| Show EMPER N S produced pride nd ami persecution into christianity SUMS SOME historical LATION the I 1 To corre no ncik 07 do the oriental Coun trisa writes Another Leiter Letter ra fu the year of our lord 31 US con sin so antine line the emperor of rome liue riding at the head bead if if ilik a rn my y saw in the heaven io i 0 o the addition adi tion goes r a luminosa lumi noua ero cross inscription with this i 1 will cori ile he shortly embraced christianity what was nas then chen left of it which a cording bording to history wasn gasn t much IM in fact the light that started to if me ine before tile of the lk V astles lost ost les had ion long V sin bince c erased to elied forth its comforting rays and ade he sword and rack and flame had ere e this rendered renders d tho the earth destine ote ie of divi divinely nelv commissioned men aile the form of christian worship bij dmd already been so BO distorted as to to o serit but faint resemblance semblance ic of e original still atil i our liero hern liei bei beine ine a Cb christian ristian and the cross beame tho the royal standard under N lich ach his hie legions were ill marched arched to 1 tory Christinn christianity ity by tile the camou delle 4 is aued froni from milan breame became in rf act the state religion the heretofore despised and were anuw loaded with honor bonor dignities and powers mag A la li icelia chu churches relies rich and cost costly oo 00 aadot be beyond bond description were erected and dedicated amid great po poverty orty and persecution were now ivi wraith alth and luxury and honor spoiling lip ip the evils of one 0 tv e succeeded by the evils of f 1 other extreme in fit other worde devil that wily prince of dark rss r ss fully determined on removing every vestige of gospel go epal light 1 r oil d changed his tactics and in i clero ler lo 10 strike a last and ci cius ashing liing briw w had planted liis his batteries v as ta ti command the weaker ie of the fol estead of the prison lie now nort give z palace instead of the t ruel and hartless edicts he had used to bo be formulated formula te against 0 or primitive saints h ho now gave ower and popularity and d wealth i 1 d I luxury and in ill fact t every in ing g calculated to dazel and lure to distraction dist ruction verily I 1 i cifer thou the son eon of the morn i x thou hast done well that winch thou undertake to do thou art a general of no mean un UD uT standing the emblem of christianity Christ anity which instant ine had bad adopted as his val standard seemed to inspire i r pta an soldiers with wilh bravery ad ad et strength bength of sinn arlit tio eo that 0 on n e irv rry side they became vie victorious victorio torio us abod id at tho the end of the eighteen yearl year i ii wa rival for the till otie was er nihed aud and greist real ii is a sole ruler of the roman i bild r llis his next atel was it to cioe caio e ik on oil tile the Hoe porus for the nw n nv of his bis deml emair em pir il aich illien ss qs is destined IL to grow a and nil liscome so BI brilliant as to 10 cause tile old capitol ai itol on tile the banks of tile the tiber t lade fade into a pimple fimple reminder ot of pt pst p st t korv glora 0 and greatness in the year 30 on the alth of fly new homo was dedicated n s tit forty lay day festivity and in loner ioner of its christian Chrict ian emperor 0 received tile name of constanti x of constantine Cons tauline multi ludes eagerly to the ne new capitol which in an ail incredibly lauirt time grew from the colony ol 01 K B tritium to an imperial city adorned with palaces churches baths forums and statues of great ma magnificence ence some of which are bull bill I 1 to be bes ean ell amon among the churches erected by at tile the new capitol abe ia most deserving e of mention I 1 is hat consecrated to sophia ophia the I 1 eternal wisdom which is said to lie one ona of the most impo imposing hig ar monuments to 1 liu u found tn on all the roman world this splendid cathedral howe however vcr was lo troyed by fire in 40 1 justin juslin lan rebuilt st sl sophia I 1 in history of its recon t i e tile the s superstitious bious legends connected with its construction by justinian are quite interesting and they show what condition christianity was in a at t that time it is said a bundled architects Super superintended intended it under leich each of whom were a hundred lra masons sons on oil the right side and on oil the loft left according to the plan revealed from heaven the angel ingel appear appeared cd a second time as a cl cini illich ich in brilliant white