Medical Ethics and Vaccine Mandates

Vaccine mandates are nothing new. In fact, they have a very recent history tracing all the way back to the Enlightenment period. This was also the period when vaccinations first arrived as a science. In the history of Russia, the first ever to be vaccinated is believed to be Catherine the Great, who was inoculated against small pox in 1768[1]. The science of vaccination was new at the time and the process was highly dangerous, one had a stronger chance of dying from the inoculation process than one does now. But small pox outbreaks were also terrible. And the Empress Catherine had seen Countess Sheremeteva, whose fiancé, Count Nikita Panin, was her son's mentor. Because of this, Catherine had a great fear of small pox and was willing to do anything. She brought Thomas Dimsdale into her courts whose inoculation procedures were new at the time and had him administer the inoculation to her. She developed a small pox illness which was claimed to have been reduced significantly by the new vaccination method. Loving the new science, she declared as blockheads and wicked in a private letter to her friend Voltaire, any one who refused the treatment[2]. It is unclear if she ever mandated vaccinations though.

At a similar time period, small pox was infecting the Holy Roman Empire at its highest levels of authority. The Empress Maria Theresa became infected with small pox and small pox also claimed the lives of both the wives of the Emperor Joseph II, Isabella of Parma and Maria Josefa. Maria Theresa's daughter Josefa also died from small pox. Voltaire had warned that sixty our of one hundred people were infected with small pox in 1734. Fearing small pox, Maria Theresa began to implement the new biotechnology throughout the Empire, however, people lacked trust in the bureaucratic institutions of the Health Fund. How do you convince people to receive a new medicine when they cannot trust the authorities implementing the medicine? Maria Theresa, much like the Empress Catherine, criticized the peasants who preferred, out of the goodness of their heart, to listen to the wise counsel of God. In her efforts to convince the public, she decided to use orphans as her guinea pigs and mandated that approximately 20-30 orphans throughout the poorhouses in Graz be vaccinated.[3] Today, this would be considered close to a war crime and definitely a violation of children's rights.

In the Duchy of Parma, in the early 1830s, Maria Luigia began the most bureaucratically controlled vaccination campaign which established different incentives and would mete out punishments, such as government aid, refusal to be admitted to hospices, boarding schools, private and public schools. Once again, the process was not necessarily the safest but these had to be done according to the will of the bureaucracy because small pox was "too dangerous".

The inoculation fluid had to be preserved all the year round in the foundling hospice for infants, annexed to the maternity hospital. For fluid we have to intend not only the one preserved in tubes (minimal amount) but the one kept constantly in the hospice with regular grafts from one child to another. The children were the true deposit of the fluid, the small amount preserved in glass tubes was only a reserve in case of failure of engraftment of the vaccinations, thus interrupting the human chain. Today, such a method would certainly be considered unethical and a serious violation of human rights and of children in particular, but for those times was a normal and completely lawful thing.[4]

The process, was not necessarily the most ethical either. And this was not the last time a vaccine mandate would be ordered. We would reach all the way into the early 20th century with the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts. A man named Henning Jacobson would refuse to pay a fine to the State of Massachusetts after being ordered to be inoculated with a small pox vaccine he had received when he was younger. He was a Swedish immigrant and had already received a small pox vaccine at a younger age. He did not want it. His case was taken all the way to Supreme Court where the Court ruled in favor of the State of Massachusetts thus establishing a precedent for quite some time that the government has authority over your medical choices. The case was used to justify sterilization. So it was more shocking when the Nuremburg trial of 1947 found the Nazi doctors guilty of medical experimentation on Holocaust victims. The Nuremburg trial essentially reversed the precedents that had been held since the Enlightenment.[6]

And in 1952, Pope Pius XII spoke to a group of medical researchers in a letter titled, "The Moral Limits of Medical Research and Treatment" which further challenged the ethical precedents established by that era of Enlightenment despotism. In it, Pope Pius XII calls into question such a top-down approach. Is a man's duty to the community or does the community exist for man? In the increasingly despotic state produced by the Hobbesian Leviathan, the bureaucratic faceless evil, man's duty is principally for the community. The great postwar trials brought to light a terrifying number of documents testifying to the sacrifice of the individual in the “medical interests of the community.”

25. In the minutes of these trials one finds testimony and reports showing how, with the consent and, at times, even under the formal order of public authority, certain research centers systematically demanded to be furnished with persons from concentration camps for their medical experiments. One finds how they were delivered to such centers, so many men, so many women, so many for one experiment, so many for another. There are reports on the conduct and the results of such experiments, of the subjective and objective symptoms observed during the different phases of the experiments. One cannot read these reports without feeling a profound compassion for the victims, many of whom went to their deaths, and without being frightened by such an aberration of the human mind and heart. But We can also add that those responsible for these atrocious deeds did no more than to reply in the affirmative to the question We have asked and to accept the practical consequences of their affirmation.[7]

But Pope Pius XII corrects this view that was so commonly held before the famous statement of the Nuremburg Code.

28. In the above mentioned cases, insofar as the moral justification of the experiments rests on the mandate of public authority, and therefore on the subordination of the individual to the community, of the individual’s welfare to the common welfare, it is based on an erroneous explanation of this principle. It must be noted that, in his personal being, man is not finally ordered to usefulness to society. On the contrary, the community exists for man.[8]

And thus, he concludes, that ultimately, in the case of administering medicine to man, the following needs consideration:

38. Without doubt, before giving moral authorization to the use of new methods, one cannot ask that any danger or any risk be excluded. That would exceed human possibilities, paralyze all serious scientific research and very frequently be to the detriment of the patient. In these cases the weighing of the danger must be left to the judgment of the tried and competent doctor. Nevertheless, as Our explanation has shown, there is a degree of danger that morality cannot allow. In doubtful cases, when means already known have failed, it may happen that a new method still insufficiently tried offers, together with very dangerous elements, appreciable chances of success. If the patient gives his consent, the use of the procedure in question is licit. But this way of acting cannot be upheld as a line of conduct in normal cases.[9]

A man must be warned of any potential dangers to himself. We are given numbers, not all of them honest, on the current wave of vaccines. Which ones are ethical, which ones are safe, which ones are effective, etc. Even further, we've truly shown ourselves heirs to the Beast of the Enlightenment Despotisms. And while the science on the Anthony Fauci disease and the science of the Anthony Fauci disease vaccines keeps changing, apparently, the Enlightenment science that vaccines eventually stop the spread of transmission or that herd immunity is only acquired through vaccination, or that all must be vaccinated to stop every illness, has been set in stone. This is the sacred science that cannot change under any circumstance. We have already made the conclusion that the vaccines accomplish this goal so there is no consideration, not even based on current numbers in Israel, that the vaccines might actually be failing to do what our leaders have been insisting they would do. We continue to quarantine "fully vaccinated" people who have been infected or reinfected with the Fauci and yet tell with a straight face to our fellow man that the vaccines will stop the spread of transmission. Do we really believe ourselves any more or are we beginning to set up a masquerade to justify how we have given into such power?

1. mos.ru. (2019, September 21). From Catherine the great to the Red hippo: History of vaccination in Russia / news / Moscow CITY web site. Moscow City Web Site. https://www.mos.ru/en/news/item/62002073/.

2. Foussianes, C. (2021, April 30). Catherine the Great, VACCINE QUEEN. Town & Country. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a35091190/catherine-the-great-vaccine-queen/.

3. Winkler, A. (n.d.). The battle against smallpox. Die Welt der Habsburger. https://www.habsburger.net/en/chapter/battle-against-smallpox.

4. Virdis, R. (2019, May 23). The beginning of smallpox vaccination in the Duchy of Parma. Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6776211/#!po=1.00000.

5. Henning Jacobson loses his fight with the board of public health OVER VACCINATION. New England Historical Society. (2021, April 29). https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/henning-jacobson-loses-his-freedom-to-the-board-of-public-health/.

6. The Nuremberg Code. (n.d.). http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/nuremberg/. .pdf

7. The moral limits of medical research and treatment. Papal Encyclicals. (2017, April 25). https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius12/p12psych.htm.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

W.H.O. to rename COVID-19 in honor of esteemed immunologist Anthony Fauci

This morning, the W.H.O. announced that it will be renaming COVID-19 in honor of the esteemed immunologist Anthony Fauci. COVID-19, which is called that as an abbreviation of "corona virus disease 2019" because it emerged from Wuhan, China in the year 2019 after the U.S. government released it onto the wet market from the lab in Wuhan, China funded by Fauci's gain of function research, is the disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"It just wasn't a really catchy name for a disease. I mean we have bird flu, swine flu, Lou Gehrig's disease, the Spanish flu, etc. We needed a better name for it."

Dr. Tedros said when he was asked for comment on the name change.

The W.H.O. which has honored the work of the esteemed immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose research funds may have indeed funded the origin of the novel corona virus disease in the first place, has made the decision to name the disease instead after him. From here on out, COVID-19 will now be know as "Anthony Fauci disease". He sometimes spells his name with an "x" in it but the spelling for the disease will be kept without the "x".

