The Centurion and the Stenographer

One of my favorite movies over the last few years is Gladiator with Russel Crowe. For those unfamiliar with it, it is the story of a Roman General who finds himself stripped of his rank, his family murdered, sold into slavery as a gladiator in the games all because he stands in opposition to a cruel and unworthy emperor. It calls to mind another member of Rome's military, this one a centurion, who also took a stand against his emperor; and the integrity of a very uncommon man who stood with him.

We're not sure when he was born, but there is good reason to believe that Marcellus was born in Arzas in the province of Galicia in what is now northern Spain. Hoping to gain a large fortune and Roman citizenship, he entered into the military life. He proved able at his chosen career, rising in the ranks to centurion (officer over a hundred men), serving as a captain in the legion of Trajan. He married a young woman named Nona and she bore him twelve children. His rank and income would have allowed him to own a small farm which would have sustained his family while he was off on a campaign - of which there were many.

It was on one such campaign in North Africa that the birthday of Emperor Maximian Herculeus came about in the year 298. It was the tradition in those days for members of the military to celebrate the emperor's birthday with extraordinary feasting and solemn religious rites that included the offering of sacrifices to various gods, particularly those deemed to be favorites of the emperor himself.

This left Marcellus with a decision to make, because a few months earlier he had heard the preaching of a holy bishop from the church of Leon, the region of Mauritania (Spain) where his wife was from and where his family now lived. His heart was stirred and his entire family had converted to Christianity. The teachings of the church, of course, led him to the belief that the emperor was no god, or even a friend of the gods, but rather a mere man. He could not bring himself to enter into the celebrations as he once did. Neither could he stay silent.

Without warning, he stood and in front of all his men, he removed his military Phalerae (belt of honors) and threw it down. "I serve Jesus Christ the Eternal King," he is reported to have said loudly. He then threw down his vine-switch, a short length of polished vine branch, that was the symbol of his authority over his troops, sort of a poor man's scepter.

"Henceforward I cease to serve your Emperors, and I scorn to worship your gods of wood and stone, which are deaf and dumb idols. If such be the terms of service that men are forced to offer sacrifice to gods and Emperors, behold I cast away my vine-switch and phalerae, I renounce the standards, and refuse to serve." The words struck those listening like a fist.

To their ears Marcellus had committed treason, insubordination, treachery and blasphemy. There was no greater insult than to cast down the emblems of his rank and command. (The Phalerae with its medallions depicting the emperor and his heirs is pictured in a period costume at right. The vine-switch is in the actor's left hand.) They seized their now 'former' commander and brought him before the local governor Anastasius Fortunatus. He was ordered thrown into prison until the celebrations were complete.

When that time came Marcellus was brought before the governor again. "What did you mean by removing your military gear in violation of military discipline and throwing away your phalerae and vine-switch?"

Marcellus did not hesitate in his reply, "...I made answer openly and in a loud voice that I was a Christian and that I could not serve under this allegiance, but only under the allegiance of Jesus Christ the Son of God the Father Almighty."

Roman law did not allow Fortunatus the option of ignoring the insubordinate conduct. He was required to report the matter to higher authorities. The judge had hoped to lay his case before Maximian and Constantius, the latter of which was known to be friendly toward Christians. However, Marcellus was taken to the deputy Praetorian prefect Aurelius Agricolan instead. When Agricolan had heard the evidence he asked, "What madness possessed you to cast away the signs of your allegiance, and to speak as you did?"

Marcellus answered, "There is no madness in those who fear the Lord."

After more arguments and a series of threats that seeming fell on Marcellus' deaf ears, Agricolan dictated this verdict: "Marcellus, who held the rank of centurion of the first class, having admitted that he has degraded himself by openly throwing off his allegiance, and having besides put on record, as appears in the official report of the governor, other insane expressions, it is our pleasure that he be put to death by the sword."

You may wonder how it is we know the details of his testimony? Well, even back then there were court stenographers whose job it was to record all that was said, so it could be proven to the families of the condemned that everything was on the up and up. According to an appendix attached to Marcellus' court records, the stenographer at his trial was a man by the name of Cassian. I know, given the title of this article you were hoping for something a little juicier - shame on you. Don't bail on me though; this is where it gets interesting!

You see, to Cassian the verdict seemed criminally unfair. So much so that he threw down his pen, and with an exclamation apparently not suitable to be included in the records, refused to write another word. Agricolan ordered him thrown into prison, too. Marcellus' sentence was carried out later that day, October 30, 298. Cassian was held until he could face his own trial.

The Christian centurion's children followed their father's example; all lost their lives for the defense of the Gospel. Three of the boys were hanged and then decapitated at Leon. Their mother bought back their bodies for money and buried them secretly; they were later transferred to a church built in their honor in the city of Leon.

As for Cassian, his trial came about a month later. He refused to recant his criticism of Marcellus' sentence and openly declared that he too was a Christian. He was also sentenced to death, and was beheaded for his faith on December 3, 298 - 1,709 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. St. Marcellus the Centurion, Internet scared Text Archive, <http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots336.htm>
2. Marcellus and Cassian, Christian History Institute, <http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2002/12/daily-12-03-2002.shtml>
3. Photo credit: Roman Army Reenactment, Centurion page, <http://www.legionxxiv.org/centurionpage/>

Other events this week in church history:

December 4, 1093: Anselm, called "the founder of Scholasticism" and the greatest scholar between Augustine and Aquinas, is consecrated archbishop of Canterbury.

December 5, 1484: Pope Innocent VIII issues a bull giving two German inquisitors jurisdiction over prosecuting witchcraft. Though the pope didn't intend for it to be anything major, the Germans used it to promote their book, Hammer of Witches. Its publication led to the fervent, but often exaggerated witch hunts of the next two centuries.

December 6, 345 (traditional date): Don't let the little kids find out, they might misunderstand, but St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, one of the most popular saints in the Greek and Latin churches—and believed by many to be the original Santa Claus — dies on this date.

December 7, 521: Irish monk Columba, missionary to Scotland and founder of Iona and many other monastic communities, is born in Donegal.

December 8, 1934: American missionaries John and Betty Stam are beheaded by Chinese communists. The couple had met while attending Moody Bible Institute and married just the year before their deaths. Publication of their biography prompted hundreds to volunteer for missionary service.

December 9, 1843: The first Christmas cards—actually more like postcards—are created and sold for a shilling. (A shilling from the mid 1800s had about the same purchasing power as $8 CDN today. Courtesy Measuring Worth.com )

A Tale of Two Olivers

I am occasionally asked, when people find out I write about history, why historians spend so much time talking about war. Well, with apologies to Mike Love, the history of war is the history of mankind. By and large human history rotates around moments of great change, and change rarely happens without conflict.

The history of the church, having also been made by humans, is no different. If it hasn't been a case of Christians warring with non-Christians, it's been Christians warring with Christians. And, as in the case of secular conflicts, war tends to bring out the worst in the children of God as well. There are many events for which the church and individuals will have to answer.

One of those events centers around an Irishman named Oliver Plunkett.

Plunkett was born in 1625 near Oldcastle, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome where his record was described as "particularly brilliant." Ordained a priest in 1654, Plunkett was selected by the Irish bishops to be their representative in Rome. On July 9th, 1669, he was appointed to the Archbishop of Armagh, he received the pallium on his arrival in England July 28th, 1670.

While Plunkett was in Rome, the other great Oliver of the day, Oliver Cromwell, invaded Ireland. Cromwell, as Lord protector of England, had enacted anti-Catholic legislation. Catholic priests were outlawed. Those who dared to administer the sacraments were hanged or transported to the West Indies. In Ireland, his usually well-controlled Protestant troops were permitted to inflict terrible atrocities upon Irish Catholics.

During his tenure Plunkett sought to improve the lot of his people. Taking advantage of a brief period in which the Penal Laws were slightly relaxed, he built schools for both the young and clergy and set about reorganizing the ravaged Church. He also tackled drunkenness among the clergy; true Christianity, Plunkett believed, sobers people and makes them more orderly. As an agent of Christ, Plunkett worked toward those ends. Records indicate he confirmed 48,655 people into the faith, and persuaded hundreds of couples who lived together without marriage to marry.

One incident merits special mention. There was a considerable number of displaced Catholics in the province of Ulster, most of whom had their property confiscated, who banded together and, as outlaws, lived by plundering those who lived around them. Anyone who sheltered them faced the death penalty by British law, anyone who refused them such shelter met with death at their hands. Plunkett went in search of them, facing great personal risk, and convinced them to renounce their career of plundering. He also managed to negotiate pardons for them so they could exile themselves to other countries rather than face the death penalty, and thus peace was restored throughout the whole province.

Nearly twenty years after the death of Cromwell, new outbreaks of anti-Catholicism forced Plunkett into hiding in 1673. Catholics were required to register for deportation at any seaport - failure to do so would have grave consequences. Plunkett refused. He continued however, to shepherd his flock. Many followed the example of their Archbishop and the underground Catholic church thrived despite the efforts of one Lord Shaftesbury.

