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Saint Laurence / Ludlow

Today, I visited Ludlow in Shropshire and the Parish Church of Saint Laurence that dates back to the 1100s. I thought it would be good to share the story of this Christian who lived in the 200s, who gave his life for the Lord. 

Laurence (also spelt Lawrence) was a Christian believer who lived from 225 until 258. He died a "martyr" - this means that he died for his Christian faith and way of life.  

Laurence was originally from the Roman province of Hispania (Spain), where he was born in 225 in either the town of either Heusca or Valencia. It was in Spain that he met the future bishop Sixtus II of Rome (also known as "Pope"), at Zaragoza, and together they travelled to Rome. 

By the mid-200s, the Christian community at Rome was already 200 years old. Arguably, it was in the 40s of the Christian era that it began - just 10-15 years after Christ rose from the dead. Shortly after it began, this church would have been impacted by the decree by the Emperor Claudius, expelling all Jews from the capital. We meet two such Jewish Christians in the book of Acts - Priscilla and Aquila. When the Apostle Paul, then at Corinth, penned his epistle to the Romans (approx. the year 57), there was an established congregation of both Jews and non-Jews at Rome.

When Sixtus succeeded Stephen I as bishop of Rome in 257, he made Laurence, aged 32, a deacon, which meant he was responsible for the practical side of church life, in particular managing the finances of the church. Laurence served as "archdeacon" (leading deacon) - one of a team of seven deacons with responsibility for the whole church at Rome which would have numbered thousands if not more at the time.

Just one year later, in 258, persecution against the church resumed under the Emperor Valerian (the previous persecution ended in 251). The Emperor ordered that all bishops, priests and deacons be put to death. As a result, bishop Sixtus II was arrested as he held a service at one of the underground graveyards (catacombs) outside Rome, and beheaded immediately along with six of his seven deacons. The prefect of Rome (like a senior judge) demanded that Laurence, the archdeacon, hand over the wealth of the church to the Emperor. Laurence asked for three days to sort things out. During these three days, he worked as hard as he could to distribute the wealth of the church to the poor. So, when the time came to hand over the church's money, he presented the crippled, blind and suffering people the church had helped, saying that they are the true treasure of the church. "Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the church's crown," he said. "You see, the church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor," he added.  

Needless to say, this ruse did not convince Laurence's accusers. He was sentenced and imprisoned. While in prison, it is said that he baptised fellow-prisoners. He was executed by being roasted on a gridiron, dying a martyr's death at San Lorenzo in Panisperna (in what is now the Monti district of Rome), and buried on the site of what is now the church of San Lorenze fuori le mura. 

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