"I am honored to finally have accomplished something. I have bungled AIDS/HIV for years, I have murdered dogs in experiments that didn't benefit anyone, and now I finally have an accomplishment to tell my grandkids. Your grandfather is a disease! I mean, I have been sick for over a year too as proof by the fact that I wear a mask too! And now it's cemented in history. I am a disease. There is now an Anthony Fauci disease and I am he!"

Anthony Fauci said as he might have smiled, it was difficult to tell since he was wearing a boot stamping on a human face forever on his face.

"I think now that there is a vaccine out there, we will certainly see that Anthony Fauci disease will continue to get worse and worse so it is important everyone get our vaccine so that money can be funneled into our company and face severe restrictions if you don't."

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said leaving Moderna, Johnson&Johnson, and Astrazeneca furious that there was this Pfizer-privilege being granted by the federal government and frantically working to gouge prices and shovel bribes to the State.

The W.H.O. re-emphasized that vaccinated individuals infected with asymptomatic Anthony Fauci disease cannot possibly spread it and continued to heap blame on the unvaccinated who, even if they don't have Anthony Fauci disease, can still spread it. They further reassured that the vaccinated must continue to perpetually fear the unvaccinated. They also reached out to the Pope to pressure the heathen unvaccinated Catholics that they are betraying their own Catholic faith by refusing to reject the infallibly declared Mass of the Ages in favor of the Novus Ordo that they are violating charity by not receiving the vaccine. The Pope will soon declare vaccination against Anthony Fauci disease a sacramental pre-requisite to baptism. Joe Biden continues to administer Holy Eucharist in the Vatican.

CDC to offer new guidelines on how to bury the bodies of the unvaccinated

This afternoon, the CDC has announced guidelines on how to bury the bodies of unvaccinated individuals. These guidelines include socially distancing, wearing a mask, wearing two masks, and maybe even a boot stamping on a human face forever. They also include handling the dead body with rubber gloves.

"The dead body of an unvaccinated individual contains higher levels of the virus than the dead bodies of vaccinated individuals. All bodies of unvaccinated individuals should be wearing at least two masks when they are buried. It's understandable that you might want to kiss them while they rest in their coffins before burial but we would likely see a super spreader if that were to occur. Don't blame me, blame your loved one."

Fauxci said as he put on a second and third mask to hide his ugly face.

Many white privileged American neo-Nazis continue to refuse vaccination claiming things like, "you'll still get COVID even after you get vaccinated!" These claims have been debunked by the people who created the vaccinations and now have massive monetary bargaining deals with the government so to not trust them is insanity. Vaccinations are received to prevent you from dying. The Pope said it was a charitable act because by preventing yourself from dying, you actually prevent everyone from dying. In addition, social distancing needs to be implemented, not just double-masking of your loved one.

"The unvaccinated should be buried six feet apart, not just six feet under."

Rochelle Walensky said.

Many neo-Nazi fascists continue to complain about the rules currently but vaccination definitely ends the spread. You know this because the same people who told you Afghanistan would not fall to a hoard of angry goat-herders told you that it could and we would never lie to you. Fascists have this obsessive idea that the government routinely lies to them.

One girl we asked for comment said, "My father was vaccinated against COVID-19 and he was infected with it and died from it. But had he not been vaccinated, it would have been much worse. Please get vaccinated!"

Anthony Fauxci further insists that the vaccine will prevent the spread of COVID-19. Even people who are infected with COVID-19 after being vaccinated, no matter how sick they are, cannot possibly spread it which is why they are no longer obligated to wear masks and why the fully vaccinated Texas Governor who was recently infected with COVID-19 is now isolating to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"We have a pandemic of the unvaccinated." Said the loopy President Joe Biden just last month. It is true. The reckless, non-isolating unvaccinated people are spreading it because even if they don't have COVID-19, the fact that they aren't wearing masks shows they are spreading it. Vaccinated people, even if they have COVID-19, will not spread it. 100% of the population needs to be fully vaccinated and it is inevitable that we will see mandates imposed universally as Pfizer and Moderna begin to price gouge. The CDC ensures that there is absolutely no corruption going on there.

Should a monarch mandate vaccines?

*Note: I've read "the science" on both sides of the issue, I am only arguing on an ethical perspective. I have no interest in "science" on this one and any refutation of this argument should be based on the ethics. The fact of the matter is that "the science" is ridiculously based on junk propaganda hailing from both sides of the aisle on "vaccines are bad" to "vaccines end the spread of illnesses". When governmental "scientists" are literally talking about how vaccinated people and unvaccinated people with the same illness have "different levels of virus", we have literally creeped into cuckoo-ville. Either I just slept through all the "asymptomatic" spread alerts from 2020 or somehow the virus decided to "settle" down when an infected person who has been vaccinated ends up with COVID and has symptoms.

The question as to whether a monarch should mandate vaccines is a multi-faceted ethical argument that is based on the question of freedom and the role of the monarch in preserving freedom and order in society, the question of tyranny, and the question of holding medicine as a bargaining chip for earning freedom. Obviously, there are many things that we do in life that can justifiably end up with us being stripped of our freedoms and having to earn it back. Deliberately infecting someone with an illness is also provably monstrous. However, in the case of an epidemic or a pandemic in which a person can be exposed unknowingly to a disease at a given moment and then unknowingly spread it to another person is of an entirely different merit. No one has any control over nature. Vaccines are generally used to trigger the immune system to responding to a particular disease in order to prepare the immune system for defense against the particular disease they've received vaccination for. But also, likewise, is exposure to the actual illness for which the vaccine is for to have the same effect, obviously. This exposure to the illness builds up the immune response which in turn allows the body to be better equipped to fighting the disease. The theory is that the immune people will then prevent disease transmission. This is called herd immunity which the Encyclopedia Britannica describes as follows:

Herd immunity, also called community immunity, state in which a large proportion of a population is able to repel an infectious disease, thereby limiting the extent to which the disease can spread from person to person. Herd immunity can be conferred through natural immunity, previous exposure to the disease, or vaccination. An entire population does not need to be immune to attain herd immunity. Rather, herd immunity can occur when the population density of persons who are susceptible to infection is sufficiently low so as to minimize the likelihood of an infected individual coming in contact with a susceptible individual.

Note the part I bold. If one is going for herd immunity, natural immunity and previous exposure are both sufficient alternatives to vaccination. Ergo, the question as to whether someone who has been around a certain group of infected people should be mandated to take a vaccine is, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica a "no". This will be elaborated even further when one considers corporate investment in medicines. I believe there is a strong need to be concerned given the socialization of medicine in recent years that we could see corporatist based medical tyranny.

What is freedom? According to H.J.A. Sire,

Freedom consists in the fulfilment of one's nature by the complete exercise of the human powers. Since its purpose is fulfilment, its proper objects are the things that truly fulfil man. In that, freedom may be compared to the commonplace function of eating, as a good and as a right. The good of eating embraces eating the things that we need to live on; it does not extend to an indiscriminate voracity for things that we should not be eating at all. ... [P]atriots rightly rebel against foreign domination; subjects do not rightly rebel against their legitimate king. To be free is to reject what is alien and to live under one's proper law, whether it is a political constitution or the moral law that defines human nature. (Phoenix From the Ashes, 349-350)

Freedom is not a right to excess but a basic need. Human interaction is not a right to excess but also a need. In fact, Solzhenitsyn also indicates that after the isolation that was imposed upon the enemies of the state in the Soviet Gulags that one would more than likely be begging to be put to death instead of putting up with the isolation (The Gulag Archipelago, Part 1, ch. 11). When God created man, he expressed that it was not good for the man to be alone. When someone disallows you a basic necessity and holds up another thing as a bargaining chip for you to get it back, that is called abuse. They are demanding that you place immediate trust that they will fulfill their word despite the fact that what has been taken away is a basic necessity. When someone refuses to feed you unless they first gain something in return from you, they are withholding your need to eat in order to gain something from you. That is not the behavior of a loving father but the behavior of an abusive father.

Plato describes his ideal ruler in The Republic. It is one who has the spirit of philosophy, a true lover of wisdom, control over his passions, and is reluctant to govern.

Until philosophers are kings, and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils. (Republic, Bk. 5)

The ideal ruler does not rule in order to rule. "The ruler who is good for anything ought not to beg his subjects to be ruled by him" (Bk. 6) The true ruler is not concerned with maintaining power because he has no self-interests. He is a servant by example and a ruler because he leads. This is the best State. "Whereas the State in  which the rulers are most reluctant to govern is always the best and most quietly governed, and the State in which they are most eager, the worst." (Bk. 7)

On contrast, the tyrant is rules in order to rule. He emerges from a democratic State which has indulged in the excesses of freedom. Freedom is a need but here, we see freedom being taken as a license to indulge in immorality. The tyrant emerges in order to solve a problem. Thus, the tyrant comes into play during a crisis scenario, claiming he is the one who can fix the problems. After he has fixed the problems though, he still has an appetite for power. He gins up wars against his enemies and instills fears into his citizens. He must convince the public that they always need a leader. But when he runs out of enemies, he must stir up other wars.

