Martinus rang the bell that called the monks and brothers to the Great House. He ordered Isidore and Teilo to remove Lucius to a solitary cell and to bar the door with a stout oaken log. Justan had been let out of his wicker cell the day before on the orders of Abbott Mihael. The mild piety of the boy made the abbott feel lenient.

When the rest of the community was present and seated at the long table used for meals and almost all other work, Martinus clambered onto the high seat usually reserved for the abbott.

“If thy brother, son, daughter, or wife entice thee, secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ … thou shalt surely kill them. That is what Deuteronomy tells us, unless you have forgotten,” said Martinus. “I have been very lenient in this matter. Our wayward brother is safe in his cell, doing penance for his terrible transgressions, and I have hurt no one.

“Let this episode be a lesson to the Pagani on shore. I will soon be made bishop, and I will allow no more of these repulsive gatherings. I am quite sure that the Pagani understand the message I, Isidore, and Brother Teilo have given. I expect all of you to follow my example and work to stamp out any further heresy.

“Anyone performing animal sacrifice will be forced from their home and excommunicated. If you find a Pagan temple, you will pull it down, rebuild it, and reconsecrate it for our use. Everyone must attend a Christian church or have their property seized and be sent into exile. Any lawyer, teacher, bureaucrat, or noble who professes to be a Pagan will be publicly mocked, disgraced, and driven from office. Pagan fountains and wells are to be rededicated to Christian saints or else filled in, and their so-called sacred trees and groves will be cut down. Do you understand me?”

Abbott Mihael stood to speak. “The banning of sacrifices will be a great hardship for the poor. Many of them have no meat, save that which is provided at funeral feasts and festival gatherings.”

“Tell the rich to offer public meals on Christian feast days and holidays! What difference does it make? They only offer food to the poor to curry political favor with their neighbors and to gain status in their eyes. One day is as good as another for political gain.

“You must ban all processions unless they end at the grave of a martyr or a saint. Tell them it is a useless waste to light candles for the dead. Candles are only to be used to light the darkness of a home or to honor a Christian shrine.”

Having received his orders from Martinus, Abbott Mihael sighed in frustration. “To think that all I ever really wanted was a simple hermit’s life by the sea,” he muttered under his breath, quietly enough that no one would hear.