Author

  1. 444: Tertullian - A Proper Seeking After Divine Knowledge is Always Within the Rule of Faith

    book
    06/19/26
    13 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Times They Are A-Changin’. In this episode, we sit with Tertullian’s writing on “Prescription against Heretics.” What is “the rule of faith”? What constitutes a proper seeking after divine knowledge? What does Tertullian mean by “Heretics Encourage and Perpetuate Thought Independent of Christ's Teaching”? What does he mean by “Restless Curiosity, the Feature of Heresy”? Should heretics not to be allowed to argue out of the Scriptures?
    444: Tertullian - A Proper Seeking After Divine Knowledge is Always Within the Rule of Faith

  2. 443: O'Connor - The blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of acceptance, which is to say, of faith

    book
    06/12/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Pretty Girls Make Graves. In this episode, we sit with Flannery O’Connor’s introduction to A Memoir of Mary Ann, A memoir of a little girl who lived for 12 years at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home in Atlanta, Georgia. Written by the nuns at the home, with a substantial introduction by Flannery O'Connor. This is a deeply moving meditation on pain, suffering, loss, and why the good hides himself behind the grotesque.
    443: O'Connor - The blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of acceptance, which is to say, of faith

  3. 437: John of Damascus - Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

    book
    04/26/26
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Every Picture Tells a Story. In this episode, we sit with John of Damascus to listen to him teach us about the veneration of icons — what that means, why it’s a subject of dispute, how scripture distinguishes between graven images and god- pleasing icons, and how this all ties into worship and vocation. This and much, much more on this week’s episode.
    437: John of Damascus - Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

  4. Friday, April 3, 2026

    book
    04/03/26
    11 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we look at the historical development of “Good Friday.”
    Friday, April 3, 2026

  5. Thursday, April 2, 2026

    book
    04/02/26
    11 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we take a look at the history of Maundy Thursday.
    Thursday, April 2, 2026

  6. 432: Ælfric - Homily for Midlent Sunday

    book
    03/14/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Went to a Garden Party. In this episode, we read a homily by St. Aelfric of York for Midlent Sunday. Aelfric sermonizes about the earthly and heavenly meaning of Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand — its symbolism, historical import, and how loaves and fishes exegete the Old Testament books themselves. This and many, many wilderness wanderings in this episode of the podcast.
    432: Ælfric - Homily for Midlent Sunday

  7. 422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief

    book
    01/03/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? In this episode, we gather for a post-Christmas, post-New Year pastoral debrief. We talk about symbols and meaning, Christmas and holidays, signs and seasons, and how modern churches quietly cleared the path for culture to push Christ out of Christmas without much resistance. We explore the strange and largely arbitrary ways the world measures time, along with the old Adam’s never-ending pyramid project. That is, his need to build meaning upward by effort, progress, and control rather than receive it as a gift. From there, we return to symbol and meaning. We ask why ancient liturgy’s nostalgia or ornamentation, but the distilled shape of reality itself, why the Lord’s Supper isn’t a side practice, but the beating heart of the Church, of worship, and of the Christian life. And why stories’ decorations for faith, but the way truth takes on flesh and finds us where we actually live. This is a conversation about time, worship, memory, and why the Church invents meaning but receives it again and again at the table.
    422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief

  8. Wednesday, August 13, 2025

    book
    08/13/25
    13 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we remember the 7th century’s “most interesting man” and a link between the East and West.
    Wednesday, August 13, 2025

  9. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: A Brief History of Bad Ideas (and What We Can Learn From Them) Part 1

    book
    08/09/25
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for August 9-10, 2025
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: A Brief History of Bad Ideas (and What We Can Learn From Them) Part 1

  10. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: The Legend of Honey Mouth—St. Bernard and the Middle Ages

    book
    07/12/25
    5 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for July 12-13, 2025
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: The Legend of Honey Mouth—St. Bernard and the Middle Ages

  11. Thoughts on Holy Week

    book
    04/16/25
    3 mins
    By Adam Francisco | David Andersen
    David and Adam reflect on Holy Week.
    Thoughts on Holy Week

  12. Luke 9:28-36 – Transfiguration (C)

    book
    02/26/25
    5 mins
    By John W. Hoyum | Steven Paulson
    On this episode of Preaching the Text, John Hoyum and Steve Paulson discuss Luke's account of the Transfiguration.
    Luke 9:28-36 – Transfiguration (C)