Martyrdom

...[of his] wonders, to be strengthened every day and to be increased in the manner of the time, because these things had happened from the beginning.

The fame of the name of this holy man, like a voice crying out, poured forth so far and wide that it shone out intensely. This resulted in the one who initiated the second persecution of the Christians after Nero original: "Νέρονα" (Nerona). This refers to Emperor Domitian, whom early church historians identified as the second great persecutor. ordering that he be brought to his court. This [ruler] was set ablaze and driven by such a frenzy of wickedness that he commanded that wherever a Christian might be found, he should either be persuaded to sacrifice to defiled things heathen idols, or, having fallen into various tortures, be handed over to death by the sword. Having subjected the nations under him to these laws, a great persecution arose against the servants of Christ Christ original: "χυ" (Nomen Sacrum for Christou)., spreading through all those regions. No peace of life was granted to those struggling for Christ’s sake; for there was no plea for freedom for the holy martyrs. Instead, all those who observed the impiety of the decree which had been commanded to them by the Emperor original: "καίσαρος" (kaisaros). did not dare to transgress it in any way. Rather, he sent out a gathering of picked men with great clamor and urgency to all the regions of the West original: "δύσεως" (dyseōs), referring to the Western Roman Empire, including Gaul. so that they might seek out and find this holy man Dionysius, if they were able, in order that they might either persuade him to fulfill the commands of the one in power, or—