40 YEARS SINCE THE COUNCIL

by Pascual Chávez Villanueva

R

THE FACE

EVEN TO BLOOD

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians” (Tertullian) The Church is born from martyrdom. The book of the Apocalypse calls Jesus Christ the “Martyr” who dies on the cross as a criminal, someone accursed (Jn 19,6), a blasphemer and a threat to the people according to the words of Caiphas.

The most eloquent pages in the history of the Church have been written and are still being written in the blood of the martyrs. The witness of the martyr has always been one of the characteristics of the Church. After Pentecost, many of those who heard the preaching of the apostles were converted, but immediately persecution broke out against them. Threatened, beaten, imprisoned, they did not cease to preach in public and in private. It was precisely in this way that the first Christian community grew and gained in strength. To the Deacon Stephan fell the honour of being the first to be crowned with martyrdom, and to his cruel “stoning” Saul, still a persecutor of the Christians bore witness. That death marked the beginning of a fierce repression that forced many to flee to the hill country of Judea and Samaria and others to leave their homeland. Among the victims was James, the brother of John, who was beheaded in Jerusalem.

 In Rome, where there was a flourishing Jewish colony with close links with Jerusalem, news about Jesus soon arrived, possibly brought by some exiles. In 49 A.D. there were already a number of Christian communities when the Emperor Claudius ordered the expulsion of the Jews from the city because of the “frequent disturbances” that broke out on account the name of a certain Chrestus”. Saul/Paul arrived in the capital of the empire about the year 61, “a prisoner because of Jesus,” and he stayed in a private house (today we would call it “under house arrest”) until about 63. He was beheaded during the persecution of Nero, about the year 67. Peter too having arrived in the meantime was crucified about 64 or a little later. Pope Clement, in the letter he wrote to the Corinthians about the year 96, refers to the martyrdom of Peter and Paul “columns who kept up the fight even to death.” It is inspiring to see how the disciples set about following their Master, imitating him in life and in death, proclaiming that he is risen and not hesitating to pay with their lives their witness to him. The reasons for the persecutions are complicated. Rome tolerated a variety of religious cults and practices and encouraged unity in diversity provided that the conquered peoples also included with their own the cult of the emperor and of the Rome goddess, as a guarantee of fidelity. Refusal to do was an act of treason. Since for monotheistic Judaism, that would have been sacrilegious, the Jews had obtained a special indult valid also in the diaspora.

 Nero persecuted the Christians because their making of converts and their uncompromising monotheism began to cause concern, and unlike the Jews, they attracted followers from all races in all cities. Not having any authorisation the practice of their religion was declared illegal. The great fire in Rome in 64 provided the Emperor with an excuse. He had been accused by the people of having started it to further his own plans for rebuilding the city and he now laid the blame on the Christians and extracted false confessions through torture. Tacitus describes the terrible deaths they suffered but justifies the persecution: “Those people were hated for their abominations. According to Trajan’s legislation, those who sacrificed to the gods should be tolerated and those refusing should be condemned only if reported. Pliny the Younger admits to never having discovered any of the horrible crimes they were accused of but considered Christianity a “wicked and unbridled superstition”. History has handed down to us the accounts of several martyrs of the first centuries: Saint Agnes, put to death towards the end of the third century, Saint Cecilia, a perfect model of womanhood, beheaded for having chosen to preserve her virginity, the deacon Laurence, under Valerian, burned to death on a grid...

 The persecutions were not limited to the first centuries. They also continue today. The last century was probably one that gave most martyrs to the Church. The case of Maximilian Kolbe who in the Oswiecim concentration camp offered his own life in the place of a father of a family condemned to death is well known. Nor can we forget the Salesian martyrs, Saints Luigi Versiglia and Callistus Caravario; the five young men from the Oratory in Poznan; those in the Spanish Civil War... Also today the Church is being persecuted, openly and cruelly in some countries, while in others through restrictive legislation. To speak of Christianity is to speak of universal brotherhood, of commitment to justice and the dignity of all men and women especially those who are the weakest. Certainly, the courage to stand up and denounce injustice and oppression can lead to being sidelined by civil society and in some cases to persecution and death. According to the words of Jesus, when believers are not being persecuted they need to ask themselves whether they are failing in their prophetic duty. Someone who does not challenge injustice who does not denounce the abuse of power runs the risk of betraying the Gospel. A genuine faith goes hand in hand with martyrdom. The martyrs, whether those canonised or those not officially recognised are the glory of the Church and a point of reference for believers called to bear witness always and everywhere by the testimony of their own faith. 