Chapter LXXII.—Happy Ending.

Then I Clement, with my brothers and our mother, spoke to our father, asking him whether any remnants of unbelief remained in him.  And he said:  “Come, and you shall see, in the presence of Peter, what an increase of faith has grown in me.”  Then Faustinianus approached, and fell down at Peter’s feet, saying:  “The seeds of your word, which the field of my mind has received, are now sprung up, and have so advanced to fruitful maturity, that nothing is wanting but that you separate me from the chaff by that spiritual reaping-hook of yours, and place me in the garner of the Lord, making me partaker of the divine table.”  Then Peter, with all alacrity grasping his hand, presented him to me Clement, and my brothers, saying:  “As God has restored your sons to you, their father, so also your sons restore their father to God.”  And he proclaimed a fast to all the people, and on the next Lord’s day he baptized him; and in the midst of the people, taking occasion from his conversion, he related all his fortunes, so that the whole city received him as an angel, and paid him no less honour than they did to the apostle.⁸⁸⁶⁸⁸⁶    [The work probably closes with these words; the added sentence is not in harmony with the general plan of the Recognitions, which skilfully treats the material so as to give prominence to the family of Clement.  Some scribe, zealous for the authority of the Apostle Peter, has doubtless contributed the unnecessary sentence which follows.  See next note.  The ordination of a bishop at Antioch by Peter is simply an absurdity.  It is unlikely that even the writer of the Recognitions would venture to ignore the previous existence of a Christian church in that city.—R.]  211And these things being known, Peter ordered the people to meet on the following day; and having ordained one of his followers as bishop, and others as presbyters, he baptized also a great number of people, and restored to health all who had been distressed with sicknesses.⁸⁸⁷⁸⁸⁷    This sentence occurs only in one ms.