“The magistrate also served in the temple of Apollo, and for over an hour he and the young men tried to argue the brother out of his devotion to Christus, but they could not. In the end, the magistrate acknowledged, ‘I pity you and your foolish brother, but unless he has broken some law, I cannot arrest him or compel him to worship Apollo.’”
Young Nicholas asked, “Was that you and father?”
Old Nicholas said, “Yes. And when the magistrate turned us away, it only made your father more angry with me.”
Young Nicholas recalled, “That’s when he went with you to the assembly?”
Old Nicholas said, “Not with me. He secretly trailed me there and then burst in on the believers in the midst of our worship. He was certain he would uncover our vile rituals and rescue me from the grasp of the others. But instead of human flesh and blood, he found only barley loaves and the blood of grapes. He raged at us all, but every accusation he hurled at us met a gentle answer. As he began to settle, he listened to what we were saying about Christus. And in the end, he left there a believer.
“Things could have been quite different. Had Galenius not issued his edicts of toleration, the magistrate may well have killed me.”
Young Nicholas said, “But my father wouldn’t have taken you to the magistrate if he knew they would kill you.”
Old Nicholas said, “I cannot say that for certain. I just know that we have more freedom now than we’ve ever had. Though we are looked down upon, we are free to worship Christus without fear. But that may soon change.”
Young Nicholas asked, “What if it does? Do we flee the empire and set up our own kingdom like our ancestors?”
Old Nicholas let out a gentle chuckle. “No... Our king is above all kings. This is his kingdom as much as any other.”
Young Nicholas asked, “If it’s his kingdom, why would he allow them to mistreat us?”
Old Nicholas paused. “Let’s say the proconsul in our province disobeyed the emperor. Maybe he threw some people in prison against his orders. What would happen to him?”
“He would be punished.”
“Yes. And if the emperor disobeys his king, what would happen to him?”
“The same, I suppose.”
“Yes,” said old Nicholas with a smile. Young Nicholas thought he would explain further, but he said nothing more of it.
Young Nicholas asked, “Was that you and father?”
Old Nicholas said, “Yes. And when the magistrate turned us away, it only made your father more angry with me.”
Young Nicholas recalled, “That’s when he went with you to the assembly?”
Old Nicholas said, “Not with me. He secretly trailed me there and then burst in on the believers in the midst of our worship. He was certain he would uncover our vile rituals and rescue me from the grasp of the others. But instead of human flesh and blood, he found only barley loaves and the blood of grapes. He raged at us all, but every accusation he hurled at us met a gentle answer. As he began to settle, he listened to what we were saying about Christus. And in the end, he left there a believer.
“Things could have been quite different. Had Galenius not issued his edicts of toleration, the magistrate may well have killed me.”
Young Nicholas said, “But my father wouldn’t have taken you to the magistrate if he knew they would kill you.”
Old Nicholas said, “I cannot say that for certain. I just know that we have more freedom now than we’ve ever had. Though we are looked down upon, we are free to worship Christus without fear. But that may soon change.”
Young Nicholas asked, “What if it does? Do we flee the empire and set up our own kingdom like our ancestors?”
Old Nicholas let out a gentle chuckle. “No... Our king is above all kings. This is his kingdom as much as any other.”
Young Nicholas asked, “If it’s his kingdom, why would he allow them to mistreat us?”
Old Nicholas paused. “Let’s say the proconsul in our province disobeyed the emperor. Maybe he threw some people in prison against his orders. What would happen to him?”
“He would be punished.”
“Yes. And if the emperor disobeys his king, what would happen to him?”
“The same, I suppose.”
“Yes,” said old Nicholas with a smile. Young Nicholas thought he would explain further, but he said nothing more of it.
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