In this episode, we explore the remarkable life of John Chrysostom, one of Christianity’s greatest preachers and theologians. Born in 347 AD in […]By Stephen J. Bedard

This episode explores the extraordinary life of Ambrose of Milan, a Roman governor turned bishop who became a pivotal figure in early […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Among the highlights of the fourth century was a group of theologians, two brothers and a close friend. These were the Cappadocian […]By Stephen J. Bedard

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Emily Conroy-Krutz, author of Missionary Diplomacy. In the 19th Century, the United States was expanding […]By Stephen J. Bedard

An important part of Christian history has been the role of clergy in supporting the military in terms of both spiritual and […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the greatest defenders of what would be known as orthodox Christianity was Athanasius the Great, bishop of Alexandria. He was […]By Stephen J. Bedard

While some Christians were gathering in councils and devising creeds, others were fleeing the cities to be alone with God. These were […]By Stephen J. Bedard

In this special Christmas episode, we look at the figure who would be the inspiration for the popular Santa Claus. While some […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the most important events in Christian history is the First Council of Nicaea that took place in 325 AD. Christianity […]By Stephen J. Bedard

The Christian church was emerging out of a time of persecution but their troubles were not over. Shifting from threats from without […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the most influential people in the history of the early church was someone of unknown religious conviction. Constantine came to […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Emperor Constantine was Great, but was he good? If you were talk to many Christians today, they might suggest that much of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

There had been numerous persecutions on a small scale for the first three centuries but the church experienced a much more significant […]By Stephen J. Bedard

The third century was a time of great upheaval for the Roman Empire and it was equally so for the church in […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the religious movements that emerged in the third century was that of Manichaeism. This religion, founded by the Iranian prophet […]By Stephen J. Bedard

The Christian Church existed within and was growing inside the Roman Empire. What was happening in the Roman Empire during the third […]By Stephen J. Bedard

By the third century, the church had been growing rapidly. They were facing threats both internal and external. In this episode, we […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Two of the brightest, most influential, and most prolific church fathers were Origen of Alexandria and Tertullian of Carthage. They were both […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Pope Pius XII was the pope during the Second World War. There is controversy over how he responded to the crisis. Should […]By Stephen J. Bedard

As we conclude our look at the second century, we revisit some of the people we have already talked about. These are […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Since the time before Jesus, the Jews were a part of the Roman Empire. Not a willing part, but a part nonetheless. […]By Stephen J. Bedard

It is impossible to say exactly how many people in the early church were considered apostles. We can say with certainty that […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Back in episode 27, we looked at the Roman Emperors of the first century (or most of them). Now we take a […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the most important leaders in the Church today is that of the Pope. But where did the popes come from? […]By Stephen J. Bedard

I have loved history for as long as I can remember. When my friends were reading superhero comic books, I was reading […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Clement of Alexandria may not be the most well known of the Church Fathers but he was influential. Clement helped to develop […]By Stephen J. Bedard

In this episode, we look at one of the most influential of the early church fathers: Irenaeus of Lyons. He is especially […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Justin Martyr was an important church father and pioneering Christian apologist. He had the courage to not just write a defence of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the most important movements to understand the history of Christianity, especially for the second and third centuries, is that of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Gordon Heath of McMaster Divinity College. We have an interesting chat on the nature of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

How do we study Christian history? One way is to look at the sermons of the past. Sermons are more than expositions […]By Stephen J. Bedard

What do we do with the Secret Gospel of Mark? Some scholars accept it as an early Gospel, earlier even than our […]By Stephen J. Bedard

In this episode, we finish up the collection of writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. While not as well known as some […]By Stephen J. Bedard

The Gospel of Thomas is probably the extra-canonical gospel that most people have heard of but do not know anything about. In […]By Stephen J. Bedard

I had the opportunity to write a chapter for A Noble Company: The Canadians. I wrote about a Baptist who came from […]By Stephen J. Bedard

We continue to look at documents of the early church with a look at the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

There are two ancient Christian writings that are attributed to the Twelve Apostles, even though they unlikely wrote them. One, the Apostle’s […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Papias is the most important church father that you have never heard of. Even though none of his writings survive in anything […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the most inspiring of the Apostolic Fathers is Polycarp. At the age of 86, he became a martyr, even though […]By Stephen J. Bedard

It has been a while since the last episode but I have not given up on the podcast. I am busy with […]By Stephen J. Bedard

We continue our look at the Apostolic Fathers with a brief look at Ignatius of Antioch. Although we don’t have much information […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Once we get out of the New Testament era, we move into the period of the Apostolic Fathers. These are some early […]By Stephen J. Bedard

One of the most important events in the first century for both Jews and Christians was the Jewish War (66-73 AD). This […]By Stephen J. Bedard

The book of Acts describes a church in which the members held all things in common. But how seriously should we take […]By Stephen J. Bedard

As important as the Jewish background is to the rise of Christianity, so is the Roman background. All of the events of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

Christianity emerged out of Judaism. We have already looked at the Jewish background of Christianity. While there are many ways for us […]By Stephen J. Bedard

This is the final episode of the series on the Synoptic Gospels based on my lectures from Tyndale University College. Although there […]By Stephen J. Bedard

We take a short break from our regular scheduled episodes to bring you a special announcement. I have decided to start a […]By Stephen J. Bedard

We take a break from our series on the Synoptic Gospels for a short Christmas episode. In this episode we look at […]By Stephen J. Bedard

In this lecture from the course Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels taught at Tyndale University College, we look at the Gospel of […]By Stephen J. Bedard