Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchCities of God: Introduction to Series 3
Season 3 Episode 1
With this introductory episode we begin our exploration of the cities where the Fathers lived and taught. At first these were cities that raged again…
3 years, 1 month ago
Patristic Pilgrims' Progress
Season 2
Christianity is the odd religion that does not require pilgrimage, but Christians do it anyway, and in great numbers, as they have since the earlies…
3 years, 1 month ago
The Mother of All Vigils
Season 2
'Twas the night before Easter, and all through the Church every heart was stirring. The early Christians kept a Vigil that made a lasting impression.…
3 years, 2 months ago
Work of Human Hands: The Fathers and the Revaluing of Labor
Season 2
Plato scorned manual labor. Aristotle believed that "no one who leads the life of a worker or laborer can practice virtue." Plotinus, Celsus, and Her…
3 years, 2 months ago
Sicily: The Fathers Long Before the Godfathers
Season 2
To Plato it was an island paradise. To Cicero it was the beginning of the Roman Empire. To Basil it was a name synonymous with luxury. To Augustine i…
3 years, 3 months ago
The Deep Roots of Consecrated Life
Season 2
As long as there's been Christian faith, there have been ascetics—athletes of prayer—and these athletes, both female and male, have sought ways to li…
3 years, 3 months ago
Denis & the Menaces: 3rd-century Pandemic, War, Climate Change
Season 2
Denis (aka Dionysius) the Great, in the years he was bishop, faced many of the terrors of the ancient world, all while the empire was persecuting Chr…
3 years, 4 months ago
The African Roots of Western Christianity
Season 2
Western Christianity is fundamentally African in the way that Eastern Christianity is fundamentally Greek. It was in Africa that a vigorous Christia…
3 years, 4 months ago
From Controversy to the Calendar: The Lord's Baptism
Season 2
The calendar is a catechism. Every feast is a lesson in doctrine. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, like Christmas, rose to prominence at a time …
3 years, 5 months ago
The Scandal of the Virgin Martyrs
In Greek and Roman epics, the heroes are men who conquer by violence. But in early Christianity the epic heroes were often heroines — specifically t…
3 years, 5 months ago