Saint Cornelius the Centurion (I)

Saint Cornelius the Centurion moved from Thracian Italy to Caesarea in Palestine a little while after the Crucifixion and Ascension of the Saviour. At that time he was a pagan, but “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway” (Acts 10:2). The Lord did not abandon his soul that sought the truth, and enlightened him with the light of the faith of Christ.

Once, when Cornelius was praying in his own house, an angel stood before him, told him the good news that the Lord had heard his prayer, and ordered him to send men to Joppa, to Simon the tanner, to bring Simon Peter. Cornelius at once carried out the heavenly command. As his messengers were drawing near the city, “about the sixth hour” the Apostle Peter went up on the housetop and stood to pray. Suddenly he saw heaven opened and a vessel like a sheet coming down, “knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth”, “wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air”. A voice sounded from on high, commanding the apostle to kill and eat all that he saw. Peter was astonished and refused, and received in reply: “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” This happened three times (Acts 10:1–16). By this vision the Lord called His apostle to preach among the Gentiles: the birds and creeping things were an image of the Gentiles, while the threefold “letting down” of the sheet “signified the threefold immersion in the water of baptism”. The Apostle Peter, accompanied by the messengers, came to Cornelius. There he learned that by the grace of the Holy Spirit Cornelius had believed in the incarnate Messiah, and he baptised him together with his kinsfolk.

After this the saint went with the Apostle Peter to preach the Gospel, and by his hand was consecrated bishop. When Peter came to Ephesus with Saint Timothy and Cornelius, he learned that in Scepsis idol-worship was especially strong. They cast lots as to who should preach in that city. The Lord chose Cornelius.

The ruler of the city of Scepsis was a certain Demetrius, learned in Greek philosophy, who hated Christianity and worshipped the pagan gods, and above all Apollo and Dios (Zeus). When he learned of Cornelius’s arrival, he at once summoned him and asked who he was and why he had come. The blessed one answered: “I am a servant of the Son of the living God, and I am sent hither to bring thee up out of the depth and darkness of ignorance and to join thee to the true light.” The ruler did not grasp the meaning of his words and ordered him to give a clear answer to his questions. Then the saint told him who he was and how he had come to follow the Lord, and explained: I have learned that you and your principality “are in great error, and I have come to deliver you from error”, to preach the true God, Creator of heaven and earth. The bold answer enraged Demetrius, and he demanded that Cornelius offer sacrifice to the idols at once.

Brought into the pagan temple, the Lord’s chosen one turned his face to the east, knelt down and prayed fervently. Suddenly a terrible earthquake began; the temple of Zeus fell down, and the idols standing in it were shattered to pieces. The people who saw the miracle were seized with terror, while the ruler’s wrath grew greater still. He began to take counsel with his close courtiers as to how to destroy Cornelius. The saint, bound hand and foot, was locked up in prison. Meanwhile one of the servants told Demetrius that his wife Evanthia and his only son Demetrian had been caught in the ruins of the heathen temple. When the ruler heard this, he “rent his garments and was seized with great mourning”. In tears he ordered the ruins to be dug up and the bones of his dearest ones found. The whole city was overcome with grief, but soon the chief of the priests, Varvatus, who had been charged with digging out the temple, told everyone the joyful news: from the ruins the voices of Evanthia and her son could be heard: “Great is the God of the Christians, who hath delivered us from this fierce trial through His servant Cornelius.” Overjoyed at the wonderful news, Demetrius hurried to the prison to set free the saviour of his wife and son; but an angel had already loosed the saint from his bonds: he was walking about the cell with a book in his hand, glorifying the Lord. Before Cornelius the ruler confessed Christ as the true God, and asked him to bring Evanthia and Demetrian up out of the ruins. After this the ruler Demetrius was baptised with all his household and courtiers, and very soon, with his wife and son, found a martyr’s end for Christ (see the reading for 11 September). Cornelius lived for a long time in Scepsis, endured many torments, and at last converted the whole city to the true faith and committed his soul to the Lord in deep old age. His holy body was buried near the ruined heathen temple.