Years passed by; Jovinian became a deacon and presbyter of the Church of
the valleys, and, in conjunction with other faithful men, was the means
of extending the blessings of the Gospel among the inhabitants of even
the most remote districts. No sound of the tumults which agitated the
larger portion of the western empire penetrated to these remote valleys.
The news which came from Rome was unsatisfactory. Revolts and cruel
warfare had occurred in various directions. Magnentius had assumed the
imperial purple. The tide of war had extended westward, in the very
neighbourhood of the valleys of the Cottian Alps. A battle had been
fought, when, the usurper being defeated, Constantius became sole master
of the Roman empire. In the council held at Milan he obtained the
banishment of Athanasius of Alexandria, a bishop highly respected for
his orthodoxy; and Arianism was once more in the ascendency.
Christianity, by the accounts received, appeared to be spreading at
Rome, but so corrupted by idolatry that in many respects it could
scarcely be distinguished from the old faith. At length Julian became
master of the Roman empire, and, for a short time, the heathen system
was declared to be the religion of the state.
Many at Rome, and elsewhere, who had been supposed Christians, now
openly resumed their idolatrous practices, proving the real character of
their faith.
By the death of Julian--who was shortly after succeeded by Valentinian--
Christianity once more obtained the support of a sovereign.
For many years Jovinian and Julia enjoyed uninterrupted happiness, and
were blessed with a numerous family.
At length Severus and Eugenia, both advanced in years, were taken from
them, their places being well filled by their daughter and her husband.
Although contented with his lot, and knowing that he was of use in the
position he filled, Jovinian had for long desired to re-visit Rome, and
ascertain for himself the state of affairs in regard to the Church in
that city. He hoped that he should find some faithful men with whom he
could hold brotherly intercourse, and that he might return to the home
of his adoption with fresh strength and knowledge. He had now a son who
would be able to perform the duties he had taken upon himself; and Julia
so ably ruled his household that he could leave his home for a period
without detriment. Although she naturally felt some anxiety at the
thoughts of his performing so long a journey, she did not attempt to
alter his resolution, believing that he would thereby benefit those he
was about to visit, and gain for himself spiritual strength.
Instead of travelling by land--the fatigues of which he was less able to
endure than he had been on his former journey northward--he decided on
proceeding to the nearest port at which he could embark. Even then he
had many fatigues to endure, a mountainous region to traverse, and
torrents to pass over. Under the providence of God, however, the port
was reached in safety. He found a vessel on the point of sailing for
Ostia, and, after a rapid passage, he landed at that town.
He had reason to mourn the changes he everywhere witnessed. The former
bishop had long been dead, and his successor seemed bent on gaining
proselytes by every possible means.
There were several new Christian churches; but as Jovinian entered them
he saw people prostrating themselves before figures closely resembling
the heathen gods. A few persons seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the
state of things; but in the whole place he found nobody to whom he could
speak openly as to a brother.
His stay, therefore, was short; and engaging a vehicle, he hastened on
to Rome, by the same road he had taken when compelled to return by his
uncle Gaius. On approaching the sanctuary of Mars, the driver, who
professed to be a Christian, informed him that it had been taken
possession of by a body of holy recluses. On getting near the gate, a
man was seen rushing with frantic speed, a sword dripping gore in his
hand, as if he were flying from the avengers of blood. As the murderer
neared the gate, it was thrown open; and springing in, he was received
by several men in long coarse garments, and at once the door was closed.
When the officers of the law arrived, they were refused admission. "We
claim the ancient privileges of the place," cried the monks. The
officers, not venturing to dispute the point, returned to the city.
"What will the recluses do with the murderer?" asked Jovinian of the
driver.
"He will become one of them," was the answer. "Several of their number
have been guilty of like crimes, and have thus escaped from justice!"
From what Jovinian had witnessed at Ostia, he was somewhat prepared for
the scene which Rome presented as he drove through the streets.
