The Pearl of Great Price
A short daily trip down the lane of Christian History. Looking at the fascinating people and events that have shaped a universal civilisation.
Nov 1 Michelangelo's Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
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After four years work - the Sistine Chapel was opened for public viewing on all Saints Day. Michelangelo's Ceilings is now seen as one of the greatest artistic achievements of all time - with more than three hundred figures. it shows the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood - the first chapters of the book of Genesis .
Oct 31 Catholics and Lutherans agree on Justification
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The understanding of justification by faith alone was the theological faultline at the heart of the reformation. Today almost 5oo years later a joint statement was released in agreement between Lutherans and Catholics
Oct 30 Nat Turners Slave Rebellion
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The Slave Nat Turner believed that he was divinely inspired to lead an uprising of slaves in Virginia. He would be killed for his efforts
Oct 29 St Andrew, his relics and Scotland
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Today we look at the story of St Regulus being shipwrecked in Scotland with relics of St Andrew. How he became the national saint and the story behind his saltire
Oct 28 The Good Pope and the Cuban Missile Crisis
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John XXIII was born into a simple farming family and was proud of his humble beginnings. He Was mourned after his death as 'Il Papa Buono' and mas made Time Magazine Man of the year after his intervention in the Cuban Missile Crisis
Oct 27 Constantine, the Edict of Milan and The True Cross
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Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to be baptised a Christian, This was an incredible turnaround after many terrible persecutions of the Roman authorities, killing tens of thousands of Christians. We look at the spiritual experience that may explain this and the influence of his mother St Helena and her quest to find the true cross
Oct 26 Alfred the Great - Christianity unites England
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When Alfred defeated Guthrum at the Battle of Eddington and then proceeded to be his mentor and oversee his baptism - England was at a turning point. From Being the embattled King Of Wessex he oversaw the beginning of the unification of England and the assimilation of many Danes
Oct 25 Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales
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Geoffrey Chaucer's stories of pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket have lead to him being called the father of English Literature, We look at his life, his writing and his ambiguous relationship with the church
Oct 24 Chartres Cathedral - Jewel of Civilisation
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A series of churches and cathedrals have stood in Chartres since the 4th Century. A testament to resilience and perseverance, the current one dating back nearly eight hundred years is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its stained glass are some of the most famous in the world and its labyrinth still attracts many pilgrims.
Oct 23 Chang Kei Shek is baptised in China
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Chang Kei Shek was the longest leader of China in the 20th Century - although his later years he spent in Taiwan - escaping from the Communists. Today we remember his baptism due to his mother-in-law
Oct 22 Tillich - God as the Ground of Being
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Paul Tillich became on of Protestantism's most influential thinkers of the 20th Century. His life and career had two parts in Germany and the America. Scarred by his experience of World War One he had to flee the country when Hitler came to power
Oct 21 Gerard Manley Hopkins - The priest who was a poet
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Hopkins has been described as the most influential Victorian Poet with his creative us of language and sprung rhythm. A Jesuit priest - he had a lifelong struggle balance his poetic impulses with his religious ones
Oct 20 Schillebeeckx and the empty tomb
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Edward Schillebeeckx was a provocative and influential theologian. His book on Christology today lead him to be invited to Rome to answer some questions about what he was teaching about the resurrection
Oct 19 Solidarity, Poland and the assassination of a priest
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Today in1984 the Polish priest Jerzy Popiełuszko was beaten to death by three Security Police officers. He was a friend of Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement who overthrew the communists
Oct 18 Caravaggio and the Mafia
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Caravaggio was one of the greatest artists of the European Renaissance. He also lead one of the wildest lives. We look at how one of his paintings was stolen in Palermo. We also look at what motivated him and his turbulent life
Oct 17 The Nobel Peace Prize and Mother Teresa
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The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes in the world. We look at famous Christians who were awarded it , as well as who didn't and the speech given by the first nun to be awarded it - Mother Teresa
Oct 16 The Quantam Physicist who became a priest - Polkinghorne
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John Polkinghorne believed that science and religion provided a binocular vision of the truth. He left a prestigious post in Physics and Cambridge University to become an Anglican priest
Oct 15 How we measure time - Pope Gregory's Calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is now almost universally used. This is the story about how Pope Gregory promulgated it after some revisions were made of the Julian Calendar which slightly overestimated the solar orbit of planet Earth
Oct 14 Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janiero
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We remember how today the public where given access to this iconic statue of Christ overlooking Rio. With his arms stretched out the statue can be seen anywhere in the city of 7 million people by anyone,
Oct 13 The miracle of Fatima as witnessed by 50,000
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Today in 1917 reports went around the world of a miracle of the Sun that was witnessed by a crowd of 50.000 in Portugal. The 'miracle' had been predicted by three peasant children from Fatima who had been seeing a 'Lady of the Rosary' who had urged prayer in order to stop the First World War
Oct 12 God and Humanity - Analogia Entis, Erich Przywara's universal rhythm
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The discussion between Karl Barth and the Polish Jesuit Erich Przywara about the analogy of being - mortal humanities relationship to God the immortal creator, has been one of the richest between Catholic and Protestant theologians in modern times
Oct 11 Vatican 2 Opens
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The Second ecumenical council of the Vatican was attended by between 2,100 and 2,300 bishops from all over the world, at its different sessions that lasted 4 years. It was the biggest ever council and set the direction of the church in the modern world
Oct 10 Carlo Acutis - the first millenial saint
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15 year old computer geek Carlo Acutis died of Luekemia in 2005 - he was beatified in 2020. Thousands of people visit his shrine in Assisi every day. Could he become the first millenial saint?
