by Peter James | Apr 23, 2025 | Hippolytus
While I continue to pray about the war in Ukraine, I wrestle with the efficacy of my personal prayers in the face of such monstrous evil. There is a story told about a political meeting in Kiev that correlates to this Easter season. The powerful Russian communist...
by Peter James | Apr 22, 2025 | Gregory of Nazianzus
The year was AD 379 during the Easter season. A mob broke into a church, attacked the congregation, wounded the preacher and killed a bishop. No, they were not terrorists. They were followers of Arius, who had previously served the church as priest and who opposed any...
by Peter James | Apr 21, 2025 | Gregory the Great
There have been good popes and bad popes. Gregory the Great (540-604) was a good pope, one of the best. The sixteenth century Protestant reformer John Calvin overstated matters to call Gregory “the last good pope.” There are three popes from history who...
by Peter James | Apr 20, 2025 | John Chrysostom
It was Easter morning AD 400. John of Antioch (347-407) preached an Easter message in a Constantinople church. His sermon, “Paschal Homily,” is one of the earliest and most famous Easter sermons on record. It’s still read Easter Sunday in Eastern...
by Peter James | Apr 19, 2025 | Favorite, John Milton
John Milton (1608-1674) was nearing the end of his eventful life. He felt as if he had one last poem in him. He rose each morning at 5:00 am, meditated with his Hebrew Bible for an hour and offered the day in prayer. (John had learned ancient Hebrew as a child and as...