Tuesday, April 21, 2026

It is the 21st of April 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Today, we head back to the early church- the 100s were sources are scant, but the stories can be fascinating pictures of the early church. For today’s story, we head to the year 185. Let me start by painting a picture of the Roman Empire at that time. From about 27 BC, we enter the time of Caesar Augustus and the legendary Pax Romana- the great era of Roman Peace that served as the seedbed for Christianity.

 

Economic prosperity through trade helped keep relative peace. It was the golden age of Latin literature and history. The Empire was happy to allow for some religious tolerance- notably, there was one guy who got it pretty bad for claiming to be God… but that’s kind of the whole reason we are here.

 

The first century of the church’s existence saw this relative peace and flourishing, but things began to turn midway through the second century. The Antonine Plague, which began in 165, led to inflation and a gulf between rich and poor. Furthermore, there were questions about succession- Marcus Aurelius was emperor, but without a clear plan, there were various claimants and stresses on the empire. Aurelius would name his son, Commodus, as co-emperor- kind of a big deal, as this process of primogeniture- your kids follow you in power- had not been the case. Add to that, Commodus, who became sole emperor with the death of his father in 180, was increasingly erratic (his death later would usher in the so-called “year of Five Emperors”)- you might also remember Commodus as played by Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Gladiator. So we head to the year 185- Commodus is the Emperor and has taken a pretty hands-off approach to the Christians. He himself seemed disinterested in traditional Roman religion and had a concubine, Marcia, who was sympathetic to Christians and convinced Commodus to release some Christian prisoners and treat them with, at least, a kind of benign neglect.

 

But there was a man- a Roman senator named Apollonius who had become a Christian. Christianity was technically illegal, but the law was rarely enforced. But Apollonius had a slave who tried to get in good with the local Praefect by outing Apollonius. Alas, another law made it illegal to accuse others of being Christian. So, both the slave and Apollonius had to stand trial. What followed was one of the earliest accounts of a public defense of Christianity- the full text has been lost, but both Eusebius and Jerome make mention of this famous defense by a Roman Senator and convert to Christianity. He was offered clemency if he would publicly denounce his faith and make clear that the Empire was first and foremost worthy of reverence. In what was characterized as a clear and calm defense of his faith before the tribunal, Apollinus stated that he didn’t worship idols or things created by man, but God alone. And that Jesus was indeed divine and through his death “defeated the empire of sin”- he furthermore wasn’t afraid to die because Christianity assured him that his soul was immortal and thus he would live for eternity with God. While he was a layman, it’s interesting to hear him lay out what he believed to be the core of his faith- and this in such an early story in the history of the church.

 

Different sources have differing accounts of what happened to the man. This is also made fuzzy by the fact that April 18th has also been a day on which a different St. Apollonius- a friend of St. Valentine- was martyred (calendars are tricky, but you know that this show was never really about the calendar). Nonetheless, whether his legs were first crushed, or whether he was beheaded afterward, St Apollonius became one of the first martyrs of note in an Empire that would soon crack down even harder on the Christians… this, of course, being so important to the church in the 200s. Today we remember St. Apollonius- the senator who was martyred for his faith and gave an impassioned and early defense of Christianity on this, the 21st of April in 185.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and- whoa! The book of Proverbs? Yeah- Chapter 9- it sure sounds like a picture of the Kingdom.

Wisdom has built her house;
 she has set up its seven pillars.

She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
 she has also set her table.

She has sent out her servants, and she calls
 from the highest point of the city,

“Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,

“Come, eat my food
 and drink the wine I have mixed.

Leave your simple ways and you will live;
 walk in the way of insight.”

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 21st of April 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who just heard, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man spending today, the last of three at Disneyland with the family, likely for the foreseeable future… gonna get my Space Mountain fix- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.