And if any of them are suspected by him of having notions of freedom, and of resistance to his authority, he will have a good pretext for destroying them by placing them at the mercy of the enemy; and for all these reasons the tyrant must be always getting up a war. (Bk. 8)

In Book 9, Plato describes the tyrant as someone always indulged in passions. He wants to entertain these passions to an excess but cannot find the funds. So he goes after his own subjects.

One thing clear about this pandemic from the beginning is that our leaders have always seen this as a war. They have routinely seen this issue in terms of martial concepts. Like the tyrant, they look to gin up fear in the populace and create an enemy. There is a convenience especially in a pandemic to gin up fear among the populace. Fear of death, fear of being infected with a disease one could die from, fear of neighbor who could likely infect them. The leaders have said they are the only ones who can resolve the problem, we must look to them without question as a quasi-Messianic figure leading us through darkness. They don't indicate when it will end or even if it is clear that it will end. This progresses toward an infinite loop where they are always creating a crisis. One moment, we could have basic liberties that we take for granted, attending church regularly, seeing our friends' faces, hanging out at the mall, etc. The next minute, all social interaction is cut off, we are locked in our houses, wearing masks, convinced to join our leaders in this war that has no mark on when it will end. Our leaders will give us a goal at one point and then a new one the next. This is the kind of behavior that Plato would more than likely see if he were alive today as tyrannical. The tyrant, in order to increase his power, must always be getting up a war so that he is continuously looked on as a leader.

St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite has the following to say about medical ethics:

[I]n such a time of famine, hunger, and sickness, or some other such calamity, you rich, you merchants, you buyers of wheat and other fruits, and likewise you physicians, for the love of God beware of selling your produce to the poor and needy at an exorbitant price; and you physicians, do not provide medical care for an excessive fee, and do not become bad doctors, as Job says—'But ye are all unjust physicians and healers of diseases'—finding time to be a helper in making a profit. (Christian Morality, Discourse VIII)

And what high price are the physicians of today's world placing us under? "No jab no job"? The day-to-day things you used to be able to do, you cannot do. Buy our medicine and inject it into yourself or you may not even be able to shop for food. But one might say that the government is paying for it. Well the government pays for it with our money which it taxes us for. The vaccine passport system that people are talking about is a license for governmental and major pharmaceutical company abuse. If it keeps going at this trend, we'll end up with a system of permanent corporatism, subject to the whims and research papers of medical companies that are more interested in making a profit for the medical care they offer. A vaccine passport currently expires after six months. Currently, only one booster shot is needful. But flu vaccines are distributed on a seasonal basis. Could we not assume that the COVID vaccine would also be the same? And then the big pharmaceutical companies price gouge and force us to buy their medicine whether directly or through taxation. They become the partners with the government. Is what we see here a wasteland or a monarchy?

But the true philosopher-king does not need to constantly stir up fear in order to keep his authority. He needs not beg his subjects to allow him to rule and continue to rule. He is not insensitive about his person. He governs himself. Unlike the tyrant. So the answer to the question as to whether a monarch should mandate vaccines, I would say, is no. The reason being that such mandates give leeway to tyrannical oppression and corrupt control over medicine, especially by the pharmaceutical companies that have manufactured the vaccine. Further, that control can easily be extended permanently, just by ginning up another crisis. As Plato states of the tyrant hoping to keep his power and prove that the people still need a leader to guide them, he is always looking to create a war. We are seeing an ongoing war against a virus which no one has control over. I emphasize this to stress that no one deliberately causes infection of another. The tyrant has insisted we are all too sick or might be too sick to even be with each other. At this point, one should ask with a clear and sober mind, do we fear a virus or do we fear each other?

The Dormition of Our Lady

Our Lady looked with longing toward Our Lord's death and resurrection, desiring to join Him in His ultimate mission. The Dormition of the Theotokos verifies the resurrection. To understand Our Lady's longing for Our Lord, she had been living in the home of St. John the Apostle since the crucifixion. St. Joseph had reposed some time before the crucifixion. It is held that he probably reposed some time before the baptism of Our Lord though it is unknown for certain. As a widow, the Theotokos was thus entrusted to St. John the Apostle by Our Lord for she had no other legal next of kin. It is further estimated that the Dormition occurred when Our Lady was around the age of 70, maybe even older. She had been around the age of 14 when she was entrusted to Joseph. So the Dormition of Mary occurred some time before the Neronian persecution of the Christians.

With longing for the Lord, her only son, Our Lady desired to join Him in His death. She had been preparing for this moment for years. She had been without her only son for around thirty years and had been constantly looking toward this moment. This moment, for Our Lady, was entirely voluntary. The Christian believer fears not death and voluntarily yields his soul up to God knowing that he is to enter into the resurrection. The heathen has a constant state of fear of the final judgment about him and fears death for death leads to his damnation. For the Christian, death can no longer contain our souls. Our Lady was not subject to bodily death having been filled with the grace of God, suffering no corruption, she retained the full height of her beauty.

She went up to Mount Zion with the Apostles and they gathered together in prayer one last time. Then she yielded up her spirit to Our Lord, her son. According to the most ancient text, the angels came down from Heaven on the Lord's day and gathered her soul to Heaven into the arms of Our Lord. Thus, being the one who held the Lord, she now herself finds her soul held by the Lord's hands. It would be a few days later that her body would be resurrected but this would be unwitnessed by the Apostles. There was one Apostle who had been late in arriving.

Shortly after her repose, the Apostle Thomas finally made his venture from India to where Our Lady rested. Wishing to pay his final respects to Our Blessed Mother, he asked the other Apostles to roll away the stone of the tomb. They did this and to their discovery, they found the casket where they had laid Our Lady's holy body in, was filled with flowers of all sorts. But Our Lady's body was gone. She had been resurrected from the dead. In the East, we celebrate her death for in the death of her body, the resurrection would be verified. In the West, the assumption of her body is celebrated. The East constantly looks toward the resurrection and the West constantly looks toward the crucifixion. Here, our roles are flipped. For now, the East looks to the crucifixion as part of the life-giving mission of Our Lord that we enter into and the West looks to the resurrection.

Blessed Radegund, Foundress of the Holy Cross Monastery

Blessed Radegund was a Thuringian Princess and daughter of the King Bertaire. She was raised a Pagan but Bertaire lost his life when he was assassinated by his own brother Hermenfred. Clotaire, the son of Clovis and Clotilda, would then take vengeance upon Hermenfred together with his brother Theodoric and Clotaire would take Radegund and her brother with him into his palace. There, Clotaire would instruct the saint in the religion of Christianity which she would eagerly embrace. Radegund, having become a Christian, would desire to be a martyr but this was during a time when the Church was not persecuted but rather flourishing in the Gallic region. How could she be a martyr when the Church was flourishing? Radegund always embraced the most severe of penances as a result of her faithful desire to be a martyr and always preferred the role of Martha to Mary. Our Lord says that Mary picked the better, however, it is important to remember that the Marthas always have a great reward in eternity for their works always prepare them for much deeper conversation.

Each Lent, Radegund would take on a penance more severe then the one before. Often wearing a haircloth, sometimes she would even adorn herself with chains underneath her clothes which would cut her body and cause bleeding. She distributed finances to the poor and contributed to monasteries. She spent much of her time in prayer. Clotaire would eventually marry her as his first wife in order to cement his political dominance over Thuringia. As his queen, she would appease the anger of the king and intercede on behalf of those he had desired to have put to death, often times saving the lives of many men who had incurred the king's anger. But her prayers and fasting and contributions to the poor angered the king who complained that he had married a nun rather than a queen, even as she kept her royal duties. Fearing an uprising from her brother, he had him assassinated. When Radegund found this out, she began to fear her own life and ran away from her husband.

According to Venantius, Radegund fled from the king all the way to Noyon where she encountered St. Médard. St. Médard refused to give her the monacha since she was the king's wife and still the queen of the Franks but she reprimanded him for choosing to fear man more than God. Convinced and inspired by that argument, he consecrated her as a deaconess. All of the costly gold, jewels, diamonds, she had attired herself with as a queen, she cast before the altar of the Lord as gifts. She founded a nunnery in Poitiers and entreated several bishops, Eufronius, Praetextatus, Germanus, Felix, Domitianus, Victorius, and Domnolus, who granted her approval for the founding of her monastery in the year 566. But Radegund, despite being the foundress of her monastery, deferred the role of abbess to her friend Agnes. She was a Queen who had relinquished royalty and honor in her own monastery.

