Ancient Roman historians (non-Christian) relate the first wholesale massacres of Christians by the Roman government as follows: In the year 64, much of the city of Rome burned. It was widely speculated that the Emperor Nero had ordered the fire in order that he might rebuild to his fancy. In order to divert suspicion from himself, Nero accused the Christians of setting the fires, and had many of them put to death in various cruel ways: eaten in the arena by wild beasts, covered with pitch and burned as torches to light the Emperor's nightly revels, and so on. The persecution appears to have been confined to Rome.

PRAYER (traditional language)

    O Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy holy martyrs at
    Rome in the days of the Emperor Nero triumphed over suffering
    and were faithful even unto death:  Grant us, who now remember
    them with thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to
    thee in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of
    life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy
    Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

PRAYER (contemporary language)

O Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyrs at Rome in the days of the Emperor Nero triumphed over suffering and were faithful even unto death: Grant us, who now remember them with thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.