The dispersion of the
Apostles
Despite the intrigues against St. Paul, the missionary work of the infant
Church continued apace. In Acts 8 we read of the conversion and baptism
of the Jewish–Ethiopian eunuch (“a minister of Candace the Queen of the
Ethiopians”) by the Deacon Philip. There is a tradition that St. Matthew
followed this eunuch to Ethiopia some years afterwards. Three hundred
years later, Christian missionaries venturing into the Upper Nile region
would find people aware of the sign of the Cross.¹
In 39 AD, St. Peter was traveling along the Palestinian coastal plain
confirming and strengthening neophytes converted by Deacon Philip. The
most important city then in the region was Caesaria with its artificial harbor
and Roman cohort. One member of this cohort was the centurion Cornelius,
a friend and benefactor of the Jews. While at his regular prayer, Cornelius
received an unexpected visitor, and angel of God who commanded him to
dispatch men and bring St. Peter who was at that time in Joppa. Reassured
by the Holy Spirit, St. Peter made his way to Caesaria, where he saw the
Holy Spirit descend upon Cornelius’ pagan household. St. Peter then
declared, “Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have
received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” The Church had received her first
Gentile converts:
“The Church, from this day, ceased to be a Jewish community; ‘it
will be an international society where shall meet as brothers, without
distinction of rite or race, the Jew and the Gentile, the master and the
slave, the poor and the rich. In vain does Israel promise herself the
first place in the kingdom of God. Israel can disappear without
causing a vacuum; her mission is ended and her place henceforth will
be taken by a spiritual Israel made up of all the faithful.’”²
The conversion of Cornelius would trigger a flood of Gentile converts into
the Church. Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, hearing of what happened
1
Warren H. Carroll, The Founding of Christendom, Ibid., p. 400.
2
Fr. John Laux, Church History, TAN Books and Publishers, 1930. p. 14.
 |
 |
 |