We are presenting this paper by saying that the Church
Militants can never be comfortable here on earth with some reasons we will
share later.
But we will like to simply look into meaning of the
following words with respect to this very subject. Such like: Church, militants, comfortable,
and earth.
(a) Church: In the NT, the Greek word
ekklesia refers to any assembly, local bodies of believers, or the universal body
of all believers. This is defined according to Holman illustrated Bible
dictionary.
(b) Militant: According to Longman
Dictionary of contemporary English says: a militant organization or person is
willing to use strong or violent action in order to achieve political or social
change.
CHURCH MILITANT[1]
The Latin word Militant has a primary meaning of
“serving as a solder, military”, but it acquired a secondary meaning of “to
struggle to make an effort”, which is the intended sense here. Christians on
earth (the church Militant) are still struggling against sin in order that, when the die, they mighty
go to heaven and be members of the church triumphant, those who have triumphed
over sin.
In Christian theology, Christian church or church
universal, is traditionally divided into
(a) The
church militant (Ecclesia Militia), comprising Christians on earth who are
living; Christian militia, who struggle against sin, the devil and the rules of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph.
6:12).
(b) The
church Triumphant (Ecclesia Triumphant) comprising those who are in Heaven.
(c) Comfortable: It was derived from the word comfort. A feeling
of being physically relaxed and satisfied, so that nothing is hurting you,
making you feel too hot or cold e.t.c. This definition is according to Longman
dictionary of contemporary English.
(d) Earth: This can be called land. The
earth is humankind’s God-given dwelling. According to Holman illustrated Bible
Dictionary.
Consequently, the church militants
can be defined as a group of Christians or believers fighting relentlessly on
earth to make the kingdom of God.
The Christian militant cannot be
comfortable here in these planet earths. Right from the onset of Jesus Life and
ministry he experienced a lot of uncomfortability, right from his infancy. It
is recorded in the Holy Scripture that when Herod, heard that the king of the
Jews was born, he sent assassins to kill him, and a message came from God, to
take him to Egypt. Jesus who preached love, righteousness and forgiveness was
arrested and crucified. It is supposed that Jesus was actually born in the year
that is dated 6 BC. Jesus who was born two years before Herod the Great died in
4BC. These was a super natural being that came in the likeness of man to redeem
man from his state of falling, was brutally murdered. (Mtt 2:16)
However, it didn’t end there rather
it was progressive, bearlly eight years, after the death of our lord Jesus,
Stephen who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel to those who had killed Jesus, was
also killed as the people because so enraged at what he say to them, for this
reasons they drove him out of the city and stoned him to death, the hate
generated against Steven apparently brought a great persecution upon those who
professed faith in Christ, as the Jewish messiah at that time great persecution
arose against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles (Acts 8:1)
during that persecution about two thousand (2000) Christians were martyred.
Including one of the deacon appointed by the Church (Nicanor Acts 6:5) the
Christian Militant were never and can never be comfortable here on earth and so
it continued.
James- Mathews-Peter-mark-Paul
Thomas Luke and son on. As if that was not enough, it continued till these 21st
century.
Standing on the beautiful, white
sand beaches of Zanziber, it mighty be hard for anyone to imagine that anything
could disturb this seemingly peaceful tropical paradise off the East African
coast of Tanzania. But for the small Christian minority living in the capital
of Zanzibar has equally turned into a violet Nightmare (in October, 2012 a
furious mob of radical Muslims marched through the street carrying clubs and
matchetes Chanting “we want the head of all the Church Pastor in Zangiber-they
tried but failed to break into the Catholic Church and then an Anglican church
while several Christian and pastor fearing for their life fled the Island. Churches
here being under siege for some time dozen have been set on fire, and the
government has seemingly done little or nothing to stop the violence.
With these kind of situation in the
world how can the Christian militant be comfortable? (save women form abduction
an sexual exploitation the cry of Christian women form Zanziber.) 44 were
killed on Christmas day lst year when a member of Islamist sect Boko Haram
rammed a car packed with explosives into the gates of St. Theresa’s church in
Madalla, a satellite town 25 miles from the center of Abuja
Two other churches were bombed that
day on Christmas Eve 2010 over 40 people were killed similar attacks.
The armed (rebels) in Syria have
murdered more than 200 Christians in the city of Homs, including entire
families with young children.
CONCLUSION
However, Christian militant in
earth, should be courageous, never given to the persecution don’t compromise
your faith.
It is written in the world ye hall have Tribulation,
but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33).
There is an assurance of victory for those who are
cheerfully and courageously pressing on to fish the race-like Paul who finished
his race.
WHY WERE THEY FIGHTING TIRELESSLY TO
MAKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
The
reason is because they knew that the earth is not a better place for them to
dwell. They have the best place already prepared for them and it is the kingdom
of God. For the facts that what they are fighting will be the best for them,
they can’t enter there without resistances from the enemy (the Devil).
This is the reason the enemy
persecutes the true church of Christ even to death. The true church of Christ
i.e. the church Militants are always striving to enter through the narrow gate.
This is the gate that leads directly to the kingdom of God.
HOW DOES KINGDOM OF GOD LOOKS LIKE?
In
the kingdom of God, there will be no malaria and typhoid fever, Armed Robbers,
Indigene and non-indigene, tribalism, killing, persecution, e.t.c. This is the
best place one can strive to enter, quite unlike on earth where people are
managing their lives with many problems.
Apparently, the fact that the early
churches were persecuted even to the point of torturing to death made it crystal
clear that any true church must pass through persecution. This is a cross to
carry because Jesus Christ carried His own cross firstly and then followed by
the early Apostles.
In Mathew 16:18, it is recorded that Jesus told His
disciples, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell (Hades) shall not
prevail against it”.
Three major points can be noted in
Jesus” words:
1. Christ will have a church in this world
2. His Church will be mightily attacked:
3. None of the devil’s attacks will
destroy it.
Looking back through the history of the church, we can
see that Jesus’ words have been fulfilled in every century – its glorious
history verifies his words. First, that there is a true Church of Christ in
this world is without question. Second, every level of secular and religious
leaders and their subjects have publicly and forcefully, with every cunning and
deceitful means at their disposal, “denounced and persecuted that true Church.