Oct 9 Fr Gabrielle Fallopio and Fallopian tubes
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The man who ushered anatomy into the renaissance age after stagnating with 1300 years of Galen was Fr Gabrielle Fallopio. He gave his name to the Fallopian tube, Fallopian Canal, and Fallopian ligament.
Oct 8 Japans Schindler's List
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Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania during the war, He had converted to Christianity for his first marriage - joining the Orthodox Church. He saved thousands of Jews by issuing them visas and this was only discovered in Japan when many turned up at his funeral
Oct 7 Mother Teresa - sign of contradiction
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Gallup claimed that she was by far the most admired person of the century after polling, and she won numerous prizes including the Nobel Peace Prize. She attracted thousands of young people to help her - but she also attracted some fierce, and unrelenting critics for her uncompromising witness
Oct 6 Tennyson - Faith and Doubt In Memoriam
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Today we remember the death of Poet Laurete Alfred Lord Tennyson. HIs poem In Memoriam helped Queen Victoria as she dealt with the grief of the death of Prince Albert. We look at it how it deals with faith and doubt
Oct 5 Uganda - an ecumenism of blood
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Today after a terrible persecution with an assassinated Anglican archbishop and multiple murders of Catholics and Anglicans - Uganda installed a Christian government. The Ugandan martyrs are now celebrated every year by millions in a national holiday
Oct 4 Rembrandt - the painter of the Soul
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Rembrandt left over 500 paintings after he died, more than a third of them of the Bible. He lived in a time of great religious turmoil and didn't belong to any church - but fell in love with and studied the Bible. His life was like his paintings, dramatic, passionate and ultimately tragic
Oct 3 Zionism in Africa and John Alexander Dowie
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The Zionist churches in Southern Africa account for 15 million Christians - the biggest group. This is the story of the Scottish/Australian preacher who founded them in America before sending out missionaries
Oct 2 Christian Heroism in Hungary - Mindzentsy
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He did not submit to either the Nazis or the Communists in his beloved Hungary. For which he was imprisoned and tortured. He would die in exile in Vienna
Oct 1 Romano Guardini - The Lord
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The German priest, teacher and writer Romano Guardini has had a decisive influence on the last two popes. His book The Lord is a masterpiece in Christology and has been called a book with a great mission
Sep 30 The Intellectual courage of George Tyrell and Modernism
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George Tyrell, an Irish priest published two letters in the Times criticising the papal encyclical Pascendi, he was expelled from the Jesuits and excommunicated
Sep 29 Leo the Great meets Attila the Hun and Manicheism
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The first Pope to be given the title great was Leo. We tell the story why today
Sep 28 The Witness, the Vatican Obelisk in St Peters Square
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The Obelisk outside St Peters in Rome stood in Nero's Circus and witnessed the crucifixion of St Peter. This is the story of how it was moved there and what happened to Peter
Sep 27 The first female doctor of the church - Teresa of Avila
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She was a great mystic, practical and effective reformer and one of the most influential authors of the spiritual life. St Teresa of Avila, founder of the Discalced Carmelites. Author of the Interior Castle and Way to Perfection
Sep 26 Abraham Lincoln calls for a national day of prayer and fasting
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The Civil War had started months earlier because of the right to own slaves and Lincolns election. Today he called for a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer to bring an end to the strife. The war would last another 4 years
Sep 25 Rudolph Otto - the Idea of the Holy
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When Otto published the idea of the Holy during World War One it was a sensation, soon translated into multiple languages. He coined the term numinous to describe the experience of the Other. Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans
Sep 24 Bede the Venerable and the Synod of Hertford
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A key moment in English History - the first synod of Bishops which stabilised the church with its diocesan boundaries, unified England and clarified marital practice. We have records because of the first Historian of Christian Europe, a Benedictine Monk from the North East - St Bede
Sep 23 Khomyakov, Orthodox theologian of community
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Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov was a Russian theologian, philosopher, poet and amateur artist. He co-founded the Slavophile movement and created a Theology around 'sobornost' or community
