Jewel Turner Podcasts

After four years work - the Sistine Chapel was opened for public viewing on all Saints Day. Michelangelo's Ceilings is now seen as one of the greatest artistic achievements of all time - with more than three hundred figures. it shows the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood - the first chapters of the book of Genesis .…

The understanding of justification by faith alone was the theological faultline at the heart of the reformation. Today almost 5oo years later a joint statement was released in agreement between Lutherans and CatholicsBy Tim Byron

The Slave Nat Turner believed that he was divinely inspired to lead an uprising of slaves in Virginia. He would be killed for his effortsBy Tim Byron

Today we look at the story of St Regulus being shipwrecked in Scotland with relics of St Andrew. How he became the national saint and the story behind his saltireBy Tim Byron

John XXIII was born into a simple farming family and was proud of his humble beginnings. He Was mourned after his death as 'Il Papa Buono' and mas made Time Magazine Man of the year after his intervention in the Cuban Missile CrisisBy Tim Byron

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to be baptised a Christian, This was an incredible turnaround after many terrible persecutions of the Roman authorities, killing tens of thousands of Christians. We look at the spiritual experience that may explain this and the influence of his mother St Helena and her quest to find the true cross…

When Alfred defeated Guthrum at the Battle of Eddington and then proceeded to be his mentor and oversee his baptism - England was at a turning point. From Being the embattled King Of Wessex he oversaw the beginning of the unification of England and the assimilation of many DanesBy Tim Byron

Geoffrey Chaucer's stories of pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket have lead to him being called the father of English Literature, We look at his life, his writing and his ambiguous relationship with the churchBy Tim Byron

A series of churches and cathedrals have stood in Chartres since the 4th Century. A testament to resilience and perseverance, the current one dating back nearly eight hundred years is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its stained glass are some of the most famous in the world and its labyrinth still attracts many pilgrims.…

Chang Kei Shek was the longest leader of China in the 20th Century - although his later years he spent in Taiwan - escaping from the Communists. Today we remember his baptism due to his mother-in-lawBy Tim Byron

Paul Tillich became on of Protestantism's most influential thinkers of the 20th Century. His life and career had two parts in Germany and the America. Scarred by his experience of World War One he had to flee the country when Hitler came to powerBy Tim Byron

Hopkins has been described as the most influential Victorian Poet with his creative us of language and sprung rhythm. A Jesuit priest - he had a lifelong struggle balance his poetic impulses with his religious onesBy Tim Byron

Edward Schillebeeckx was a provocative and influential theologian. His book on Christology today lead him to be invited to Rome to answer some questions about what he was teaching about the resurrectionBy Tim Byron

Today in1984 the Polish priest Jerzy Popiełuszko was beaten to death by three Security Police officers. He was a friend of Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement who overthrew the communistsBy Tim Byron

Caravaggio was one of the greatest artists of the European Renaissance. He also lead one of the wildest lives. We look at how one of his paintings was stolen in Palermo. We also look at what motivated him and his turbulent lifeBy Tim Byron

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes in the world. We look at famous Christians who were awarded it , as well as who didn't and the speech given by the first nun to be awarded it - Mother TeresaBy Tim Byron

John Polkinghorne believed that science and religion provided a binocular vision of the truth. He left a prestigious post in Physics and Cambridge University to become an Anglican priestBy Tim Byron

The Gregorian calendar is now almost universally used. This is the story about how Pope Gregory promulgated it after some revisions were made of the Julian Calendar which slightly overestimated the solar orbit of planet EarthBy Tim Byron

We remember how today the public where given access to this iconic statue of Christ overlooking Rio. With his arms stretched out the statue can be seen anywhere in the city of 7 million people by anyone,By Tim Byron

Today in 1917 reports went around the world of a miracle of the Sun that was witnessed by a crowd of 50.000 in Portugal. The 'miracle' had been predicted by three peasant children from Fatima who had been seeing a 'Lady of the Rosary' who had urged prayer in order to stop the First World WarBy Tim Byron

The discussion between Karl Barth and the Polish Jesuit Erich Przywara about the analogy of being - mortal humanities relationship to God the immortal creator, has been one of the richest between Catholic and Protestant theologians in modern timesBy Tim Byron

The Second ecumenical council of the Vatican was attended by between 2,100 and 2,300 bishops from all over the world, at its different sessions that lasted 4 years. It was the biggest ever council and set the direction of the church in the modern worldBy Tim Byron

15 year old computer geek Carlo Acutis died of Luekemia in 2005 - he was beatified in 2020. Thousands of people visit his shrine in Assisi every day. Could he become the first millenial saint?By Tim Byron

The man who ushered anatomy into the renaissance age after stagnating with 1300 years of Galen was Fr Gabrielle Fallopio. He gave his name to the Fallopian tube, Fallopian Canal, and Fallopian ligament.By Tim Byron

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania during the war, He had converted to Christianity for his first marriage - joining the Orthodox Church. He saved thousands of Jews by issuing them visas and this was only discovered in Japan when many turned up at his funeralBy Tim Byron

