27
June 363 A.D. Julian
the Apostate Couldn’t Defeat Christ
Graves, Dan. “Julian the Apostate Couldn’t
Defeat Christ.” Christianity.com. Apr
2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/julian-the-apostate-couldnt-defeat-christ-11629670.html. Accessed 5 May 2014.
Emperor Julian of the Roman
Empire grunted in agony. You would, too, if a spear had just been shoved into
your guts. It was on this day, June 27,
363.* Julian was at war with the Persians. But after just two years of rule
he was finished. He was only 32 years old.
As he bled, the dying emperor
groaned, "You have conquered, O Galilean"--referring to Jesus Christ.
At least that is what later reports said. Early rumors suggested that a
Christian had assassinated the emperor. The Christians probably didn't, but they had
reason to. Julian had struggled to end the power of Christians in the Roman
Empire. Since the day fifty years earlier when Constantine won a key victory in
the sign of the chi-rho, Christian influence had steadily grown.
Julian's zeal against the
Christians surprised some because he had been brought up as a Christian,
baptized, and even ordained a reader (lector) in the church. This rejection of
his upbringing led Christians to call him "Julian the Apostate." (An
apostate is one who falls away from faith.) What caused Julian to change sides?
A gifted writer himself, Julian
fell in love with Hellenic civilization. He also fell under the spell of
Maximus of Ephesus who used magic tricks to get a hold on the young man's mind.
Another reason that may have
influenced Julian was that a "Christian" emperor killed off all of
his family for political reasons. Although Julian owed his life to another
Christian, he seems to have blamed all Christians for the massacre.
At any rate, with strong support
from the more educated classes, Julian determined to restore the traditional
pagan religions to supremacy. He ordered old temples rebuilt and new ones
started. He developed a pagan priesthood.
Because Christians were loud in
their disapproval of Julian's actions (some even resorted to violence), he went
even further in his rejection of Christianity, removing Christian teachers who
did not accept the legends taught in the pages of pagan authors. In another
move apparently meant to harm the Christians, he sided with their Jewish
antagonists, ordering the rebuilding of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The
project was defeated by an earthquake.
Julian studied several pagan
religions and considered them the true heritage of the empire. But, taking a
page from Christians, he urged the pagans to show more care and compassion for
the poor and needy, noting that the Christians cared not only for their own
poor but for the pagans as well. This had given the Christians a strong moral
advantage among their pagan neighbors.
At reports of Julian's miserable
end, Christians claimed that God had judged him. But pagans must have regretted
the loss which meant the abrupt end of their perks and plans.
*Historians disagree on this
date. Will Durant, Christian History, and other sources give the 27th, but Encyclopedia Britannica and
the Catholic Encyclopedia give the 26th.
Bibliography:
1. Aland, Kurt. Saints and Sinners;
men and ideas in the early church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1970.
2. Chadwick, Henry. The Early
Church. Penguin Books, 1967.
3. Durant, Will. The Age of Faith.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950.
4. Hoeber, Karl. "Julian the
Apostate." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
5. "Julian the Apostate."
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A.
Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
6. Various internet and encyclopedia
articles and Histories of Christianity.
Last updated May, 2007.
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