In this second part of our episode on women in early Christian communities we address the question of whether or not females served as presbyters. A timely topic, to be sure, as modern events like the Synod on Synodality continue to see this question bubble up to the top of the debates.  But putting aside modern preoccupations and concerns, as historians, let’s really take a good look at the evidence, context, and preoccupations of the second century Christians.

Here we offer our response to Dr. Gavin Ortlund’s recent video in which he argues against the decisions of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, asserting that the veneration of images/icons is not a proper development of doctrine, but instead represents an illegitimate accretion which contradicts the unanimous consent of the Church Fathers and the commandments in Scripture.   Leave us your comments, and be sure to tune into our channel for our regular, First 500 Years series!

Our personal evaluation of Pope Benedict XVI, especially with regard to his impact on culture, the Church, and our own journey from Protestantism to Catholicism.

Did the early Christian movement have women in prominent leadership roles? What sorts of functions did women perform within the communities? Who are some influential women of the first and second centuries? These questions and more are tackled in part 1 of our episode on women in the early church.

Join us for a quick discussion about how early stories of martyrdom reveal what the first Christians believed about the Eucharist. Are the seeds of later Catholic theology to be found here?

Is the religion of the Old Testament strictly monotheistic, or was monotheism an innovation of a much later era in the history of religion? Is the Christian Trinity an amalgamation of paganism and Judaism, or is Trinitarianism thoroughly rooted in the tradition of Israelite religion?  In this episode we first examine the foundations for Divine “Plurality” in the history of Israelite thought, and then we take a look at how increasingly diverging conceptions of the Godhead between rabbinical Judaism and emergent Christianity in the second century set the stage for the two sister religions to part ways.

If Christianity began as a Jewish sect, then when did Judaism and Christianity become distinct religions? What drove the separation? Does “Judaism”— as we know it today— really predate Christianity? In this intriguing discussion, the Brothers address these questions and more. You won’t want to miss this one!

The scholarly consensus, by far, is that the Roman Church in the early second century *did not* have a single bishop but was ruled by a collection of presbyteral bodies. This would seem to undercut the Catholic Church’s claim that the pope is the successor of St Peter, let alone Vatican 1’s teaching on papal infallibility.   Drawing upon their work in previous episodes, and a careful examination of the ancient sources, the Brothers present an alternative thesis which challenges the prevailing narrative of Protestant and secular scholars.

Christians have always worshipped on Sunday morning, right?  In this episode, the Brothers tackle a fascinating, and often baffling, question about the earliest Christians: when did they celebrate the Eucharist each week? Did they observe the Sabbath? If so, when did Christians start worshipping on Sunday, and why? Answering these questions reveals A LOT about the character and theology of the second century Church.   You won’t want to miss this one!

Catholic art portrays the crucifixion differently from painting to painting. Early Roman sources describe many different ways that a man could be crucified. So, what did Jesus’ crucifixion really look like?  Join us as we examine textual, epigraphic, and artistic depictions from the early church portraying the crucified Jesus and examine those side by side with the Shroud of Turin and Roman sources. A FASCINATING TOPIC to add color to your Holy Week devotions !