She had desired many relics in her monastery and wrote to the Emperor Justin II and his wife Sophia in the East for different relics, especially that of the Holy Cross which she sought a piece of. My own parish has a piece of this Holy Cross, the one on which Jesus himself was crucified on. The Emperor had sent her the relics but the Bishop Maroveus was the one who had received them first. Though they were sent to her monastery, he refused to relinquish them to her. She had no help whatsoever from this bishop even as she was subject to him and wrote him, begging for his help much of the time, he still gave her monastery no assistance. She eventually wrote to King Sigibert and the Bishop Eufronius for aid which they did provide, and the Bishop Eufronius obtained the relics and delivered them to her monastery. (St. Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks IX.40) This is why her monastery is called the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Poitiers (Poitiers St. Croix) for the monastery holds a piece of the Holy Cross.

Often times, Radegund would find herself making the meals as the priests would eat. And she preferred to be the one making the meals instead and did so until the brothers were well fed. She denied herself of the luxuries of much foods consuming of a diet of honey water, vegetables, and legumes. Not even the sweetness of fruits did she allow herself to consume. She took up this abstinence her entire life, denying herself the sumptuous meat that many would indulge in. She would even clean the shoes of the other monachas while they slept through the night ensuring that each of them had cleaned and oiled shoes for the next day. She eagerly assisted the lepers. One wonders how she ever found time to pray as she did so many things for others, living a life of complete servitude to her Lord and doing all of these out of the utmost charity for others.

Some of the miracles attributed to her by Venantius include saving a sailor from shipwreck as the waters of his boat filled during a storm and he cried for her intercession. The storm ceased instantly. She cured a bloody humor from the eye of one of her monachas with wormwood which was pressed to the eye. One of her servants, Andered, lost numerous children in infancy before he even saw them. One she took and wrapped up in her mantle, pressing it to her haircloth, the child revived. Another of her monachas had an infant sister who had reposed. She spent several hours in the room with the child, praying fervently though no one knew exactly what was going in the room. While the rites of burial were being prepared for the child, the girl arose as Christ could not deny the faith of the holy woman.

Many more miracles of this holy woman are recorded by both Venantius and St. Gregory of Tours. St. Gregory of Tours recounts the saint left this world on August 13, 587. St. Gregory was present at her funeral and there was much lamentation in the nunnery (IX.2). She was remembered for her humility and her constant devout service to others. St. Gregory records her miracles in his work, Book of Miracles.

Clothaire, who had abused his wife for her faith, would find himself ill toward the end of his life. In 560, he acquired the sole kingship of France as his three brothers and their sons were now all dead. He brought gifts to the tomb of St. Martin of Tours who his mother had held a deep devotion toward. He besought St. Martin for his intercession to implore the mercy of God on his behalf and built a monastery dedicated to St. Médard at Soissons. He showed great repentance for all the crimes he had done crying, "How powerful is the heavenly king, by whose command all the greatest monarchs of the earth resign their life!" He also recalled how he had treated Radegund and repented of what he had done. His illness would take him in the year 561 A.D. There is no doubt that the faith of the holy Radegund had contributed to his conversion.

See also:

Life of Radegund, Venantius Fortunatus

History of the Franks, Bk. IV

St. Gregory's fourth book starts with the death of St. Clotilda.

"Queen Clotild died, full of days and rich in good works, in the city of Tours, in the time of Bishop Injuriosus. With a great singing of psalms her body was carried to Paris and her two royal sons, Childebert and Lothar, buried her in Saint Peter's church at the side of her husband, King Clovis. She herself had the church built. Saint Geneviève is also buried there." (IV.1)

The saint was approximately 70 or 71 when she was laid to rest in A.D. 544.

After this, Lothar ordains all churches must pay one third of their revenue to the king. St. Gregory is irate about this policy. He praises Injuriosus for standing up to the king and reproves the bishops for doing so. A churchman, for St. Gregory, the churches are to be held sacred. This is perhaps the most critical that the Bishop of Tours becomes toward King Lothar though (IV.2). He introduces to us the sons of Lothar through the various wives of Lothar as Gunthar, Childeric, Charibert, Guntram, and a daughter Chlothsind, through Ingund. Chilperic through Aregund, who was the sister of Ingund. Chramn he had through Chunsina. (IV.3)

The Bretons, who had been under the domain of the Franks would begin to wrest themselves free through the treacheries of Chanao who killed three of his brothers and attempted to kill a fourth, Macliaw. Macliaw fled and was hidden. It was told Chanao that Macliaw had died. Chanao seized the whole kingdom as a result. St. Gregory also continues the succession of the bishops of Tours at this point. Bishop Baudinus dies and is replaced with Abbot Gunthar. (IV.4) St. Gall replaces St. Quintianus with the approval of the King. There is a great plague which ravages Europe during this time. St. Gall prayed that he would not see his flock ravaged and an angel tells him he will not witness this. It will instead be his successor. A prideful man named Cato will replace him after St. Gall reposes. Cato's story though would end in a good way (IV.5-7).

Justinian began a liberation campaign in Spain and would conquer it from the tyrant Agila. After Agila's assassination, Athanagild took over the kingship and freed from occupation many cities that were wrongfully captured. Unlike Theudebert, his father, Theudebald ruled poorly. His general Buccelin was eventually killed by Narses who was mentioned in the previous book and the Emperor Justinian regained control of Italy from the Franks afterward (IV.8-9). King Lothar wrested a rebellion among the Saxons and ravaged their allies, the Thuringians (IV.10). Bishop Cautinus advised that Cato would take over the diocese of Tours after the repose of Abbot Gunthar for his pridefulnees cost him the see held by St. Gall. Cato would continue to refuse the diocese of Tours but his pride would eventually cost him Clermont-Ferrand as well (IV.7, 11). This Bishop Cautinus was by no means perfect either and he would descend into quite the evils. A priest named Anastasius who had been allotted a certain portion of land by the saintly Queen Clotilda was demanded by this Cautinus to yield it up. He refused to surrender this land and in his envy, Cautinus threw him into a crypt in the church of St. Cassius where "it seems, lay the body of some person dead" for centuries. The priest wrested himself out of the crypt and reported the event to King Lothar who was astounded for "not even Nero or Herod...had committed such a crime as to bury a man alive" (IV.12).

King Chramn is described by St. Gregory as having ill-repute in character, slandering Firminus and his sister-in-law Caeseria (IV.13). Lothar would take control of the lands of the Ripuarian Franks after the demise of Thedebald and the Saxons became unruly again (IV.14). When Lothar came back to Tours, the people begged him to grant St. Eufronius the episcopal see which he granted for Cato refused the See of Tours (IV.15). Chramn continued in his evil and requested Childebert to assist him in overthrowing his father. He even deceived his brothers Charibert and Guntram into thinking their father was dead while Childebert continued to stir up the Saxons against Lothar (IV.16). Chramn apparently also convinced Childebert that Lothar was dead and he pillaged and burned his way through Rheims imagining the people would subject themmselves to his rule (IV.17). Lothar buried St. Medard at Soissons with great pomp. St. Gregory speaks that "[a]t Medard's holy tomb I myself have seen the chains and shackles of prisoners burst asunder and lie broken on the ground." (IV.19) Childebert fell ill and died, was buried in the church of St. Vincent, and his Queen Ultrogotha and her two daughters were sent into exile. Chramn escaped to Brittany with his wife and two daughters and was in hiding with Count Chanao. The priest Willichar and his wife sought refuge in the church of St. Martin which they also set on fire. It was restored to its former glory by Lothar. Chramn engaged in battle with his father alongside Chanao. Chanao was killed in the battle and Chramn was captured and burned alive with his wife and daghters (IV.20).

Lothar made pilgrimmage before his death to the tomb of St. Medard, repenting of many of his evil deeds. There, he succumbed to an illness and died. "'Well! Would you believe it?' he asked. 'What manner of King can be in charge of heaven, if he is prepared to finish off great monarchs like me in this fashion?'" (IV.21) Chilperic took over his father's kingdom and the Huns attacked Gaul. (IV.22-23). Sigibert held off the invaders and during this, Chilperic seized many of his lands which were his by inheritance (IV.23). King Guntram married Marcatrude after he a son by his mistress Veneranda. Marcatrude was envious of this son and poisoned him. She also lost her own son as a result. She died and Guntram married Austrechild who bore him two sons (IV.25). King Charibert married Ingoberg who bore him a daughter. He fell in love with two of her servants, Marcovefa and Merofled, daughters of poor men which Ingoberg attempted to show him. But this led Charibert to become furious with her. He also took another woman Theudechild, and drove off Ingomer. The Bishop Leontius, at this time, assembled the bishops and expelled Emerius whom their father had uncanonically appointed to the episcopal see. Charibert refused to acknowledge the bishops' decision. He and Marcovefa were excommunicated by St. Germanus and they were struck by the judgment of God and died. Guntram initially proposed to Theudechild but instead seized her possessions and threw her in a nunnery where she plotted her escape. The abbess on learning her plan, beat her mercilessly and she remained in the nunnery until her dying day (IV.26).

