Ever thought about it? What caused the Colosseum to close down? I didn\u2019t, till I read this story of a monk from Asia. There is one thing that is very \u201csacred\u201d to all people: their pleasures. They will enjoy it and defend it \u2013 irrespective of the type of pleasure or the consequences of their pleasures. For some, it is women, for other theatre, movies, race cars, rugby, cricket, soccer, smoking and many others. Every country has its own. The Romans had several. One of them was the killing of people in the Colosseum in Rome. Tens of thousands of Christians were fed to wild beasts in the Colosseum. And later it expanded to gladiators that were trained and were fighting till the last man stands. Romans liked blood. That was their sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not that we do not like blood\ntoday. We just have other names for it. More about that on another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what stopped the blood-hungry\nRomans. What stopped them to satisfy their thirst for blood as entertainment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telemachus was a monk from Asia,\na monk with a lofty mission burning in his heart. He knew of the Roman arena.\nOf the cruel scenes that delighted the pagans there, and his mind could not\nrest while he knew that such wickedness still lived in the world. But what\ncould one man do about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nothing. Not if he stayed in Asia\nanyway. So, with no clear plan in mind, but with the sure knowledge that God\nhad called him, Telemachus departed on foot for the western capital. Hundreds,\nthen thousands, of miles he travelled, through heat and cold, wind and rain,\nalone with his God and his mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Lord, I know not what You plan\nfor me, but I ask only one thing- that You find me not unworthy of this\nmission.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was New Year\u2019s Day 404 that Telemachus\nfinally arrived in the city of Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Lord, I am here. What am I to\ndo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telemachus made his way to the\narena, and like everyone else was soon seated inside as the day\u2019s entertainment\nbegan. The scene can hardly be imagined. The cruel Romans delighted in the\nsight of bloodshed, but to the most bloodthirsty, simple murder can become\nboring rather quickly. They had developed a variety of means to make death more\ninteresting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gladiators with a short sword and\nfull body armour would be pitted against others who were without shield, but\nprovided with a long trident (a three-pointed pitchfork) and a strong net. The crowd\nwould roar with delight as the cumbersome armoured man became trapped in the\nnet, trying to avoid his enemy\u2019s trident and get in a blow with his short sword\nat the same time. Some of the gladiators were forced to wear bronze helmets,\nwith no eyeholes. Two poor souls dressed in such helmet could provide endless\namusement to their cruel audience as they swung at each other wildly, dodging blows\nwhen none were coming and then being struck totally unawares. It could be a\nlong time before his opponent’s random blows finally vanquished one. Even women\nwere thrown into the arena to fight before the insane crowd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘O, Lord!’ Telemachus cried. ‘No!’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The monk watched in helpless\nexasperation as young men attacked each with a savagery that only certain death\ncan provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Lord, bring this horror to an\nend!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unable to sit a moment longer, Telemachus\nbegan to push his way through the cheering crowd. A look of grim determination\nwas etched upon his face as he made his way to the lowest tier, oblivious to\nthe shoves and curses that came his way. He sprang over the partition, and\nseconds later was dashing across the arena floor towards the two combatants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a few seconds, the crowd\nroared with laughter at the unusual sight, this shabbily dressed foreigner\nrunning wildly into the danger zone on the Colosseum floor, but silence fell as\nTelemachus separated the warriors, stood between them and addressed them in a\npowerful voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘For the sake of Christ, I beg\nyou to show true bravery,\u2019 he cried. \u2018Don\u2019t fight like animals to amuse these\nsavages! If you must, offer your neck to the sword of the foe, but do not bring\nthis guilt upon yourselves! Put your trust in the eternal life which Christ\noffers, and do not fear what men can do to you!\u2019 The weary gladiators stood silent and\nuncertain. Exhausted and bloody, they listened with full attention to the\nearnest Christian\u2019s words. The crowd also was silenced – but not for long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘You filthy beast!’ Enraged at\nthe interruption of their vile pleasures, the crowd exploded with demonic fury.\n‘Kill him!’ They began to throw stones, and whatever rubbish came to hand at\nthe defenceless monk, as he turned his attention to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Only Jesus can set you free!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a roar, the crowd burst over\nthe barricades, and within seconds they were upon him. The monk soon collapses\nbeneath their blows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Lord forgive them! They know not\nwhat they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telemachus breathed his last and\nentered the life that knows no horror, no pain. But what had he achieved? What\nhad God accomplished in sending him across the world to die on the Colosseum\nfloor? The answer was soon revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telemachus had not died in vain.\nNews of his death had drawn an immediate and furious response from the\nChristian population. Emperor Honorius heard about\nwhat Telemachus had done. \u2018Gladiatorial combats are prohibited,\u2019 came\nthe imperial order. \u2018Organizers of such events shall be severely punished.\u2019 The\nchief attraction of the great Roman arena, the Colosseum (and also the Circus\nMaximus) was outlawed, and the scene of untold suffering eventually fell into\ndisuse and was left to crumble slowly. Its remains stand to this day as a\nreminder of the horror of the pagan past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a few pagans, brought to\ntheir senses by this last victim of the amphitheatre, were converted soon after\nthe fateful day. One account said that after what happened in the amphitheatre\non that day, many just got up and silently left \u2013 never to come back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
St. Telemachus’ death is\ncommemorated on the first of January. At the beginning of each year, we should\nperhaps spare a thought for all those Christians who have given their lives to\ngive us something much more significant than a new year. They have bought with\ntheir blood a new world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
THEODERET,CH 5.26<\/p>\n\n\n\n