Monday, January 26, 2026

It is the 26th of January 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

A very happy Monday to you… Am I happy? I don’t know… It’s a few hours before the game… I’ll be watching it at church, which will hopefully either 1) encourage God to let the Rams win, 2) make me more sanctified in a loss, or 3) none of the above. It’s just sports. I guess…

It’s Monday, and so we head to the mailbag- and to Austin, Texas, and Jasmine- she recently found the show in the magical algorithm, and we are happy to have you with us… Jasmine is from Oregon- George Fox representative. She met her Husband in Texas (he’s a sports doctor), and that’s where they live. They worship with Anglicans these days- the ACNA (Anglican Church in North America), and she had two questions- one is quicker than the other.

The first: are their more male or female saints? Brilliant. Who is a saint? Let’s go- official Saints proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church- just for a sample. They don’t keep an exact count- they will tell you somewhere between 1,000 and 8,000 officially- there might be as many as 10,000. I’m struck that there isn’t a spreadsheet somewhere…. But we are pretty sure the males hold the record (after all, no female priests and many priests are saints). The Catholic Church says there are more males than females at about a 60-40 clip, while others suggest it’s more 80-20. But a saint is a “hagios”- “one called out,” and so there are as many saints as there are Christians- last I read it’s about a 50.4% split

But her first question had to do with Church buildings, architecture, beauty… she mentioned a recent Christianity Today article: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/03/best-church-architecture-new-building-survey/.

AND, two plus years ago, I did a weekend edition called “Take me to church” on church architecture- link in transcript: https://www.1517.org/podcast-overview/2023-09-30.

Here’s the thing about “churches”- the “ecclesia” is the people, not the building. In almost the first 300 years of the church, there were very few dedicated buildings- it was not legal in many cases to worship. There are no injunctions in the New Testament about a building, or specs for an altar, or any of the details we see God takes with his Old Testament people. Of course, the church building is not the thing that takes the place of the temple- it’s Jesus and then Christians. We are the living temple of God.  

It’s after Constantine makes Christianity both recognized and legal that he, and others, decide that the Christians should have fancy buildings like the Roman religion and Empire. They have things like “Basilicas,” and they are transformed into Christian places of worship.

But what about that CT article? Is it ok for us to want beauty in our churches and church architecture? The Greeks spoke of the “transcendent” things that point beyond themselves- for the Greeks, these were the “true,” the “good,” and the “beautiful,” and many Christians have adopted those things to point beyond themselves to the true “transcendent” thing: the Godhead- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Can we worship God in a strip mall or converted synagogue? Sure- Jesus tells us that in the coming age of the church we won’t worship on that mountain or the other- but, in spirit and truth. Is beauty helpful for this? Sure! Go for it. Is it necessary?

I think the CT article talking about how most Christians want the church to look “churchy” is saying something bigger about wanting the church to look and feel “called out” or “saintly”- different than the world. Now, is that pews, no pews? Stained glass? My favorite are the churches that look like an old boat. Of course, that’s why the church building has been called a “nave” from “navis” (like a boat)- the church is a boat, an ark… Noah’s ark… I hear 1 Peter 3 calling…

Thanks for the email and for listening, Jasmine and family in Austin! 

  

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 37 from the Scottish Metrical Psalter:

¹ For evil-doers fret thou not
thyself unquietly;


Nor do thou envy bear to those

that work iniquity.

² For, even like unto the grass,

soon be cut down shall they;


And, like the green and tender herb,

they wither shall away.

³ Set thou thy trust upon the Lord,

and be thou doing good;


And so thou in the land shalt dwell,

and verily have food.

⁴ Delight thyself in God; he’ll give

thine heart’s desire to thee.

⁵ Thy way to God commit, him trust,

it bring to pass shall he.

⁶ And, like unto the light, he shall

thy righteousness display;


And he thy judgment shall bring forth

like noon-tide of the day.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 26th of January 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man in balmy Wisconsin- not even negative degrees- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man entering a salsa cruda verde for the competition, but will take a Ram's win over the salsa… I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.