Medieval Christian History

A tinker faces twelve years in prison for preaching without a license, leaving his blind child without a provider. This is the cost of his faith. The Sentinel Post That Cost John Bunyan a Life This episode explores the early life of John Bunyan, from his humble beginnings in Bedfordshire to his service in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. We delve into the choices that shaped his path and the profound impact they had on his family and future. Person: John Bunyan Date: 1628 (baptism) Location: Elstow, Bedfordshire Event: English Civil War Status: Tinker, Parliamentary soldier - John Bunyan was baptized on November 30, 1628, in Elstow, Bedfordshire. - His family, though described by Bunyan as "low," owned land and property in Elstow. - In the summer of 1644, Bunyan's mother and sister died, and his father quickly remarried. - At approximately sixteen, Bunyan enlisted in the Parliamentary army and served at Newport Pagnell garrison. - During his military service, Bunyan recounted an incident where another soldier took his sentinel post and was subsequently shot dead.

An Episcopal bishop knocks on British doors with one letter to raise funds for frontier clergy - what did it cost him? He Sold a Slave, Raised a Nation's Clergy, Then Outlived Everything In this episode, we follow Philander Chase from a New Hampshire farmhouse to frontier pulpits and back across the Atlantic, tracking how he built churches and seminaries and the personal losses that shadowed each triumph. What choices did he make on the road to founding clergy for the American frontier? Person: Philander Chase Date: December 14, 1775 (birth) Location: Cornish, New Hampshire; Liverpool; Ohio; New Orleans; Hartford Event: 1823 fundraising trip to England with one letter of introduction - Born the youngest of fourteen, Chase left his Congregational family after discovering the Book of Common Prayer at Dartmouth. - Ordained deacon May 10, 1798, Chase served a frontier circuit across New York State from 1798-1804. - In 1805 he moved to New Orleans, founded a church, ran a school, bought a nineteen-year-old enslaved man named Jack for $500, and three months later Jack escaped to Liverpool. - After relocating to Hartford (calling it his "Sunshine Years"), Chase later moved west, preaching in Ohio in 1817 and chairing the first Ohio Episcopal convention in 1818. - In October 1823, with no institutional mandate and only a senator’s letter of introduction, Chase sailed to England and raised $30,000 from British donors for a college in Ohio.

A bishop carries a plot to kill Adolf Hitler to the British Foreign Office, which waits 30 days before saying no. This decision costs him everything. The Foreign Office's "no" cost George Bell everything This episode explores the life of George Bell, a bishop who became deeply involved in a plot against Adolf Hitler. It examines the consequences of the British Foreign Office's decision and the impact it had on Bell's career and legacy. Person: George Bell Date: 1942 Location: Sweden, British Foreign Office Event: Plot to kill Adolf Hitler - Bishop George Bell met a theologian in neutral Sweden in 1942 to discuss a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. - Bell carried the details of this plot to the British Foreign Office, which delayed its response for 30 days. - Bell was a prominent candidate for Archbishop of Canterbury in 1944, having sheltered Jewish refugees and opposed the firebombing of German cities. - He was ordained in 1907 and assigned to industrial parishes in Leeds, learning to engage with workers and institutional authority. - Bell became personal chaplain to Archbishop Randall Davidson in 1914, participating in critical wartime operations like refugee crises and prisoner exchanges.

An English Bible translator, working in exile without Hebrew or Greek, dedicates his work to the very king who made its completion dangerous. The psalm translation he risked in exile cost him poverty and obscurity This episode explores the life of Myles Coverdale, the man behind the first complete printed Bible in English, and the profound personal cost of his groundbreaking work. It delves into the influences and challenges that shaped his journey, leaving the listener to ponder the true price of his legacy. Person: Myles Coverdale Date: January 20, 1569 Location: London Topic: Bible translation Period: 15th-16th Century - Myles Coverdale, born around 1488 in Yorkshire, studied philosophy and theology at Cambridge and was ordained a priest in 1514. - He entered the Augustinian friary in Cambridge, where his prior, Robert Barnes, introduced humanist ideas and the direct approach to Scripture. - Coverdale served as secretary for Barnes during his heresy trial in 1526, witnessing his mentor's public penance. - By 1528, Coverdale left the Augustinians and began preaching against core Catholic doctrines, leading to his exile on the Continent. - In exile, Coverdale collaborated with William Tyndale, working from Latin, English, and German translations to complete the first printed English Bible.

A monk watches his life's work burn, a city he built over sixteen years consumed by fire. This is the story of a man who walked into a broken world. The Monk Who Walked: How His Feet Built a Kingdom This episode explores the life of Aidan, an Irish monk who arrived in Northumbria in the 7th century. It delves into his unique method of building a civilization through walking, teaching, and a gentle approach, culminating in a moment where everything he created faces destruction. Person: Aidan Date: 651 Location: Isle of Farne, Northumbria Topic: Celtic Christian mission - Aidan, an Irish monk, was sent to Northumbria in 635 after a previous missionary failed to connect with the local population. - He suggested a "milk of gentle doctrine" approach, prioritizing presence and gentleness over demanding instruction. - King Oswald provided Aidan with the island of Lindisfarne, which became his base for a priory, school, and library. - Aidan refused to ride horseback, choosing to walk from village to village, speaking to all people equally. - King Oswald initially served as Aidan's interpreter, translating his words to the Northumbrian people.