Plunkett was finally arrested in Dublin in 1679. Shaftesbury, falsely accused Plunkett of plotting a French invasion of Ireland. He was tried at Dundalk for conspiring against the state by plotting to bring 20,000 French soldiers into the country, and for levying a tax on his clergy to support 70,000 men for rebellion. While awaiting trial in Dublin Castle, Plunkett showed his Christ-like character when, despite years of rivalry with Peter Talbot, archbishop of Dublin, over the question of who should be primate of Ireland, he forgave his fellow captive and administered to him the Catholic rite of absolution.

When a jury refused to convict Plunkett in Ireland, Shaftesbury, realizing the archbishop would never be convicted in Ireland had him moved to Newgate Prison, London. The first grand jury found no validity to the charges, but he was not released. The second trial was a kangaroo court; with two Franciscans bringing false testimony against him. Plunkett was found guilty of high treason on June, 1681 "for promoting the Catholic faith," and on July 1, 1681 was executed by being hanged, disemboweled, beheaded and quartered. He was the last Catholic executed for his faith in England.

Even at the time many people were appalled at the manner in which Oliver Plunkett had been tried, convicted, and sentenced. Lord Campbell, writing of the judge, Sir Francis Pemberton, called it a disgrace to himself and his country. The bitterness of those days lives on in divided Ireland even today.

Oliver Plunkett was canonized and became Saint Oliver on October 12, 1975, only 32 years ago this week. But it should be noted that when Pope Paul VI canonized him he was the first Irishman in almost 700 years to receive the honor.


Resources:

1. "Blessed Oliver Plunkett", Written by Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran. Transcribed by Marie Jutras. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII. Published 1911. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
2. Various other Internet articles.

Photo credit: St. Oliver Plunkett - courtesy www.irishpage.com

Other events that happened this week:

October 8, 451: The Council of Chalcedon opens to deal with the questions of Christ's nature. Two groups, the Eutychians and the Apollinarians, believed Jesus could not have two natures. His divinity, they believed, swallowed up his humanity "like a drop of wine in the sea." The council condemned the teaching as heresy and created a confession of faith which affirmed the Nicene Creed.

October 9, 1000: Leif "the Lucky" Eriksson is reported to have been the first European to reach North America on this date. What is not widely reported is that he would later evangelize Greenland also making him the first to bring the gospel to North America. But while he was certainly a member of an early Viking voyage to "Vinland" (probably Nova Scotia), it's doubtful he led the initial expedition.

October 10, 1821: Law student Charles Finney goes off for a walk in the woods near his home to settle in his own mind the question of his standing before God. That night, at the age of 29, he experienced what he would later describe as "waves of liquid love throughout his body." He emerged from the woods fully convinced of the reality of the gospel message and before long became American history's greatest revivalist purportedly responsible for the conversion of as 500,000 people.

October 11, 1521: In responce to his tract "The Assertion of the Seven Sacraments," written against Martin Luther, Pope Leo X conferred the title "Fidei Defensor" (Defender of the Faith) upon England's Henry VIII. Three popes and 13 years later, when Henry couldn't get the church to grant him a divorce or annulment from his first wife, the infamous British monarch severed all ties with Rome, making the Church of England a separate church body.

October 13, 1836: Lutheran pastor Theodor Fliedner opens the first deaconess training centre in Kaiserswerth, Germany. The centre was opened despite the fact he had no curriculum and no teachers. Seven days later Gertrude Reichardt, the 48-year old daughter of a physician, applied for deaconess training. After her interview Theodor saw her as the answer to prayer and put her in charge of the centre.

October 14, 1066: William the Conqueror leads the Normans to victory over the English Saxons in the Battle of Hastings. William is also considered one of England's most important religious reformers; he spent his last days in intense Christian devotion.

Save your Enemy - Get Burned.

Week 20 - May 13-19

Every once in a while the subject comes up about people who have been baptized as infants being re-baptized as adults when they come to faith for themselves. Some denominations allow it, others do not. What has always amazed me however, is just how contentious an issue it can be. Consider the story of Dirk Willem.

Dirk was captured and imprisoned in his home town of Asperen in the Netherlands for the crime of being an Anabaptist. These were basically peaceful citizens who did not believe in war and who became the forerunners of today's Mennonites and Amish. The main complaint of the authorities against them was that they did not believe infant baptism had any value. They chose to be re-baptized as willing adults. Dirk knew his fate would be death if he remained in prison, so he made a rope of strips of cloth and slid down it over the prison wall (yeah people actually escaped using the bed-sheet trick). One of the guards gave chase.

