Welcome back to another episode of Five Minutes in Church History.

On this episode, we are visiting the third century and specifically the crisis of the third century.

Now, to put this in a context, let's look at 100 years from 235 AD to 337.

The first part of that century, from 235 to 284, this 50-year period is known as the crisis of the third century.

And we're going to get into that in a moment.

It begins to come to an end with the next Roman emperor, Diocletian, who ruled from 284 to 304,

and he was the first emperor to voluntarily resign. He stepped away and he would die a few years later

in 311. And then the final period sees Constantine coming in as Emperor of Rome 306 and then

until his death in 337. So this is a very important 100 years, 235 to 337. And understanding a little bit of this

political backdrop is very helpful for us and understanding what is going on in the church in this

crucial century. Of course, in there, just during Constantine's reign, of course, is the

legalization of Christianity and then the Nicene Council.

So these are some important moments.

But let's get back to the crisis of the third century.

It began in 235 AD, and the Roman Empire plunged into chaos after Emperor Alexander Severus was assassinated, along with his mother,

by soldiers who were for the person who would become the next emperor, Maximus Thrax.

This is a military general.

He came from rather humble beginnings from what we can understand, grew in

power, and then through his supporters, seized power in 235, and he sets off the crisis of the

third century. It's described by historians as a time of military anarchy. Over the 50 years,

235 to 284, there will be 26 emperors. And not only was

it a time of military anarchy, but it was a time of financial difficulty for Rome. It was a time of

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