Third, that church has endured and held its testimony of Christ through every
attack brought against it. Its passage through the storms caused by violent
anger and hate has been glorious to see, and much of its history is written in
this book so that the wonderful works of God might be to Christ’s glory, and
that the knowledge of the experiences of the Church’s Martyrs might have a
beneficial effect upon its readers and strengthen their Christian faith.
Jesus
The first to suffer for the Church
was Jesus Himself-not a martyr, of course, but the inspiration and source of
all martyrdom. The story of His suffering and crucifixion is so well told in
the Holy Scriptures that we have no need to document it here. It’s enough to
say that His subsequent resurrection defeated the intent of the Jews and gave
fresh courage and new direction to the hearts of his disciples. And after they
received the power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they were
further filled with the confidence and boldness they needed to proclaim His
name. This new confidence and boldness completely confused the Jewish rulers
and astonished all who heard them.
Stephen
The second person to suffer and die
for the Church was Stephen; whose name means “crown” (Acts 6-8). He was
martyred because of the faithful way in which he proclaimed the Gospel to those
who had killed Jesus. They became so enraged at what he said to them that they
drove him out of the city and stoned him to death. Stephen’s martyrdom came
about eight years after His lord’s crucifixion, which would place his death in
the year A.D. 35, since it is supposed that Jesus was actually born the year
that is dated 6 B.C. having been born about two years before Herod (the Great)
died in 4 B.C. (see Matthew 2:16).
The hate generated against Stephen
apparently brought a great persecution upon all those who professed faith in
Christ as the Jewish Messiah. Luke writes, “At that time a great persecution
arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” (Acts 8:1)
During that persecution, about two
thousand Christians were martyred, including Nicanor, who was one of the seven deacons appointed by the Church
(Acts 6:5).
James
This James was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the
elder brother of the apostle John. He was the first of the twelve apostles to
be martyred (Acts 12:2). He was executed about A.D. 44 by order of King Herod Agrippa
I of Judea. His martyrdom may have been a fulfillment of what Jesus foretold
about him and his brother John (Mark 10:39).
Clements Alexandrinus, an eminent
primitive writer, wrote that when James was being led to his execution, his
extraordinary courage so impressed one of his captors that he fell on his knees
before the apostle, asked his forgiveness and confessed that he was a Christian
also, and said that James should not die alone. Whereupon, they were both
beheaded.
About the same time, Timon and Parmenas, two of the seven deacons, were executed ---one in
Philippi and the other in Macedonia.
Exactly ten years later, in A.D. 54,
the Apostle Philip is said to have been scourged, thrown into prison, and then
crucified at Hierapolis in Phrygia.
Matthew
Little is known about the Apostle Matthew’s
later life and the time and manner of his death, but legendary accounts say
that he traveled to Ethiopia where he became associated with Candace (See Acts
8:27), and that he was martyred in that country. Some writings say he was
pinned to the ground and beheaded with a *halberd in the city of Nadabah (or
Naddayar), Ethiopia, in circa A.D. 60.
James (the Less)
This James was the brother of Jesus
and the writer of the epistle. He seems to have been leader of the Church at
Jerusalem (see Acts 12:17; 15:13-29:21:18-24) The exact time and manner of his
death is not certain, although it’s believed to be about A.D. 66. According to
Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, the high priest Ananus ordered James
killed by stoning. But Hegesippus, an early Christian writer, quoted by the
third-century Christian historian Eusebius, says James was cast down form the
Temple tower. This version of his death further states that he was not killed
by the fall, and so his head was smashed in with a fuller’s club, which may
have been a club used to beat clothing or a hammer used by blacksmiths.
Matthias
Elected to fill the vacant place of
Judas, almost nothing is known about him. It is said he was stoned at Jerusalem
and then beheaded.
Andrew
Andrew was the brother of Peter (Matthew 4:18).
Tradition says he preached the Gospel to many Asiatic nations, and was martyred
in Edessa by being crucified on an X-shaped cross, which came to be know as St.
Andrews’ Cross.
Mark
Little is known about Mark except
what is written in the New Testament about him. After Paul’s mention of him in
2 timothy 4:11, he disappears from view. Only tradition tells us the possible
method of his death, which was that he was dragged to pieces by the people of
Alexandria when he spoke out against a solemn ceremony for their idol Serapis.
Peter
The only account that we have of the
martyrdom of the Apostle Peter is from the early Christian writer Hegesippus.
His account includes a miraculous appearance by Christ. It seems that when
Peter was old (John 21:18). Nero planned to put him to death. When the
disciplines heard of this, they begged Peter to flee the city (said to be Rome),
which he did after much pleading by the disciples. But when he got to the city
gate, he saw Christ walking toward him. Peter fell to his knees and said.
“Lord, where are you going?” Christ answered, “I’ve come to be crucified
again”. By this, peter understood that it was his time to suffer the death by
which Jesus had told him he would glorify God (John 21:19), so he went back
into the city. After being captured and taken to his place of martyrdom, he
requested that he be crucified in an upside down position because he did not
consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same Position as his Lord.
Paul
The Apostle Paul was imprisoned in
Rome in A.D. 61, and there wrote his prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians,
and Colossians. His imprisonment ended approximately three years later during
the year that Rome burned, which was in May A.D 64 (see also Acts 28:30) During
his brief freedom, Paul may have visited western and eastern Europe and Asia
Minor ---he also wrote his first Epistle to Timothy and his Epistle to Titus.
At first, Nero was blamed for setting
fire to Rome, so to direct the blame away from himself he blamed the
Christians. As a result, a fierce persecution broke out against them. During
it, Paul was arrested and put back into prison in Rome. While in prison this
second time he probably wrote his second letter to Timothy. It was his last.
Not long after, he was judged guilty
of crimes against the Emperor and condemned to death. He was taken to the
execution block and be headed. It was A.D. 66, just four years before Jerusalem
fell.
Jude
The brother of James, he was
crucified at Edessa. An ancient city of Mesopotamia, about A.D. 72.
