The Presbyter Who Refused Gold

Postumianus went on: “I will certainly take care from now on not to mention anyone’s abstinence, in case the hard example should thoroughly offend our friends the Gauls. I had meant, however, to tell you about that Cyrenian’s dinner too, for we spent seven days with him, or about some of the meals that followed; but these things had better be passed over, so that the Gaul does not think he is being mocked. On the next day, however, when some of the local people had come together to visit us, we discovered that our host was a presbyter, a fact he had hidden from us with the greatest care. We then went with him to the church, which was about two miles away and hidden from our view by a mountain in between. We found that it was built of common, worthless timber, and was not much more imposing than our host’s hut, in which one could not stand up without stooping. When we asked about the customs of the people of the district, we found that they were not in the habit of either buying or selling anything. They did not know what fraud or theft meant. As for gold and silver, which people generally think the most desirable things of all, they neither have them nor want to have them. For when I offered that presbyter ten gold coins, he refused them, declaring with deep wisdom that the church was not built up but rather torn down by gold. We did, however, give him some pieces of clothing.” [a]