CORNELIUS. The centurion of this name, whose history occurs in Acts x., most probably be longed to the Cornelii, a noble and distinguished family at Rome. He is reckoned by Julian the Apostate as one of the few persons of distinction who embraced Christianity. He held his com mand as a centurion (ixarovrcipxns) in the Italic band ; so called from its consisting chiefly of Italian soldiers, formed out of one of the six cohorts granted to the procurators of Judma, five of which cohorts were stationed at Cmsarea, the usual residence of the procurators. The religious position of Cor nelius, before his interview with Peter, has been the subject of much debate. On the whole, he appears to us to have been one of a class consist ing of Gentiles who had so far benefited by their contact with the Jewish people as to have become convinced that theirs was the true religion, who consequently worshipped the true God, were ac quainted with the Scriptures of the O. T., most probably in the Greek translation, and observed several Jewish customs, as, for instance, their hours of prayer, or anything else that did not in volve an act of special profession. This class of persons seems referred to in Acts xiii. 26, 43, where they are plainly distinguished from the Jews, though certainly mingled with them. From this class we regard Cornelius as having been selected of God to become the firstfrults of the Gentiles. His cha racter appears suited, as much as possible, to abate the prejudices of the Jewish converts against what appeared to them so great an innovation. It is well observed by Theophylact, that Cornelius, though neither a Jew nor a Christian, lived the life of a good Christian. He was doeprjr, influenced by spontaneous reverence to God. He practically obeyed the restraints of religion, for he feared God, and this latter part of the description is extended to all his family or household (x. 2). He was liberal in alms to the Jewish people, which shewed his respect for them ; and he prayed to God al ways,' at all the hours of prayer observed by the Jewish nation. Such piety, obedience, faith, and charity, prepared him for superior attainments and benefits, and secured to him their bestowment (Ps. xxv. 9 ; 1. 23 ; Matt. xiii. 12 ; Luke viii, is ; John vii. 17).
The remarkable circumstances under which these benefits were conferred upon him are too plainly and forcibly related in Acts x. to require much comment. While in prayer, at the ninth hour of the day, he beheld, in waking vision, an angel of God, who declared that his prayers and alms had come up for a memorial before God,' and directed him to send to Joppa for Peter, who was then abiding at the house of one Simon, a tanner.'
Cornelius sent accordingly ; and when his messen ger had nearly reached that place, Peter was pre pared by the symbolical revelations of a noonday ecstacy, or trance, to understand that nothing which God had cleansed was to be regarded as common or unclean.
The inquiries of the messengers from Cornelius suggested to Peter the application of his vision, and he readily accompanied them to Joppa, at tended by six Jewish brethren, and hesitated not to enter the house of one whom he, as a Jew, would regard as unclean. The Apostle waived the too fervent reverence of Cornelius, which, although usual in the East, was rendered by Romans only to their gods ; and mutual explanations then took place between him and the centurion. After this the Apostle proceeded to address Cornelius and his assembled friends, and expressed his conviction that the Gentiles were no longer to be called un clean, and stated the leading evidence and chief doctrines of the Gospel. While he was discours ing, the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, con trary to the order hitherto observed of being preceded by baptism and imposition of hands, fell on his Gentile auditors. Of this fact Peter and his companions were convinced, for they heard them speak with tongues, foreign and before un known to them, and which Peter and his com panions knew to be such by the aid of their own miraculous gifts, and, under divine impulse, glorify God as the author of the Gospel. The Jewish brethren who accompanied Peter were astonished upon perceiving, by these indubitable indications, that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Gen tiles, as upon themselves at the beginning (x. 45)• Peter, already prepared by his vision for the event, and remembering that baptism was by the com mand of Jesus, associated with these miraculous endowments, said, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, who have re ceived the Holy Ghost as well as we ?' and agree ably to the apostolic rule of committing the ad ministration of baptism to others, and, considering that the consent of the Jewish brethren would be more explicit if they performed the duty, he ordered them to baptize Cornelius and his friends, his house hold, whose acceptance as members of the Christian church had been so abundantly testified.—J. D. F.