Bartholomew
Tradition says he preached in
several countries, then translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of
India and taught it in that country. For it, he was cruelly beaten and
crucified by pagan idolaters.
Thomas
Thomas preached the Gospel in
Persia, Parthia and India. In Calamina, India, he was tortured by angry pagans,
run through with spears, and thrown into the flames of an oven.
Luke
Luke was a Gentile, possibly Greek.
It is not known as to when and how he was converted. He was probably a
physician in Troas and there converted by Paul, especially since it was at
Troas that he attached himself to Paul’s party and started traveling with them.
Notice in Acts 16:8-10, that it is at Troas that Luke switches from “they” to
“we” in his text ---“And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision
appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him,
saying, come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the
vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering
that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel unto them”.
Luke went with Paul to Philippi, but
was not imprisoned with him, and did not travel with him after his release. He
apparently made Philippi his home and stayed for some time. It’s not until
Paul’s visit to Philippi (Acts 20:5-6) about seven years later, that we again
meet with Luke. From this time he again traveled with Paul and stayed with him
during his journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20:6-21:18). But he disappears once more
during Paul’s imprisonment at Jerusalem and Caesarea, and only shows up again
when Paul starts for Rome (Acts 27:1). He then stayed with Paul through his
first imprisonment (Philemon 1:24; Colossians 4:14). Many bible scholars
believe that Luke wrote his Gospel and Acts while in Rome with Paul during this
time. During Paul’s second imprisonment, Luke apparently stayed nearby or with
Paul, because just before his martyrdom, Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “Only
Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4: 11).
After Paul’s death, Luke apparently
continued to evangelize as he had learned to do with Paul. Exactly when and how
he died is unknown. One ancient source states, “He served the Lord without
distraction, having neither wife nor children, and at the age of eighty-four he
fell asleep in Boeatia (place unknown), full of the Holy Spirit”. Another early
source says that he went to Greece to evangelize, and was there martyred by
being hung from an olive tree in Athens in A.D. 93.
John
The Apostle John, brother of James,
is credited with founding the seven churches of Revelation: Smyrna, Pergamos,
Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Thyatira, and Ephesus. It was from Ephesus, it
is said, that he was arrested and sent to Rome where he was cast into a large
vessel filled with boiling oil that did not harm him. As a result, he was
released and banished by the Emperor Domitian to the Isle of Patmos, where he
wrote the Book of Revelation. After being released from Patmos he returned to
Ephesus where he died about A.D. 98. The only apostle to escape a violent
death.
Even with all the continual
persecutions and violent deaths, the lord added to the Church daily those who would
be saved. The church was now deeply rooted in the doctrine of the apostles and
watered abundantly with the blood of saints. She was prepared for the cruel
persecutions that were to come.
THE BEGINNING OF GENERAL PERSECUTIONS
AGAINST THE CHURCH (A.D. 54-304)
Persecution, under Emperor Nero (A.D.
54-68)
Nero was the sixth emperor of Rome
and Reigned for fifteen years. He was a paradox – a man of great creativity
combined with a vicious temper and extreme cruelty. It is said by many that it
wad NERO who ordered Rome to be burned and then blamed it on the Christians to
turn the wrath of Rome’s citizens away from himself. Others say he was not in
Rome when it burned. Whichever way it was, Christians were blamed for the fire
that lasted nine days, became a dreadful persecution that lasted for the rest
of Nero’s reign.
The barbarous acts against the
Christians were worse than any they had previously endured, especially those
committed by Nero. Only a satin-inspired imagination could have conceived them.
Some Christians were sewn inside skins of wild animals and torn at by fierce
dogs. Shirts stiff with was were put on others, and they were then tied to
poles in Nero’s garden and et on fire go provide light for his parties.
This cruel persecution spread throughout
the Roman Empire, but it only successes in strengthening the sprit of
Christianity rather than killing it. Along with Paul and Peter, several of the
seventy appointed by Jesus (Luke 10:1) were martyred, also. Among them were
Erastus, treasurer of Corinth (Romans 16:23); Aristarchus the Macedonian (Acts
1929); Trophimus the Ephesians (Acts 21:29); Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus
(Acts 1:23); and Ananias, bishop of Damascus, whom the Lord sent to Saul (Acts
9:10).
Persecution, under Emperor Domitian
(A.D. 81-96)
Domitian was a cruel person who
killed his own brother and brought the second persecution against Christians.
In his hatred, Domitian issued an order “That no Christian, once brought before
the tribunal, should be exempted form punishment without renouncing his
religion”.
Numerous lies were made up during
his time to harm the Christians, some so outrageous that only unthinking hate
could believe them-such as the Christians were responsible for every famine,
epidemic, or earthquake that afflicted any part of the Roman empire. Money was
offered to those who would testify against the Christians, and many innocent
people were slaughtered for financial gain. When Christians were brought before
domitian’s council, they were told that if they swore an oath of allegiance to
him they would be set free. Those who reused to take the oath were killed.
The martyr during this time with
whom we are most familiar was Timothy, who was the celebrated disciple of the
Apostle Paul and overseer of the Church in Ephesus until A.D. 97. In that year,
the Ephesians pagans were celebrating a feast called “Catagogion”. When Timothy
saw their pagan procession, he blocked their way and severely rebuked them for
their idolatry. His holy boldness angered the pagans and they attacked him with
clubs and beat him so badly that he died of his injuries two days later.
Persecution, under Emperor Trajan (A.D.
98-117).
In the third persecution, Pliny,
known as “the Younger”, a Roman consul and writer, took pity on the persecuted
Christians and wrote to Trajan, assuring him that there were many thousands of
them put to death daily who had not done anything contrary to Roman laws. In
his letter, he said:
The whole account they gave of their
crime or error (whichever it is to be called) amounted only to thus: namely,
that they were accustomed on a stated day to meet before daylight, and to
repeat together a set form of prayer to Christ as a God, and to bind themselves
by an obligation, not indeed to commit wickedness; but, on the contrary, never
to commit theft, robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word. Never to
defraud any man: after which it was their custom to separate, and reassemble to
partake in common of a harmless meal.
The degree to which Pliny’s letter
lessened the persecution, if at all, is not recorded.