King Sigibert, in the meanwhile, sought for the daught of King Athanagild, a woman named Brunhilda. She was an Arian but would convert to the Catholic faith for the sake of marriage (IV.27). Chilperic then sought for Galswintha, the sister of Brunhilda. Galswintha was also converted to the Catholic faith with baptism and chrism. Chilperic had among him many concubines and one, Fredegund, sought the death of Galswintha. He had her garrotted. "After her death God performed a great miracle. A lamp suspended on a cord burned in front of her tomb. One day, without anyone touching it, the cord broke and fell to the stone floor. The hard stone withdrew at the point of impact and the lamp penetrated it just as it had been made of soft material, and there it stood embedded up to its middle without anything being broken." (IV.28) Sigibert once again had to repel the Huns but lost to their necromancy (IV.29). Sigibert also tried to take Arles but was beaten by Celsus who had been appointed by Guntram (IV.24, 30). When the plague reached Clermont, Cato died. But he spent his last days burying the dead and encouraging the people in faith. He had converted from his pride. Cautinus, who attempted to avoid the plague, went from city to city until the moment he came back to Clermont where he became infected with the plague and died (IV.31, 35). He also describes the priest Julian and the abbot Sunniulf who both die during this plague. Sacerdos dies in Paris, after which, he is succeeded by St. Nicetius, after which he is succeeded by Bishop Priscus and his wife Susanna. Bishop Priscus and his wife are cruel and put to death many who were the close associates and allies of Nicetius. They would be struck down by the miraculous power of Nicetius (IV.36).

Athanagild died and Leuvigild inherited the kingdom. Then Leuva died and Leuveigild added Leuva's portion to his kingdom. He married Goiswinth, the mother of Brunhilda. He had two sons by his first wife, one of whom married one of Sigibert's daughters, and he divided his kingdom between his two sons, killing off any one who plotted to assassinate either of them (IV.38). Palladius inherited the office of count in Javols with permission of Sigibert but began to heap insults upon the Bishop. Palladius lost his countship as a result (IV.39). The Emperor Justinian dies and his successor Justin II "was the most avaricious of men, giving nothing to the poor and bleeding his senators dry. His cupidity was so great that he ordered iron coffers to be made and in them he amassed his wealth in gold coin. He is said to have lapsed into the Pelagian heresy." (IV.40) For Gregory, the most important aspect of a man is that he is a sincere Christian. He lavishes praise on Tiberius, who becomes co-opted as Caesar with Justin II and who establishes peace with the Franks. The Longobards were on the move at this time too. Three of their leaders, Amo, Zaban, and Rodan invaded Gaul but were stopped and torn to pieces by the patrician Mummolus who was appointed by Guntram (IV.42, 44). Mumolus conducted many campaigns and was always victorious (IV.45).

Contentions began brewing after the death of Galswintha but when Clovis, the son of Chilperic, was driven out of Tours, Sigulf, one of Sigibert's men, launched an attack on him. The bishops tried to reconcile Chilperic and his brother together but they refused to listen "and as a result of their sinful behavior this civil war grew more and more bitter...There was even more weeping in the churches than there had been at the time of Diocletian's persecution." (IV.47). These men forsook the holiness and sacredness of the churches and St. Gregory recounts how twenty soldiers sacked a monastery and looted its holy relics, murdering some of the monks. But as they fled on the river, a wind blew their ship back and forth and the men were pierced by their javelins. All but one who rebuked the soldiers for this act were killed (IV.48). Sigibert launched an attack on Chilperic beginning the civil war. Chilperic fled to Tournai and Sigibert found him there. Sigibert met with two young men suborned by Queen Fredegund who stabbed him with scramasaxes smeared with poison. Sigibert was killed and would be translated to the church of St. Medard in the fourteenth year of his reign (IV.49-51).

The Architecture of Justinian

Justinian the Great was truly one of, if not the greatest, of monarchs in world history. Among the accomplishments of this Emperor which, in my brief readings on him, have now been shown to be too many for just one post to do justice to, are his architectural accomplishments. Especially with the ludicrous infrastructure proposals of our current ruling classes, it is important to reflect on the cultural superiority of the late classical period's architecture. We see buildings crumbling and falling down on a routine day-to-day basis. This seems to be what we are used to. But the classical period envisioned that buildings would be built to last. Buildings were to provide refuges for people in times of harsh environments. Justinian the Great came to power in the Roman Empire when it was falling apart, literally and figuratively. Out of nowhere, he rebuilt the entire system, the entire country, and revived what looked to be an almost dead beast.

According to John Malalas, Justinian rebuilt the city of the district of Sykai with its theatres and walls (Chronicle, Bk 18.12) and he also completed the rebuilding of the public baths which the Emperor Anastasios had started (18.17). He also built the central hall of the Basilican cistern. "He was responsible for the building of ninety churches throughout his realm. Most famous, of course, is the incomparable Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom...The great edifice has been called the most important building in Eastern Europe and, along with the Parthenon and St. Peter's in Rome, one of the three most important buildings in European history." (Thornton, Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens, 252)

Paul the Deacon has the following to say about the Emperor Justinian:

"The same emperor also built within the city of Constantinople to Christ our Lord, who is the wisdom of God the Father, a church which he called by the Greek name 'Hagia Sophia,' that is, 'Divine Wisdom.' The workmanship of this so far excels that of all other buildings that in all the regions of the earth its like cannot be found." (History of the Langobards, Bk. 1.XXV)

Evagrius Scholasticus goes into further detail about the architectural projects of the Emperor Justinian the Great.

"He also raised at Constantinople many sacred buildings of elaborate beauty, in honour of God and the saints, and erected a vast and incomparable work, such as has never been before recorded, namely the largest edifice of the Church, a noble and surpassing structure, beyond the power of words to describe. Nevertheless I will endeavour to the best of my ability to detail the plan of the sacred precinct. The nave of the sanctuary is a dome, supported by four arches, and raised to so great a height that the sight of persons surveying it from below can scarcely reach the vertex of the hemisphere, and no one from above, however daring, ventures to bend over and look down to the floor. The arches are raised clear from the pavement to the roof : but within those on the right and left are ranged columns of Thessalian stone, which, together with other corresponding pillars, support galleries, so as to allow those who wish, to look |228 down upon the performance of the rites below." (Ecclesiastical History, Bk. 4.XXXI)

Justinian also built the Church of the Holy Apostles. Because of his architectural accomplishments, Justinian is often seen in iconography holding a church building.

Much of the architectural contributions of Justinian the Great still hold up to this day. He was well-regarded for his architectural accomplishments. The fact that these buildings are still stable while much of the modernist art is crumbling apart shows which direction our current infrastructure plans need to traverse in. Though Hagia Sophia has long since been turned into a mosque, the building has remained in tact and has never come close to falling apart. We build buildings nowadays that crumble to dust within minutes. But that doesn't seem to phase the current architects who don't generally live in these buildings but are satisfied only with the fact that they built something "within code". The infrastructure of our nation needs serious upheaval immediately. Justinian the Great came to Constantinople at a time when the Roman Empire was about to crumble to dust. It is time we start to consider his architectural vision for our cities before our empire crumbles to dust.

Empress Irene

Empress Irene was considered to be an exceptionally beautiful orphan from Athens. When Constantine V held a beauty contest to determine who his son, Leo IV's, wife would be, she easily won the competition. There was a problem though. The Roman Empire was going through a massive political and theological conflict, much of this would lead to the West crowning for itself a new Emperor in Charlemagne. Leo IV was a strong opponent of the Church's teaching on the veneration of icons and he adhered to the false Council of Hieria which forbade the veneration of icons and supported the destruction of icons. Empress Irene was an iconodule. The agreement of the marriage was that her iconodulist position would remain suppressed and she would say nothing against the Emperor's iconoclastic views.

But this didn't necessarily work out too well as she was found by the Emperor Leo IV with icons which she had privately stowed away. She attempted to state that she had nothing to do with the icons but the Emperor hadn't wanted anything to do with that. The two never reconciled afterwards. Leo IV, a frequent attendee of Hagia Sophia, the Great Church, saw above its altar a crown. Consumed with his anger toward Irene and his iconoclastic viewpoints, as well as his envy for power, demanded the crown be taken down from the altar and placed on his head. No sooner did he do that then he became covered in boils and tumors all over his body. He died later that day in his heresy, a preparation for the worm which devours eternally.

She and her son returned numerous icons which had been stolen by the Emperor and even translated the relics of St. Euphemia from Lemnos to Constantinople, placing them in the Church she had built to receive them. The Empress Irene would provide a care for the Church hotly contrasted by both her husband, now consumed by the worm for his heresies and thievish actions, and her son who would himself turn out as abusive toward the clergy.

The Empress regent, ruling on behalf of her son Constantine VI, dealt with a crumbling Empire which faced treachery from inside and dealt with Arab foes on the outside. The Frankish Empire was beginning to bloom at this point too. She sought an alliance for her son with the daughter of Charlemagne but that marriage never came about as the daughter would repose before the marriage. The iconoclasts were everywhere within the Eastern Empire and a strong push for iconoclasm had always been a scourge for the Eastern Church. It would be the Empress who would convene the Second Council of Nicaea which would overturn the treachery of the Council of Hieria. She appointed the Nikephoros, also a saint and a fervent supporter of the veneration of icons who would be elevated to the Patriarchal throne of Constantinople, as her imperial commissioner at the Council of Nicaea, formally approved in 787, and the iconoclast heresy was condemned. Although this was by no means the end of the heresy, this Council would eventually lead to the finality of the disputation against iconodulism. The work against the heresy of iconoclasm would be completed by the Empress Theodora only half a century later.

