57. Holy Water, Holy Bread, and Holy Oil (I)

“…… Bell-bell-bell-"

“…… Yes! May the Lord Almighty grant His mercy and not only save our souls, but also heal our flesh, Amen! ”

The most striking building in Constantinople, the magnificent Hagia Sophia, was crowded with thousands of devout Greek Christians, as if all the citizens of the declining empire had gathered here.

From a distance, each of them carried all kinds of jars, bottles, and small wooden barrels in one hand, as if they were queuing up to fetch water, but in the other hand they were holding a cross or a rosary, and their mouths were singing hymns in praise of God, which made people feel a little puzzled.

In fact, the citizens did come to fetch water - in front of them, a row of oak barrels with open lids was placed, and in order to make these barrels look more like basins of holy water, the church had painted the outer walls white and painted with crosses. Behind the bucket stood a dozen Orthodox priests dressed in black, each holding a long-handled wooden spoon, and while distributing the holy water in the bucket to the citizens, they shouted to the crowd with arrogance:

“…… Come on, come on, everyone line up! Don't crowd around! One scoop per person, no more, no less! This is the holy water that the Patriarch himself prayed for blessing and divine power from God! Anyone who believes in God will be cured immediately if he is sick and drinks! If you don't get sick, you can drink it to strengthen your body! ”

- Look at how well these gods shirk their responsibilities! If the patient survives, God blesses him and the angel blesses, but if he does not survive, he is guilty of great sin and is called by the Lord.

No wonder Europeans in these days are very religious - God bless them for curing their diseases, and they can't do it if they are not religious!

In another corner outside the Hagia Sophia door, a row of nuns and grandmothers sit. To the left and right of each person are several rattan baskets filled with black, white, and yellow "round loaves." One by one, they were holding crosses or lavenders, chatting with the citizens who had come to receive the bread and asking them about the condition of the patients in their homes.

“…… Do any of your patients have a fever? Well, if you have a fever, let the patient eat two of these small black holy cakes first, and then give him the small yellow holy cakes when the fever has subsided...... If the patient does not have a fever, then just take the small yellow holy bread...... If the diarrhea doesn't stop, then feed this little white holy bread ......"

Although the holy bread distributed by the nuns and grandmothers this time was surprisingly small. It's only the size of a fingernail, and it's completely out of accordance with the rules of the sacrament, so it's not in accordance with the rules no matter how you look at it. But since these holy waters and holy breads can cure diseases, the citizens of Constantinople are not uninspired, and there is something wrong with them. For the time being, let's just take a sloppy look - for the past hundred years, under the persecution of the Turks. Even a mosque was built in the city of Constantinople. There are also many converts from the countryside to Islam. Even the most fanatical Christians in the city have long since been crushed by the harsh reality, and as long as their faith has not been seriously shaken, they will not be overly concerned about small and minor problems.

In addition to the free distribution of "holy water" and "holy bread", the Orthodox priests of Hagia Sophia also ringed bells in the streets. While peddling holy oil to the citizens of Constantinople who gathered here.

These sticky ointments are presented in a variety of small, transparent glass bottles, many of which are shaped into the shape of flowers, shells and animals, or intricately carved with ornate patterns. It makes people's eyes light up.

However, unlike the "holy water" and "holy bread" that were distributed for free, these more expensive "holy oils" required money, and each of these priests had a small wooden box around his neck, shouting at the crowd: "...... Everyone, come and donate! Just jingle the coins in the donation box and apply this holy oil to your diseased skin, and the Lord's gift will come upon you! ”

Although the price of "holy oil" is not very cheap, a small bottle costs half a gold coin, but such a delicate and gorgeous glass bottle alone has far exceeded this value - although the Near East, ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire, was almost the first place where mankind used glass on a large scale, and the glass workshops in Syria were famous as early as the ancient Roman era, and belonged to the traditional fist products exported in large quantities by the local people. But the glass bottles fired in traditional handicraft workshops can't be compared with modern jishu in terms of exquisite and gorgeous after all...... Therefore, as soon as these holy oils were launched, they were flocked to by consumers, and even clever hawkers wanted to buy and stock up in large quantities, and then make profits by becoming second-hand dealers.

Zuihou, in order to prove that these "holy relics" are indeed effective against the plague, and not that some black-hearted priest is extorting money, the church also collected a group of patients who have been cured and appeared outside the door of Hagia Sophia. According to the descriptions of these grateful believers, after taking holy water and holy bread and applying holy oil to the herpes, they will feel an indescribable comfort, and the song of heaven will be heard in their ears, as if the divine power of God is slowly seeping into their bodies, and in just an instant, they will sweep away all the diseases that have plagued them for a long time......

