The official acceptance of Christianity enacted by Constantine in AD 313, led to nearly a half-century of tolerance under Roman rule until Julian the Apostate, a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 361-363, tried to destroy Christianity by persecuting Christians.

Even he admitted that “the godless Galileans (Christians) feed not only their poor, but ours also.” He also realized that his own pagans were not assisting each other. He said, “Those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.”