Christmas Every Day

312 Constantine sees a vision

In the early 4th century the Roman empire was simultaneously carrying out a persecution of its Christian minority and witnessing a clutch of generals contending for the throne in the east and west. One of these rival warriors was Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (272-337) who invaded Italy in 312 in order to oust his opponent Maxentius who was occupying Rome. One of his biographers, Eusebius, reports that Constantine debated over whether or not he had the support of the gods and decided to appeal to the divinity worshipped by his father (in fact it was his mother who was the Christian in the family).

[Constantine] called on him with earnest prayer and supplications that he would reveal to him who he was, and stretch forth his right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven, the account of which it might have been hard to believe had it been related by any other person. But since the victorious emperor himself long afterwards declared it to the writer of this history, when he was honored with his acquaintance and society, and confirmed his statement by an oath, who could hesitate to accredit the relation, especially since the testimony of after-time has established its truth? He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle

He said, moreover, that he doubted within himself what the import of this apparition could be. And while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, night suddenly came on ; then in his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies. 

At dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel to his friends: and then, calling together the workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of them, and described to them the figure of the sign he had seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones. And this representation I myself have had an opportunity of seeing. 

Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviour’s name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner. 

The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies.

Eusebius seems to place this vision some time before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge but another biographer, Lactantius, says it occurred on the eve of the fight.

And now a civil war broke out between Constantine and Maxentius. Although Maxentius kept himself within Rome, because the soothsayers had foretold that if he went out of it he should perish, yet he conducted the military operations by able generals. In forces he exceeded his adversary; for he had not only his father’s army, which deserted from Severus, but also his own, which he had lately drawn together out of Mauritania and Italy. They fought, and the troops of Maxentius prevailed. At length Constantine, with steady courage and a mind prepared for every event, led his whole forces to the neighbourhood of Rome, and encamped them opposite to the Milvian bridge. The anniversary of the reign of Maxentius approached, that is, the sixth of the kalends of November, and the fifth year of his reign was drawing to an end. Constantine was directed in a dream to cause the heavenly sign to be delineated on the shields of his soldiers, and so to proceed to battle. He did as he had been commanded, and he marked on their shields the letter Χ, with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being the cipher of CHRIST. Having this sign (ΧР), his troops stood to arms. The enemies advanced, but without their emperor, and they crossed the bridge. The armies met, and fought with the utmost exertions of valour, and firmly maintained their ground. In the meantime a sedition arose at Rome, and Maxentius was reviled as one who had abandoned all concern for the safety of the commonweal; and suddenly, while he exhibited the Circensian games on the anniversary of his reign, the people cried with one voice, “Constantine cannot be overcome!”

St Magloire

It must be said that October 24 is the feast day of a host of saints notable for their obscurity. On this date Christians honour Saints Cadfarch, Ebregislus of Cologne, Felix of Thibiuca, Fortunatus of Thibiuca and Fromundus of Coutances, all worthy of veneration, to be sure, but none of whom provide much in the way of a biography for this blog. So, for lack of a better candidate, step forward, Saint Magloire (or Maglorius, or Maelor), 6th century monk and bishop of whom Butler writes in his Book of Saints

MAGLOIRE was born in Brittany towards the end of the fifth century. When he and his cousin St. Sampson came of an age to choose their way in life, Sampson retired into a monastery, and Magloire returned home, where he lived in the practice of virtue. Amon, Sampson’s father, having been cured by prayer of a dangerous disease, left the world, and with his entire family consecrated himself to God. Magloire was so affected at this that, with his father, mother, and two brothers, he resolved to fly the world, and they gave all their goods to the poor and the Church. Magloire and his father attached themselves to Sampson, and obtained his permission to take the monastic habit in the house over which he presided. When Sampson was consecrated bishop, Magloire accompanied him in his apostolical labors in Armorica, or Brittany, and at his death he succeeded him in the Abbey of Dole and in the episcopal character. After three years he resigned his bishopric, being seventy years old, and retired into a desert on the continent, and some time after into the isle of Jersey, where he founded and governed a monastery of sixty monks. He died about the year 575.

