Dr. Fairbairn Sheds Light on the Great Persian Persecution
Dr. Donald Fairbairn, Robert E. Cooley Professor of Early Christianity, has spent much of his life serving and educating others about the global church. He ministered in Soviet Georgia, taught at a Christian university in Ukraine, and he has authored books, like The Global Church: The First Eight Centuries, that highlight the faith of the early church in areas outside of Europe.
In an article recently published by Desiring God, Dr. Fairbairn draws attention to the magnitude of persecution experienced by the early church in Persia. While historians and Sunday School teachers alike often focus on the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, Dr. Fairbairn expands our understanding of the Christians experience in the Great Persian Persecution which likely exceeded that of the Roman Empire. As he shares, “A look at the differing fortunes of Christians in the Roman and Persian empires, as well as the ways they responded to persecution, yields important lessons for believers today.”