The five brothers of the heresiarch Leo IV plotted treachery against the Empress having abandoned their oaths of loyalty to him upon his death. But the Empress was quick-thinking and knew political cunning quite well. She was able to quash their plots of treachery. Much of her reign required her to be constantly on guard from rebellion within her own interior ranks and the uprisings of the Arabs all around the Empire. Not to mention the heretics threatened the Church with persistent regularity. The Second Council of Nicaea was her first major victory in her regency. But the victories would not last for long though and the Empire would eventually give way to the interior turmoil.

Constantine VI was considered by his mother to be rather stupid. And he experienced difficulties with his first wife. As to whether or not Irene had any play in it is disputable as Constantine also was unable to produce a male heir from her. He took for himself one of his mother's ladies-in-waiting. This marriage was objected to by the Church for his first wife was still alive and the Church has always taken  a strong stance in favor of the indissolubility of marriage. In his brief, seven year reign, he abused the clergy of the Church. Patriarch Tarasios would condemn the second marriage and excommunicated the priest who performed the scandal. Constantine VI, who may have been sympathetic to his father's iconoclast heresy, was suspected of treachery by his mother and in 797, she would lead him into the room where he had been born and blinded him. Some sources suggest that he died from the injuries sustained and others suggest that he was imprisoned by his mother until his death some time around 805 A.D. This event led to the Empress being crowned as Empress Regnant. The shockwave led to the Blessed Charlemagne's crowning as Emperor of the Romans by the Pope of Rome as the Byzantine Empire had proven unstable.

The Empress very quickly began to repeal the disasters done by her husband and son as she cut taxes and would be a contributor to monasteries. But this was to no avail. The rebellion and treachery against her continued. She had even attempted to propose a marriage to Charlemagne, hoping that an alliance with the Western Romans would prove fruitful for the Roman Empire as a whole and unify it under one monarchial head again. But the rebels eventually pushed her out. In 802, Nikephoros I led a group of Eunuchs to the Imperial palace while the Empress was in Eleutheria and he proclaimed himself as Emperor. The guards also accepted him as Emperor and under the threat of swords, the Patriarch Tarasios would crown him as Emperor. There was nothing that could be done for the Empress Irene who was ill at the time. She took this as a judgment from God that she was not worthy to reign over the Romans and she was sent off to Mytilene in Lesbos where she was forced to embrace a scanty livelihood. She went on to her Heavenly glory August 9, 803. She, along with the Empress Pulcheria, is celebrated on August 7. If our leaders took after the humility of the Empress Irene, we would see much more justice in this world. St. Irene, pray for us!

See also:

Dictionary of Saintly Women, Agnes B.C. Dunbar

Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens, Protopresbyter James Thornton

The Holy Transfiguration

Today is the Feast Day of the Transfiguration of the Lord. St. Gregory Palamas, in one of his sermons on the Transfiguration, comments how in Matthew's Gospel account of the narrative, six days pass before Jesus leads His disciples up to the mountain. In Luke's Gospel account, eight days have passed. This shows us two things: not only how many people are there accounted at the Transfiguration, but also the event of the creation and renewal of the world. For in some sense, there are six people at the Transfiguration. These people include Jesus, Elias, Moses, James, Peter, and John. But the radiance of the glory of the Son is the Holy Spirit showing Himself in the narrative. And the Father speaks, testifying that Jesus is the Son of God, adding an eight person. This text is impossible for modalists to interpret properly as they reject the Divine Father and proclaim that Jesus is His own Father instead. But the Father clearly proclaims Jesus as the Son here and there is no need to fancy that Our Lord would choose to play tricks on us. Thus, the image is Triune.

In the icon, we see the threefold image of God. First, we see the incarnate Son displayed fully. Then, we see in the almond shape, the Father declaring Jesus as His Son. Then the radiance of the light shows the glory of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity once again shows itself in the most explicit way in this narrative of the Transfiguration. The disciples are taken aback by the glory. This display of glory was meant to prepare them for the Death of their Lord which would ultimately take place at Calvary. It was meant to point them toward the sign of the Resurrection that was to come. Let's go back for a moment to the significance of the days. If one has not figured out by now, there is a glaringly obvious sign pointing at us in the choice of how many days passed before Christ takes His three disciples up to the Mount Tabor.

Six days for the world's creation. We see in the Book of Genesis that God creates the world in six days. The six days are a sign of the Old Law. Moses appears to confirm that Christ is the fulfillment of that Law. He is the End. He is the Creator of the World. Six days symbolize the week, the Creation, the Law of the Old Covenant. In John's Gospel, there are seven miracles theologians typically point to but the eighth is the Resurrection. The eight days point to the Resurrection. Indeed, the Transfiguration shows the glory of the Transfigured body. It reveals to us the resurrected body of the Christian soul. The eight days signify completion and renewal. Elias comes to voice the coming of the Lord in His earthly ministry in the character of John the Baptist. Elias also will come again himself to announce the coming of the judgment of Christ. In the Transfiguration, the creation of the old has met with the creation of the new and the renewal of the world.

History of the Franks, Bk. III

"Clovis, who believed in the Trinity, crushed the heretics with divine help and enlarged his kingdom to include all of Gaul; but Alaric, who refused to accept the Trinity, was therefore deprived of his kingship." (III) St. Gregory certainly was not shy of inserting polemic into his work, and here he attributes all of Clovis's successes to his Triune orthodox belief over that of the Arians he conquered. As we learned in the last chapter, Clovis could not tolerate the presence of the Arians any more and used that to justify his war of liberation against the Arian kings that had taken over Spain and Germany and to unite all of Gaul under his domain. The two things most feared then about Clovis should be his God and his axe. A cult developed in Medieval France for Clovis though the cult has never received Papal approval, it still flourishes amongst French Christian nationalists to this day. Based on St. Gregory's account, it certainly doesn't seem as if there would be a reason to oppose such a cultus for Clovis.

After the death of Clovis, his four sons, Theuderic (from a mistress whom he had prior to meeting Clotilda), Chlodomer, Childebert, and Lothar, split the kingdom amongst themselves (II.1). Saint Quintianus succeeded Licinius to the episcopal throne in Clermont-Ferrand (III.2), and the Danes attempted to seize part of northern Gaul under their King Chlochilaich but were driven out by Theuderic and their king was killed (III.3). In Thuringia, there ruled three brothers, Baderic, Hermanfrid, and Berthar. "Hermanfrid beat his brother Berthar in battle and killed him" (III.4). Hermanfrid's wife Amalaberg "sowed the seeds of civil war" between the brothers. Theuderic aligned with Hermanfrid to defeat Baderic and they killed him but Hermanfrid failed to keep his word in allowing Theuderic to share the kingdom equally with him. This earned enmity between the two.

Sigismund was the son of Gundobad and he ruled Burgundy after his father's death. A Catholic, he contributed to many monasteries and built the monastery of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune. His first wife had died but he had a son to her named Sigeric. This step-mother was cruel to her step-son and once, when wearing the clothes of Sigismund's first wife, the daughter of Theodoric, her step-son saw her and rebuked her for this. This drove her to great ire and led her to the greatest treachery. She tricked Sigismund into believing that Sigeric wanted to overthrow him. Sigismund had word with his son immediately, sent him to sleep, and in while Sigeric lay asleep, Sigismund murdered his own son. It wasn't long after that Sigismund realized what a mistake he had made. He wept bitterly over this. "An old man who was present is said to have remarked: 'Weep for yourself, Sigismund, for, on your wife's evil advice, you have murdered your own son in this barbarous fashion. There is no point weeping for your boy, who has been strangled in his innocence." (III.5) Sigismund would remain in the monastery of Agaune for the remainder of his life.

Queen Clotilda called Chlodomer and her other sons together and said to them, "My dear children...do not give me cause to regret the fact that I have brought you up with such care. You must surely resent the wrong which has been done to me. You must do all in your power to avenge the death of my mother and father." (III.6) This account seems dubious in accordance with what we later hear of Clotilda in praying for an end to fratricide. Also, it must be considered the events of her parent's deaths are in question too. Further, what she meant by avenging her parents is ambiguous. It is more likely she never intended Sigismund to be slaughtered. Nevertheless, Chlodomer and his brothers fought against Sigismund and his brother Godomar and the Burgundian army was beaten. Sigismund tried to escape to the monastery but was captured with his wife and sons. Chlodomer decided to have Sigismund killed but Saint Avitus warned him, "If you change your plans and respect God by refusing to have these men killed, the Lord will be with you and you will go forth to victory. On the other hand, if you do kill them, you will fall into the hands of your enemies and you will suffer a fate similar to theirs. Whatever you do to Sigismund and his wife and children, the same will be done to your children and your wife and yourself." But Chlodomer didn't listen and he had Sigismund and his wife and his children thrown down a well in Saint-Péravy-la-Colombe. Chlodomer rushed into battle with the Burgundes and heard him mimicking the Frankish troops. He "rushed headlong into the middle of his enemies" and they hacked off his head. His brother Lothar married his widow Guntheuc and after her mourning period was over, Clotilda would take his three sons, Theudovald, Gunthar, and Chlodovald, into her own household.

