This Day in Christian Roman history -- The birth of the Emperor Claudius Gothicus

Bust of Claudius II Gothicus
from Santa Giulia Museum in
Brescia, Italy

May 10, AD 213, is reputedly the birthday of the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus. Claudius ruled from AD 268 to 270, two very eventful years at the height of the "Crisis of the Third Century" when the Roman Empire was divided by civil war and overrun by barbarian invasions.

Born in the present day Balkan peninsula, little is known of Claudius's early life. His path to the throne was via the Roman army and he distinguished himself as a man of tremendous strength--a tale is told of him knocking out a horse's teeth with his fist. He was eventually promoted to the rank of cavalry commander and upon the assassination of the emperor Gallienus, he was declared emperor by the army outside of Milan.

He won the title "Gothicus" by defeating a huge army of Goths which had ravaged the provinces of Illyricum and Pannonia at the Battle of Naissus in AD 269. His victory was so complete that it would be another 100 years before the Goths would menace the Empire again.

Claudius reigned during a time when Christians were actively persecuted by the empire and Claudius himself is identified in legend as the emperor under whom Saint Valentine was martyred in AD 270. What is perhaps most interesting about Claudius, however, is that he identified in some sources as the grandfather of Constantius Chlorus and therefore, the great grandfather of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor.

A good biography of Claudius Gothicus may be found here:
http://www.roman-emperors.org/claudgot.htm

April 22, Feast of St. Theodore of Sykeon

Original image of St. Theodore taken from: http://www.cerkiew.pl/index.php?id=swieci&tx_orthcal[sw_id]=802&cHash=bb67994247

"You must first pray that your inward man may be reformed and grow healthy; for when that is healed, the outward man, too, will be restored to health."
~St. Theodore of Sykeon to the east Roman consul Bonosus, a violent man who came to the saint seeking a cure for a physical maladay, ca. AD 608

April 22 is the feast of St. Theodore of Sykeon, a bishop from central Asia Minor who lived during the reign of the murderous Roman emperor, Phocas. We have an extensive biography of St. Theodore written by one of his disciples that has come down to us which makes for exceptionally good reading for historians and devout Christians alike. He had a habit of fearlessly speaking the truth to power, having humbled the cruel Bonosus and rebuked Phocas himself to his face on another occasion.

Here is the above quote in context, taken from the Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon:

"About that time the inhuman consul Bonosus was travelling to the eastern parts of the Empire and as he passed near the monastery he heard tell of the inspired man's holiness and felt a reverence for it, violent and cruel though he was. So he sent a messenger in advance to him beseeching him, if he could endure the fatigue, to come down to the oratory of the holy martyr Gemellus near the posting­station in order that he might do reverence to him there and be deemed worthy of his prayers, saying that he himself was unable to go up to the monastery owing to the pressure of urgent affairs; so the Saint went down and received him and whilst he was praying for him the consul stood but did not bend his neck, so the Saint took hold of the hair of his forehead and pulled it and in this way bent his head down (virtue is wont to act thus with courage and not fear human authority 'For the righteous', it is said, 'is bold as a liont'[ Prov 28:1])

We who were present were thunder­struck and terrified at the just man's daring and imagined that the consul would turn insolent and furious, for we knew well by report that his savagery was like that of a wild beast. But he readily accepted the prayer and the rebuke and showed honor to the Saint by kissing his hands, and then putting his hand on his own chest because of a pain which oppressed him he begged the Saint to pray that he might be freed from it. But the Saint gently tapped with his fingers on the consul's chest and said to him, 'You must first pray that your inward man may be reformed and grow healthy; for when that is healed, the outward man, too, will be restored to health; therefore I will pray for you and do you devote yourself to the good and fear God in order that my prayers may be effective. But if I pray and you neglect to amend your ways, my prayers will be unavailing. Be merciful then and pitiful to all Christian people and do not use harshly the authority entrusted to you, but while examining your own consciousness of sins, sympathize with those that go astray and never shed innocent blood. For if there is to be punishment for the mere insult of a spoken word-for calling another a "fool"-how much more will blood, shed unjustly, be avenged by God?'

These counsels the Saint gave him like a man sowing seed in unfruitful ground, and the consul fetched out a few coins and offered them to him in token of gratitude. But as the Saint did not deign to accept them, he drew back his hand and took out some 'trimisia'* begging the Saint at least to accept those and to give one to every brother in the monastery. But before looking at them Theodore said, 'There are only fifty and not sufficient for giving one to each, however, they can be changed into smaller money and then distributed equally'. But the consul marvelled at his discerning words, as being God­inspired and answered, 'Yes, reverend father, by thy holy prayers, there are only fifty as your holy mouth has said; however, I will send as many more at once as are needed to make up the number'. This he did, for after being dismissed by the Saint he went to his baggage and sent what he had promised."

