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{{short description|Edict ending the Diocletianic persecution of Christianity in the East of the Roman Empire}}File:Galerius Edict Sofia Plaque 03.JPG|thumbnail|250px|Trilingual (Latin, Bulgarian, Greek) plaque with the Edict in front of the St. Sofia Church, Sofia, Bulgaria.]]The Edict of Serdica, also called Edict of Toleration by Galerius,BOOK, Eric, Orlin,books.google.com/books?id=dXH4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA287, Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, Routledge, 19 November 2015, 287, 9781134625529, BOOK, Ramsay, MacMullen, Ramsay MacMullen, Eugene, Lane,books.google.com/books?id=q_lvnk-z5QUC&pg=PA219, Paganism and Christianity, 100-425 C.E.: A Sourcebook, Fortress Press, 1 January 1992, 219, 9781451407853, BOOK, Sarolta Anna, Takacs, Eric H., Cline, Eric H. Cline,books.google.com/books?id=SPcvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA202, The Ancient World, Routledge, 17 July 2015, 202, 9781317458395, was issued in 311 in Serdica (now Sofia, Bulgaria) by Roman Emperor Galerius. It officially ended the Diocletianic Persecution of Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire.BOOK, Edward, Gibbon, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,books.google.com/books?id=pksA7j6ZXLgC&pg=PA132, 1 January 2008, Cosimo, Inc., 978-1-60520-122-1, 132, The Edict implicitly granted Christianity the status of religio licita, a worship that was recognized and accepted by the Roman Empire.BOOK, Arnaldo, Marcone, Pagano e cristiano. Vita e mito di Costantino, 2002, 57,books.google.com/books?id=Y1JoAAAAMAAJ, GLF editori Laterza, 9788842065951, It was the first edict legalizing Christianity and preceded the Edict of Milan by two years.

History

On 23 February 303, on the Terminalia feast, Emperor Diocletian, on the proposal of Galerius,{{cn|date=April 2021}} issued a persecutory edict. The edict prescribed:{{cn|date=April 2021}}

• Destroying churches and burning their Holy Scriptures
• Confiscation of church property
• Banning Christians from undertaking collective legal action
• Loss of privileges for Christians of high rank who refused to recant
• Arresting some state officials.

In 305, Diocletian abdicated and was replaced by Galerius, his successor, who continued persecution in the East until 311, when he granted Christians forgiveness, freedom of worship and (implicitly) the status of religio licita.

Full text

Promulgated in the name of the other official members of the Tetrarchy, the edict marked the end of persecutions against the Christians.

References

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