A child is abducted into the Darfur slave trade, sold five times, and branded with 114 scars. She walks 960 kilometers, losing her own name. The 960 Kilometers She Walked Erased Her Own Name This episode explores the life of Josephine Bakhita, a woman who endured immense suffering and slavery in 19th-century Sudan. It delves into the circumstances of her abduction and the brutal realities of the slave trade that shaped her early life. Person: Josephine Bakhita Date: February 8, 1947 (death) Location: Schio, Italy (death); Darfur, Sudan (birth) Event: Abduction into slavery Period: 1869 (birth) - 1947 (death) - Josephine Bakhita was born in Olgossa, Darfur, in 1869, into a family with standing as her father was the village chief's brother. - At seven or eight years old, she was abducted by slave traders from a field near her village, two years after her elder sister was also taken. - She was forced to walk approximately 960 kilometers barefoot from Olgossa to the slave markets at El Obeid. - During her enslavement, she was sold five times over twelve years, moving further from her home in Darfur. - In the household of a Turkish general, she endured the scarification of 114 patterns on her body, cut with a razor and packed with salt to ensure permanence.

A bishop arrives in Roman Britain with a strange cargo: the bones of apostles. He knows the exact grave he seeks, intending a mysterious exchange. The bones of apostles bought him a martyr's grave This episode delves into the story of Germanus of Auxerre, a bishop who traveled to Roman Britain in 429 AD with a specific purpose. It explores the historical records surrounding Alban of Verulamium, the first martyr of Britain, and the questions that arise from Germanus's pre-planned visit and the relics he carried. Person: Germanus of Auxerre Date: 429 AD Location: Roman Britain, Verulamium Topic: Early Christian history Event: Relic exchange - A bishop from Gaul arrived in Roman Britain in 429 AD carrying the bones of apostles. - He intended to exchange these relics at a specific grave, which tradition identifies as Alban of Verulamium's. - Alban, the first martyr of Britain, was a Roman citizen executed between 209 and 313 AD, with no contemporary record of his death. - The earliest text naming Alban's shrine is the Vita Germani, written between 450 and 485 AD, which names the shrine but not the town. - Germanus's journey was recorded by Prosper of Aquitaine in 433 AD, noting the exchange of apostolic bones for earth stained with preserved blood from Alban's grave.

A Cambridge-educated priest travels to India and South Africa to confront empire - but at what cost to his home, faith, and peace? The education that made him Cambridge's voice---and cost him home and peace In this episode, we follow Charles Freer Andrews from a crowded Newcastle childhood to the halls of Pembroke College and out into the empire. The episode traces the choices he made-leaving Cambridge, speaking publicly against British treatment of Indians, and taking assignments in Delhi, Madras, South Africa and beyond-and asks what those choices demanded of him and those he left behind. Person: Charles Freer Andrews Date of birth: February 12, 1871 Education: Pembroke College, Cambridge; King Edward's School Nickname: Deenabandhu (Friend of the Poor) Event: 1914 voyage to South Africa sent by Gopal Krishna Gokhale - Born one of fourteen children in Newcastle to John Edwin Andrews, an Angel in the Catholic Apostolic Church, and raised amid deep financial hardship after a trusted friend's betrayal. - Excelled academically: King Edward's School, Pembroke College, won the Carus Greek Testament Prize in 1895, ordained deacon in 1896 and priest in 1897. - Joined the Christian Social Union as a student and led the Pembroke College Mission in south London before accepting the Cambridge Mission to Delhi in 1904. - Publicly criticized British treatment of Indians in a 1906 letter to the Civil and Military Gazette and helped settle a cotton workers' strike in Madras in 1913. - In January 1914, at age 42, sailed to South Africa on Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s request to act as a British ally for the Indian community and encountered Mohandas Gandhi, who reinterpreted his initials as "Christ's Faithful Apostle."

A man sells his land and joins a new movement, earning a new name - but does his sacrifice erase his own story? The Land He Sold Cost Him His Name and Place This episode explores the life of Barnabas, a pivotal figure in early Christianity whose contributions were instrumental yet often overshadowed. We delve into the circumstances that led to his renaming and the profound impact of his actions on the nascent Christian community. Person: Barnabas (Joseph) Date: First century CE Location: Cyprus, Jerusalem, Antioch Event: Sale of land, introduction of Saul - An archbishop's dream in 478 CE leads to the discovery of a skeleton and a Gospel manuscript in Cyprus. - Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, sells his land and donates the proceeds to the early Christian movement in Jerusalem. - The community renames him Barnabas, meaning "son of encouragement," recognizing his significant act. - Barnabas vouches for Saul, a former persecutor, to the terrified apostles in Jerusalem, staking his own credibility. - On their first missionary journey, the order of names in the text of Acts shifts from "Barnabas and Saul" to "Paul and Barnabas."

Canterbury Cathedral: an archbishop refuses to lock the doors, hiding a hairshirt-what private penance lies behind his choice? The Hairshirt That Cost an Archbishop His Life This episode explores the life of Thomas Becket, from his humble beginnings to his rise as Archbishop of Canterbury. It delves into the complex relationship between Becket and King Henry II, and the pivotal moment that set them on a collision course. Person: Thomas Becket Date: December 29, 1170 Location: Canterbury Cathedral Event: Murder of Thomas Becket - Thomas Becket was born in Cheapside, London, around 1119 or 1120 to prosperous Norman parents. - He received a serious education at Merton Priory and grammar school, later studying in Paris, Bologna, and Auxerre. - By 1154, Becket had become Archdeacon of Canterbury and held other significant church positions. - In 1155, Archbishop His recommended Becket to King Henry II for the post of Lord Chancellor. - As Chancellor, Becket embraced a lavish lifestyle, even raising a military force for the king, before his ordination as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162.