The Pearl of Great Price

Send us Fan Mail Today's celebration of Candlemas is marked in different ways around the world.  We look at the origins in scripture, in pre-Christian Roman practices, and how it is remembered from Mexico to France

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1516 Erasmus dedicated his amendment to St Jerome's New Testament to Pope Leo X.  A great achievement by this 'Prince of Humanists', did it unwittingly trigger the reformation?  We look today at the history of Biblical Translation and how Erasmus' work became influential 

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1867,  the Maronite Nationalist Leader Karam was sent into exile by the French. We look at the long fight for Lebanese independence, and today we look at St Maron, the church in Lebanon and its struggle for recognition, 

Send us Fan Mail Today in  1661, Oliver Cromwell's dead body was exhumed and beheaded in revenge for his execution of King Charles I on Jan 30 in 1649.  We look at how Cromwells puritanism motivated him, his disputed legacy, and Englands brief experiment with republicanism 

Send us Fan Mail Today we look at the life of Katarina Von Bora, who after a daring escape from a convent, married Martin Luther, had 6 children and ran many successful enterprises. We also take a tentative look at her influence on her husband. 

Send us Fan Mail Todays pod looks at the incredible story of the walk to Canossa, where in the dead of winter, Henry IV crossed the Alps by foot in a penitential act. Today Pope Gregory VII lifted his excommunication. 

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1302,  Italy's finest poet and some say the father of the Italian language, Dante Alighieri was exiled from Florence. In exile, he wrote the Divine Comedy, the greatest poem of the middle ages, and an allegory of the Soul's journey to God. Hear all about it in today's pod. 

Send us Fan Mail In 1950 on Jan 26 the Constitution of India came into force, forming a republic.  One of the oldest civilisations in the world, India is officially a secular country nut with a deeply religious population. With 80% of the huge population identifying as Hindu with Christians about 2% of the population, but with a huge impact on education. Today's pod looks at how a Christian l...

Send us Fan Mail A group of Jesuit missionaries built a mission on top of a steep hill on the Piratiningha plains.  As part of the mission they founded the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga today on January 25, 1554. Around the mission, grew up the Portuguese village of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga which is now the most populous city in Brasil, and the fourth in the world.... This it&apos...

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1918 the Gregorian calendar was introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars making its coverage almost universal.  Today's pod looks at the history of it, why it was needed and how it was rolled out.... Enjoy! 

Send us Fan Mail  On Jan 22 1506 the first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican. Todays pod looks at the historical context for their arrival, their famous colourful uniforms and how their role is changing all the time. 

Send us Fan Mail Seismic events in Northern Europe today on the 23rd of January and the Union of Utrecht effectively unites the northern provinces of the Netherlands. A radical experiment in Religious Freedom leads to the waning of Spain as an international force and heralds the beginning of the Dutch empire and the start of a Dutch Golden Age 

Send us Fan Mail On this day in Christian History, we go back to the year 1621 and the Pilgrims from England left their ship the Mayflower and gathered on shore at Plymouth, Massachusetts, for their first religious service.  The story of their grueling journey and what motivated them. 

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1918 we remember how the Bolshevik-controlled government in Russia enacted the Decree that proclaimed the separation of church and state .   This effectively meant that all church property in Russia was confiscated and all religious instruction in schools was abolished.

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust receives its premiere performance, we look at the story behind the greatest work of German Literature.  

Send us Fan Mail The final session of the Council of Trent opened today in 1562. This would define Catholicism for the next four hundred years, a sadly mark the definite rupture with Protestantism. 

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1525, the Zurich City Council arranged a public debate between Ulrich Zwingli and the Anabaptists who were opposed to infant Baptism.   In reality there was more at stake than baptism, 

Send us Fan Mail Its 1412, The church is divided into three claims to the papacy, and the Medici become the Pope's bankers and one of the most powerful families in Europe

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1892  chaplain and teacher James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball at the Springfield YMCA in Massachusetts. This is the story. 

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1610 Galileo Galilei observed 4 moons of Jupiter. This observation changed the way we understood the universe and led to conflict with the scientific community and then the Church. Todays pod explores this story. 

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode looks at the curious phenomenon of Gauchito Gill killed today in1878. With his roadside shrines all over Argentina, he is venerated as a saint although not yet declared one by the church. 

Send us Fan Mail Today millions of Phillipinos accompany a 7km procession of a statue of Christ carrying his cross in Manila. It lasts up to 22 hours and the intensity of devotion it inspires leads some to  risk their lives... find out why in today's podcast

Send us Fan Mail On  the 10th of January 1984, The United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in 117 years.  Today's pod looks a little at the bromance between President Reagan and Pope John Paul II 

Send us Fan Mail Today the 11th of January we remember the Danish Bishop and pioneer in anatomy and geology Nicholas Steno, who was born today (according to the Gregorian Calendar)

Send us Fan Mail Today in 1897 saw the discovery of some half a million papyrus fragments in a remarkable archeological discovery in Egypt. This increased our knowledge of the ancient world include the Bible.