Apollonius the Senator

Apollonius, a Roman senator under the emperor Commodus, was denounced as a Christian by a slave. He obtained permission to give a reason for his faith, and he wrote a remarkable volume, which he read in the senate. Even so, by the will of the senate he was beheaded for Christ, under an ancient law of theirs that Christians who had once been brought before their judgment seat were not to be released unless they recanted. [a]