Podcasts about third century

Support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys check out our merch store: https://llbdmerch.com/ Joe is joined by the Zoo Crew to talk about the time Rome hosted the world's largest Goth convention. Sources: Zosimus. New History Michael Kulikowski. Rome's Gothic Wars: From the Third Century to Alaric. Ludwig Heinrich Dyck. The Goth Sack of Rome: Barbarians at the Gate in 410 AD. Military Heritage. Volume 7, no 2. 2005. Herwig Wolfram. The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples. The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13

In this week's episode, I take a look at the movies and streaming shows I watched in winter 2024/2025, and share my opinions on them. I also take a look at my ebook advertising results from January 2025. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Half-Orc Paladin, Book #3 in the Half-Elven Thief series, (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward) at my Payhip store: PALADIN50 The coupon code is valid through February 28, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for the bad February weather, we've got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 238 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February 7, 2025 and today we are discussing the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter 2024 and 2025. Before that, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing projects, Question of the Week, and my ad results from January 2025.   First, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Half-Orc Paladin, Book Three in the Half-Elven Thief Series (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward) at my Payhip store. That coupon code is PALADIN50. This coupon code will be valid through February the 28th, 2025, so if you need a new audiobook to get you through the bad February weather, we have got you covered.   Now for an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. As I mentioned last week, Shield of Deception is now out and you can get it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Smashwords and my Payhip store. It is doing quite well. Thank you all for that. I hope you enjoy the book and I've been hearing good things about it from people who read it.   Now that Shield of Deception is done, my main project is now Ghost in the Assembly and I am 36,000 words into it as of this recording, which puts me almost on Chapter 8 of 21. So I'm about one third of the way through the rough draft, give or take. If all goes well. I'm hoping that book will be out in March. My secondary project is Shield of Battle, which is the sequel to Shield of Deception and I am about 2,000 words into that. I'm also 50,000 words into what will be the third and final Stealth and Spells book, Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest. It was originally named Reactant, but I decided to change the name to Final Quest because that sounds better and if all goes well, that will probably be out in the middle of the year, give or take.   In audiobook news, Cloak of Masks (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is now out at all audio stores, including Audible, so you can listen to that there. Work is almost done on Cloak of Dragonfire. It's being proof-listened to as I record this and hopefully that should be out before too much longer. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects.   00:02:19 Question of the Week   Next up is Question of the Week, which is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's topic, which ties into our main topic: what was the favorite movie you saw in 2024? No wrong answers, obviously (including “I hate everything I saw in 2024”). We have a few responses for this.   JD says: It was either Transformers One or Deadpool and Wolverine.   Mary says: I didn't see any movies in 2024.   Doug says: Dune was one of the books I read in the ‘70s. Like your books, I never got enough back then. I was buying Hardcovers. I still have six of them. I have seen the two versions of the books. Can't wait to see this version of the books. I have seen the first movies. Hope to see more.   David says: Godzilla versus Kong was pretty much the only one from last year I saw. I just bought Gladiator 2 but haven't watched it yet.   Davette says: I enjoyed both Dune 2 and The Fall Guy and Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine. My favorite was Wicked, mainly because I've been waiting on that movie for years.   Bonnie says: I haven't seen any movies or watched TV in years.   For myself, I think it would be a tie for my favorite movie of 2024 for between Dune 2 and The Fall Guy. The two Dune movies, for all the stuff they changed from the book, are probably the most faithful adaptation it was possible to make with that very dense and very weird book. I thought The Fall Guy was just hilarious and I had no idea it was based on TV series from the ‘80s until I read up about it on the Internet after I saw the movie. It was interesting that we didn't have very many responses to this question the week and of those responses, one third of them was “I didn't see any movies in 2024.” So if the movie industry is wondering why it's in so much trouble, I think we might have just found the answer here in that nobody wants to go to see movies in the theater anymore.   00:04:09 Ad Results for January 2025 Now onto our next topic, how my ads performed in January 2025. Now as usual for my books in January, I used Facebook ads, Amazon ads, and BookBub ads, so let's break them down by category- first, by Facebook ads. As usual, I advertised The Ghosts and Cloak Games/Cloak Mage.   GHOSTS: $4.08 for every dollar, with 22% of the profit coming from the audiobooks.   CLOAK GAMES/MAGE: $3.38 for every dollar, with 6% of the profit coming from the audiobooks. So that went pretty well. I'm hoping that percentage will go up once Cloak of Dragonfire is done and we can put together Cloak Mage Omnibus Three.   I also did some Amazon ads – specifically for HALF-ELVEN THIEF, STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE: CREATION, and THE LINUX COMMAND LINE BEGINNERS GUIDE.   Remember, for an Amazon ad to be effective, it usually needs to be generating at least one sale for every eight clicks on the ads.   