British Jewish historian Cecil Roth, who was educated at Oxford, wrote a book that was of particular interest to author Martin Elsant. The book was titled Historia de los Marranos and of the many figures covered in it was one Diego Lopes de Pinancos in Coimbra, Portugal. Ironically, Mr. Elsant is a former radiologist living in Jerusalem and Mr. Roth died in Jerusalem in the year 1970.

Although much of ACTS OF FAITH is dedicated to the descendants of Diego Lopes, Martín Elsant includes two previous quotes from different sources to his Author’s Notes. One in particular struck me as quite interesting: “Bent under the dark wing of the Inquisition… the influence of an eye that never slept, of an invisible arm that never rose to strike. How could there be freedom of thought, where no was there freedom of expression? Or freedom of expression, where it was so dangerous to say too much or too little? Freedom cannot be accompanied by fear.” – William H. Prescott, The Age of Philip II and the Supremacy of the Spanish Empire, 1858.

It’s easy to pick up a history book or click on Wikipedia to learn about Diego Lopes. I prefer, whenever possible, to read historical fiction — an infusion of true history within the opportunities that allow for creativity in re-examining historical events. I think this is what Martin Elsant is doing with ACTS OF FAITH, recounting historical events during one of the most difficult times in human and religious history — The Inquisitions — in such a way that it feels as if the reader is enjoying a fictional book, filled with all the unexpected plot twists.

The story we are following involves María, the daughter of Diego Lopes, and a young man she is very fond of, Aristedes or ‘Ari’ Coelho. Ari had a difficult life, having to watch his parents succumb to the Black Death when he was only twelve years old. His aunt and uncle already had six children and couldn’t take care of another, so Ari ended up spending his time as an “orphan” living with the village priest, Father Affonso. Perhaps it was this experience in such an impressionable part of his life that led Ari to join the Seminary as soon as he was old enough to do so.

When Ari and Maria met, she immediately took a liking to him. He likes to have Bible discussions with her, beginning with an explanation of why the Bible was not only meant for kind souls like hers, but also for sinners like him. Sadly, it was The Inquisitions that caused a brief period of fighting between Ari and Maria. One of Diego Lopes’s servants, Pedro, is kidnapped by one of the Inquisition’s relatives. Being a servant with no political influence, Pedro was unable to fight the planted evidence that was used to imprison him. Pedro soon becomes one of the many victims of the Inquisition when he is tortured to death. Maria finds Ari and they have a heated discussion about this matter — heated only because Maria asked Ari if the inquisitors who tortured Pedro to death were sinners and he indicated that while they may have made unintentional mistakes in the Peter’s case, they did not sin.

Part of Ari’s training at the seminary included a tour of the torture chambers used by the inquisitors. He is only the first to slowly start to change his feelings about the whole process of the Inquisition. The Bishop, hearing of Ari’s slight change in attitude, sits him down for a good talk. It is during this talk that Ari’s mind makes up her mind: what the Inquisitors are doing in the name of God is nothing more than utter, unadulterated evil. The question was, how do you fight him from the precarious position he finds himself in?

Ari learns of people tortured just for their contrary religious beliefs, such as those of the Jewish faith who celebrate the ritual of fasting during the great holy day of Yom Kippur. Ari knew that he was not just an evil leader of the Church, but a completely evil system that needed to be stopped. The problem was that the Familiars of the Inquisition in Portugal were trying to emulate the ones in Spain, and the Spanish Inquisitions were not a Monty Python sketch, but one of the deadliest events in European history. The story takes a big turn when Ari’s old friend, Maria, finds him and tells him that his father, Diego, has been arrested as part of the Inquisition. She begs for his help, but as much as she would like to, Ari realizes there is little he can do.

The case against Diego Lopes is weak and he is defending himself during the trial. When questioned, he states that the only reason the inquisitors have called him in is because they have accused him of Judaizing. Things were not looking good for Diego. This was a period in human history when there was not much sympathy for those he was feared. These people were simply wiped out, in the same way that more than 50,000 ‘witches’ were killed in neighboring European countries. While Diego spent months in prison, Maria talked to Ari out of fear that it would only be a matter of days before he was executed.

Maria begs Ari to try to help, stating that he is her last hope. It’s hard for Ari to disappoint her, but there really wasn’t anything she could do that she wouldn’t find him in the same position as her father. At the same time, Ari finds it difficult to understand his claims that Judaism is superior to Christianity: his teaching in the seminary and his upbringing are responsible for his position. Anyway, the last part of this book is an account of the plan made to free Diego and escape from Portugal. Some readers may already know the fate of Diego Lopes, but I won’t spoil it here and encourage everyone to pick up this book by Martin Elsant and settle in for the ride in what represents the first book of the Inquisition Trilogy.