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At
Campofiorito (a little town in |
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The little
evangelical church and his pastor named Francesco Coppola, after having
suffered many persecutions under the Fascist Regime, finally, after the war
finished and the Fascist Regime was brought down, had began to gather still
at home but publicly. However, the religious authorities as well as the civil
and military authorities at Campofiorito were still roaring as lions against
the Evangelicals. Those authorities continued to prevent the Evangelicals
from gathering and they would continually spy on them. As soon as a brother
from another town came to visit them or they heard that the Evangelicals were
gathered, immediately the Carabinieri were behind the door and the brothers
gathered were taken to the Carabinieri post. |
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It seemed
as if the authorities in Campofiorito had only one job to do, that is, to
continue to persecute the sons of God who lived in that town. |
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One day,
brother Francesco Coppola wrote a letter to the competent authorities who
were in |
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‘We are a
group of Pentecostal Evangelicals, we want to gather in order to worship, but
the authorities of our town do not allow us to do this. We would like to know
whether we are free to gather or not! We are waiting for a kind and prompt
reply’. |
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The answer
arrived after several months. The believers continued to gather
clandestinely. |
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One
evening, while the brothers were gathered at the home of a family and the
door was closed, while they were worshiping, they heard someone knocking on
the door. The owner of the house opened the door and he found behind the door
the marshal of the Carabinieri with his men who suddenly burst into the
house. |
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Then
brother Coppola said: ‘First, allow us to conclude the worship and then take
us wherever you want’. So they continued to worship and at the end of the
meeting, the Carabinieri took all the believers to the Carabinieri post,
where the major, the roman catholic priest, the job centre official and the
pharmacist were waiting for them. |
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So in the
presence of the above mentioned persons, the marshal with arrogance began to
question brother Coppola; ‘What were you doing?’ – ‘We were worshiping the
God of heaven’ replied brother Coppola. |
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The
marshal replied: ‘If I met your God I would strangle Him!’ Brother Coppola
immediately rebuked the marshal: ‘You must understand that man is not able to
strangle God, but it is God who is able to strangle man!’ |
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But the
marshal continued to speak contemptuously, he took a collection of letters
among which was a letter who said that brother Coppola was free to gather
with his coreligionists. However, even though the marshal had been informed
that the Evangelicals were free to gather, he continued to rebuke them and to
threaten them. Then brother Francesco Coppola said to the marshal: ‘Since in
the letter it is written that we are free to gather to pray to God, why do
you continue to threaten and rebuke us?’ The marshal said again: ‘If I met
your God I would strangle Him!’ And once again brother Coppola answered him:
‘Be careful what you say, because no one is able to strangle God, but it is
God who is able to strangle man. But that evening the marshal continued to
despise God and His children, and after he gave vent to his arrogance he
released them. |
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Before
morning came, the marshal found himself with a swollen throat. They brought
him the first aids at Campofiorito, but all aids were ineffective. They took
him to the |
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From: Castrenze Cascio, Camminare e Spigolare [Walking
and gleaning], |