During this persecution, in the year
A>D. 110, Ignatius (see figure 8), who was the overseer of the Church in
Antioch, the capital of Syria, where the disciples were first called Christians
(Acts 11:26), was sent to Rome because he professed and taught Christ. It’s
said that when he preached through Asia, even though guarded by soldiers, he
preached the Word of God in every city they traveled through and encouraged and
strengthened the churches. While in Smyrna, he wrote to the Church at Rome and
appealed to them not to try to deliver him form martyrdom, because they would
deprive him of that which he most longed and hoped for he wrote:
Now I begin to be a disciple. I care
for nothing of visible or invisible things so that I may but win Christ. Let
fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and
tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the
devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus.
Even when he was sentenced to fed to
lions and could hear their roaring, he was filled with such desire to suffer
for Christ (See Acts 5:41) that he said, “I am the wheat of Christ: I am going
to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread.”
About ten thousand Christians were martyred during his reign. Many were crowned
with thorns, crucified, and had spears thrust into their sides in cruel
imitation of Jesus” death.
Eustachius, a successful and brave
Roman commander, was ordered to join in an idolatrous sacrifice to celebrate
his victories, but his hear-faith in Christ was so much greater than his vanity
that he refused. Enraged at this, drain forgo Eustachinus’s noble service to
Rome and had him and his entire family martyred.
Two brothers, Fausines and jovita,
bore their tortures with such patience that a pagan named Calocerius was so
struck with admiration that he cried out in a kind of ecstasy, “Great is the
God of the Christians!” For this, he was immediately arrested and put to the
same tortures.
The
relentless persecutions against the Christians continued until quadrates, who
was overseer of Athens, made a scholarly defense in their favor before the
emperor, who was in Athens for a is it, At the same time. Airsides, a philosopher
in the city, wrote an elegant epistle to the emperor, also in their favor.
These combined to cause Adrian to become more lenient and relax his
persecution.
Adrain died in A.D. 138, and was
succeeded by Antoninus Pius, emperor Pius was one of the most amiable monarchs
that ever reigned and stopped all persecutions against the Christians.
Persecution, under Emperor Marcus
Aurelius Antonimous (A.D. 162-180)
Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher,
and wrote meditations, a classic work of stoicism, which is an indifference to
pleasure or pain. He was also fierce and merciless toward Christians and
responsible for the fourth general persecution against them.
The cruelties against Christians in
this persecution were so inhuman that may of those who watched them shuddered
with horror, and were astonished at the courage of the sufferers. Some of the
martyrs had their feet crushed impresses, and were then forced to walk over
thorns, nails, sharp shells, and other pointed objects. Others were sharp
shells, and other pointed objects. Others were whipped until their sinews and
being were exposed. Then after suffering the most excruciating tortures that
could be devised, they were killed in terrible ways. Yet few turned from Christ
or begged their torturers to lessen their pains.
When Germanics, a young man and true
Christian, was delivered to the wild lions on account of his faith he behaved
with such astonishing courage that several pagans were converted to the faith
that inspired such bravery.
Polycarp, who was a student of the Apostle John and the overseer of
the church in Smyrna, heard that soldiers were looking for him and tried to
escape but was discovered by a child. After feeding the guards who captured
him. He asked for an hour in prayer, which they gave him. He prayed with such
fervency, that his guards said they were sorry that they were the ones who
captured him. Nevertheless, he was taken before the governor and condemned to
be burned in the market place.
After his sentence was give, the
governor said to him, “Reproach Christ and I will release you”.
Polycarp answered, “Eighty-six years
I have served him, and he never once wronged me. How then shall I blaspheme my
king who has saved me”
In the market place, he was tied to
the state rather than nailed as was the usual customs, because he assured them
he would stand immovable in the flames and not fight them. As the dry sticks
placed around him were lit, the flames rose up and circled his body without
touching him. The executioner was then ordered to pierce him with a sword. When
he did, a great quantity of blood gushed out an put the fire. Although his
Christian friends asked to be given his body as it was so they could bury him,
the enemies of the Gospel insisted that it be burned in the fire, which was done.
Felicitates, a well-know lay of a
wealthy Roam family was a devout and pious Christian. She had seven sons who
were also devout Christians. All were martyred.
Januaries, the eldest, was scourged,
and pressed to death with weights. Felix and Philip, the two next, had their
brains dashed out with a club. Silvanus,
the fourth, was thrown form a precipice. The three younger sons. Alexander, Vitals, and Marital, were
beheaded with a sword. Felicitates was then beheaded with the same sword.
Justin, the Greek theologian who
founded a school christen philosophy at
Rome and wrote the apology and the Dialogue, was also martyred during
his time of persecution. He was a native of Neapolis in Samaria and was a great
lover of truth and a universal scholar. After his conversion to Christianity
when he was thirty years old, he wrote an elegant epistle to the Gentiles, and
employed his talents in convincing the Jews of the truth of the Christian
faith.
When the pagans began to treat the
Christians with great severity, Justin wrote a dense in their favour that
prompted the emperor to publish a decree in favor of the Christens.
Soon after, he entered into frequent
debates with creases, a celebrated cynic photosphere, Justin’s arguments
overpowered Crescent and so disturbed him that he resolved to destroy Justin.
The second defense that Justin wrote or behalf of the christens gave cresses
that opportunity he needed, and he convinced the emperor that Justin was
dangerous to him, whereupon the and six followers were dangerous to him,
whereupon he san six followers were arrested and order to sacrifice to pagan
idols. When they refused, they were scourged and then beheaded.
Soon after, persecutions ceased for
a while because of a miraculous deliverance of the emperor’s army from certain
defeat in a battle in the northern providence through the prayers of a began of
his soldiers who were all Christians. But it began again in France where the
tortures almost exceed the powers of description.
Sanctus, a deacon of description
Sanctus, a decision of Vienna, had
read hot plates of brass placed upon the tenders parts of his body and left
there until they burned through to his bones.