Christian basilicas--some of considerable magnificence--rose in every
direction; but a large number of heathen temples remained, a few only
having been pulled down to afford sites or materials for the
before-mentioned edifices. Many temples were, however, closed, while
others had been slightly altered to fit them for the Christian worship.
At the corners of the streets were shrines, as in days of yore. They
one and all contained female statues, which the driver told Jovinian
were those of the mother of God. In the arms of several of the statues
was an infant, who, his loquacious guide informed him, was "Jesus," her
son. Jovinian recognised the figures as those of the Babylonian Astarte
and her son Horos: she, under the name of Isis, had long been worshipped
in Rome.
Amulius had gone to be with the Lord whom he served on earth; but he had
left a son, Prudentius, who had inherited his property, and had invited
Jovinian to take up his abode with him should he ever visit Rome.
Prudentius--who had been a mere boy when he had last seen Jovinian--
remembered him with affection, and warmly greeted him on his arrival.
He had a numerous family, whom he had brought up in the simple faith of
the Gospel; but he expressed his anxiety lest they should be led away by
the corruptions which everywhere prevailed.
"By my father's wish I refrained from entering the ministry, and have
practised the law instead," observed Prudentius. "It was his opinion
that I should thus be far more free to advocate the truth,--for, had I
become a deacon or presbyter, I should have been under the orders of
superiors who were too likely to support the errors long creeping in
among us."
"I had heard that the inhabitants of Rome had become almost universally
Christians," said Jovinian.
"Alas, alas! they are so only nominally," answered his friend.
"Paganism in a modified form prevails as of yore. The more abominable
rites, it is true, have been suppressed; but although the people have
been taught no longer to trust in the heathen gods, they have retained
their superstitions and the larger portion of their former customs. The
aim of the bishops and other leaders in the Church has been to
amalgamate the two systems, so as to induce the pagans to more readily
afford them their support.
"Recently multitudes have been added to the Church; but, as you will
have an opportunity of judging, the number of faithful men among us is
few indeed. Our present bishop is, it is said, very ill; and, should he
die, we have reason to fear no improvement will take place under his
successor.
"The Arians are still numerous at Rome, and will make an effort to have
a bishop of their own profession elected. Damasus, a presbyter, who has
lately appeared among us, is said to have been educated among the
recluses of Mount Carmel, in the East,--a college which I have ample
reason to believe supports the Babylonian worship so prevalent in all
parts. He has been received here by a powerful party, of whom I have
ever had the greatest mistrust, as I have observed that they are among
the chief promoters of the worship of the Virgin Mary, which is so
rapidly gaining ground in the city. These men belong to what is known
as the `Holy College,' and are the successors of the heathen pontiffs,
by whom, after the latter had become Christians, they were successively
elected. They exercise almost as much influence among the Christian
population as their predecessors did among the heathen."
Jovinian recollected the plans he had heard discussed by Coecus, and saw
too clearly how successfully they had been carried out.
On inquiring of his friend for information about the last days of his
uncle, who had long been dead, Prudentius replied, "Yes: hearing he was
ill, my father, being a relative, went to visit him, and afford him the
last consolation of religion; but Gaius made no sign, and, turning his
face to the wall, so died."
"The pontiff Coecus: what ending did he make?" asked Jovinian.
"He lived to a great age, and, when Julian attempted to overthrow the
Christian Church, he openly advocated the restoration of the heathen
temples; but, finding that his plans were unsuccessful, he took poison
and so died, and went to his place," answered Prudentius.
"But the harm he has done lived after him," observed Jovinian; and he
then recounted to his friend the knowledge he had gained of the plans of
the pontiffs for the destruction of religion.
Many days passed by; and the more Jovinian saw of the state of things in
Rome, the more convinced he was that those plans had been fearfully
successful.
The Bishop, Liberius, was declining rapidly, and great excitement
prevailed among those who would take part in the election of his
successor. A fresh candidate had appeared, in the person of Ursinus--a
man of considerable influence in Rome, who had lately become a deacon,
but who was in no way distinguished for his Christian virtues.
