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Joris and Joachim   A. D. 1560
From "From Martyr's Mirror"

A. D. 1560 there were brought before the court at Antwerp two pious Christians, named Joris and Joachim. As they were standing as sheep for the slaughter before the lords, the bailiff asked Joris whether he was rebaptized. He replied, "I am baptized according to the doctrine of Christ, as He commanded His apostles, saying: 'Go and preach to all nations. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved.' Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16. Hence they must first be taught and believe, and then be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

The bailiff also asked Joachim whether he was baptized. He replied, "I hold to one baptism, one faith, one Lord, and God." Eph. 4:5, 6.

Then the lords sentenced them according to the king's mandate, whereupon Joachim, hearing his sentence, said, "My lords, we thank you for your trouble with us; but may God forgive you the blindness of your heart, and grant that you may become enlightened."

As they were coming out of the court, they said, "We are not ashamed of the Gospel" (Rom. 1:16); and while walking in the street, they sang:

"O Lord forever in my thought Thou art;
My soul doth long to be close to Thy heart."   Psalm 143:8.

Thereupon Joachim said, "Fear not them that kill the body; for hereafter, when they mourn, we shall rejoice." Luke 6:23.

Thus they as giants in the faith pressed through the strait gate to the new Jerusalem. After they had come to the place where they were to offer up their burnt sacrifice, they gave each other the kiss of peace. Standing at the stake, Joachim said, "O Father, forgive them that inflict this suffering upon us; but we thank Thee that Thou hast made us worthy to suffer for Thy name; therefore, O Lord, assist us, and succor us with Thy help in this last extremity." Joris said, "Lord Thou knowest that I have sought Thee and my salvation; and for this cause I must now die. Therefore, O Lord, receive me graciously." He further said, "Citizens of Antwerp, fear not; though we die for the truth, Christ our Lord went before us, and we must follow Him."

They then began to sing this farewell hymn, "Farewell, brethren and sisters all," etc. Thereupon they commended their spirits into the hands of God, and ended their lives in the fire. They now lie under the altar, and wait to be clothed with white linen raiment, and to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father, where they shall be served with new wine and heavenly bread. Rev. 6:9; 19:8; Matt. 13:43; 26:28; Rev. 2:17.

The Manners of the Christians and the Reason of Their Persecution   A. D. 130

Mathetes, the author of this epistle from around A.D. 130, calls himself "a disciple of the Apostles". Here we present two chapters from this letter dealing with the life and the manners of the Christians and the reason of their persecution.

The Epistle of Mathetes To Diognetus

The Manners of the Christians

For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life.

They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life.

They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

The Relation of Christians to the World

To sum up all in one word-what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures.

The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and [loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number. God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it were unlawful for them to forsake.

The Sixth Persecution, Under Maximus   A. D. 235

A. D. 235, was in the time of Maximinus. In Cappadocia, the president, Seremianus, did all he could to exterminate the Christians from that province.