Résultats Éditeur "Charles River Editors" dans Personnalités religieuses

Apart from Jesus, there is no character more vividly presented in the gospels than Peter. To talk of Saint Peter is to talk about a man of action. There is a good reason why he is the apostle with the most mentions in the Gospels, and the most referred to in the New Testament (a total of 195 times). In comparison, John, the next most popular disciple, barely reaches 29 references. It is at decisive moments which require a categorical reaction where the leader of the Twelve shines.

Francesco Forgione might be a name lost to history, but over the course of his life, he became one of Catholicism's most well-known figures during the 20th century as Padre Pio. It was a remarkable path for a man who was legendarily afflicted by a series of illnesses and most famously bore the stigmata, very noticeably bearing what appeared to be the crucifixion wounds Jesus's hands suffered. Padre Pio was also known for his eccentricities, including unique forms of deep meditation and experiencing visions.

It would be hard if not outright impossible to overstate the impact Roman Emperor Constantine I had on the history of Christianity, Ancient Rome, and Europe as a whole. Best known as Constantine the Great, the kind of moniker only earned by rulers who have distinguished themselves in battle and conquest, Constantine remains an influential and controversial figure to this day. He achieved enduring fame by being the first Roman emperor to personally convert to Christianity.

Among all the various figures in 19th century America who left controversial legacies, it is hard to find one as influential as Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mormonism, and the Latter Day Saint movement. Revered as a prophet on the level of Moses by some, reviled as a perpetrator of large-scale fraud by others, what everyone can agree on is that Joseph Smith founded a religious movement that played a crucial role in the settlement of the West, especially in Utah.

It is March 13, 2013. White smoke is seen coming out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel where the College of Cardinals have gathered to pray and vote on the election of a successor to Pope Benedict XVI. They had been sequestered for two days, and five ballots had been taken. Hardly anyone had the Jesuit cardinal on their short list. After all, he was a Jesuit who was already 76 years old and from South America.

Among the various religious movements of the 19th century, few have had as widespread an influence as Christian Science, the religious system devised by a fragile little lady named Mary Baker Eddy. Eddy was a religious woman who suffered an injury in the 1860s that led her to found a new church premised, most notably, on the belief that people need not turn to medicine or drugs to heal themselves but simply reach a better understanding of the nature of God.

For the last few decades of the 20th century, the Catholic Church was blessed to have two of its most influential leaders guiding the Church and spreading its faith and message at the same time. Pope John Paul II made history by becoming the first non-Italian pope in several centuries, guiding the church for over 25 years. But while he led the Church, a remarkable woman born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (1910-1997) became one of the Church's greatest missionaries and humanitarians. She would come to be known to the world as Mother Teresa.

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' Catholic Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of the Church's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

The Middle Ages in Europe were some of the most precarious centuries in recorded history, bristling with war, excitement, and chaos. The Western Roman Empire had crumbled, territories were rapidly expanding, and heavy ploughs, hourglasses, spectacles, tidal mills, and more pioneering inventions were popping up across the continent. It was also a time of extreme prejudice, when women were treated as second-class citizens. Their only purpose in life was to procreate by the dozen.

Francesco Forgione might be a name lost to history, but over the course of his life, he became one of Catholicism's most well known figures during the 20th century as Padre Pio. It was a remarkable path for a man who was legendarily afflicted by a series of illnesses and most famously bore the stigmata, very noticeably bearing what appeared to be the crucifixion wounds Jesus's hands suffered. Padre Pio was also known for his eccentricities, including unique forms of deep meditation and experiencing visions.

Even someone with a casual knowledge of the Bible will recognize the name Judas Iscariot. Well known as the disciple who betrayed Jesus, the Messiah, with a kiss, Judas has become synonymous with betrayal and deception. The most infamous of the apostles, Judas goes from true follower to a turncoat who seemingly sacrifices the cause for personal benefit. Not surprisingly, the names of the disciples will appear in birth registries around the world except for Judas, whose name is still associated with suspicion and even fear.

Of all of the important Catholic men and women who have been venerated over the last 2,000 years, one of the faith's most popular and influential men also lived one of the most unique lives. Like Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) found God about as far away from church as possible; it was during military service that he underwent a remarkable conversion.

Alongside St. Ignatius, who founded the Jesuits, St. Francis of Assisi is widely regarded as one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic Church due to his work establishing religious orders that have done an incalculable amount of good and service for societies. Like St. Ignatius, St. Francis also got his start as a soldier who experienced a vision that put him on a more divine path.

By his mid-20s Graham was a Baptist pastor in the Midwest, and throughout the 1940s he began traveling across the country to spread his ministry and message through large gatherings that he termed "crusades". In time these crusades would take place in nearly 200 nations and attract hundreds of millions of people, helping to catapult him to international prominence and making him a household name.

The stories and legends attributed to the Borgias have made them one of the most notorious families in history. Five hundred years after their deaths, they have come to be associated more with incest, political intrigue, murder, and state-sponsored violence.While 21st-century TV series have cast the Borgias as the first organized crime family, the rumors spread by the family's political opponents in the late 15th century have taken hold among a fascinated public.

Next to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young is one of the best known Mormon leaders and perhaps the most important. After Smith's death, it was Young who led Mormon pioneers westward in a journey that the Latter Day Saints often likened to the Exodus, and Young became popular as "American Moses". At the same time, Young and his group were involved in a seemingly never ending list of controversies, both of their own making and the misconceptions of so many Americans who were unfamiliar with the religion.

James the Just is one of the most important and enigmatic figures in the history of early Christianity. He is best remembered for being the brother of Jesus, as documented by several sources, including the Gospels, the Epistle of James, and other noncanonical texts. He was also the first bishop of Jerusalem before he was put to death in AD 62 or 69. Biblical scholars have long been fascinated by James as a historical figure, especially in trying to determine his relationship to Jesus.

Among all the various figures in 19th century America who left controversial legacies, it is hard to find one as influential as Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mormonism, and the Latter Day Saint movement. Revered as a prophet on the level of Moses by some, reviled as a perpetrator of large-scale fraud by others, what everyone can agree on is that Joseph Smith founded a religious movement that played a crucial role in the settlement of the West, especially in Utah.

As one of the most influential and recognizable religious figures in history, Martin Luther (1483-1546) continues to impact the world over 550 years after his death. Luther was a German priest and theologian whose writings and teachings sparked the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century, creating one of the greatest schisms in the history of the Catholic Church and touching off religious turmoil and bloodshed that would engulf Europe for the next two centuries.

The United States has never had a shortage of cults based on religious teachings and charismatic leaders, but perhaps none are as infamous as Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, which remain notorious for the mass murder-suicide event in Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978, during which nearly 900 people drank cyanide-laced Flavor Aid, including nearly 300 children.