In popular legend he was a noted dragon slayer, nephew of King Arthur and miracle worker. Magloire is the patron saint of the Isle of Sark in the English Channel.

St John of Capistrano

“When the swallows come back to Capistrano” was a hit song for the Ink Spots in 1940. What do migrant birds in California have to do with an Italian soldier-saint honoured on this day?

Giovanni da Capestrano (1386-1456) was the son of a nobleman at the court of the King of Naples and was meant for the life of a soldier and administrator. He studied law at Perugia and was named governor of that city in his mid-20s. When war broke out between Perugia and Rimini he was made a prisoner of war. While in jail, he decided to become a priest and set himself to the study of theology. On his release he joined the Franciscan order, where he would always campaign for stricter discipline, and became a well-known itinerant preacher. Many of his fiery sermons were directed against Judaism, inciting cities to expel their Jewish populations. John was also a fierce opponent of the Hussite heresy which had broken out in the Czech lands. He developed a reputation as a miracle worker, curing the sick by making the sign of the cross and walking on water.

In 1453 the Ottoman Turks under Mehmet the Conqueror captured Constantinople, the last stronghold of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire and threatened to press on farther into Christian Europe. John undertook to raise a crusade against the Muslim invaders and with the help of Hungarian general Janos Hunyadi, his army defeated the Turkish siege of Belgrade in 1456. John is said to have personally led troops in attacking the Ottoman lines. He died shortly thereafter of the plague.

John was canonized in 1690 and a number of Franciscan missions in Spanish America were named after him as San Juan Capistrano. His feast day was originally March 28, the date on which migratory swallows return to the area of one of those missions in California. This romantic reunion was celebrated in song by composer Leon René:

In 1969 the calendar reforms of Pope Paul VI moved John’s feast day from March to October 23, the date of the saint’s death.

Murder of  Jerzy Popiełuszko

Though Poland was occupied by the Soviet Red Army since 1944, the Catholic Church remained a powerful element in society. When discontented workers at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk formed the Solidarity trade union, priest Jerzy Popiełuszko joined the movement. He became famous for his uncompromising anti-communist sermons (sermons which were recorded and broadcast into Poland by Radio Free Europe), his participation in strikes, and his exhortations to the Polish people to protest against their government.

Popiełuszko was arrested in 1983 but was released after pressure from the Church secured him an amnesty. The Security Police then determined that it would be best to eliminate him altogether. On October 19, 1984 he was ambushed by three members of the secret police, beaten to death, and his body dropped into the river. The discovery of his body outraged public opinion in Poland and abroad and helped to inspire continued Solidarity protests. When the Communist regime fell, his murderers were placed on trial and convicted.

The Catholic Church has beatified Popiełuszko and his supporters are confident that he will soon be canonized and become Saint Jerzy Popiełuszko.

1009 Caliph Hakim destroys the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

In 326 the Emperor Constantine, the first Christian ruler of Rome, ordered a church to be built over the recently-discovered site of the tomb of Jesus and the place of his execution on Golgotha. The rocky hill into which the tomb had been carved was removed and a marble covering enclosed the space. This Church of the Holy Sepulchre became the holiest spot in Christendom and thus a focus for attacks on the religion. In 614 the Persians conquered Jerusalem, removed the True Cross and set the church on fire. The building was repaired by Emperor Heraclius who recovered the Cross but fires, earthquakes, and Muslim attacks damaged the church again and again. In 966 the Patriarch of Jerusalem was murdered by an Islamic mob and the basilica set on fire.

The most thorough destruction took place in 1009 when the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim (an Egyptian Shiite of the Ismaili variety) ordered that Christian buildings throughout his territory be destroyed. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was levelled to the ground. Under his son, an agreement with the Byzantine empire allowed for the rebuilding of the church in return for the opening of a mosque in Constantinople.