drez t on oil a saturday to a boy who was guard ing iop the tools of the lie masons and ordered hinl him to bring the ibe workmen immediately in older to hasten tho the bu building ibling Is As the boy refused the gleaming conidi by tile the wisdom i 1 e by the word of god that ho he would no not depart until the boy returned and that he be in the meantime would rate it over the buildings building when tile bo boy was led before tho the emperor and could not fiad the cunich who h had id appeared unto him the emperor perceived that it had been in an angel and an J in order that lie he might n forever keep liis his word as guardian 2 of the timple te mple lie sent away the boy hiden with willi presen presents presenta td to pass pas tho the rest of liis his lire life it in tile and resolved according to tho the word of tile the angel to dedi cito cate the church to the word of god the divine wisdom after the finds of tho the empire had been exhausted on oil the building din and it was not yet finished dished this same angel appet appeared tred wi with ill mules laden with SO 80 hundredweight we ight of gold with which to car carry ry on the work and when the question t ion arose as to the alie light for the altar whether it should conic come through one or two windows the all angel cl again appeared but this time lime clad in ill imperial purple with red shoes nod and explained that the light should fall through 3 1 windows winders in honor oft of the lie Fat herthe son and x nil the holy ghost the building was now rapidly pushed to completion ion it seems that nothing that tend it to add to its rence ence was left undone the inter cpr decorations of most mist brilliant and costly the altar w which tile alie angel 0 said must be con truc ted of material more precious than illan gold was composed of every i pie cious iOus stone imbed C d 10 in gold and silver and coated over avith a layer and pearls whilo while that pait called the sea was set with the most costly stones 0 vcr the altar stood a huge golden cross likewise adorned with precious C gems materials were bi biou ought glit from froin all parts of the alie I 1 roman world to adorn this structure great temples at athens home ephesus and consecrated to heathen cods cod s were made to contribute of their treasures to the dazzling splendor Pl endor of sophia and the 0 meat largo large dome the wonder ail and d admiration mi ration cfall traveler is upheld by marble columns column of isis and osiris and pillars from the temples of the sun bun and moon loon at afelio II eliopolis olis aud delos these great colu columns surpass everything every thins else ill exquisite lieas ues they are of every color colo r of marble mar ble and granite inia imaginable i coal black marble white while marble white marble streaked with blood red veins black marble streaked with or white bite veins white marble with black veins gp green en nir maible tible blue marble rose colored marble were brought from tha four quarters of alio ill known world to the chuoc church 1 ot divine wisdom at an ail enormous cost when cathedral was at last completed it at a cost of no less then olen oO OOOO and justinian ell cn the church lie exclaimed elory 1 to god who hath liatti counted tile inc worthy to complete such a work and ana then exultingly r solomon mon I 1 have sui passed thee before leaving sophia so phia which ly by ill the bahas long oil since been robbed of her preciou ornaments and con veiled belted in ill to a Moha median mos inos 1110 it may be well to take a parting glance at its founder the great ant anil much eulogized champ ionian of christianity constantine what little religion on this monster possessed wasa was a mixture of paganism e and what ill the world in calling christianity ti As proof rif of his piety and love of nf the church we lye mi might M lit cite the facts of his putting C his ton on to death for the great crime of his being jealous of his fathers renown afim causing canting 0 liis his wife to lie acied in the bachof bath of liis his killing his sister and driving liis his mother to the tomb with grief and fand dispain di nut but we wont wo will tilli simply ply pa 8 S over this part of his pious life lifland nw say say th eliat after a glorious reign of ofa 35 years lie he was called call d to his fathers DON J U N ff 50 2 pr 7 1 I 1 IV I 1 JOE JOB r naipoo nAi pio HACKS JOUX JOUN 9 JOM X ss three great ho ani hat are I 1 karohl of cf norway mid and joe donogh I 1 on oili ind john S J Jolin soD of the llie united states who are tile swiftest in the world |