Taken from: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/theodore-sykeon.asp

This day in Christian Roman history -- The Battle of Callinicus (April 19, 531 AD)

Today is the 1,482nd anniversary of the Battle of Callinicum (or Callinicus), a major battle between the Romans and Persians on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire.

The Battle of Callincum as imaged by Igor Dzis.

The Romans under Belisarius had blunted a Persian invasion under the general Azarethes into Mesopotamia and had successfully ushered the Persian host back to the border with minimal damage to the towns and cities of the Roman East. However, with the Azarethes about to cross over the Euphrates River and retreat into Persian territory, the officers of the Roman army approached Belisarius and demanded that he attack them. According to the historian Procopius, Belisarius balked, thinking it a signal blessing to defeat the enemy without fighting a battle.

However, the Roman officers importuned him with such vehemence that he feared a mutiny. He offered battle to the Persians on Easter Day, April 19, AD 531.

Here is how I portrayed the resulting battle in my book, Belisarius: Glory of the Romans:

AD 531, Easter Day
Fourth year of the reign of Justinian, Emperor of the Romans
Near Callinicus in Roman Mesopotamia

On the banks of the muddy Euphrates River—the edge of the fertile crescent where it is said that the earthly paradise created by Almighty God once stood—thousands of men now endured an earthly hell. For on Easter Day, rather than giving praise to Jesus Christ for his resurrection to life, the armies of two great empires sought to inflict death upon each other.

The battle need not have happened at all. The invading Persians had been brought to heel by the prowess of Belisarius, the commanding general of the Romans. His reputation was such that the Persians dared not engage with him, and upon his arrival with the Army of the East, the invaders beat a hasty retreat.

Belisarius escorted them to the border, but as the enemy host prepared to ford the Euphrates and escape back into Persia, the officers of the Roman army rebelled against their commander and questioned his courage. Belisarius, for his part, was content to let the Persians escape without bloodshed, counting it a singular blessing to defeat an enemy without losing any of his own men. But the officers under him saw in the retreating enemy a chance for earthly glory. So they raged at their general and demanded that he lead them forth into combat.

Seeing the bloodlust in their eyes and fearing the disorder of a mutiny, Belisarius grudgingly consented.

It was a decision he would subsequently regret.

Belisarius raised his bow toward the enemy and loosed. Before he could draw another shaft, he sensed the hum of an incoming dart. Ducking down at the last instant, the barbed tip struck his steel helm and clanged off.

God save me! he gasped to himself, shaking off the heavy impact.

“Magister! They are taking us from the flank!” screamed Trajan, his lieutenant, pointing with his sword toward a great clamor off to the right of the Roman army.

“No!” Belisarius shouted in disbelief. He jerked his mount around to see with his own eyes and his mouth dropped open in dismay. 

A messenger galloped to him, his horse in a froth. “Arethas has deserted us, O Magister! Every last Arab has fled the field!”

“The cowards couldn’t even stand for one charge,” Trajan raged, his fists clenched.

“Not cowards,” Belisarius growled, “They are traitors! How stupid I was to entrust the right wing to them. Despite their boasts, they had no intention of fighting their brother bandits.”

A great wail of despair went up from the Roman lines as the extent of the disaster was realized. Their previous swagger and order quickly dissolved into fear and chaos. In terror, thousands of mail-clad Romans threw down their arms and fled straight toward the nearby Euphrates, hoping to gain safety by swimming to the islands in midstream. Hundreds were cut down in their flight by jubilant Persians who slaughtered them with relish.

A mere thousand picked men stood by Belisarius as he fought on.

Ascan, the implacable Hunnic chieftain, along with several hundred of his best men, remained in the fight as well, forcing back the charging Persians time and again. The elite Persian Immortals, desperate to revenge themselves on the Huns for their losses at Daras the previous year, massed and flung themselves upon Ascan’s men, careless of death. But the wily Hun, perched on his nimble war pony, made them pay dearly each time, dispatching some of their most valiant officers with his own deadly darts.

“We must push through and unite with Ascan’s men,” Belisarius commanded, drawing a javelin. The only way to salvage the day is to recombine our remaining forces and put our backs to the river, he thought, his mind working feverishly.

Anxious to obey their general, his stalwarts shifted front and began to move toward Ascan’s surrounded contingent.

But the Persians were experienced in war and knew well that to secure the victory, it is more important to quell those forces still in the fight than to chase those who run away. Belisarius soon found his path blocked by thousands of Persians foot soldiers who, having returned from the rout, were moving in to finish the job.

“Forward!” Belisarius urged as he forced his way to the point position of his phalanx. Joining the front rank, he struck with his javelin as volleys of arrows from the men in the rear poured over his head. The lightly clad Persian footmen toppled over dead in heaps, but others took their places, their huge wicker shields presenting an impassible obstacle.

Belisarius’s force was within shouting distance when an unexpected stroke from an Immortal’s sword struck Ascan on the side of the face, sending a fountain of blood into the air. Seeing their hated enemy wounded, the Immortals cried out in triumph and rushed forward in a mass. Ascan’s weary men melted away before the implacable Persian assault and the defenseless Hun captain was hacked to pieces—dead before he hit the ground.

