Calendar of Saints

The snow falls heavily on January 30, 1905 and the light powder begins to cover the thousands of bodies that lay strewn, lifeless in the streets. Among the figures of men and women you can see, "children's corpses lay in the snow" (The Last Tsar of Russia). Tsar Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia. He was a family man with no desire to rule and did so poorly. He would have driven Russia into the ground had not been forced to advocate. Tsar Nicholas led Russia into many defeats and his…

was enraged. He arrested Andrew and condemned him to die on the cross. Andrew, feeling unworthy to be crucified on the same-shaped cross as his Master, begged that his be different. So, he was crucified on an X-shaped cross, which is still called Saint Andrew's cross and which is one of his apostolic symbols. A symbol of two crossed fish has also been applied to Andrew, because he was formerly a…

In The York Corpus Christi Play: The Crucifixion, Jesus speaks only two times in the three-hundred lines. The rest of the dialogue is between the four soldiers who are attempting to crucify him. There is an odd dark humor among the soldiers while they are crucifying Jesus. More interesting, however, is Jesus’ response to his crucifixion. The first time he speaks his words are directed at God only. The second time he speaks, the first half of his text is directed at man, while he still ends with…

During the year 326, St. Helena and Constantine ordered the town to build a church right over the cave where Jesus was born. The project – the Church of the Nativity – was finished on May 31, 339. Not only did Jesus’ birth take place under the church, but St. Jerome was actually buried underneath the church as well in Bethlehem. Later on, in 530 A.D., Justinian had the church destroyed. In place of it, he built a bigger church. The church Justinian built is the one there today. The Persians…

During the 17th and 18th centuries (A.D.), Russia was governed by two Emperors, respectively known as Peter the Great and Elizabeth the Great. Many advances were made during both reigns, in westernizing the country and in expanding its borders. Despite these various accomplishments, both Peter I and Catherine II were not as “Great” as their titles suggested due to policy issues, their callous treatment of people, and oppressive autocratic reigns. Peter Alexeyevich created many ambitious…

Peter the Great’s inspiration from successful western education and ideas helped him to create a period of progress and prosperity for Russia. First of all, according to the account of John Perry, before the time of Peter the Great, the country of Russia was sheltered and only familiar with their own language and culture. They were “void of learning” (doc 8) and did not make an attempt to aid their own ignorance. He also describes the Russian people as “wary and cautious to keep out all means…

2: Jesus cried out "My God! My God! Why Have You Forsaken Me!?" While Hanging On The Cross. Matthew 27 records this. Highly improbable Matthew would make up this saying and put it into Jesus' mouth since it makes it look like Jesus doesn't trust the Father, and it makes it look like Jesus forgot His mission. Why did Jesus say this? He quoted the first verse of Psalm 22 verbatim. This is a messianic Psalm according to most biblical scholars. When you cross-examine (pun intended) Psalm 22 with…

What do you truly believe in? This time-honored question is essentially taken into account in the vintage children’s picture story book, The Polar Express. The Polar Express is a hardcover children’s picture (which has been awarded with the Caldecott Medal) written and illustrated by the American illustrator and children’s book writer, Chris Van Allsburg, circa 1985. This rather serene and classical Christmas tale tailgates the abridged story of a young boy (whose name remains unidentified) who…

The Petrine confession at 8:29 is a turning point in the life of the disciples’ walk with Jesus as it solves their problem of Jesus’ identity raised at 4:41; ‘Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? He is the Christ! However, the problem of understanding Jesus’ mission now emerges and it is this problem that we shall concentrate on from 8:31:10:45. There are three subsequent points that demonstrate Jesus’ appreciation of the disciples’ progress in their walk with him after…

Peter then immediately changes the focus of his speech from the disciples and starts to proclaim Jesus. He attempts to make his listeners understand what in the past they may have not; he reminds them of how through his signs and wonders Jesus was attested to by God. Then he went on to confront them on the fact that they had been blind to this and put him to death by crucifying him, but that death could not keep him down because God raised him from the dead (v22-24). The apostle then again…