A late spring frost had covered a nearby pond with a thin layer of ice. Dirk decided to take his chances and dashed across the flimsy surface. He made it, but the guard that was chasing him didn’t. Falling into the cold icy water the man cried out for help. Dirk could not ignore his cries.

You see, the Anabaptist aversion to infant baptism was based on their determination to do all things in accordance with scripture. This devotion to the Word also meant Dirk believed in Jesus’ teaching that a man should help his enemies. He immediately turned back and pulled the floundering guard from the frigid water. The event was reported in The Martyrs Mirror, first published in 1660 by Thieleman J. van Braght. A woodcut depicting the rescue (pictured) accompanied the account.

Grateful for his life the guard was of a mind to let Dirk escape, but a Burgomaster (chief magistrate) who had been standing on the shore sternly ordered him to arrest Dirk and bring him back, reminding him of the oath he had sworn as an officer of the courts. Reluctantly, the guard escorted Dirk back to prison; Dirk offered no resistance.

As expected he was condemned to death for being re-baptized, allowing secret church services in his home and letting others be baptized there. The record of his sentencing concludes: "all of which is contrary to our holy Christian faith, and to the decrees of his royal majesty, and ought not to be tolerated, but severely punished, for an example to others; therefore, we the aforesaid judges, having, with mature deliberation of council, examined and considered all that was to be considered in this matter, have condemned and do condemn by these presents in the name; and in the behalf, of his royal majesty, as Count of Holland, the aforesaid Dirk Willems, prisoner, persisting obstinately in his opinion, that he shall be executed with fire, until death ensues; and declare all his property confiscated, for the benefit of his royal majesty."

As was the custom Dirk was burned to death for his crime (women were executed by drowning). They also placed a cumbersome clamp on Willem’s tongue. This was because many Anabaptists proved to be so bold in their final testimony for Christ that authorities began to clamp their tongues before leading them out to their execution so that they could not speak up and win more converts.

The wind blew the flames away from him resulting in his death taking much longer and being far more painful than was usually the case. Time and again Dirk cried out to God for release. Finally one of the judges could not bear to see him suffer any longer and ordered one of the guards to end his torment with a quick death.

How many Anabaptists died during the sixteenth century persecution in Europe? No one knows for sure. What is certain is that at least 1,500 were cruelly tortured and killed, for the crime of wanting to decide for themselves when they should be baptized.

Dirk William paid the ultimate price for his dedication to Scripture on May 16, 1569 - 438 years ago this week.

Other events that happened this week.

May 13, 1963 - Death of A.W. Tozer, Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor and author of The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy.

May 14, 1572 - Gregory XIII, who reformed the Julian calendar bringing into usage the calendar used today and was subsequently named for him, is raised to the papacy.

May 15, 1984 - Presbyterian evangelical Francis A. Schaeffer passes away in Rochester, Minnesota. Schaeffer was the author of many books, and founder of the L'Abri (the Shelter) community in Switzerland.

May 17, 1844 - German biblical scholar Julius Wellhausen is born. His controversial theory about the Pentateuch—that it is a compilation of four literary sources (J, Jahwist; E, Elohist; D, Deuteronomist; and P, Priestly Editor), laid the foundation for most subsequent Old Testament criticism.

May 18, 1920 - Karol Wojtyla (who would take the name John Paul II when elected pope) is born in Wadowice, Poland.

May 19, 1971 - The musical Godspell, based on Matthew's gospel, opens at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York.

The Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan

In the late 16th century, General Toyotomi Hideyoshi, better known as Taikosama, rose from humble origins to become the absolute ruler of a united Japan. As is often the case, the more he accomplished, the more he wanted. But it turns out he had his limits. When he attacked Korea to in an effort to gain a foothold on the mainland, China entered the war, and Hideyoshi's troops were beaten. This defeat, in addition to an earthquake that ruined his lovely new palace, left Hideyoshi in something of a financial bind.

Enter the Franciscans. -- You see, the Portuguese had a lock on Japan's trade with China; their large wooden ships were contracted to carry cargo between the islands and the mainland. When Franciscan friars came from the Philippines, Hideyoshi hoped that the Spanish in the Philippines would be able to offer the Portuguese some competition. If he allowed the Franciscans to stay, even though Christianity was illegal, they would facilitate Spanish trade. With competition, prices would fall.

One day, the San Felice, a Spanish galleon leaving Manila with a cargo valued at more than a million and a half silver pesos, was driven off course by a typhoon. It was shipwrecked off the coast of Japan and a local samurai took possession of the cargo. The Franciscans, thinking Hideyoshi was favourable to them, appealed to the general on behalf of the owners. However, Hideyoshi wanted the treasure for himself, but had no desire to hassle with the Spaniards. Since he was not only a general, but a consummate politician, he did what many politicians do in such situations – he smiled, made promises, and waited.

