Ælfric's Lives of Saints/Of Saint Apollinaris

by Ælfric

XXII.

JULY 23. SAINT APOLLTNARIS, MARTYR.

In the Caesar's days who was hight Claudius,

came the blessed Peter, from the city of Antioch

into the city of Rome, with many brethren,

and preached the faith boldly to the people,

both to Romans and Jews, even as the Lord had commanded him,

so that of the Romans and cruel Jews

many believed in the living Saviour

through Peter's preaching, and submitted to baptism,

bewailing their sins with true repentance.

They received God's word with ghostly joy,

that God had willed to send His Son to mankind,

and through Him to renew this old earth.

There was then with Peter a certain worthy man of God

called Apollinaris, the holy Apostle's follower.

To him quoth Peter after some time,

'Behold, thou art instructed in all things concerning Jesus;

arise now, and receive the Holy Ghost,

and the holy episcopal office in the name of Jesus,

and go to the city that is called Ravenna,

where dwell much people in foul heathenism;

preach to them concerning Jesus, and be not affrighted.

Clearly thou knowest that He is God's very Son,

Who gave to the dead life after death,

and to sick men healing by His Word.'

After these words the blessed Peter

ordained and consecrated Apollinaris as bishop,

and laid his hands upon his head, and said;

'Our Saviour Christ send His holy angel with thee,

and prosper thee, and direct thy journey,

and grant thee that which thou desirest; '

and so sent him to the city with the kiss of peace.

Therewith Apollinaris journeyed to the aforesaid city,

and healed a blind man before he had come into the city ;

and many believed, through this man's cure,

in the true God, and so were baptized.

Then he came into Ravenna, and speedily there manifested

the Saviour's power upon sick men.

There was a certain chief noble in the aforesaid city,

who had heard of the holy man,

and asked if he knew aught of leechcraft.

Apollinaris said to him, ' I know naught of healing,

save in the name of Jesus;' and the nobleman said to him,

' Behold, my wife has been for many years afflicted ;

all leechcraft has been adverse [useless] to her until now;

now, if any power is in thee, disclose it by thy works.'

Apollinaris thereupon answered, and said,

' May Almighty God unclose the eyes of your hearts,

that ye may believe on Jesus when ye see His wonders.'

Then took he the woman's hand, uttering aloud these words,

' Arise now in the name of Jesus, and believe on Him,

and say not henceforth, that any is like unto Him.'

She arose then immediately, whole, from the bed,

and said that there was no God but Jesus, of Whom he preached.

Then wondered the nobleman at his wife's health,

and they all said that He is the true God,

Who doeth such marvels, and Who hath power in battle

to give the victory to those who truly love Him.

He was then baptized, with his wife and children,

and all his household, in the name of Jesus,

and many of the heathen accepted the faith.

Apollinaris then dwelt there with him

in the city of Ravenna, and preached the faith,

and baptized a great multitude of the people.

Many also, after they were baptized,

entrusted their children to the teaching of the righteous preacher,

and God's faith there waxed, and heathenism waned.

So the holy bishop then remained in that city

twelve full years, and baptized the people,

and often he said mass, and ordained mass-priests,

and deacons, and clerks, and daily with them

celebrated God's praise with spiritual hymns.

In that city was a certain noble, named Bonifacius,

who became suddenly dumb; so his wife thereupon sent

to the holy bishop, and entreated his visitation.

Lo! then the bishop went to his house,

and there was a woman in his house who was mad,

and the devil cried, and said through the possessed one

to the holy bishop, 'I will cause men to bind thee

hands and feet, and so drag thee hence

out of this city;' and the bishop answered,

'Hold thy peace, thou devil, and depart out of her,

and speak thou never again through any man.'

Then immediately the devil came out of the possessed,

and the bishop went where Bonifacius lay

dumb upon his bed, and prayed for him thus,

'Lord Jesus Christ, thou who didst close up

this man's mouth, that he might no longer

cry to heathen idols as if to help him,

open now his mouth, that lie may magnify Thy name,

and believe that Thou art the living. God upon earth.'

They then said, ' Amen,' and in that same moment

was his tongue unbound, and he rejoicing said,

' There is no other God in whom to believe,

except Him only. Whom this blessed man preacheth.'

On that same day, more than five hundred of the people

believed in God, greatly thanking God,

and the holy man, through whom they had been enlightened.

There was a heathen prefect, named Eufus,

who presided over the city, whose daughter fell sick.

Then the father sent at once to the bishop,

and as soon as he came thither, the maiden gave up the ghost.

Then they all wept, that were within,

and the holy man spake to her father thus,

'Undertake now truly, Rufus, and promise me with an oath,

if thy daughter now be made whole, that thou wilt permit her

to follow Christ, and thou shalt now know His might.'

Rufus answered him, 'Behold, she is now dead ;

but if I see that she shall again live in health,

I will then praise God's power, and she may follow Jesus.'

"While they were all weeping, he went up to the corpse,

and cried with faith to Christ, and said,

' My God, Lord Jesus, Who to my teacher Peter

granted his desire whatsoever he desired of Thee,

raise up now this maiden from this cruel death,

for that she is Thy creature and there is no God but Thou.'

She arose then instantly, and with a cry exclaimed,

' Great is the God, Whom this man preacheth to us,

and there is no other God but He alone.'

Then rejoiced the Christians in Christ's praise,

and the maiden was baptized, together with her mother,

and all their household as well, some three hundred men,

and many of the heathen received the faith.

However Rufus the father, on account of the emperor's severity,

durst not openly confess that he believed in the Lord,

but he secretly loved the faithful bishop,

and ministered to him with food, and his daughter was consecrated

to God's service, and continued a virgin.

