In the year A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued a decree which he hoped would extinguish the spreading flames of Christianity. One of his primary objectives was the seizure and destruction of the Bible. Later that year, officials enforced the decree in North Africa. One of the targets was Felix, Bishop of Tibjuca, a village near Carthage. The mayor of the town ordered Felix to hand over his Scriptures.
Though some judges were willing to accept scraps of parchment, Felix refused to surrender the Word of God at the insistence of mere men. Roman authorities finally shipped Felix to Italy where he paid for his stubbornness with his life. He laid down his life rather than surrender his Bible.