Jovinian and Prudentius had together been visiting some of the churches,
and were returning with heavy hearts at what they saw, when they met
Juventius, the city prefect.
"The Bishop Liberius can live but a few hours longer," observed the
prefect. "I feel greatly anxious as to what may happen. Armed men are
collecting from all quarters, and repairing, some to the residence of
Damasus and others to that of Ursinus; and I much fear that the rival
factions will resort to force instead of waiting the result of a legal
election."
"Can these men believe themselves to be ministers of our holy Religion,
followers of Him who exhorted His disciples to love one another, to
refrain from violence, and do all the good they can to their
fellow-creatures?" exclaimed Prudentius. "Alas, alas! how do they
differ from those who in the early ages gained the love and respect even
of the heathen!"
As they were speaking, a man rushed past them, crying as he ran, "The
bishop is dead! the bishop is dead!"
"Then I must summon my guards to preserve order," observed Juventius,
hurrying off.
"Can the prefect possibly fear that those who are desirous of becoming
the leaders of Christ's flock should resort to force of arms?" exclaimed
Jovinian.
"He has observed what has been taking place in the city for some days
past, since the illness of Liberius became known, and he considers the
temporal value of the post the candidates are seeking," answered
Prudentius. "If we wish to avoid the risk of getting entangled among
the mob, it would be wise to return home."
The two friends were at this time at a considerable distance from the
house of Prudentius. They accordingly bent their steps as he advised.
They were approaching the Basilica Sicininus, when they saw advancing
towards it a large body of armed men, headed by a person whom Prudentius
recognised as Ursinus, one of the candidates for the vacant bishopric.
This basilica being the principal church, it was considered that the
party which held it would have the best chance of success. Another band
directly afterwards came rushing along from an opposite direction,
evidently with the intention of endeavouring to intercept the first.
The two friends, with the greatest difficulty, avoided being carried on
with the tumultuous throng by stepping into a deep archway which happily
presented itself. They observed, however, that the first party gained
the threshold of the entrance to the church, and with loud shouts and
shrieks took possession. The second band attempting to force a way in,
being less numerous, was driven off, leaving several dead on the ground,
while others were bleeding from severe wounds.
As they retreated they uttered cries of vengeance, threatening ere long
to return and drive out the occupants of the sacred edifice.
Jovinian and Prudentius now again attempted to make their way homeward;
but they were once more stopped by having to avoid a band led by
Ursinus, who issued out of the church, leaving a strong garrison within
it. Before long they met another party of the supporters of Damasus,
whom, however, they put to flight. Now reaching the abodes of some of
their opponents, they broke into the houses, which, having thrown out
the furniture, they set on fire.
This example was quickly imitated by others of the opposite party. The
friends had not gone far when they caught sight of Damasus himself, at
the head of a larger band than had yet appeared, supported by several
presbyters, deacons, and other officials, while among them appeared a
party of men wearing cowls and coarse garments, who were evidently monks
invited by Damasus to assist him. Whether ecclesiastics or not, the
whole multitude carried arms, spears, swords, or daggers. They were
encountered by a band of the hitherto victorious followers of Ursinus.
A fierce fight took place under the walls of the burning houses; neither
party would give way, and many had fallen, when Juventius, the city
prefect, appeared with his guards. In vain he shouted and ordered the
combatants to desist; no one listened to him, until, rushing forward, he
endeavoured to separate them.
Indignant at his interference, the leaders turned their rage towards
him, and, attacked by both parties, he was compelled to retreat. A part
of the maddened mob pursued him, shouting out that as he was a civil
officer he had no business to interfere in the affairs of the Church.
Finding not only that all his efforts to restore order were futile, but
that the rioters were sufficiently strong to overpower him, he, together
with his guards, escaped for safety into the suburbs.
The wildest disorder and confusion prevailed throughout the streets of
Rome during that night.