Blandina, a Christian lady of weak constitution who was not
thought to be able to resist torture. But whose fortitude was so great that her
tormentors became exhausted with their devilish work, was after taken into an
amphitheater with three others, suspended on a piece of wood stuck in the
ground, and exposed as food for wild lions. While awaiting her suffering, she
prayed earnestly for her companions and encouraged them. But none of the lions
would touch her, so she time she was brought out, she was accompanied by 15
year old ponticus. The steadfastness of their faith so enraged the multitude
that neither her sex nor his youth were respected, and they were subjected to
the severest punishments and tortures. Blandina subjected to the severest
punishments and tortures. Blandina was torn by the lions, scourged, put into a
net and tossed about by a wild bull, and placed naked into a red-hot metal
chair. When she could speak, she exhorted unto death. When Blandina’s torturers
were unable to make her recant her faith, they killed her with a sword.
Persecution, staring with Emperor Lucius
Septimus Severus (A.D. 193-211)
For a short period, Severus was
favourable toward Christians because it was said he had recovered form a severe
fit of sickness after being ministered to by a Christian, but it wasn’t long
before the prejudice and fury of Rome’s citizens prevailed and obsolete laws
were revived and used against the Christians. And, once again, they were blamed
and punished for every natural misfortune that occurred.
Regardless of the renewed
persecution, the church and gospel stood firm and bright through it, and the
Lord increasingly added to His body throughout the roam empire. Tertullian, the
Carthaginian theologian who converted to Christianity about A.D. 193, said that
if the Christians all left the roman provinces, the empire would nearly empty.
During this persecution, Victor,
bishop to Rome, was martyred in A.D 201. Lonidus, the father of Origin, the
Greek Christian philosopher known for his interpretations of the old testament.
Was beheaded. Many of origin’s hearers also suffered martyrdom: plutarchus. Serenus.
Heron and Heraclites were beheaded. A woman named rheas had boiling tar purred
upon her head and was then burned, as was her mother, Marcella. Her sister
Potaininena. Met the same fate that she did, but attend her execution. Was
converted to Christ. Later, when he was required to swear an oath on roman
idols he refused on the basis that he was a Christian. At first those with him
could not believe what they heard, but when those with him he was debagged
before a judge, condemned, and beheaded.
Ireaneus,
(AD 230-202), Greek church father and bishop of Lyons, was born in Greece, and
received both a secular and a Christian education. It is believed that he wrote
the account of the persecutions at Lyons. He was beheaded in A.D. 202.
The persecutions now extended into
northern Africa. Which was a roman province. Many were martyred in that area,
here are but a few.
Perpetua, a young married woman who was still nursing a child;
Felicitas, who was then pregnant,
and Revocatus of Carthage, a slave who was being taught the principles of
Christianity. Other prisoners who suffered at the same time were Saturninus,
Secundulus, and Satur.
These
latter three were made to run between two rows of men who severely lashed them
as they passed.
After an appearance before the
proconsul Minutius in which she was offered freedom if she sacrificed to the
idols, Perpetua had her still nursing baby taken form her and was Perpetual has
her still-nursing baby taken from her and was thrown into prison. Describing
her faith and life in prison, she told her father. “The dungeon is to me a
palace.” Later she and the other prisoners appeared before Hilarianus, the
judge. He, also, offered to set her baby and begged her to do so. She replied,
I will not sacrifice”.
“are
you a Christian”? asked Hilarianus.
All of the Christians with her stood
fast for Christ, and they were ordered to be killed by wild beasts for the
enjoyment of the crowd o the next pagan
holiday. The men were to be torn by lions and leopards and the women set upon
by bulls.
On the day of their execution,
Perpetua and Felicitas were first stripped naked and hung in nets, but were
removed and clothed when the crowd objected. Upon returning to the arena,
perpetual was tossed about by a mad bull and was stunned but not seriously
hurt; Felicitas, however, was badly gored. Perpetua hurried to her side and
held her wile they waited for the bull to charge them again but he refused to
do so, and they were dragged from the arena, much to the crowds disappointment.
After a short time, they were
brought back to be killed by gladiators. Felicitas was killed quickly, but the
young, inexperienced gladiator assigned to kill perpetua trebled violently and
could only stab her weakly several times. Seeing how he trembled. Perpetua held
his sword blade and guided it to a bital area in her body.
The fate of the men were similar.
Satur and Revocattus were killed by the wild beasts. Saturninus was beheaded,
and secundulus died of his wounds in prison.
Persecution, under emperor Marcus clodius
Pupienus maximums (A.D. 164-238)
Maximus was a despot who ordered all
Christians hunted down and killed. So many were killed that at times they
buried them fifity and sixty together in large pits.
Among those killed were Ponmtianus,
bishop of Rome. Who was exiled to Sardinia for preaching against idolatry and
was there killed. His successor, anteros, was also martyred after only forty
days in office for offending the government by compiling a history of the
martyrs. A Roman senator. Pammachius and his family and forty two other
Christians were beheaded the same day and their heads displayed on the city
gates. A Christian minister Calepodius, was dragged through the streets of Rome
and then thrown into the tiber river with a millstone tied around his neck. A
refined and beautiful young virgin named Martina was beheaded and hippolitus, a
Christian minister, was tied to wild horses and dragged along the ground until
he died.’
Maximums died in A.D. 238 and was
succeeded by Gordian, who was then succeeded by Philip. During the later two
reigns, the church was free form persecution for a period of 6-10 years. In a
a.d 242, however, a violent persecution in Alexandria was instigated by a pagan
priest without the emperor’s knowledge. During that persecution, an elderly
Christian, metros, was beaten with clubs, pricked with needles, and toned to
death for refusing to worship idols. A Christian woman Ouinta, was scourged,
the dragged over flint stones by her feet, and stoned to death. A
seventy-year-old woman. Appolonia, who confessed that she was a Christian, was
fastened to a stake to be burned. After the fire was set, she begged to be set
free, which the mob did thinking that she was going to recant Christ. To their
amazement, however, she hurled herself back into the flames and died.
Persecution, under Emperor Decius (A.D.
