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.
May 28 William Colgate
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How a young emigrant to USA had an experience of being born again, which prevented him from being bitter and gave him the resilience to build up one of Americas most famous companies. His deep faith led him to share most of his wealth through tithing
May 19 Alcuin of York - Capital letters and miniscule script
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The greatest mind of the 8th Century - changed how we read letters, and saved a lot of knowledge from Viking Destruction. Alcuin of York - a one man renaissance was the sun who shone over Europe
May 18 The Original Megachurch - Drama and Kidnapping
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Today we remember the disappearance of Aimee McPherson a remarkable and pioneering evangelist. And how she reappeared 5 weeks later in the Mexican Desert ... what happened?
May 17 Mapping the Mississippi with Marquette
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The Jesuit explorer Jacques Marquette and the Canadian Fur Trapper Louis Joillet were the first to explore and map the Mississipi - they embarked today and this is their story
May 16 Brendan the Navigator
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Did a Celtic Monk called Brendan cross the Atlantic 1000 years before Columbus?
May 15 Rerum Novarum, the Pope and Revolution
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Rerum Novarum was described as ground breaking - the foundational encyclical on Catholic Social Teaching. The only encyclical to spawn to follow up encyclicals as the Church tries to tread a middle line between Capitalism and Socialism
May 14 Salem Witch Trials
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The infamous Salem Witch trials are now understood to be a bout of Puritan Mass Hysteria - and some historians argue lead to the end of experimental theocracies in the USA
May 13 Shooting in St Peters Square
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Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca came millimeters from killing John Paul II today by shooting him four times at close range in St Peters Square. We look at the theories about why it happened and their relationship afterwards
May 12 The Pope and Fatima's third secret
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On a thanksgiving pilgrimage to Fatima Pope John Paul II was attacked by a ultra-conservative priest brandishing a bayonet. Why was the Pope there in the first place? What was he giving thanks for?
May 11 Irish Monasticism
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We look at the life of Comgall, his student Columbanus and the distinctive form of Christian Community that emerged in Ireland. We also look at how that had shaped the universal church.
May 10 Karl Barth
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The greatest Protestant theologian of the 20th Century, today we look at the life and thought of Karl Barth
May 9 An Assassination tests a Popes Faith
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Today we remember the killing of Aldo Moro, former prime minister of Italy and how it tested the faith of an old friend Pope Paul VI
May 8 Rebuilding in the ashes of a revolution, Jean Vianney
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A story of the savage French Revolution - its attempt to de-Christianise France and how a humble priest rebuilt the spiritual lives of his parishioners after. Jean Vianney would become the patron saint of priests
May 7 John Paul II in Romania & the Orthodox
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At the turn of the Millennium the first Slavic Pope, John Paul II made bug steps towards reconciliation with the Orthodox Church. This covers his visit to Romania
May 5 Scopes Trial and Teaching Evolution
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Today we look at infamous Scopes Monkey Trial and the attempt to overthrow the Butler Act which prohibited teaching evolution in schools. Also how the anti-evolution movement evolved into a Christian Science movement
May 6 Ghent Altarpiece
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Its been described as the most stolen piece of art, the first great oil painting of the Northern Renaissance. A complex multi-panelled painting laced with Catholic Theology. Recovered by the famous monuments men in the second world war after Hitler had hid it in a salt mine.
May 4 Dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal
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Today Alexander VI, the infamous Borgia Pope, issued a papal bull which drew up a line of demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal
May 3 The Sign of the Beast
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Today we look at the birth of Uriah Smith and Seventh Day Adventism. Emerging out of a failed prophecy of the End of the World we look at his writings about the Book of Revelation.
May 2 Fr Kircher, the Plague and Quarantine
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The last polymath of the renaissance era was Fr Antanasius Kircher SJ. Among his many accomplishments he was the first to look at the blood of bubonic plague victims under a microscope and to realise that the 'pestis' was contagious. He suggested Quarantine, wearing masks and burning the clothes of victims.
May 1 Death of David Livingstone
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Perhaps the Westerner who did more to shape thinking about Africa then anyone else. Both a father of European Colonialism and a forerunner of African Nationalism. He died today and this is his story.
Apr 30 The Polish Mystic, Faustina and the Divine Mercy
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The Polish Mystic Faustina Kowalska was declared a saint in the presence of 200,000 people today and the first Divine Mercy Sunday was celebrated worldwide. We look at her short but spiritually intense life. How the devotion to the divine mercy has spread around the world. Finally we also look at the evil that was perpetrated a few years later, in the neighbouring parts of Poland. A Deep Darkness to contrast the luminous message of Divine Mercy.