Then Apollinaris was accused to the emperor,

and led to the torture, and in the torture he confessed

the Saviour's name, and a certain heathen man,

who the most fiercely opposed him, straightway went mad,

and ended his life by an evil death.

Then the Christians wished to defend the saint,

and massacred, of the heathen, some two hundred men ;

then the judge commanded men to load the faithful bishop

into a blind prison, and to keep him in bonds,

and to deny him food, so that he might be famished.

But God's angel came to the man of God by night,

and fed him, and by his words encouraged

all the onlookers, who were [standing] around.

Then on the fourth day the aforesaid judge commanded

to put the saint in heavier chains,

and to carry him afar by ship into exile.

There was a certain nobleman horribly leprous,

and the bishop asked him, 'Wilt thou be made whole '

He said, 'I will,' and the holy bishop answered him,

' Believe in Jesus Christ; ' and the heathen answered him,

'If He healeth me. He shall be my God and Saviour,'

Apollinaris then touched the diseased leper

in the name of Jesus, and immediately he was made whole,

while he was calling on Christ's name to aid him.

Then the healed man cast away his heathenism from him,

and believed on Jesus, and with faith was baptized.

It befell after a time that the unbelieving heathen

bound the bishop, and led him in bonds

into the city of Ravenna, and beat him furiously.

Then the bishop commended himself earnestly to God,

and their heathen idol was destroyed, and their temple overthrown.

Then the heathen saw the holy man's power,

and cried out with loud tumult against the faithful man,

'Let the old impious wretch be instantly put to death,

through whom are overthrown the wonderful gods.'

Then the Christians rejoiced, and cried in faith,

that He alone is the true God, Who worketh such wonders.

Then the heathen delivered the holy man to be slain

to a certain wicked tormentor, who was called Taurus;

this Taurus assembled the citizens to him,

and asked the saint by whose power he performed

the wonderful signs, that so great a crowd followed him.

Apollinaris answered him, ' This is no other power

but Jesus Christ's, and we have God's grace

within our hearts,' and thereon, amongst other speeches,

said the same Taurus to the venerable man,

' I have a son who never saw the light of day ;

cause him to see in the Lord's name,

and we will straightway believe that He is truly God;

otherwise we will burn thee for thy great guilt.'

Then said the bishop to him, 'Let the blind man come to me;'

and with that the blind man came to him, and he said in faith,

'In the name of Jesus, open thine eyes,

and see by His means;' and immediately he was made whole;

seeing clearly, who had been born blind.

Then they all marvelled, and unanimously said

that He was the true God, Who wrought such wonders ;

and through the miracles many believed on God.

Then Taurus brought the bishop secretly,

out of the people's tumult, to one of his estates,

six miles from Ravenna, and lie there sustained him

four years with food; and the Christians sought him,

and listened earnestly to his teaching with faith ;

and all the sick who oft came to him

were healed, and returned home in sound health.

Then sent the idolaters, with enraged mind,

a message to the emperor, [praying] that he would command to kill

the holy bishop, lest their worship should be

altogether extinguished by the Lord's preacher.

And forthwith the Emperor sent them this writing:

'If any man presumptuously blaspheme our gods,

let him make atonement to them, or let him be driven

away from the city, because it is not right

that we should avenge our gods, but they will avenge themselves

if they be provoked. Fare ye well.'

Then the governor of the city sent to fetch the bishop to him,

and asked him straightway, of what religion he might be,

as if he said, ' Whether art thou, Christian or heathen? '

The judge was called Demosthenes, and he was the devil's worshipper.

Then said the holy man to the heathen judge,

'I am verily a Christian, and St. Peter instructed me,

and sent me hither to this happy city,

that through the name of Jesus salvation should come to you.'

Demosthenes then answered the venerable Saint,

'What needs there so long delay, behold, now is the time

that thou must forsake thy folly, and offer sacrifice to the gods.'

Apollinaris answered him, ' I will offer myself

for my spiritual children, whom I have here begotten to God;

and whosoever will not pray to the heavenly God,

he shall be eternally condemned to the everlasting fire ;

and those who believe in God, and are baptized in faith,

those shall have the eternal rest, and unchangeable riches.'

Upon this, Demosthenes became fiendishly incensed in heart,

and delivered the Saint to a certain centurion,

to keep in prison, until he should kill him.

The centurion was unknown to the heathen man,

and was secretly a Christian, and said to the bishop,

'My father, I pray thee, be not thou so hasty for death,

because thy life is yet needful to us;

but go thou now secretly where thou mayst have peace,

until this people's rage be somewhat stilled.'

Then went he by night that he might save his life;

but the heathen men were ware of his journey,

and caught him, and beat him for so long a time

until they thought that he was dead.

He was nevertheless brought, by the ministration of his brethren,

again to the Christians, and he continued in this life

fully seven nights, and he sweetly and fervently

allured them to the eternal life, and to the faith.

He said, 'I tell you that grievous persecution shall come

upon the Christians for Christ's name;

but after the persecution shall peace again be given,

and the emperors shall bow themselves to the faith of Christ,

and all heathen worship shall be utterly destroyed,

so that men may freely worship the Almighty God

throughout all the earth, and offer sacrifice to Him ;

and he who abideth in the faith, shall live for ever.'

After this exhortation, and many other words,

the holy man departed from the world to God,

with Whom he ever dwelleth in the everlasting blessedness ;

and his disciples laid his corpse honorably

in a stone coffin ; and it stood against the wall.

For two years less than thirty he was their bishop,

serving the Almighty in many persecutions,

and therefore is his reward now endless

with the Almighty God, who reigneth for ever. Amen.