249-251)
This persecution as initiated by
Decius because of his hatred for his predecessor Philip, who was believed to be
a Christian, and by his anger that Christianity was rapidly increasing and the
pagan gods were being forsaken. He decided, therefore, to eliminate the
Christina religion and all its followers. The heathen citizens of Rome were
eager to enforce Deius’s decree, and considered the killing of Christians to be
beneficial to the empire. During this persecution, the martyrs were too
numerous for anyone to record. Here are a few of them.
St. Chrysostom. The patriarch of
Constantinople in A.D 398 wrote that Julian, a ciLician, was arrested for being
a Christian, put into a leather bag with several snakes and scorpions, and then
thrown into sea.
A young man, peter who was known for
the superior qualities of his mind and body refused to sacrifice to the goddess
Venus when told to so. In his defense, he said “I m amazed that you sacrifice
to an infamous woman whose debaucheries your own writings record, and whose
life consisted to such perverted actions as your laws would punish. No, I shall
offer the true God the acceptable sacrifice of praises and prayers.” When the
governor of Asia, Optimus, heard this, he ordered that Peter be stretched upon
a wheel until all his bones were broken and then beheaded.
A weak Christian, Nichomachus, was
brought before optimums and ordered to sacrifice to the pagan idols,
Nichomachus replied, “I cannot pay the respect to devils that is due only to
the almighty”. He was immediately placed on the rack, and after enduring his
torments for only a short time, recanted his faith in Christ. As soon as he was
freed from the rack, he was seized with a great agony and fell to the ground
and died.
Seeing what seemed to be a terrible
judgment, Densia, a sixteen-year old girl who was among the observers,
exclaimed, “O unhappy wretch, why would you buy a moment’s ease at the expense
of a miserable eternity!” when optimums heard this he called her to himself,
and when Denisa confessed that she was a Christian, he had her beheaded.
Andrew and Paul, two Christian
companions of Nichmachus, held fast to Christ and were stoned to death as they
called on their blessed Redeemer.
In Alexandria, Alexander and
Epimachus were arrested for being Christains. When they confessed that they
were, they were bear with thick sticks, torn with hooks, and then burned to
death. On the same day, four female martyrs were beheaded, their names are
unknown.
In Nice, Trypho and Respicius,
prominent men and Christians, men and Christians, were arrested and given over
to the torturers. Nails were driven through their feet, they were scourged,
dragged through the streets, torn with iron hooks, scorched with torches, and
then beheaded.
Quintain, governor of Sicily, lusted
after a Sicilian lady, Agatha, who was as much known for her piety as her
remarkable beauty. When she resisted all of quintain’s advances, he had her
placed in the hands of a notorious woman, Aphrodica, who ran a brother. But
that she devil was unable to turn Agatha to prostitution so that Quintain could
satisfy his with her. Upon hearing this, Quintain’s lust turned to rage and he
called her before him and questioned her. When she confessed that she was a
Christian, Quintain had her scourged, torn with sharp hooks, and laid naked
upon live coals mixed with broken glass. Agatha bore these tortures with great
courage, and was carried back to prison where she died form her wounds on February
5, 251.
Lucius, the governor of Crete,
ordered Cyril, the 84-year-old overseer of the church at Gortyna, to be
arrested for refusing to obey the imperial edict to perform sacrifices to the
idols. When Cyril appeared before him. Lucius exhorted him to perform the
sacrifices and thereby save himself from a horrible death. The godly man
replied that he had long taught others the way to eternal life in Christ, and
now he must stand firm for the sake of his own soul. He displayed no fear when
Lucius condemned him to be burned at the stake, and suffered the flames
joyously and with great courage.
In A.D 251, Emperor Decius erected a
pagan temple in Ehesus and commanded all those in the city to sacrifice to its
idols. Seven of his soldiers who were Christians refused to do so and were
placed in prison. They were Constantinus, Dionysius, Joannes, Malchus,
martianus, maximianus, and Seraion. Decius tried to turn them from their faith
by a show of leniency, and gave them until he returned from an expedition to
change their minds. During his absence the seven escaped and hid themselves in
a case in nearby hills when Decius returned, however, their hiding place was
discovered, and he ordered the scave to be sealed so they would die from thirst
and starvation.
It was during this persecution under
Decius that sixty-four- year-old Origin,
the renewed Christian philopher whose father, Leonidus, was martyred during the fifth persecution, was arrested
and thrown into a foul prison in Alexandria. His feet were bound with chains
and put into the stocks, and his legs were spread as far apart as possible. He
was continually threatened with burning, and tormented with every means that
would keep him barely alive for some time before dying.
Fortunately, during this time Decius
died. And his successor Gallus was immediately involved in repelling an
invasion by the Goths, a Germanic peoples from the north. This temporarily
stopped the persecution on the Christians, and Origen obtained his release and
went to Tyre, where he stayed until his death five years later in about A.D.
254
PREPARATION OF THE WORLD FOR
CHRISTIANITY THE EMPEROR GAIUS CALIGULA INSISTS ON BEING A GOD.
During
the reign of Galus Caligula (37-41 A.D), one of the worst emperors of Rome, the
people of Alexandria burned down several Jewish synagogues and set up images of
the emperor in the rest. The Jews protested vigorously against such an outrage,
and there was civil strife and bloodshed in the city until each side sent an
embassy to wait upon the Emperor. The Jewish embassy was headed by the learned
philosopher Philo, who has left a description of the interview, which J.B. Bury
has summarized.
THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
First Christian Community in Jerusalem: The founding of the church was completed on Pentecost
Day, when the Holy Ghost descended upon the disciples who were assembled in
Jerusalem together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Immediately the apostles,
who had hither to been weak men, earthly-minded, and distrustful of themselves,
became bold and determined. Filled with “power from on high”, they issued from
the upper room and faced the great crowd that had gathered in the city from all
parts of the world for the festival. Peter, their spokesman, declared: Jesus of
Nazareth, whom God approved by wonders and signs, whom you have crucified and
slain by the hands of wicked men, - this Jesus hath God raised again, whereof
all we are witnesses; therefore let all the house of Israel know most certainly
that God hath made both Lord and Christ this same Jesus whom you have
crucified” (Cf. Acts 2, 22ff).