Apr 29 Joan of Arc
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The teenage illiterate peasant girl who saved France, inspired by courage and faith. We look at some of her story today, how she found herself in the corridors of power. A totemic figure that turned the tide in the Hundred Years War, she was eventually caught and executed, The Vatican would overturn the ecclesial show trial 40years later and eventually declare her a Saint.
Apr 28 Mutiny on the Bounty
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What essentially became the archetypal morality tale for Britain's period of Naval Supremacy. Most of the mutineers died fighting each other on Pitcairn Island, the last men standing repented and using the Ships Bible rebuilt their lives and converted the islanders.
Apr 27 Milton's Paradise Lost
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Some people describe it as the greatest poem in the English Language. Today we look at the lament 'Paradise Lost' - by the idealistic Puritan John Milton. At the end of Cromwell's Commonwealth, and the restoration of the monarchy, impoverished and embittered today he sold the copywrite to his great poem
Apr 26 Shakespeare's Baptism and Hidden Messages
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Was William Shakespeare sending hidden messages to Catholics, at a time when in England to be a Catholic could be equated to treason? We look at the evidence and examine the context today, on the day he was baptised in the Church of England in Stratford upon Avon.
Apr 25 Barnsley FC & Muscular Christianity
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We look at the life of Tiverton Preedy and the influence of the movement 'Muscular Christianity' on him. He founded Barnsley FC who are now owned by a consortium of Chinese and Indian businessmen, and baseball legend Billy Beane.
Apr 24 Baptism of St Augustine
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Augustine of Hippo was one of the finest minds of the ancient world and became the preeminent Chruch Father. Today we mark his late baptism and the remarkable impact he has had on Christian thought and the Western Mind
Apr 23 St George and the Order of the Garter
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Today we look at the significance of St George, and how the chapel named after him at Windsor became the home of the Order of the Garter. One of the most prestigious and longest-lasting chivalric orders.
Apr 22 In God we Trust - Post Civil War Money
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We look at how 'In God we Trust' eventually replaced 'ex pluribus unum' as the motto of the USA. How the trauma of post-civil war destruction started to it being inscribed on coins.
Apr 21 Eagleton v Dawkins, the Terry Lectures
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Today we look at Terry Eagleton's Dwight H Terry Lectures at Yale University in 2009. With the title 'Faith and Fundamentalism: Is belief in Richard Dawkins necessary for Salvation? We also analyse the phenomenon of the so-called New Atheism
Mar 22 Johnathan Edwards and the Great Awakening
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He has been described as the greatest American Theologian. We look at Johnathan Edwards and his role in the Christian revivals which swept across the UK and its colonies in the 18th Century. Called the Great Awakening in America or the Evangelical Revival in Britain.
Mar 21 Papier Mache Papal Tiara
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Pope Pius VII lived under the shadow of Napoleon Bonaparte, which led to him being crowned with a papier-mache papal tiara. Today we look at the story.
Mar 20 Cuthbert & Lindisfarne
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This is the story of one of the most popular saints in England, who was key in nation-building as the Anglo-Saxons emerged from centuries of Viking conquest
Mar 19 Taiping Rebellion & The Heavenly Kingdom
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Described as the bloodiest civil war of all time, with casualties in their tens of millions. Led by a self-proclaimed prophet who believed he was the Brother of Jesus Christ - we look at the Taiping Rebellion
Mar 18 Charles Spurgeon and the Metropolitan Tabernacle
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Called a prince amongst preachers, Surgeon attracted huge crowds to his services in London. After a tragic stampede in a temporary church we remember today how he moved to the purpose-built Metropolitan Tabernacle
Mar 17 Mormon Relief Society
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Claiming to be the largest and oldest womans charitable group we look at the founding and the work of the Mormon Relief Society
Mar 16 Founding of the Red Cross
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We look at the story of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross. What inspired him? Who signed the first Geneva Convention? What are the controversies around the Emblem used for the Red Cross?
Mar 15 Cardinal Manning and the Dock Strike
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Cardinal Manning was unusually a widow, and became very influential in Catholic Social Teaching - today we find out why.
Mar 14 Dr Livingstone I presume
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Today we remember the journalist Morgan Stanleys success in finding the lost explorer Dr Livingstone. And why did he become so famous after his death?
Feb 25 Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights
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A sad story of the mass suicide of 200 pagan Lithuanians defending themselves against the Teutonic Knights today in 1336