Gallup claimed that she was by far the most admired person of the century after polling, and she won numerous prizes including the Nobel Peace Prize. She attracted thousands of young people to help her - but she also attracted some fierce, and unrelenting critics for her uncompromising witnessBy Tim Byron

Today we remember the death of Poet Laurete Alfred Lord Tennyson. HIs poem In Memoriam helped Queen Victoria as she dealt with the grief of the death of Prince Albert. We look at it how it deals with faith and doubtBy Tim Byron

Today after a terrible persecution with an assassinated Anglican archbishop and multiple murders of Catholics and Anglicans - Uganda installed a Christian government. The Ugandan martyrs are now celebrated every year by millions in a national holidayBy Tim Byron

Rembrandt left over 500 paintings after he died, more than a third of them of the Bible. He lived in a time of great religious turmoil and didn't belong to any church - but fell in love with and studied the Bible. His life was like his paintings, dramatic, passionate and ultimately tragicBy Tim Byron

The Zionist churches in Southern Africa account for 15 million Christians - the biggest group. This is the story of the Scottish/Australian preacher who founded them in America before sending out missionariesBy Tim Byron

He did not submit to either the Nazis or the Communists in his beloved Hungary. For which he was imprisoned and tortured. He would die in exile in ViennaBy Tim Byron

The German priest, teacher and writer Romano Guardini has had a decisive influence on the last two popes. His book The Lord is a masterpiece in Christology and has been called a book with a great missionBy Tim Byron

George Tyrell, an Irish priest published two letters in the Times criticising the papal encyclical Pascendi, he was expelled from the Jesuits and excommunicatedBy Tim Byron

The first Pope to be given the title great was Leo. We tell the story why todayBy Tim Byron

The Obelisk outside St Peters in Rome stood in Nero's Circus and witnessed the crucifixion of St Peter. This is the story of how it was moved there and what happened to PeterBy Tim Byron

She was a great mystic, practical and effective reformer and one of the most influential authors of the spiritual life. St Teresa of Avila, founder of the Discalced Carmelites. Author of the Interior Castle and Way to PerfectionBy Tim Byron

The Civil War had started months earlier because of the right to own slaves and Lincolns election. Today he called for a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer to bring an end to the strife. The war would last another 4 yearsBy Tim Byron

When Otto published the idea of the Holy during World War One it was a sensation, soon translated into multiple languages. He coined the term numinous to describe the experience of the Other. Mysterium Tremendum et FascinansBy Tim Byron

A key moment in English History - the first synod of Bishops which stabilised the church with its diocesan boundaries, unified England and clarified marital practice. We have records because of the first Historian of Christian Europe, a Benedictine Monk from the North East - St BedeBy Tim Byron

Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov was a Russian theologian, philosopher, poet and amateur artist. He co-founded the Slavophile movement and created a Theology around 'sobornost' or communityBy Tim Byron

Today in 2000 we remember how a quarter of a million Christians clogged the streets, to pay their final respects to the evangelist Bakht Singh who was being buried in Hyderabad, India. It was one of the largest funerals in the history of Hyderabad, but not in India, when compared to other historical figures,…

There is growing appreciation of the impact of the non conformist minister. Thomas Byre lifes work. His theorem which was posthumously published has now created a whole school in the field of StatisticsBy Tim Byron

The Korean peninsula is a grassroots church - as it grew without any direct clerical influence for many years. A diplomat brought back the books of the Italian Jesuit Missionary from Beijing, which explained how Christianity was complementary to Confucianism, Now South Korea is the country that sends out the most missionaries around the world (afte…

George Herbert - a gifted orator at Cambridge University and then the court of James I. left all that behind to be ordained in the Church of England and work in a rural parish. He poetry published posthumously became very popular in a divided age and he represented the middle groundBy Tim Byron

Hugely influential in the life of many British writers - particularly C S Lewis, but also across the pond with Mark Twain. Born a Calvinist, died an Anglican, this Scottish minister and writer left a profound legacyBy Tim Byron

The first female doctor in Switzerland - she would convert to Catholicism and set up the community of St John with Hans Urs von BalthazarBy Tim Byron

Gilles de Rai was one of the earliest serial killers on record, today he was arrested in 1440 after an investigation by the Bishop of NantesBy Tim Byron

Dominic de Guzman founded the Order of Preachers who were hugely responsible with spreading devotion to the Rosary. He has two countries named after him. This is the story of the miraculous painting attributed to himBy Tim Byron

Now the most famous champagne is named in his honour, Pierre Perignon was a Benedictine Monk who perfected the method of making sparkling wineBy Tim Byron

The final novel of Dostoevsky is possibly his most famous - the Brothers Karamazov. Wrought out of terrible grief and struggles with faith after the death of his three year old son Aloysha. One of Russia's greatest novelists has produced on of the greatest novels of all time. Charting the tumultuous transition of Russia from feudalism, the devoutly…