Deeply
moved by the words of the Apostle, three thousand men and women asked to be
baptized. In a few days their number grew to five thousand. Most of these
remained in Jerusalem and formed with the Apostles and disciples of the Lord
the first Christian Community; the rest returned to their homes after the
festival days were over and became the first missionaries of the church. The
feast of Pentecost was thus, in the real sense of the word, the Birthday of the
church.
The
faithful in Jerusalem were “one heart and one soul”. At first they continued to
attend the services in the temple with their neighbors and following the
example of our lord, also went to the synagogues. But they had their own
meetings, too, usually on the first day of the week, where they could worship
God according to their belief in Christ. Besides this, they met frequently, if
not daily, in private for the “breaking of bread”, that is, for the celebration
of the Holy Eucharist, which was usually preceded by the Agape or Love-feast.
Their
genuine love for one another and the great number of poor people in the
community gave rise to a species of Communism. “They had all things in common.
For as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the price
of the things they sold and laid it down before the feet of the apostles, and
distribution was made to everyone according as he had need” (Cf. Acts 4). But
this community of goods was absolutely
voluntary, as we know from the story of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5).
First persecution: As the number of the believers increased, the
Pharisees and the priests took alarm. They summoned Peter and John before the
Great Council and forbade them, under pain of the severest punishment; to
preach in the name of Jesus. But the Apostles replied boldly that they were
bound to obey God rather than man (Acts 4.19) Not long afterwards they were
arrested a second time and would no doubt have been put to death if a Pharisee
named Gamaliel, “ a doctor of the law, respected by all the people’, had not
intervened in their behalf. “If this counsel or this work be of men”, he said,
“it will come to naught; but if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it”. The
fanatical Pharisees were for the time satisfied with this judgment, and the
Apostles were dismissed, but not before they had been ignominiously scourged.
Rejoicing that they had been accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name
of Jesus, Peter and John continued to teach and preach as before, in the temple
and from house to house.
St. Stephen, the Proto-Martyr: The church in Jerusalem was composed of Palestinian Jews
and Greek-speaking Jews of the Dispersion (Known as Hellenists). Stephen, one
of the seven, was a man of exceptional gifts. He was “full of faith and the
Holy Ghost’; and as his spiritual power manifested itself in mighty deeds and
words, he became a marked man in Jerusalem. Being himself a Jew of Greek
culture, he naturally tried to win over his fellow Hellenists. A public disputation took place between them in a
synagogue which was frequented chiefly by Jews from North African and Asia. In
eloquent language Stephen vindicated the claim of Jesus to be the promised
Messias. But they treated his words as “blasphemies against Moses and against
God.” Pharisaic zealots seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin on the
charge of speaking against the temple and the law. Stephen defended himself
with fire and dignity. He upbraided them for their obstinacy and accused them
of being the betrayers and murderers of the Messiahs: in conclusion he cried
out: “I see the heaves opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of
God”.
The infuriated listeners, without even going through
the formality of condemning him to death, dragged him out of the city and
stoned him. With a prayer for his executioners, the first martyr of Christ went
to his eternal reward.
The death of Stephen was the signal for a violent
persecution of the followers of Jesus. The faithful were dispersed through
Judea and Samaria, and even as four as Syria and the island of Cyprus. The
apostles alone remained in Jerusalem.
THE CHURCH INVADES THE PAGAN WORLD
The First Martyr-Apostle: The storm of persecution had gradually subsided.
During the reign of the Emperor Gaius Caligula the High- Priest and the Great
council had other matters to attend to. Caligula insisted on being worshiped as
a god by his subjects. When the Jews protested, he ordered the governor of
Syria to set up his statue in the temple of Jerusalem. On the intervention of
Herod Agrippa the order was countermanded. Great was the joy of the Jews when
this same Herod Agrippa, the grand-son of Herod the Great, was appointed by the
Emperor Claudius king of the Jews (41-44). His zeal, private and public for
Judaism is praised by the Jewish writers of the time, and we have a typical
example of it in the persecution which he started against the hated followers
of Jesus. Looking about for a victim among the apostles who should be scarified
to the animosity of the Jews, it was on James the Elder, the brother of John,
that the blow fell first. About the feast of the Passover, 44 A.D; James was
seized by his order and condemned to be killed with the sword. A tradition
preserved by clement of Alexandria tells how the accuser of the apostle, “beholding
his confession and moved thereby, confessed that he too was a Christian. So
they were both led away to execution together; and on the road the accuser
asked James for forgiveness. Gazing on him for a little while, he said, “Peace
be with thee”, and kissed him, and then both were beheaded together”.
Seeing that the execution of James pleased the Jews,
Agrippa laid hands on peter also and imprisoned him, intending to put him to
death after the Passover. But the whole church prayed to God for him, and he
was miraculously delivered from prison by an angel. He retired to the house of
Mary, the mother of Mark, and then went to “another place”. Agrippa died soon
afterwards at Caesarea, “eaten up by worms,” and the church was at peace once
more.
ST. PAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY
Hailed as a God- then stoned:
At Lystra Paul healed a poor cripple who had listened
intently to his preaching and in his heart believed in Christ. When the
multitude saw what Paul had done, they thought the gods had come down to them,
as they had come of old — so the story went — in this very land to Philemon and
Baucis. They called Barnabas, Jupiter, and Paul, Mercury, because he was the
chief speaker; and oxen and garlands were brought, and all things prepared in
order to offer sacrifice to them. But when the apostles rent their garments in
grief and declared that they were mere mortals, the enthusiasm of the fickle
crowd quickly turned into hatred. At the instigation of some Jews who had come
from Pisidia and Iconium, they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city,
believing him to be dead. But he soon recovered, and on the following day set
out with Barnabas for Antioch where they reported to the brethren “all that God
had done with them and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles”.
Vinctus Christi - The Prisoner of
Christ:- He was received with open
arms by the brethren, but when he was falsely accused of having taken the Greek
Christian Trophimus with him into the temple, the Jews caused a riot,
determined to stone him to death. He was rescued by the Roman tribune Claudius
Lysias. To prevent further attempts against his life, Lysias sent him in chains
to Caesarea, where the Jews were free to bring forward their accusations
against him before the tribunal of Felix, the procurator of Judea. Anxious to
humor the Jews, Felix kept Paul a prisoner for two years, hoping at the same
time that Paul or his friends would purchase his freedom with a handsome bribe.
