Rescript of Gallienus

Imperial · Edict · 260 · Latin

The first legal recognition of the Christian church by a Roman emperor: Gallienus writes to the bishops that their places of worship and their cemeteries are theirs again and that his father Valerian's persecution is over. It is a rescript answering a petition, not an edict of toleration, and it concedes nothing in principle. It bought the church forty years of peace and it is the first time the church held property with the state's acknowledgement. Preserved by Eusebius, HE 7.13.

To: the bishops — churches restored