Theuderic wanted to punish Hermanfrid and called upon his brother Lothar for help. They pushed back the Thuringians and Lothar would take Radegund as his wife. Theuderic remained in Thuringia for a while and Hermanfrid would fall to his death. The exact cause of the fall was unknown but Theuderic is said to have soething to do with it (III.7-8). Theuderic was presumed dead while in Thuringia and his brother assumed control of Clermont-Ferrand but Theuderic returned (III.9). Childebert had heard his sister Clotilda was suffering for her Catholic faith from her Arian husband Amalaric and when she sent a towel with her own blood on it from the abuse, he took up arms against the Gothic King. Amalaric attempted to flee but was struck by a spear and killed. Clotilda did not survive the journey and was buried beside her father Clovis (III.10). Theuderic was encouraged by his brothers to fight against the Burgundes but he desired to punish the people of Clermont-Ferrand. His soldiers pillaged and looted the city, destroying the entire region. Some desecrated the church of St. Julian ad were possessed by an evil spirit which caused them to eat themselves. St. Quintianus was bishop and St. Gregory argues the reason that this was done was on account of the crimes of the priest Proculus committed against his bishop (III.11-13). During the rebellion of the people of Clermont-Ferrand, many were taken hostages by Childebert and Theuderic and many were reduced to slave labor. St. Gregory describes the escape of Attalus from slavery during this time as Attalus was a kinsman of his (III.14-15).

Bishop Dinifius died in Tours and was succeeded by Ommatius who held this throne for three years. After he died, Leo was bishop for seven months. After he died, Bishops Theodorus and Proculus succeeded him at the wish of Clotilda. Then Francilio, a senator, replaced them. He is said to have been poisoned, dying after a drink on Christmas Day. He was replaced by St. Injuriosus (III.17). When Clotilda was in Paris, Childebert began to fear that the affection she was lavishing on the children of Chlodomer would cause a threat to his kingdom. He and Lothar plotted their removal by either cutting their hair or through their deaths. Hair was a signification of social class for the Franks. They deceived Clotilda by informing her they would place them on the throne once held by their father. "Once I see you succeed him on the throne, I shall forget that I have lost my son" (III.18). But their plan was revealed and Clotilda, realizing this said, "If they are not to ascend the throne, I would rather see them dead than with their hair cut short." Chlodovald could not be caught but his brothers were slain. He cut his hair and devoted himself to monasticism serving as a priest until his repose. He is venerated as St. Cloud.

Theuderic sent his son Theudebert with Lothar to reclaim the territory the Goths had taken from their father's kingdom. Theudebert marched to Cabrières and had intercourse with a married woman named Deuteria while his father killed his relative Sigivald (III.21-23). He was ordered to do away with Sigivald's son but instead warned him of what Theuderic had commanded instead. When his father died, he was able to buy off an alliance with his uncles and married Deuteria (III.23). "Once he was firmly on the throne, Theudebert proved himself to be a great king, distinguished by every virtue. He ruled his kingdom justly, respected his bishops, was liberal to the churches, relieved the wants of the poor and distributed many benefits with piety and friendly goodwill." (III.25) Childebert and Theudebert formed an alliance against Lothar. Lothat was not strong enough to resist and hid himself in the forest, trusting in the mercy of God. "Queen Clotild learned what had happened. She went to the tomb of St. Martin, where she knelt in supplication the whole night praying that civil war might not break out between her sons." (III.28) A storm broke out and the troops of Childebert and Theudebert were pelted with hailstones. They withdrew and Lothar was unharmed. Childebert and Lothar set off for Spain but upon seeing a procession for St. Vincent, they became fearful and avoided the city of Saragossa though they did seize much of the Gothic lands. (III.29)

Theodoric, the King of Italy, had married Audofleda, the sister of Clovis. He died leaving her a widow. Her daughter Amalasuntha, also a widow, became regent for her son. Audofleda wanted her to marry a king's son but Amalasuntha preferred one of her slaves, Traguilla and eloped with him. Both of these queens were Arians and the Arians had a practice of distributing communion in different cups preserved for those of royal blood and for those of lesser mortal blood. Amalasuntha placed poison in her mother's cup and upon drinking it, Audofleda died. "What can these miserable Arian heretics say, when the Devil is present even at the altar? We Catholics, on the contrary, believe the Trinity, co-equal and all-powerful, would come to no harm even if we were to drink poison in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one true Godhead." (III.31) The Italians were furious with Amalasuntha and replaced her with Theudat who murdered her. Then Childebert, Lothar, and Theudebert upbraided him for having killed their cousin. He sent them fifty thousand pieces of gold but Childebert horded it to himself. Next, Theudebert marched into Italy going all the way up to Pavia. He sent Buccelin back there. Buccelin conquered upper Italy and subjected it to Thedebert. Buccelin then campaigned into lower Italy and defeated Belisarius in a series of campaigns. Justinian would demote Belisarius for his losses and had him replaced with Narses. Narses also lost a series of campaigns against Buccelin (III.32). Theudebert made reconciliations with his fiancée Wisigard, marrying her, recompensing the Bishop Desideratus whom he had wronged, and was summoned by God after an illness which he died from in A.D. 548 (III.33-36). His son Theudebald reigned in his place (III.37).

History of the Franks, Book II

It is book II where St. Gregory will begin going into the details of the Merovingian dynasty, the first dynasty to govern the Franks. He continues with background information. His book is very much, up until the time period he lives, a work in hagiography as much as it is in history. He writes of saints along with their persecutors and he isn't shy to praise the victories of saints when God gives this to them. "It will not, I am sure, be held unreasonable of me if I describe the blessed lives of the Saints together with the disasters of the unfortunate: for it is the course of events which demands this and not my own fantasy as a writer." (II) In the context of the Frankish Kingdom, this is important to take note of, especially when it comes to Clovis I's conquests, as St. Gregory uses the horrific deeds of the persecutions of the Arian Vandals and Goths to lavish praise on this King of the Franks and show how Clovis's Trinitarian faith was what led to his victories (III). The Arian controversy broke out in the fourth century of the Church in which the heretic Arius rejected the divinity of Christ and considered him to be a creature instead of Creator, equal to the Father, which is the orthodox opinion. The Goths, when they accepted Christianity, were evangelized by the missionaries sent by the Arian Emperor Valens. Thus, they accepted Arianism and held that as "orthodoxy" not knowing of its deficiencies. For this reason, they persecuted orthodox Christians severely, believing they held to the true faith when it was indeed a counterfeit faith.

St. Gregory begins this book where the previous book left off. The death of St. Martin of Tours led to an episcopal vacancy. There was a deacon who would later be a priest who served the Bishop of Tours during his lifetime. This priest was named Brycius and Brycius was always skeptical of the miracles of St. Martin calling into question both the legitimacy of these miracles and even the intelligence of St. Martin. St. Martin had overheard this Brycius call him a "half-wit" behind his back and Brycius vigorously denied this. But there was no hiding the truth from St. Martin who declared to Brycius that after he died, Brycius would succeed him to the episcopal throne but his episcopacy would be filled with various troubles. Soon after St. Martin reposed, Brycius succeeded him to the episcopal throne, and although arrogant, was known for chastity in body. He would be accused by a woman considering a religious vocation of violating her. When the baby came, he called on the baby to answer whether or not he was the baby's father. The baby declared that Brycius was not the father and the people accused him of witchery. "To justify himself to the people, he placed burning coals in his cassock and pressed them against his body and went in procession with the whole mob to the tomb of Saint Martin. When he reached the tomb of he dropped the coals on the ground, but his cassock had no marks of burning on it." (II.1) The people would eventually expel Brycius and after he spent seven years in Rome, he would return to his episcopal see and lived in Tours for another seven years, expiring in the forty-seventh year of his episcopacy. The troubles he received as a bishop were enough to justify him and he is venerated on November 13.

