A young man conscripted into the Roman Army, swiftly moves through the ranks, crushing all enemies set before him, but his world of duty and honor turns upside down when he meets a man claiming to be the Messiah.

*Script available upon request

SYNOPSIS:

FAST PITCH: 22 A.D., young Cornelius lives in Italy with his father Maximo and his mother Vita. His father is a military veteran and so Cornelius becomes a Roman soldier when centurion Titus comes to his village to recruit.

During his training, Cornelius becomes friends with Seppo and joins his family during leave. While there, Cornelius falls in love with Seppo’s sister, the beautiful Cassia. His training complete, Cornelius and his fellow soldiers are stationed at Fort Mobene and he experiences combat during patrols, which are regularly ambushed by Arab bandits. Months later, during another skirmish with the Arabs, Cornelius’s commander and mentor, Titus, is killed. Afterwards, General Apollos promotes Cornelius to take Titus’ rank and command his own legion. Cornelius proves himself in an epic bloody battle against the Parthians, but Seppo is killed in the fight and he suffers a nasty hand injury which impacts his career.

Apollos assigns Cornelius to an administrative position in Judea, under an old friend of his, Pontius Pilate. While there, Cornelius learns of Jesus, who has developed a devout following of worshippers. Although Jesus is making enemies at the highest levels, Cornelius witnesses him perform miracles and becomes a believer himself. Subsequently, he’s horrified to discover Jesus has been crucified and he visits him on the cross moments before he dies.

In his sleep, Cornelius is visited by an angel who tells him to seek out Peter. He tells Peter he wants to serve God and the next day he is baptized. From that day forth, Cornelius follows his new calling and tells Pilate he’ll no longer be serving Rome and will serve the Lord instead.