Читать книгу A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Joseph Cullen Ayer - Страница 160

With the brief exception of the reign of Maximinus Thrax (235–238), Christians enjoyed peace from the death of Caracalla to the death of Philip the Arabian. This was not due [pg 152] to disregard of the laws against Christians nor to indifference to suspected dangers to the Empire arising from the new religion, but to the policy of religious syncretism which had come in with the family of Severus. The wife of Septimius Severus was the daughter of Julius Bassianus, priest of the Sun-god of Emesa, and of the rulers of the dynasty of Severus one, Heliogabalus, was himself a priest of the same syncretistic cult, and another, Alexander, was under the influence of the women of the same priestly family.