-- I have to admit that although the Europeans in the Middle Ages were often plagued by plague and often died of a cold, their physique was honed to be as tenacious as a weed on the side of the road. Even such a completely nonsensical treatment, thanks to the miraculous effects of modern antibiotic drugs, freed a considerable part of the citizens of Constantinople from infectious diseases and strengthened their faith.

Of course, if these healed patients who escaped the catastrophe had been able to enter the interior of Hagia Sophia and see with their own eyes how these holy relics were concocted, they would probably not have such naïve thoughts again......

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In an empty room of Hagia Sophia, dozens of travelers from modern-day Shijie are busy concocting "holy relics" to cure the plague.

In the corner of the room, there are hundreds of empty modern perfume bottles collected from unknown sources, which look like scrapyards. A few people are carefully squeezing various anti-inflammatory creams out of tin hoses and filling them into empty perfume bottles, which are then sold as "holy oils".

Others squatted or sat down on a small bench as if they were peeling peas, removing plate after plate of pills from the plastic packaging and putting them into a small rattan basket beside them. Most of the baskets, after being filled with pills, were taken outside the house and handed over to the nuns and grandmothers sitting outside the church door, who distributed them to the citizens of Constantinople who gathered outside the church in the name of "holy bread". But there are also some kinds of tablets that are poured into oak barrels filled with clean water and used to prepare "holy water".

“…… Throwing aspirin effervescent tablets (made into a highly concentrated aspirin solvent) into the holy water, passing off the holy cake with fever-reducing tablets, diarrheal and oral antibiotics, and then squeezing the anti-inflammatory ointment into a perfume bottle to pass off the holy oil...... Oh, my God! If we mess around like this, will we God to death! ”

Wang Qiu reached out and poured a basket full of aspirin effervescent tablets into the oak barrel, while smiling bitterly and teasing his colleagues.

“…… Alas, even the lively angel has already fabricated one, so you don't have to worry too much about this kind of small thing! ”

His sister Wang Yao replied casually as she poured two 500-gram bags of sugar into the bucket and stirred it twice with a wooden stick to make the holy water taste a little sweet, "...... Either way, it's a little better than the tricks that the sticks used to fool people with gutter water, moldy biscuits, and spoiled mutton fat! If there really is a God in this shijie, it should also thank us for saving its Lamb! ”

- During the previous siege, the elevated aqueduct of Constantinople had been destroyed by the Turks and had not yet been repaired. The water from the city's wells and underground reservoirs was muddy and smelled "like a gutter." In order to prevent the holy water they brewed from becoming strange and smiling, the travelers had no choice but to get water purification pills from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to precipitate and purify the fresh water......

“…… Then again, those Greeks outside really haven't made any trouble all the time? ”

Senior Sister Ma Tong, who was squatting on the floor peeling off pills, suddenly raised her head and interjected, "...... Although the evil king Makai of the former Prime Minister Kotori Yu Mahaku can control Patriarch Gregory, he cannot control the entire Orthodox Church, let alone influence the thinking of the entire Christians in the city...... I was worried that someone would jump out and claim that it was the devil's witchcraft, or an evil potion! ”

“…… What's this...... I don't think you need to worry. If you 'Mongol crusaders' were to go out into the streets to distribute medicines, you might be beaten to death as a wizard...... But now that I, the Roman Emperor and the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, am 'sowing the favor of the Lord' through the Orthodox Church, I don't think anyone in the city, at least, will dare to make a fuss anymore......"

Emperor Constantine XI, the time-traveler who was in the same room as everyone, pursed his lips and opened his mouth disapprovingly.

“…… In fact, anyone who is a little smarter can probably guess that these 'holy relics' are just some drugs with particularly remarkable effects, but absolutely no one will expose the truth of the matter, otherwise it is equivalent to having a hard time with their own lives and their families, and also with the imperial government and the Orthodox Church - in Western European countries, there may be many such fanatics, but there are definitely not many in Constantinople! ”

In response to the concerns of your fellow travelers, Constantine XI assured with confidence.

And that's exactly how things went.

-- A moment later, the people huddled in the church were astonished to learn that the Venetian ambassador had come to discuss business with the hope of purchasing large quantities of the holy oil, water, and bread that Hagia Sophia had provided for the faithful, so that "more Christians could bathe in the grace of the Lord...... (To be continued.) )