PONTIUS PILATE
His name provides two valuable clues to his background and ancestry. The family name, Pontius was that of a prominent clan among the Samnites, hill cousins of the Latin Romans. They had almost conquered Rome in several fierce wars. The Pontii were of noble blood, but when Rome finally absorbed the Samnites, their aristocracy [...]
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Christian,
Easter,
holiday,
Paul_L_Maier,
Rome
HISTORY OF THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN
December 27, since the 5th century, has marked the day in the church calendar for celebrating the life of St. John the Evangelist and is known as the Feast of St. John. We’ve already mentioned that December 26 is the Feast of St. Stephen. December 28 is [...]
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Christian,
History,
holiday,
Rome
HISTORY OF BOXING DAY
Boxing Day is a holiday unfamiliar to many Americans, but it it well known among the countries of the British Commonwealth. It is celebrated on December 26 as a public holiday in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand… as well as some parts of Europe and Africa.
While some believe it has [...]
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Boxing Day,
Christian,
Christmas,
History,
holiday,
St. Stephen
THE HISTORY OF THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
The Twelve Days of Christmas are the dozen days in the liturgical calendar of the Western Church between the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child (Christmas, December 25) and the coming of the Magi to visit at his house in Bethlehem (Epiphany, January 6). The Eastern [...]
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Christian,
Christmas,
Epiphany,
History,
Holidays
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTMAS CRECHE
One of the most beautiful Christmas traditions is setting up a creche during the Advent season. A creche is a model of the scene at the manger on the first Christmas in the stable at Bethlehem. A creche can be a small model, set up in the home or a large [...]
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Christian,
Christmas,
creche,
History,
holiday
HISTORY OF HEROD THE KING
When the wise men asked Herod the King “Where is he who is born king of the Jews?” their question was not really spoken in a vacuum, for even the Roman author Suetonius wrote, “There had spread all over the East an old and established belief that it was fated for [...]
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Augustus_Caesar,
Christian,
Christmas,
History,
holiday,
King_Herod,
magi,
Rome
What happened to our players AFTER the events in the Easter story?
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Antioch,
Caligula,
Christian,
Constantine,
Disciples,
Easter,
Herodias,
Herod_Agrippa,
herod_antipas,
Hillel,
Nero,
Parthians,
Paul_L_Maier,
pharisees,
Pontius_Pilate,
Rome,
sadducees,
sanhedrin,
Sejanus,
Shammai,
Tertullian,
Tiberius,
Vitellius