During the time of Emperor Maximus “numberless Christians were slain without trial, and buried indiscriminately in heaps, sometimes fifty or sixty being cast into a pit together, without the least decency.” Maximus was succeeded by Gordian  “during whose reign, and that of his successor Philip, the Church was free from persecution for the space of more than ten years.” However, the terrible beast was not yet satisfied with the blood of martyrs. More persecution was yet to happen.

>The Seventh Persecution