In keeping with last week’s Irish theme, this week’s Saint is St. Serapion of Algiers. He spent his 12th century youth a crusader, fighting under Richard the Lion-Heart and Leopold VI to liberate the Holy Land, but a life lived by the sword didn’t satisfy him. When he met St. Peter Nolasco, founder of the Order of Mercy, he knew that his heart for liberating captive Christians was calling him out of the army and into religious life. Serapion asked to be received into the Order of Mercy, a religious order whose charism was the redemption of captives. In addition to preaching the mercy of God who redeems us from sin, Mercedarians proved that mercy by redeeming slaves from their Moorish captors.
Serapion took part in several of these missions of mercy before being sent to England to recruit new members to the order. On his way there, his ship was captured by pirates and Serapion was left for dead. Surviving, he continued on his mission, but his powerful preaching against the theft of church property in London got him in trouble. Ordered to leave the city, he spent some time wandering the British Isles as an evangelist1 before he resumed his work of ransoming captives.
In 1240, Serapion had brought a ransom to Algiers to release 87 Christians when their captors demanded more money. When he discovered that some of the captives were considering renouncing Christ, he volunteered to stay in their place. Better to be a slave than to allow souls washed by the blood of Christ to turn from him. Serapion watched his brothers and sisters released and turned to his captors, ready to preach the love of God.
The witness of his life, handed over without a thought for strangers, combined with the powerful message of a God who did the same was incredibly compelling to the Muslim people Serapion encountered and he began to make powerful enemies when several Muslims came to him to be baptized. Though his brother Mercedarian raced home and horses were sent throughout Europe begging for funds to ransom Serapion, the money didn’t arrive in time. He was nailed to an X-shaped cross and dismembered, a martyr of Christ and a martyr of mercy.
Serapion is certainly not the only Saint to have been involved in the ransom of Christians but I find his particular circumstances compelling. His entire life was animated by the love of God’s mercy and the desire to bring it to others. Initially this was through war, but eventually he realized that the most powerful witness to the love of God was offering his life in peace. As one who was rather bellicose as a young Christian, I’m inspired by his ability to put away his sword and witness to the Gospel in such a profoundly counter-cultural way. More than just saving lives, Serapion was saving souls, laying down his life for those at risk of losing Christ.
This week, keep your eyes peeled for those in your life whose faith might be hanging by a thread. How can you love them back into the arms of Christ?
- A perfect friend for me! [↩]
Wow, I’d never heard of St. Serapion-his story is so crazy awesome! It is so inspiring and amazing how he gave himself over for the captives.
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