By Sarah Levesque (G) St. Cyril and St. Methodius were brothers who became known as the Apostles to the Slavs and are celebrated on the same day – February 14th in the West, May 11th in the East. St. Methodius was born around 815 while St. Cyril, originally named Constantine, was born around 827, both in […]
Read MoreBy Sarah Levesque Onesimus (own-ESS-ee-mus) Nesib was born around 1856 near Hurumu in Ethiopia. His parents named him Hiikaa Awaaji; or “translator”. At a young age, Hika was stolen from his widowed mother, renamed Nesib, and sold or stolen multiple times before being liberated by the vice-consul of the French Consulate, Werner Munzinger. The boy […]
Read MoreBy Ian Wilson (G) Born in 1615, Richard Baxter lived in a tumultuous time in British history. In a time when it might have been easy to be an extremist, Baxter always sought to seek peace, and hold the middle ground between the warring factions. He was fond of saying “In necessary things, unity; in […]
Read MoreBy T.K. Wilson Not much is known about the early life of Paul the Confessor of Constantinople. We first learn of him as he was elected bishop of Constantinople, over the violent objections of the Arian minority on the council. However, Paul wasn’t bishop for very long. The Emperor of Constantinople at the time was […]
Read MoreBy Ian Wilson (G) Not much is known about the childhood of the Belgian Protestant Reformer, Guy de Bres. He was born in the year 1522, in the Belgian town of Hainaut. While nothing is known of his father’s profession, he was apparently prosperous enough to afford to send Guy to university, where he first […]
Read More
By Sarah Levesque … Giulia Salzano was born on October 13, 1846, in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Italy. Her father, Diego Salzano, died when Giulia was only four years old, and she was taken in by the Sisters of Charity, with whom she stayed until she was fifteen years old.
Read More
By T.K. Wilson … James, the son of Alpheus, was one of the original Twelve Apostles called by Christ at the start of his ministry. According to tradition, he is one of Jesus’s cousins or half-brothers and brother of St. Jude. He is called “the Lesser ” or “The Just ” to avoid confusion with James son of Zebedee – though even this is disputed!
Read More
By Lyn Wilson … Pope Cletus, sometimes known as Anacletus, was the third Bishop of Rome after St. Peter and Linus. We know very little about this man’s life and yet his name is remembered through history.
Read More
By Ian Wilson … Born in 954 in Somerset, England, Aelfheah had everything – a noble family, wealth, food, drink, servants – yet none of those things had affected him so much as knowing and drawing nearer to God. Much to his family’s dismay, Aelfheah entered the monastery, where he was respected for his austerity and extreme piety.
Read More
By Sarah Levesque … Adoniram Judson, missionary to Burma (Myanmar), was born on August 9, 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts. After a period of skepticism, Judson studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary in his home state…
Read More
By Ian Wilson … In her youth, Juliana had quickly learned Latin and memorized the works of St. Augustine and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, devoting herself to theological study; an unusual pursuit for a woman in her time. At the young age of 13, Juliana was welcomed into the order.
Read More
By Ian Wilson … St. David’s life can be summed up by his last words: “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things you have seen me do”.
Read More
By Ian Wilson … There have been many hymn writers in the history of the Christian Church, but few have been as influential on church music as Reginald Heber. Heber was born on April 21st, 1783, to a wealthy and educated family, who were able to afford to give Reginald a good education. He was something of a child prodigy, translating Latin classics to English at only seven years old.
Read More
By Lyn Wilson … Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (in Asia Minor), was a disciple of Jesus Christ and the Apostle John. God in his mercy gave Polycarp eighty-six years on this earth before his death as a martyr. Why is Polycarp important to us today?
Read More
By Ian Wilson … The Lutheran Church’s first systematic theologian was born on February 16th, 1497, in Bretten, Germany. He was given the name Philip Schwarzerdt, but at the urging of his uncle, Johann Reuchlin, he changed it to the Greek name, Melanchthon, to reflect his status as a scholar.
Read More
By T.K. Wilson … When Cornelius’s messengers arrived, Peter immediately went with them. When they arrived in the Centurion’s home, he preached the gospel to all who were there. All in the house believed his word, received the Spirit, and were baptized.
Read More
By Ian Wilson … The wicked minister Ulpian had the saintly lady arrested and brought to the temple of Apollo, attempting to force her to sacrifice to the false god. Instead, Tatiana prayed, and the idol of Apollo shattered with a terrible noise. Some witnesses claimed they saw a shadowy being fleeing from the statue.
Read More
By T.K. Wilson … The Great Martyr Anastasia was born in Rome, the daughter of a pagan and a secret Christian. During the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian, she ministered to those in prison, slipping out in disguise, keeping this from her pagan husband. She used her wealth to free the captives and also, using her skill as an herbalist, cured many wounds and diseases, hence her title Deliverer from Poisons, as she knew how to reverse poisonings.
Read More
by Ian Wilson … A brilliant theologian and defender of the Russian Orthodox church, Archbishop Hilarion was born Vladimir Alexievich Troitsky around the year 1885 in the Russian village of Lipitsa. He was born into a family of clergy and theologians, and followed in his father’s footsteps.
Read More
By Sarah Levesque … St. Bernadette was born Marie-Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844. She was considered a sickly child, and had asthma. Whether due to ailments or other difficulty learning, Bernadette was unable to read, write, or learn her catechism lessons properly as a child, which delayed her First Communion. At the age of fourteen, over the course of six months, she had eighteen visions of Mary, Mother of God…
Read More
LogoSophia Magazine 