"The Grand Inquisitor" begins with a set of opening quotation marks. An unidentified speaker says, "Fifteen centuries have passed since He promised to come in His glory, fifteen centuries since His prophet wrote, 'Behold, I come quickly."' The uppercase "H" in the word "He" is used conventionally to indicate that "He" is the Christian God; in this case it is Jesus Christ, as is made clear later in the sentence when the speaker refers to the "Son" and the "Father." The story, then, takes place fifteen centuries after Jesus walked on Earth. In the intervening time, according to the speaker, there was a period of great faith and miracles, and then a period in which people began to doubt the miracles and doubt their faith.

Some time in the sixteenth century, in Seville, Spain, Jesus returns to Earth. He arrives during the Spanish Inquisition, a...