The other appointment of a shoemaker to the episcopate was due to the piety and wisdom of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the pupil and friend of Origen (220-270 a.d.). Gregory was then Bishop of Neo-Cæsarea in Asia Minor, and when a vacancy occurred in the bishopric of Comana in Cappadocia, he defied all conventionalism and prejudice, and appointed “a poor shoemaker named Alexander, despised by the world, but great in the sight of God, who did honor to so exalted a station in the Church.”[77] He was chosen in preference to scholars and men of good social status on account of his extraordinary piety. This Alexander justified the choice thus made by reason of his excellent discourse, his holy living, and a martyr’s death. He is honored in the Roman Calendar on August 11th.[78]
THE PIOUS COBBLER OF ALEXANDRIA.
Quite as good a man, no doubt, if not as fit to fill the episcopal chair, was the pious cobbler of Alexandria, of whom we read that St. Anthony paid him a visit in consequence of a voice from Heaven which said to him, “Antony, thou art not so perfect as a cobbler that dwelleth at Alexandria.” The pious anchorite was in the habit of hearing such voices and obeying them. All the leading events of his life were accompanied by a similar message from heaven, as he deemed it. Accordingly he took his staff, and leaving his secluded retreat in the desert, came down to the great city in search of the pious cobbler. Arriving before his door, where the good man sat at work, Antony asked him for an account of himself and his mode of living. “Sir,” answered the cobbler, “as for me, good works I have none. My life is but simple, seeing I am but a poor cobbler. In the morning when I rise, I pray for the whole city wherein I dwell, especially for all such neighbors and poor friends as I have; after that I sit me down to my labor, where I spend the whole day in getting my living; and I keep me from all falsehood, for I hate nothing so much as I do deceitfulness; wherefore when I make any man a promise, I keep it and perform it truly; and thus I spend my time poorly with my wife and children, whom I teach and instruct, so far as my wit will serve me, to fear and dread God; and this is the sum of my simple life.”
RABBI JOCHANAN THE SHOEMAKER.
Speaking of Alexandria reminds us of another worthy of that city, the famous Jewish Rabbi Jochanan Sandalarius, or the shoemaker. Learned Rabbins were common enough in Alexandria from the time of its foundation by Alexander the Great, 332 b.c., down to its capture by the Arabs in the seventh century a.d. And as it was the custom with even the most learned Rabbins to learn a trade, it can be no matter of surprise that many of the most eminent leaders of thought among the Jews were employed in what are now regarded as very humble occupations. The Delegate Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, in an interesting article in the Nineteenth Century,[79] tells us that “in the grand basilica synagogue of Alexandria, separate portions of the building were assigned to the silversmiths, weavers, and other trades.... The Rabbins, the authorized expounders of the law, deemed it derogatory to receive any reward for the exercise of their spiritual, doctrinal, or judicial functions, and maintained themselves by the labor of their hands. And thus in the Talmud we meet, in curious juxtaposition, the Rabbi and his trade in such phrases as these: “It was taught by Rabbi Jochanan the shoemaker.” This illustrious Rabbi came from Alexandria to Palestine, attracted by the great name of Akiba Ben Joseph, the famous Rabbi, who was the chief teacher of the rabbinical school at Jaffa at the close of the first century and the beginning of the second. In this school there were said to be no less than 24,000 pupils. Akiba sided with Bar Cocheba in his revolt against Rome, 132 a.d., acknowledged him as the Messiah, and became his armor-bearer. On the death of Bar Cocheba and the destruction of his army, Akiba was taken prisoner, and remained in the hands of the Romans for a long time, until his cruel death under Severus. During his imprisonment Jochanan managed to get access to his cell, and receive instructions from him on questions which had not been settled. Through Jochanan and Meir, Akiba greatly influenced the teachers of the next generation. Jochanan was certainly one of his most illustrious pupils, taking a leading part in the theological discussions of the Tanaim, the authors of the Mishna and Gamara, where his opinions are frequently quoted. In the Mishna Aboth[80] “Rabbi Jochanan the shoemaker” is reported to have made the following sensible remark, which reminds one of the counsel of Gamaliel to the Sanhedrim at Jerusalem:[81] “An association established for a praiseworthy object must ultimately succeed; but an association established without such an object cannot succeed.”