THE ROMAN CHURCH
The first Roman Christians: The members of the church in Rome were mainly
Gentiles, with a minority of Jews and proselytes. As in every other city where
Christianity took root, serious dissensions arose between the synagogue and the
church. The Jews even resorted to acts of violence, and the police had to
interfere. To get rid of the turbulent Jews, the Emperor Claudius issued a
decree banishing both parties from Rome. Before long both returned, and the
Roman Church grew so rapidly and showed such signs of living faith that it soon
became known throughout the Empire. We have already seen what St. Paul’s
presence in Rome meant for the Christian community, and how the faith spread
through his preaching.
St. Paul’s Last Mission Tour:
The hope of an early release from his captivity, which
Paul expressed in his letters to the Philippians and to Philemon, was
fulfilled. He was acquitted before the tribunal of Nero and, it seems,
immediately carried out his intention of visiting Spain. From there, as we can
gather from the first Epistle to Timothy and from the Epistle to Titus, he
journeyed eastward. He spent some time in Ephesus and left Timothy there. In
Crete he founded a Christian community and placed it incharge of Titus. He was
in Miletus and in Troas. The rest of his movements are veiled in darkness...
Burning of Rome under Nero and the
persecution of the Christians:
On the l8” of July, 64 A.D. some storehouses near the
Circus Maximus caught fire. The flames rushed on with inconceivable rapidity
and fastened upon the whole center of Rome. For ten days the conflagration
raged. Ten of the fourteen districts of the city were destroyed. The rumor
spread that Nero himself had caused the fire. It was reported that “at the very
time Rome was in flames, he sang the destruction of Troy in his private
theater, likening the present disaster to the ancient catastrophe”. In order to
divert the masses from what they believed to be the true origin of the fire,
Nero, perhaps at the suggestion of the Jews, charged it to the Christians. A
few of these were at once arrested and a false confession of guilt forced from
them by torture. Through them the names of other Christians were learned, and
then a huge multitude were seized. When they were brought to trial, it was
impossible to convict them of incendiarism; so the accusation of being “enemies
of the human race”, of practicing magic, and of perpetrating the most
abominable crimes was lodged against them, and they were delivered over to the
most excruciating tortures and death. Many were covered with skins and tossed
to hungry dogs to be devoured; others were crucified or burned to death in the
gardens of Nero. There were women, too, amongst the Martyrs. Like Dirce in the
Greek myth, they were tossed and gored by wild bulls in the arena or, like the
daughters of Danaos, were given as prizes to the Victors in the gladiatorial
contests and then murdered in cold blood.
The Martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul: According to a very credible tradition, Paul was in
the East when the persecution against the Christians broke out in Rome. He met
St. Peter in Corinth, and they traveled together to Rome. Here they were seized
and thrown into prison. From this prison Paul wrote to his “beloved son”
Timothy, giving him some account of his sufferings and urging him to come to
him as speedily as possible. He was ill treated, he says, “even unto fetters as
an evil door”. He is not certain as yet of his approaching death. But he sees
his blood “already poured out in sacrifice,” and the time of his departure at
hand. “I have fought the good fight, I have tñshed my course, I have kept the
faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of justice which the Lord,
the just Judge, will render to me in that day; and not only to me, but to them
also that love His coming’ (2 Tim. 4,6-8).
Perhaps there is noting to sublime in all the writings
of Paul as line words of the aged athlete, whose faith is stronger than ever, who
knows no weariness, who leaves the stadium because the race Is been won.
St. Peter was martyred in the Circus of Nero. A
constant
Raman
tradition asserts that he died on the cross, like his Divine master
His
mangled remains were buried nearby, and over his grave the first Christian
Emperor, Constantine the Great, erected the first church of St. Peter. St.
Paul, being a Roman citizen, was beheaded on Ostian way. The magnificent
basilica of “St. Paul Outside the Walls” marks the place of his martyrdom.
In after ages the tombs of the Princes of the Apostles
were the goal of numberless pilgrims from every Christian land. It was the
vision of the Martyr - Apostles that inspired the Christian poet to pen the
beautiful lines sung by the church on their festival day:
0 happy Rome! Who in thy martyr-princes’ blood,
A twofold stream art washed and doubly sanctified.
All earthly beauty thou outshinest far
Empurpled their outpoured life-blood’s glorious tide.
To
all appearances the persecution of the Christians was confined to the city of
Rome; but here it lasted till the death of Nero. The impression which it made
on the Roman world was deep and lasting: henceforth the Christian name was
outlawed; to bear it was to be branded as a criminal, and therefore worthy of
death. The life and death struggle between Christianity and pagan Rome had
begun; it was not decided for nearly three hundred years.
Nero Persecutes the Christians: The historian Tacitus, who was a boy in Rome when the
persecution took place, gives the following description of the outrages,
tortures, and deaths to which the Christians were subjected by the infamous
Nero:
“In order to stifle the rumor that he had him self set
Rome on fire, Nero falsely charged with the guilt and punished with the most
fearful tortures the persons commonly called Christians, who were hated for
their wicked practices. Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as
a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius;
but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time, broke out again, not
only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome
also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters as to
a common receptable and where they are encouraged. Accordingly, first those
were seized who confessed; next on their information, a vast multitude were
convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of hating the
human race.
“In their very deaths they were made the subjects of
sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to
death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned,
burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own gardens for the
spectacle, and exhibited a Circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the
common people in the dress of charioteer, or else standing in his chariot. For
this cause a feeling of compassion arose towards the sufferers, though guilty
and deserving of exemplary capital punishment, because they seemed not to be
cut off for the public good, but were victims of the ferocity of one man”.
-Tacitus,
Annals, XV,44
REFERENCES
- Church History by Fr. John Laux, M.A
- The New Foxes book of Martyrs by John
Foxe
Rewritten and updated by Harold J, Chadwick
- A Short History of the Early Church By
Harry R. Boer
[1] Bishop
H.M. Turner, d.D, LLD (1885)