Saintly Saturday: St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Today the Orthodox Church commemorates an interesting event. St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes in one of his extant letters:

At about the third hour of the day, an enormous Cross, formed of light, appeared in the heaven above holy Golgotha and reaching to the holy Mount of Olives, being seen not by one or two only, but manifest with perfect clarity to the whole multitude of the city; not, as one might suppose, rushing swiftly past in fancy, but seen openly above the earth many hours in plain sight, and overcoming the beams of the sun with its dazzling rays.

This letter was written to Emperor Constantius, a strong supporter of Arianism. As someone who championed the Council of Nicea, which saw Arianism as heresy, St. Cyril understood this as a sign of the righteousness of his cause against Arianism. He wrote to the Emperor trying to get him to support the Nicene position.

I can't help but note that the wikipedia entry on St. Cyril disregards this event as merely a dream:

Cyril of Jerusalem wrote a letter to Constantius in 351 discussing different aspects of the Christian faith and more interestingly discusses his dream of a burning cross

This, despite the fact that several ancient writers speak about it as an event witnessed by soldiers, men, women and children...

***

Supernatural Events Table

What happens…

1. Local body of water turns red with blood.
2. Sky goes dark for 1d6 days.
3. Religious symbol appears as a bright light in the sky.
4. All animals of a certain type die: 1 = birds; 2 = cattle; 3 = fish; 4 = amphibians; 5= cats; 6 = rodents
5. A pest population explodes: 1 = flies; 2 = rats; 3 = frogs; 4 = lice; 5 = locusts; 6 = moths
6. A local geographic feature begins to bleed.
7. The sky starts to rain fire.
8. An epidemic resistant to magical healing sweeps the land.
9. Entire populations fall into a deep sleep.
10. The dead walk.

What is the cause…

1. Natural phenomena.
2. Magical attack by enemy forces.
3. Collateral damage of a nearby magical battle.
4. An ancient artifact turned itself on.
5. An extra-planar rift.
6. An extra-terrestrial event.
7. An incursion from the Deep Dark.
8. A magical experiment gone wrong.
9. An illusion.
10. A party of adventurers really messed up.

What the locals think…

1. It's a reason to revert to an old/new religion.
2. It's a reason to throw a big party.
3. It's the end of the world.
4. It's an omen telling of the return of a dead king.
5. It shows that a recent political event was blessed.
6. It shows that a recent political event was cursed.
7. It's a certain race's fault: 1 = minority human; 2 = elf; 3 = dwarf; 4 = halfling; 5 = goblinoids; 6 = orcs
8. It's a certain class's fault: 1 = magic users; 2 = clerics; 3 = fighters; 4 = thieves
9. It's a call for sacrifice: 1 = gold; 2 = magic items; 3 = animals; 4 = gems; 5 = rare spices; 6 = humans
10. It's normal.