Only One can give comfort here. Hold fast by Him. Cling to the Lord our Shepherd.
A Woman.
Know you this, oh man of God,—the Emperor has commanded that all our sacred scriptures shall be burnt!
Gregory.
I have heard it; but I cannot believe that his folly is so great.
Apollinaris.
It is true. Alexander, the new governor, has sent out soldiers to search the houses of the brethren. Even women and children are whipped till they bleed, if they are suspected of hiding books.
Cyrillus.
The Emperor’s decree applies not to Antioch only, nor even to Syria; it applies to the empire and the whole world. Every smallest word that is written concerning Christ is to be wiped out of existence, and out of the memory of believers.
Apollinaris.