St. Gregory begins to describe the persecution of the Vandals in the next book. "The Christians were persecuted more cruelly in the tie of the Vandals" (II.3) informs the Bishop. And he resists not to censor the persecutions done by the Vandals either as in the prior chapter, he describes the suffering of one Catholic who was coerced into being re-baptized into the Arian "faith" by these same Vandals. She had her menstruation just at the moment she was forced into the water, contaminating the water so that the Arians could not subject her to this re-baptism. They went on to behead her (II.2). The girl is left unnamed. He vividly describes the encounter between Cyrola and Eugenius, the former attempted a miracle in which he had his servant press his hands to his eyes and call out to Cyrola to open them. However, as the servant continued to press his hand to his eyes, it came to such an extent that he could not move his hand but it would press harder. The orthodox bishops Eugenius, Vindimialis, and Longinus anointed him upon the repentance of his heresy and confession to orthodoxy. King Huneric of the Vandals had Vindimialis and Longinus executed but refused to give the award of martyrdom to Eugenius and had him exiled (II.3). Because of heresies which ravaged the churches in Gaul, the barbarians were sent to bring judgment upon it. Bishop Aravatius, despite much fastings and prayers to the Apostle Peter, was powerless to stop the divine judgment, though St. Stephen's oratory was preserved. Gaul was ravaged by the Athanaric of the Goths and Attila of the Huns. (II.4-6) Attila was stopped by Aetius with the aid of St. Peter the Apostle at the city of Metz. (II.7)

It is after the defeat of Attila that St. Gregory goes into deal about the race of the Franks. He hypothesizes that they were once a group of individual tribes with different warlords. The name of their first king is unknown and the texts given seem to be ambiguous for though regales is used to describe their leaders by the differing authors he cites, specifically Sulpicius Alexander, it is not clear what their function was. (II.9) At some point, the governing authority of the Franks was eventually consolidated into a monarchy. One thing that we can be certain about with respect to the Franks is that they seem "always to have followed idolatrous practices" (II.10). St. Gregory, a Catholic, makes this point the only negative element about the Franks. After Gregory describes the extravagances of their idolatrous practices, he goes on to give a history of the succeeding bishops of various French cities.

The Senator Avitus first succeeded in becoming Emperor but was deposed for his libidinous way of life. Somehow, he then became the Bishop of Piacenza but the Senate was still hostile to him and he fled to the church of St. Julian, reposing on the journey and was buried at the foot of the martyr (II.11). Childeric King of the Franks began to seduce the daughters of many of his subjects and there was an assassination plot that rose against him as a result. He entrusted a friend of his with half of a coin and said that when the coin was to be made whole again, he would know it would be safe to return. This was when the Roman Commander Aegidius made Soissons a rump state of the Roman Empire. (II.12) Childeric fled to the King Bisinus and his wife Basina where he seduced Basina after finding her loyal to him and she bore Clovis and deserted her husband. The succeeding bishops of Clermont-Ferrand are Arthemius, Venerandus, and Rusticus. Eustochius was succeeded by Perpetuus in Tours. Eufronius would be made a bishop in Autun. Namatius succeeded Rusticus (II.13-16). During this time, Childeric made alliance with Odovacer and laid waste to the Saxons, subduing the Alamanni to his rule (II.18-19). Duke Victorius was put in charge of the seven cities by Euric, King of the Goths, and he built many underground chapels, erected columns in the church of St. Julian, built the church of St. Lawrence and the church of St. Germanus in Saint-Germain-Lanbron (II.20).

After Namatius, Eparchius succeeded the episcopal throne in Clermont-Ferrand. Sidonius Apollinaris succeeded Eparchius (II.21). After Victorius was stoned to death for creating scandalous rumors about Senator Eucherius and was given over to irregular affairs with women (II.20), King Euric of the Goths started a violent persecution of the Christians in Gaul (II.25). "He ordered the doorways to churches be blocked with briers so that the very difficulty of finding one's way in might encourage men to forget their Christian faith." After the death of Perpetuus, Voluousianus became Bishop of Tours, Verus succeeded him in turn, and it was at this time that Clovis succeeded Childeric and waged battle against Syagrius, the son of Aegidius in Soissons (II.26-27). Syagrius was not afraid to fight Clovis but "the army of Syagrius was annihilated" and he fled to Alaric II in Toulose who handed the refugee over out of fear of the Franks. "At that time many churches were plundered by the troops of Clovis, for he still held fast to his pagan idolatries" (II.27).

This persecution was soon about to change for Clovis was about to meet Clotilda. According to Gregory, she was the daughter of Chilperic, the son of Athanaric, who was killed by his brother Gundobad along with his wife (II.28). Clotilda was taken in with Gundobad and her sister Chroma became a religious. This account is disputed by the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.

"The popular poems substituted for King Godegisil, uncle and protector of Clotilda, his brother Gondebad, who was represented as the persecutor of the young princess. Gondebad is supposed to have slain Chilperic, thrown his wife into a well, with a stone tied around her neck, and exiled her two daughters. Clovis, on hearing of the beauty of Clotilda, sent his friend Aurelian, disguised as a beggar, to visit her secretly, and give her a gold ring from his master; he then asked Gondebad for the hand of the young princess. Gondebad, fearing the powerful King of the Franks, dared not refuse, and Clotilda accompanied Aurelian and his escort on their return journey. They hastened to reach Frankish territory, as Clotilda feared that Aredius, the faithful counsellor of Gondebad, on his return from Constantinople whither he had been sent on a mission, would influence his master to retract his promise. Her fears were justified. Shortly after the departure of the princess, Aredius returned and caused Gondebad to repent to the marriage. Troops were despatched to bring Clotilda back, but it was too late, as she was safe on Frankish soil. The details of this recital are purely legendary. It is historically established that Chilperic's death was lamented by Gondebad, and that Cartena lived until 506: she died "full of days", says her epitaph, having had the joy of seeing her children brought up in catholic religion. Aurelian and Aredius are historical personages, though little is known of them in the legend is highly improbable." (New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: Clotilda)

Regardless, Clovis would become attracted to this saintly woman and would ask for her hand in marriage which led to a religious disputation between the two shortly after the birth of their son Ingomer. Clotilda called on Clovis to forsake his pagan gods. "The gods whom you worship are no good...They are carved out of stone or wood or some old piece of metal...Jupiter, that obscene perpetrator of all sorts of mucky deeds, who couldn't keep his hands off other men, who had fun with all his female relatives...Mars and Mercury...were certainly not worthy of being called divine" (II.29). "[N]o sooner had [the child] received baptism than he he died in his white robes." Clovis became angry but Clotilda rendered her thanks to God. "I am not at all cast down in my mind because of what has happened, for I know that my child, who was called away from this world in his white baptismal robes, will be nurtured in the sight of God." Chlodomer was born, was baptized, and became sick which caused Clovis more anger. Clotilda prayed for the healing of her son Chlodomer and he recovered from the illness. It was in fighting with the Alamanni that Clovis saw his life threatened, he called out to the God of Clotilda at that point, "Jesus Christ, you who Cotild maintains to be the Son of the living God, you who deign to give help to those in travail and victory to those who trust in you, in faith I beg the glory of your help. If you will give me victory over my enemies, and if I may have evidence of that miraculous power which the people dedicated to your name say that say they have experienced, then I will believe in you and I will be baptized in your name. I have called upon my own gods, but, as I see only too clearly, the have no intention of helping me. I therefore cannot believe that they possess any power, for they do not come to the assistance of those who trust in them. I now call upon you. I want to believe in you, but I must first be saved from my enemies." (II.30) After this, the battle turned in Clovis's favor and the Alamanni were routed. He told Clotilda what had happened and she called for the Bishop Remigius and Clovis was baptized as the first convert to the Christian religion from the Franks (II.31).

Clovis would defeat Gundobad with the assistance of Godigisel. Upon seeing Gundobad flee, Clovis sent an ultimatum that Gundobad would offer an annual tribute or Clovis would do whatever he wanted to Gundobad (II.32). This subjected Gundobad to Clovis. Gundobad would then convert to Catholicism after seeing his brother Godigisel defeated by Clovis and his Arian bishop killed (II.33-34). St. Avitus would be the one to receive Gundobad into the faith and St. Gregory lavishes praise on the works of this bishop. "I find it hard to go on seeing these Arians occupy a part of Gaul" (II.37), Clovis declared and he invaded them and drove them out with the help of God. While marching through Poitiers, he ordered that nothing be taken from the land except food and water. One of his men took hay from a poor man. When Clovis found out about the theft, he took his axe and he split the soldier's head open with it. Clovis defeated Alaric II on the battlefield of Vouillé. The Emperor Anastasius would grant Clovis a consulship (II.38). Clovis came to Tours when Licinius succeeded Eustochius (II.39) When Clovis was in Paris, he reached out to Chloderic, the son of Sigibert in the East Frankish region, saying that if his father died, he would have his alliance. Chloderic had his father assassinated. Clovis came to Cologne to show that Chloderic had misinterpreted his words and punished Chloderic for his treacheries, splitting his head open with an axe. The people subjected themselves to Clovis afterward.  "God submitted the enemies of Clovis to his dominion and increased his power, for he walked before him with an upright heart and did what was pleasing in his sight." (II.40) Clovis also defeated Chararic and subdued the rebellion of his relatives Ragnachar and Ricchar, killing both of them with his axe. (II.41-42) Clovis died on November 27, 511 A.D. and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles (now St. Genievieve) in Paris. Clotilda had built this church. She served as a religios at the church of St. Martin of Tours the rest of her life, occasionally visiting Paris (II.43). "She was remarkable for her great modesty and loving kindness."