Not without great risk to themselves had Jovinian and Prudentius been
able to reach home.
From the roof to which they mounted they could see fires blazing in all
directions, while the shrieks and cries of the enraged factions rose up
from the streets--some near, and others in the far distance.
Whenever the followers of Ursinus met those of Damasus, they attacked
each other with the greatest fury.
During the whole night the tumult raged. In the morning bodies of dead
men were seen scattered about in all directions. Ursinus still held the
basilica, which his followers began to fortify. The party of Damasus
resolved to dislodge them. For this purpose he and his supporters were
employed the whole day in gathering together all they could induce to
join them. Heathens, provided they came armed, were as welcome as
others. The prospect of sacking the houses of the other party afforded
them sufficient temptations. Once more did the prefect attempt to
restore order; but barely escaped with his life. The voting for the two
rival candidates for the bishopric had been going on,--first one party,
then the other, being at the head of the poll. The rage of the rival
factions increased when either appeared to be successful or were losing
ground. The tumult raged with even greater violence than on the
previous night. Now Damasus, at the head of an organised band, advanced
through the streets towards the basilica. Ursinus himself, with a less
numerous party, in vain attempted to reach it, in order to support its
garrison. The doors were burst open, and the forces of Damasus rushed
in. A fearful combat took place. The edifice in which prayers and
hymns of praise were wont to ascend resounded with the frantic shouts of
the combatants, with the shrieks of the wounded and the groans of the
dying. For hours the fight continued to rage. Now the assailants
gained an entrance; now they were again driven out by the desperate
efforts of the besieged, who believed that a general massacre would take
place should they once be overcome.
At length so many of their number had fallen, that, bursting through the
door opposite to that at which the chief attack was going on, they made
their escape, pursued by their enemies. The party of Damasus, flushed
with victory, drove back the followers of Ursinus wherever they were
met; and he himself, believing that his cause was lost, retreated with a
few of his ecclesiastical supporters from the city.
When morning broke he was nowhere to be found. His few followers wisely
retired to their homes; and the prefect, returning, was at length able
to restore order.
Fearful were the scenes which Rome presented, as Jovinian and Prudentius
once more ventured forth. Smoking ruins in all directions; corpses
scattered in every street; some, where the combat had been fiercest, lay
in heaps, many blackened and charred by the burning houses near which
they had fallen. Fighting had taken place in several other churches
besides the Basilica of Sicininus, and blood stained their pavements;
the bodies of many of the dead still lay where they had fallen.
Prudentius proposed going on to the Basilica of Sicininus, where the
fiercest struggle had taken place. On entering the church they started
back with horror. Before them lay, with distorted countenances and in
attitudes showing the ferocity with which they had fought, scattered
throughout every part of the building, the corpses of the slain. They
were chiefly those of the defeated party, although several of their
opponents had of course fallen. On counting them, they were found to
number one hundred and thirty-seven. The prefect had issued orders for
the interment of the dead. It had been a question whether they should
receive Christian burial, or be deposited together in one of the
catacombs outside the walls. But Damasus insisted that the followers of
Ursinus only should be thus buried,--"he having arranged," he said, "a
fitting funeral for those who had fallen as martyrs for the truth."
Prudentius, when he met the prefect, inquired whether he intended to
bring Damasus and his followers to account for the tumult.
"It is more than I dare do!" he answered. "Were I to make the attempt,
it would probably cause another outbreak, with equally disastrous
results. Supported by the emperor, your Christian bishop has more power
than I have, and I must allow him full licence to promote, as he thinks
best, what he calls the interests of religion. I leave you to judge,
however, whether the late events are calculated to recommend it to the
minds of the heathen. The Romans may yet rue the day they consented to
be ruled by their bishops."
Damasus was declared duly elected, by the presbyters and deacons, and
the Christian population of Rome.