This is where things get a little blurry, as they often do in international politics. While Hideyoshi procrastinated, the Portuguese, who resented the Spanish incursion into their lucrative trade monopoly, accused the pilot of the San Felice of having boasted of Spain's many conquests and also accused the local Christians of supporting them. In the ensuing arguments, Hideyoshi’s attitude towards the Franciscans changed. Although, to be fair, it was already strained as they had been gaining a great number of conversions among the Japanese. This angered the general because the Jesuits had promised to keep a low profile on the spiritual front.

Whatever his reason, Hideyoshi ordered the execution of all Christians, including the Jesuits. After he thought it over, however, his love of wealth influenced him again and deciding the Jesuits were too useful for trade to be killed, he spared most of them.

However, an example had to be made, and thirty days of torments began for twenty-five Christians: seven Franciscans - mostly from Spanish and Mexican origins, and eighteen locals. They spent the thirty days marching to the place of their execution, Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki, where Terazawa Hazaburo, brother of the governor, was to perform the executions. During the march they were beaten, whipped, and had their left ears cut off, all in an attempt to get them to renounce their faith and tell their converts it was all a lie. They refused to do so.

You may have noticed that the previous paragraph only mentions twenty-five men and the title of this article calls for one more. His name was Matthias. He was actually a Japanese convert who took a biblical name (it was the custom among Jesuit converts). Other than this we know nothing about him. He was among a crowd of people following the procession as it made its way to Nishizaka Hill. The soldiers who were escorting the condemned grew tired of the crowds calling for the release of their prisoners. They chose to make an example of one of the them and arrested and condemned Matthias on the spot. Besides, there was supposed to be a man named Matthias among the condemned but the soldiers had been unable to find him – this one would do.

When they arrived at the hill, twenty-six crosses were waiting for them. Once they were all securely tied, the crosses were lifted into place simultaneously. Some sang hymns, others prayed, none wept or cried out, not even 12-year-old Louis Ibaraki, the youngest of the group, who witnesses testified called out encouragement to his older brethren throughout the ordeal.

From his cross, Paul Miki, a Japanese convert, preached: "I have committed no crime, and the only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for such a cause, and see my death as a great blessing from the Lord. At this critical time, when, you can rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress and make it unmistakably clear that man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian way."

The execution of these men started a 40 year persecution of Christians in Japan that would see tens of thousands martyred for their beliefs. It should be noted the twenty-six did not die from the crucifixions. Moved by some small compassion and impressed with the courage of the Christians, Terazawa ordered the soldiers to kill them quickly by spears to the throat. A memorial to the martyrs (pictured) has been erected in Nagasaki.

It was February 5, 1597 — 410 years ago this week.

Other events that took place this week - Feb. 3 to Feb. 10

February 4, 1906: Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is born in Breslau, Germany. Author of The Cost of Discipleship (1948) and Letters from Prison (1953), he was one of the leaders of Germany's Confessing Church, which opposed the Nazis. Believing that Hitler was like a madman "driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders," he had joined a plot to kill him, but the plot was discovered and Bonhoeffer was arrested and eventually hanged--just days before Allied troops liberated the concentration camp where he was held.

February 6, 891: Photius, patriarch of Constantinople from 858-867, dies after a series of excommunications and restorations. His 867 encyclical, which denounced the presence of Latin missionaries in Bulgaria as an intrusion and objected to the clause in the creed that read "the Holy Ghost ... who proceeds from the Father and the Son", was significant in the East-West conflict that eventually led to the Great Schism.

February 7, 1938: After years of being closely watched by Nazi secret police, Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller is put on trial. He was subsequently confined in a concentration camp, but he survived and went on to hold a leadership role in the World Council of Churches from 1948-1968.

February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded. Attempting to restore Catholicism to England, she began persecuting Protestants. But, largely thanks to the work of John Knox, her attempts failed.

February 9, 249: (traditional date): According to Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, on this date, Roman officials "seized that marvellous aged virgin Apolloinia, broke out all her teeth with blows on her jaws, and piling up a bonfire before the city, threatened to burn her alive if she refused to recite with them their blasphemous sayings. But she asked for a brief delay and without flinching leapt into the fire and was consumed."

February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffers a fall on the ice-covered London Bridge and is carried to the home of Mary Vazeille, a sailor's widow who lived nearby. Within a week, the two were married—with disastrous results. The unhappy couple spent so little time together that, in 1771, Wesley recorded this in his journal: "I came to London and was informed that my wife died on Monday. This evening she was buried, though I was not informed of it."