With their commander slain, the remaining Huns gave up the fight and attempted to escape as best they could.

At the sight, Belisarius’s remaining men let out a groan of despair.

“That’s it, we’re finished,” cried Trajan.

“Aye,” Belisarius replied, surveying a battlefied bereft of hope. “Nothing remains but to get as many of our men to safety as we can.”

“Should I sound the retreat?” Trajan asked.

“Yes, we will withdraw toward Peter,” Belisarius commanded, pointing to a contingent of footmen who were fighting a well-ordered rear-guard action to protect those fleeing across the river.

Read the rest in the book... Belisarius, Glory of the Romans.

The Real Saint Patrick

The real Saint Patrick, in his own words.

Following is an excerpt from Saint Patrick's Confessio, written in ca. AD 450, where Patrick tells the story of his life and professes his faith:

"My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. At that time, I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity in Ireland, along with thousands of others. We deserved this, because we had gone away from God, and did not keep his commandments. We would not listen to our priests, who advised us about how we could be saved. The Lord brought his strong anger upon us, and scattered us among many nations even to the ends of the earth. It was among foreigners that it was seen how little I was....

So be amazed, all you people great and small who fear God! You well-educated people in authority, listen and examine this carefully. Who was it who called one as foolish as I am from the middle of those who are seen to be wise and experienced in law and powerful in speech and in everything? If I am most looked down upon, yet He inspired me, before others, so that I would faithfully serve the nations with awe and reverence and without blame: the nations to whom the love of Christ brought me. His gift was that I would spend my life, if I were worthy of it, to serving them in truth and with humility to the end...

The whole of the Confessio may be read here:
http://www.confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#01

Happy Saint Patrick's Day #1

The real Saint Patrick was a man of tremendous faith, courage and humility. Too often, these characteristics are obscured by the legends and pantomime that accompany the celebration of his feast day around the world.

Amazingly, two of Patrick's writings have survived from antiquity: his Confession and his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus. Here is an excerpt from his Confession about his calling to be an evangelist in Ireland:

"After a few years I was again in Britain with my parents [kinsfolk], and they welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in faith, that after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go anywhere else away from them. And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many years the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry."

Find out more about the real Saint Patrick here:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89

Prayers for the Conclave

The Conclave is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 12 on the traditional calendar feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great. The faithful are called to pray for the conclave, that the assembled cardinals be receptive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What better way to do this than to remind ourselves of the glorious heritage of the office of the Papacy and some of the brilliant, wise and godly men who have occupied the Roman cathedra.

Too often, those who think poorly of the Church focus on the "bad" Popes. But one need only glance through the 2,000 year history of the papacy--stretching all the way back to the time of Jesus--to see that the good far outnumber the "bad". Here are some memes to help us focus on the outstanding virtues of some of the most noble early Popes. Let us pray to Almighty God that He sends His Holy Spirit to inspire these virtues in the man who will become the next Pontiff--the next Servant of the Servants of God.

Saint Peter, the First Pope

"Dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you, as if some new thing happened to you; But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed: for that which is of the honor, glory, and power of God, and that which is his Spirit, resteth upon you." [First Epistle of Saint Peter, 4:12-14]

Read more about St. Peter the Liber Pontificalis, an amazing early work that every Catholic should own.

"I am not the Son of God. I'm just a philosopher who wants people to be nice to each other." #ThingsJesusNeverSaid

What Jesus actually said:

"Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever."

The Jews therefore said: "Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself?"

Jesus answered: "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God. And you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I shall say that I know Him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know Him, and do keep His word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad."

The Jews therefore said to him: "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?"

Jesus said to them: "Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I AM."

They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

John 8:51-59.

Things Saint Paul never said

Here's another one of these in the same vein.

"Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, the effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, the covetous, drunkards, railers, extortioners, guess what? You're all going to HEAVEN!" #ThingsSaintPaulNeverSaid

Here is what Saint Paul actually said:

"Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God.

And such some of you were; but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meat for the belly, and the belly for the meats; but God shall destroy both it and them: but the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Now God hath both raised up the Lord, and will raise us up also by his power. Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid."

Click here to read the entire passage:
http://drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=53&ch=6&l=9#x

Things Jesus Never Said ....

Yes, someone else came up with this general idea (#ThingsJesusNeverSaid - go "like" them on Facebook) but I couldn't resist making this one.

"Judge not, lest ye be judged; and by that I mean remain silent when you see others do evil" #ThingsJesusNeverSaid

The actual quote from Christ as recorded in Matthew 7:1 is as follows:

"Judge not, that you may not be judged, For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

To read the entire passage, visit: http://www.drbo.org/chapter/47007.htm

This is not an exculpation of vice. It is an exhortation to virtue and a warning against hypocrisy.