In the earliest years of the church,so many martyrs died for their faith, Christians set aside special days tohonor them. For example, in 607 Emperor Phocas presented the beautiful RomanPantheon to the church. Boniface IV, the Bishop of Rome, quickly removed the statues of Jupiterand the other pagan gods and consecrated the Pantheon to the memory of all the martyrs who hadsuffered during the Roman persecution in the first three hundred years afterChrist–that great cloud of witnesses to the Christian faith. Originally celebrated on May 1, afestival in commemoration of those faithful saints was eventually moved to November 1 byPope Gregory IV. Ever since this day has been set aside as a time of remembrance of all those who have suffered persecution for their faith. And, given the fact that more Christians have been martyred in the last century than in all the other centuries combined, this is a particularly relevant remembrance.
