The overseer accepted the gift and Nicholas hurried on to the forum. He made his way to the booths of the money changers and found Julian. Nicholas untied his sack and counted out the gold pieces, saying, “I wish to have a letter of deposit so that I may withdraw this in Myra.” Julian nodded and wrote him the letter.
With the letter stuffed in his cloak, Nicholas hurried on to the harbor where he found his uncle waiting at a single-sailed ship, one of his father’s fleet. They boarded together and soon the city of Patara slid past them as they sailed out the channel into the open sea.
The ship made its way along with the coast in view. Nicholas leaned against the ship’s rail and let the mist of the wake brush his cheek. He gazed out at the shore, wondering how long it would be until he returned, what it would be like to live with his uncle’s family, and what he would do with the gold he left behind. Most of all, he wondered about the killers of his parents. He turned to his uncle and said, “Why? They stole nothing. It was pure hate. Why would someone just kill them?”
The older Nicholas said, “We worship Christus. For some, that is reason enough.”
Young Nicholas sighed. He said, “Do you think that’s why they were killed?”
Old Nicholas said, “I do not know, but from what you say, it is possible. For the past 30 years, it has not been difficult to be a Roman citizen and a follower of Christus. But at times it has been very difficult. Many of his first followers were killed for their belief in him. When I was a young boy, before I believed in Christus, Emperor Valerian turned against the Christiani. He became convinced that they were the cause of the empire’s problems. He forbid them from even meeting together. Many died rather than obey him. This carried on some years until his capture by the Persians. When his son Galenius came to the throne, he restored freedom to the Christiani.
“We have been very fortunate since then. Before you were born, someone took the liberty of telling a young man about Christus. This young man believed, and he was very excited to share the good news with his brother. But the brother would not receive it. He had heard horrible stories about the followers of this religion from the east, how they ate human flesh and drank human blood. He cursed his brother for falling in with such a group. He gathered some friends and dragged him before a magistrate to try to reason him out of his madness.
With the letter stuffed in his cloak, Nicholas hurried on to the harbor where he found his uncle waiting at a single-sailed ship, one of his father’s fleet. They boarded together and soon the city of Patara slid past them as they sailed out the channel into the open sea.
The ship made its way along with the coast in view. Nicholas leaned against the ship’s rail and let the mist of the wake brush his cheek. He gazed out at the shore, wondering how long it would be until he returned, what it would be like to live with his uncle’s family, and what he would do with the gold he left behind. Most of all, he wondered about the killers of his parents. He turned to his uncle and said, “Why? They stole nothing. It was pure hate. Why would someone just kill them?”
The older Nicholas said, “We worship Christus. For some, that is reason enough.”
Young Nicholas sighed. He said, “Do you think that’s why they were killed?”
Old Nicholas said, “I do not know, but from what you say, it is possible. For the past 30 years, it has not been difficult to be a Roman citizen and a follower of Christus. But at times it has been very difficult. Many of his first followers were killed for their belief in him. When I was a young boy, before I believed in Christus, Emperor Valerian turned against the Christiani. He became convinced that they were the cause of the empire’s problems. He forbid them from even meeting together. Many died rather than obey him. This carried on some years until his capture by the Persians. When his son Galenius came to the throne, he restored freedom to the Christiani.
“We have been very fortunate since then. Before you were born, someone took the liberty of telling a young man about Christus. This young man believed, and he was very excited to share the good news with his brother. But the brother would not receive it. He had heard horrible stories about the followers of this religion from the east, how they ate human flesh and drank human blood. He cursed his brother for falling in with such a group. He gathered some friends and dragged him before a magistrate to try to reason him out of his madness.
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