A Bedouin shepherd throwing a stone into a cave on the shore of the Dead Sea was puzzled by the cracking sound within. Investigating he was amazed to find a cracked earthenware jar that contained papyrus and leather scrolls. This lead to further discoveries in nearby caves and gave us astonishing insights into an ancient Jewish and Biblical world. The most astonishing find in modern archaeology. Today an advert for four of the Dead Sea Scrolls appeared in the Wall Street Jou

Today we look at the short history of the Latin American Bishops Conference, their most recent meeting in Mexico at Aparecida and how this lead to the election of Pope Francis and the blueprint for church reform in Evangelli Gaudium 'The Joy of the Gospel' Today at Aparecida in Mexico the 5th conference of Latina American Bishops was closed by Pope Benedict XV. The council (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano), is better known as CELAM, and was created in 1955 in Rio de Janei

Today in 1934 the first synod of the Confessing Church ended. They issued the important Barmen Declaration. An important and brave resistance to Hitler's rise to power, they were appalled at how the majority of the Evangelical Church had fallen in line with the Nazi's. When the Nazis took power, the German Protestant church consisted of a federation of independent regional churches. However, there was a growing movement who called themselves German Christians who shared Hitl

One of the greatest writers in the English language at the beginning of the 20th Century. On an intense spiritual journey that took him from unitarianism into the occult, then via Anglicanism to Catholicism. Writing poetry, criticism, fiction, biography, columns, public debate, and a famous radio series he was one of the most influential voices of his time. Baptised into the Church of England, his family were practising Unitarians (albeit irregularly). Unitarianism had emerg

Today we go back to year 1795 and travel to Baltimore where, a young William Colgate arrived in the US and settled in Harford County, Maryland with his family. His faith gave him the resilience to develop on of the most famous companies in the world, and he is famous for his honesty, generosity and his tithing. His father, a friend of the British Prime Minster had been warned to escape England when King George III had placed him on a list of the seven most dangerous men in B

The Body of Canon law is historically continuous from the early church to the present, and such can claim to be the oldest functioning internal legal system in Western Europe, much later than Roman law but predating the evolution of modern European civil law traditions. Its institutions and concepts have influenced the secular law and jurisprudence in the modern state —e.g., marriage law, the law of obligations, the doctrine of modes of property acquisition, possession, wills

Today in Dublin in 1826, a teenager with a big heart an a desire to do something important called Thomas Bernardo experienced an evangelical conversion that lead to him opening orphanages for London’s homeless boys and girls. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in London to the date of Barnardo's death, nearly 60,000 children had been taken out of abject poverty. Barnardo was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1845 & was the fourth of five children of John Michaelis Bar

it’s the 25th of May and on this day in Christian History we go back to year 1995 and travel to Rome where Ut Unum Sint, the first encyclical ever devoted exclusively to the ecumenical imperative was issued. John Paul II had gone to places where other Popes had not and reached out his hand in friendship and asked forgiveness for errors and crimes of the past. The Slavic Pope was particularly keen to reach out to the Orthodox Church, often saying that the great schism had mea

In Aldersgate, London, Anglican priest John Wesley had an experience in the middle of a spiritual crisis which lead to establishment of Methodism. This is called the Aldersgate experience, and Aldersgate Day is an annual memorial for many Christians. We look at why he was in a crisis, and then 'How his heart was strangely warmed' according to his journal. Wesley had arrived back in England after a few years ministry in America, he had fled the colony after a legal dispute

Samuel Sharpe was hanged today in Jamaica for his role in organising as slave uprising referred to by historians as 'The Baptist War'. He is now a national hero and his face appears on the $50 bill in Jamaica Sharpe was born in Jamaica in 1801. In the Caribbean, England had colonised the islands of St. Kitts and Barbados in 1623 and 1627 respectively, and later, Jamaica in 1655. These and other Caribbean colonies later became the centre of wealth and the focus of the slave t

Today the famous Trevi Fountain was finished by Pannini, and was officially opened and inaugurated on this day by Pope Clement XIII. We look at how the City of Rome's fortunes were often linked to the rise and fall of the Papal prestige through history, and how this 'watering hole' for many locals go caught up in provincial rivalries For many years the city of Rome’s fortunes and international prestige were linked to the Papacy. Since Rome was never an important industrial or

Today in St Peters, Rome, a 33 year old man called Lazlo Toth, wielding a geologist's hammer shouted, "I am Jesus Christ — risen from the dead". Alarmed pilgrims and tourists watched as he attacked Michelangelo's Pietà statue in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Who was he? What happened to him? and more importantly what happened to one of the most sublime works of art. With fifteen blows he removed Mary's arm at the elbow, knocked off a chunk of her nose, and chipped one o

Today we remember the first Ecumenical Council of the Church. It is now famous for its Christian statement of belief that is widely used in liturgy. What is an ecumenical council and what authority does it have? Why was this council called and what was Arianism? Why does it matter to Christians how Jesus relates to the rest of the Trinity? An Ecumenical council is a universal meeting of church leaders, in contrast to a local council. Because of its universal nature it has

Alcuin was one of the greatest minds of the Eight Century. Spearheading the educational reform of the Court of Charlemagne, he advanced learning across Europe. He is credited with developing the font Carolingian minuscule, a clear script which has become the basis of the way the letters of the present Roman alphabet are written, with its innovative use of Capital letters and smaller letters. It was part of wider reform of learning in the court of Charlemagne, and standardis

Canadian Aimee Semple McPherson was a pioneer of evangelism. Faith-healer, founder of the Foursquare Gospel Church and builder of the Angelus Temple, was believed to have disappeared during a swim on May 18, 1926. Presuming she had drowned, searchers combed the area for a washed up body. Because of her fame however soon sightings of her were reported often many miles apart. She had constructed one of the first megachurches called the Angelus Temple in LA, and soon the Temple

We remember the historical expedition of missionary Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, a French-Canadian explorer to explore the Mississippi River. Helped by the Native Americans and avoiding Spanish conquistadors, the maps they made would help generations of pioneers and explorers They departed from Saint Ignace, in Michigan on May 17, for a journey that would take them thousands of miles into the North American interior, confirming that it was possible to travel by wate

A book known as Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot) full of exploration, religious symbolism, and strange fantastic tales was written in the 9th Century. Christopher Columbus used it to plan his trips, did this describe the earlier historical voyage of Brendan the Navigator? After a spate of recent reconstructions and investigations into the voyage it has become Impossible to dismiss it totally as legend, it may describe a successful journey

Seen by many as the start of Catholic Social teaching - this encyclical of Leo XIII has the unique distinction of being followed by two others on it s 40th Anniversary (Quadragessimo Anno) and Hundred Years Later ( Centessimus Annus). Trying to tread a middle ground between Capitalism and Socialism it has left a great legacy. The 'New Things' that the encyclical addressed, refers to the rapidly changing social landscape that had resulted in light of the industrial revolution

The town of Salem in Massachusetts witnessed an outbreak of 'Witch Trials' that lead to the execution of 19 people and destroyed the lives of many others. It is now understood to be an outbreak of Puritan Mass Hysteria and some historians see this as the end of Theocracy in the USA. Todays trial which began in 1872 was known as the second Salem witch trial, and was short lived. A Lucretia Brown accused fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of attempting to harm her

Today we remember an assassination attempt that shocked the world. Its 1981, the last years of the Cold War, and the early years of the first Slavic Pope's ministry. A Charismatic figure, attracting the media and huge crowds John Paul was a real threat to some people. A Turkish gunman shot him at short range? The Pope survived and believed that his survival was miraculous. We look at the background to this complex story. John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet