Note 74 — BOOK II THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE FAITH

Hermas, the author of the famous Shepherd, belonged to the slave class. The Roman Bishop Pius, A.D. 142–157, was the brother of Hermas. The celebrated Bishop of Rome, Callistus, A.D. 218–222, had been a slave.

“The first and grandest edifice of Byzantine architecture in Italy—the Church of S. Vitale at Ravenna—was dedicated by Justinian to the memory of a martyred slave.”—Lecky, History of European Morals, vol. ii. chap. iv.