RESEARCH OF ANTI-STATE BEHAVIOR OF EARLY CHRISTIAN MARTYRS

Abstract

Reseaching the behavior of the early Christian martyrs before the Roman authorities, the question is raised, on what basis did they insist so persistently on their conviction that
they refused the obligation of offering sacrifices to the religious practice of the Roman state.
The Roman law did not know the freedom in the question of the conscience. The state demanded obedience in all respects. However, the Christian defendants claimed obedience to a
higher authority that made it impossible for them to fulfill the obligation imposed by the Roman state. The trial records of the early Christian defendants explain why they may not have
decided against their inner convictions. Since the interpretation of religion in their way of
thinking has come to light in this new light, religious understanding operates on the basis of
freedom of conscience and inner conviction with the potential to extend to all people.