Religious Intolerance in the Later Roman Empire - Bad request ...

this law, were members of Flavianus’ own class and were those with whom Flavianus
would have been most in contact and hence the most likely recipients of his
proselytizing efforts. There may even have been an element of insult in this law; for
an apostate elite, (someone in Flavianus’ circle of contact) to have been numbered
below “the lowest dregs of the ignoble crowd” must have been particularly galling.
There are similarities between this law and Flavianus’ previous law, CTh. 16.7.4. The
crime for both was deserting the Christian religion for another, which does not seem
to have been important and as such neither makes explicit reference to any particular
religion, although CTh. 16.7.5 does make strong references to paganism. Both laid
down similar penalties; in the first apostates were to “lack the approval of men” which
rather suggests that they were to be ostracised from their social group, which would be
similar to the removal of titles and honours from elite apostates. Although the second
does not repeat the prohibitions on inheriting and bequeathing.
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