1. The growth of Christianity was helped rather than hindered. Persecution advertised the new belief and won sympathy. It created an intense devotion to the cause, proved the truth of the religion, and made a martyr's crown desirable. Tertullian exclaimed: "Go on! rack, torture, grind us to powder; our members increase in proportion as you mow us down. The blood of Christians is their harvest seed. Your very obstinacy is a teacher. For who is not incited by a consideration of it to enquire what there is in the core of the matter? And who, after having joined us, does not long to suffer?" The period of persecution ended with a conquest of the Emperor and a large part of the Empire. The victory was thus a double one. 2. The organisation of the Church was effected. Persecution forced the Church to organise itself more efficiently, produced responsible leaders, who were forced to direct the struggle against Rome and who, as a result, were given pre-eminence by special punishment, and developed the monarchio-episcopal system. The extraordinary development of the power of the Bishop of Rome, in particular, was influenced to a far greater degree than is ordinarily taken into account. Much emphasis has been laid on the fact that that epoch of outlawry ended by the adoption of Christianity by the Empire. A much more important result, however, is found in the fact that Christianity, for weal or woe, adopted the Roman Empire. 3. The Church was kept purer in belief and more united in form. The spiritual was magnified over the temporal. Common oppression joined Christians in common sympathy. The differences between Christianity and paganism were emphasised. With death over their heads the Christians thought little of life here but much of that hereafter and regulated their lives accordingly. Still the growing consciousness that the Church was a world-wide institution must have been powerfully stimulated. With the evolution of the idea of Christian unity appeared the conspicuous leadership of the Roman Church. Irenæus (d. 202) could declare that it was "a matter of necessity that every church should agree with this church, on account of its pre-eminent authority." Tertullian (c. 220) also recognised the distinction of the Roman Church, though later he questioned the validity of the Petrine claim. It was left to Cyprian (d. 258) to give the first complete account of the Universal or Catholic Church in his work on the _Unity of the Church_. 4. Persecution produced a group of extraordinary literary defenders like the apologists, controversialists, and letter writers, and helped to develop the fundamental, orthodox Christian doctrine. It also produced much legendary poetry; and out of this baptism of blood was created the heroic age of the Church, based partly on fact and partly on fiction. 5. The forms of worship were modified, the worship of saints and relics was originated, and the priesthood was sanctified and set above the laity.