Bright contrasts captured in Lyon’s Pentes de La Croix Rousse this spring.
A dose of history…
…When Christianity spread from the Middle East to Europe, Lyon was one of the first pagan places to encounter the gospels.
A certain Pothinus (French: Saint Pothin), from modern day Turkey, was sent in around AD 160 to spread the good news to the Gauls, the ancient tribes of France.
Pothinus established a thriving church community in Lyon, known as Lugdunum under Roman occupation, until Christians began to be persecuted by the Roman Empire in AD 177.
Believers were tortured and many executed by wild beasts in amphitheatres. Among these early Christian martyrs were Pothinus and a Christian slave girl named Blandina.
Both refused to renounce their faith in Jesus, and were brutally murdered for it.
Lyon is considerably more peaceful nowadays, but I like to remember this story. My family are from this place, I am inspired by the city’s legacy of courage and conviction, and this account reminds me of my brothers and sisters around the world who are still persecuted for their faith even in the 21st century.
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