Severa and Philip may have been the first Christian imperial couple. They were certainly tolerant towards Christianity and ended the persecution. It may have been through her intervention, for instance, that Saint Babylas the Bishop of Antioch was saved from persecution. Their beliefs are, however, unproven. Severa was in Rome at that time and when the news of her husband's death arrived. Their son was murdered in her arms by the Praetorian Guard. Severa survived and lived on in obscurity.