The following day he paraded through the streets in a handsome chariot,
attended by a numerous body-guard richly clothed. In his hand he
carried the Lituus,--the long used insignia of the augurs, since known
as the bishop's crozier,--proving that he considered himself to be their
lineal successor.
Having taken up his residence in the palace of the Lateran, he gave a
magnificent banquet to his chief supporters, which was said to surpass
in sumptuousness those, not only of the more wealthy citizens, but of
the emperor himself. He had become possessed of the wealth left by his
predecessor, and had reason to be sure that more would, ere long, flow
into his coffers from the piety of the matrons of Rome. In this he was
not mistaken; eternal happiness being freely promised to all who would
thus enrich the Church. Many pious people also devoted their wealth to
the building of basilicas, to which they claimed the right of appointing
the ministers, following the example of those who had erected heathen
temples, of selecting the priests to attend them.
Every day Jovinian remained at Rome brought more sorrow to his heart.
There were still many heathen temples; and from the Altar of Victory--
which had been restored by Julian--the smoke of sacrifices ascended. In
many of the basilicas statues which he recognised as those of Isis, or
some other heathen goddess, now generally clothed in rich garments, held
most prominent places. Numerous other clothed statues were placed in
niches with lamps burning before them. Jovinian had no difficulty in
distinguishing those which had before represented the heathen gods and
goddesses from the figures of the apostles and martyrs, also carved in
wood or stone--the latter exhibiting a melancholy proof of the decadence
of art in the capital. Everywhere, indeed, he found that the plan of
Coecus had been successful. The worship of the Babylonian goddess,
under her new name, prevailed throughout the city. Although
Christianity had not been crushed, it had been fearfully corrupted; in
reality, idolatry had won the victory in the battle which it had long
been waging with the Christian faith; no longer in Rome was the simple
Gospel preached. Flowery discourses, at which the people signified
their approval by loud applause, were delivered from the pulpits. The
Christian ministers now appeared in the same rich garments which had
been worn by the heathen priests. Relics were adored, and supposed to
work miracles; prayers were offered up for the dead, and to the martyrs,
as well as to her whom they called "Mary the virgin mother;" people were
taught that penances were meritorious; ascetic practices were
inculcated; the existence of purgatorial fires, as believed in by the
heathen, was taught as a reality, from which the dead could be
emancipated alone by the prayers of the priests; while so notorious had
become the efforts of the clergy to obtain wealth from the devout among
the female sex, that an edict was published by the emperor forbidding
ecclesiastics to receive any gifts, inheritance or legacy, at the hands
of devout women, and the ministers were compelled, according to custom,
to publish this decree from all the pulpits in the city,--thus becoming
the heralds of their own rapacious propensities.
In vain Jovinian made every effort to stem the tide of corruption. He
preached, whenever he could obtain an opportunity, in the churches,
faithfully pointing out the fearful errors into which the Christians
were falling, until every basilica was closed against him. He
continued, however, to preach in the houses of a few faithful men, and
even at times in the open streets; but at length--branded by the bishop
as a heretic and a disturber of the public peace--he received an order
forthwith to quit the city. As his liberty, if not his life, would have
been in danger had he ventured to disobey the order issued by the
powerful pontiff, he bade farewell to Prudentius, and turned his face
northward.
From the tranquil valleys among which he had taken up his abode he often
wrote to his friend, and received letters in return. In one of them
Prudentius, giving way to despair, thus expressed his opinion: "By the
unholy union which has been effected, idolatry has strangled
Christianity in her baneful embrace [Note 1], and has sent forth instead
a gaudily-dressed being, which, calling herself the True Faith, insists
that all mankind shall fall down and worship as she dictates."
"Be not in despair, my friend," answered Jovinian. "God has promised to
protect His Church; and be assured that He will raise up faithful men in
coming ages who will protest against all these corruptions, and the time
will come when the simple Gospel will be again faithfully preached, and
the practices of the apostolic age be restored even in Rome itself,
where the mystery of iniquity has begun its fearful reign."