths, his ^s^art
firom Rome, the inroads of barbarians into the Mrtr
provinces, and several insurrectiona, giw^ »^*
ated the persecution at the beginning of the'jeff 2'
When Decius, towards the dose of the year, M s *
battle against the Goths, the Chriatiatta wa« as &
liberty.— Heraog, iSeo^EinqfUcip. Hi, a09 ; Wetxerri
Welte, Jr«rcAai.-£ex. ill, 59; Keander, Omr^B^
(Torrey*s transl.), vol. ii.
Deck,!, e. bxdbck (properly ITn^, fldol'^tBain. Ezek. xvi, 11, 18; xxiii, 40; Job z^ 10; Jct.ir,>: Hoe. ii, 18). See Ornakemt.
Deolamatloti, a speech made In the ts^ ai manner of an oration, uniting the expnssioa «f asu to propriety of pronunciation, in order to give the «> timent its full impression on the mind. Tke vat is used also in a disparaging sense, as when Urnai such a speech was mere declamation. It impliei tbsi^ was deficient in point of reasoning, or had bmr msi than sense.— Buck, TheoL Dicikmofy, s. t. Sk Hi»
ILBTIC8.
Declaratlo ThonmeziBia, a coofessioa tf ft£i of the Reformed churches in Poland, drsvm ^ <> Thorn in 1645, for the settlement of disputed qacstea (ad liquidatHmem ootUroveniantmy. It is gives ii^ meyer, CoUecHo Omfiinomtm, p. 669 (Lips. IMS),
Decorated Style. See Abchitbctvbi.
De Conroy, Richard, a divine of tiw Ghvci d England, bom in Ireland, was educated atTinarrC*- lege, Dublin; became curate of Shanbiiiy,Slinf«iP; in 1770 ; afterwards vicar of St. Alkmood la ITTis^ died in 1808. In bis sermons liis language b Sp- fied, and his reasoning perspicuooa, embeDidiUbf <^ posite allusions, and ornamented by many of tbe^ of oratoiy. His principal works are, Strmm,^ which is prefixed an essay on the nature, etc. of a r^ and undefiled religion (Shrewsbury, 1805^ 8vo); Cirt
DECREE
723
DECREE
cifiedy the duAtguMinff Tcfie of Ike Octpel (Lond. Sy 8vo^. — Darling, Q^dapcBdia B^Uogrc^aikiea, 8. v. ; fis, Christicm Bioffrqphjfy p. 126 (Lond. 1839).