a principal agent in the persecution of 37, but who
now, by a mysterious act of grace, becomes the most ardent of the
disciples of Jesus.

From the year 38 to the year 44 no persecution seems to have been
directed against the Church. The faithful were, no doubt, far more
prudent than before the death of Stephen, and avoided speaking in
public. Perhaps, too, the troubles of the Jews who, during all the
second part of the reign of Caligula, were at variance with that prince,
contributed to favor the nascent sect.

This period of peace was fruitful in interior developments. The nascent
Church was divided into three provinces, Judea, Samaria, Galilee, to
which Damascus was no doubt attached. The primacy of Jerusalem was
uncontested. The Church of this city, which had been dispersed after the
death of Stephen, was quickly reconstituted. The apostles had never
quitted the city. The brothers of the Lord continued to reside there and
to wield a great authority.

Peter undertook frequent apostolical journeys in the environs of
Jerusalem. He had always a great reputation as a thaumaturgist. At Lydda
in particular he was reputed to have cured a paralytic named AEneas, a
miracle which is said to have led to numerous conversions in the plain
of Saron. From Lydda he repaired to Joppa, a city which appears to have
been a centre for Christianity. Peter made a long sojourn at Joppa, at
the house of a tanner named Simon, who dwelt near the sea. The
organization of works of charity was soon actively entered upon.

The germ of those associations of women, which are one of the glories of
Christianity, existed in the first churches of Judea. At Jaffa commenced
those societies of veiled women, clothed in linen, who were destined to
continue through centuries the tradition of charitable secrets. Tabitha
was the mother of a family which will have no end as long as there are
miseries to be relieved and feminine instincts to be gratified.

The Church of Jerusalem was still exclusively composed of Jews and of
proselytes. The Holy Ghost being shed upon the uncircumcised before
baptism, appeared an extraordinary fact. It is probable that there
existed thenceforward a party opposed in principle to the admission of
Gentiles, and that all did not accept the explanations of Peter. The
author of the Acts would have us believe that the approbation was
unanimous. But in a few years we shall see the question revived with
much greater intensity. This ma