In early Christianity, the religion as a whole was looked down upon and endured over 300 years of hostility, eventually becoming the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Just as Christ died on the cross, the early Christians believed that there was no greater honor than to imitate that death; they expected suffering. The persecution of Christians gave rise, among other things, to cults and also contributed greatly to the rapid growth of Christianity. Tensions caused by conflicts between religions, imperial policies, and empire-wide persecutions, initiated by many different emperors, constitute the majority of situations that motivated the Roman Empire to persecute Christians, for then put an end to it with Constantine. Christians were not necessarily persecuted simply because they were Christians. “The Roman understanding of religion generally focused on civil virtues and outward observance” (Toivo 7), which essentially meant that the Roman Empire allowed any religion to exist as long as the ruling emperor was recognized as divine and was also revered. “In the early centuries, Christian loyalty to God was frequently interpreted by Roman state authorities as disloyalty to their state” (Toivo 7). While much of the Roman Empire's Christian persecution was due to disregard for the culture, way of life, and speaking ill of the Roman Empire, "Tertullian stated that Christians were blamed "for every public disaster and every misfortune “that struck the people” (Toivo 7). The Christian religion as a whole was almost always responsible for any unfortunate events that occurred in the Roman Empire. This helped much of the Roman public view Christians as truly distrustful and intolerable, regardless of the situation... in the middle of the newspaper... Christians, Jews, and Muslims by Christians" (Wright 23) . From 312 to 313, Constantine's actions showed his growing favor for the Christian Church. He sent three letters to Carthage, ordering the Roman governor "to restore to the 'Catholic Church of the Christians of any city' all property which it formerly possessed, [regardless of its current owner" (Wright 23) . In conclusion, Christians who belonged to the early Church found themselves persecuted due to massive tensions caused by conflicts between religions, imperial policies implemented by hostile emperors, and empire-wide persecutions against Christianity. Constantine ultimately helped keep Christianity alive throughout the 300 years of hostility that the religion as a whole suffered, and paved the way for the growth and development of the Christian Church..