HALF-ELVEN THIEF: $4.65 for every dollar spent, 1.85 sales for every click. It's just an amazing ratio-thank you for that.   STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE: CREATION: Lost $0.15 for every dollar spent, 1 sale for every 4.76 clicks.   THE LINUX COMMAND LINE BEGINNER'S GUIDE: $3.16 for every dollar spent, 33% of the profit from audio, 1.34 sales for every click.   The standout was HALF-ELVEN THIEF, which actually had more sales than clicks on the ads. That hardly ever happens!   You can see there's a reason I'm going to conclude STEALTH & SPELLS with the third book, because it just doesn't sell well. All of the advertising experiments I have tried to make it sell well have not responded to date. That said, we did improve from December, where I only got a sale for every 14 clicks.   Additionally, Amazon ads work really well with nonfiction books, since they respond a lot better to keyword ads.   Finally, I used Bookbub ads for THE GHOSTS on Apple. That went pretty well.   THE GHOSTS: $4 for every $1 spent.   So, all in all, a pretty good month for ads, though STEALTH & SPELLS remains the weak point. As always everyone, thank you for buying the books and listening to the audiobooks.   00:06:50 Main Topic: Movie/TV Show Reviews of Winter 2024/Early Winter 2025 Now onto our main topic, the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter 2024 and early winter 2025. As always, my ratings are totally subjective and based on nothing more concrete than my own opinions.   Our first one is Red One, which came out in 2024. This was a strange mashup of genres, a holiday movie, urban fantasy, a thriller, and just a little bit of existential horror. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays Callum Drift, who is the head of Santa Claus's security. Meanwhile, Chris Evans plays an unscrupulous hacker and thief named Jack O'Malley. Jack unwittingly helps unknown malefactors kidnap Santa Claus and so Callum and Jack have to team up to rescue Santa from his kidnappers. This sounds like a lighthearted holiday movie, but it really isn't. The movie is rather dour and takes itself very seriously. Callum acts like he's in a Jason Bourne movie and deals with various supernatural creatures like a special forces operator assessing targets. Additionally, there are some urban fantasy elements with the vast government agency dedicated to hiding the supernatural world from normal people. I don't think the dissonance really worked at all. It had pieces of a light holiday movie and pieces of a thriller and they really didn't mesh. It's not hard to see why this one didn't do well in the theaters, on top of its enormous budget. Overall Grade: D (In the spirit of Christmas generosity)   Next up is Argylle, which came out in 2024. This was a dumb movie, but I enjoyed it, kind of like Murder Mystery with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston on Netflix. I mean that wasn't exactly Shakespeare or Milton, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy myself while watching it. Same thing applies to Argylle. The plot is that the protagonist Ellie Conway is a bestselling spy novelist. Ellie is a bit of an eccentric personality and travels everywhere with her cat in a backpack that has a window in it so the cat can see what's going on. However, it turns out that Ellie's novels are accurately predicting events in real life espionage, so several sinister spy agencies are hunting her down to learn her secret. A spy named Aidan saves Ellie, claiming that he's the only one she can trust. Of course, this is the kind of movie that has a shocking betrayal and plot twist every eight minutes or so, and the revelation of the central twist made me face palm a bit. There is a fight scene at the end involving colored smoke that's absolutely bonkers. It was on Apple Plus or Apple TV or whatever it's called, but that means all the characters did all their computing on shiny new Apple devices, which is always amusing. Overall Grade: D+ (but barely)   Next up is Venom: The Last Dance, which came out in 2024. It wasn't as good as the first two since so many of the characters did not return, but it brought the Venom Trilogy to a mostly satisfying conclusion. Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run after the events of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Unbeknownst to either of them, the US government has a secret facility holding captured symbiant aliens and the agency that runs the facility is hunting for them. Unbeknownst to the US government, the creator of the symbiotes, an evil entity named Knull is preparing to escape his prison and to do that, he needs Eddie/Venom delivered to him alive, so he dispatches his creatures to Earth hunt down Eddie and Venom, with disastrous results. The best part of the movie was the comedic duo of Eddie and Venom since the movie takes the absurdity of their situation and leans into it. Overall Grade: B- Next up is the Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which came out in 2024. I read an interview with Brandon Sanderson where he said that a big part of the problem with movie adaptations of books is that the filmmakers often want to tell their own story, not the books'. So they basically used the book as a framework for telling their own story, which inevitably annoys the readers of the book. I suspect that was what happened with The War of the Rohirrim. This movie was a mixture of strong points and weaknesses. Apparently it only exists because New Line needed to put out something or they'd lose film rights to Tolkien's stuff, and so The War of the Rohirrim was fast-tracked.   The strong points: the animation looked pretty, the battle scenes were fun to watch, the voice performances were good, and the music was also good.   The weak points: it felt too long and slow-paced. I think a good half-hour could have been cut of the characters looking pensive and thoughtful (and saved the animators a lot of work in the process). Additionally, I don't think the changes to the plot quite worked. It's based out of the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, specifically the history of Rohan. In the book, the plot is touched off when the corrupt Lord Freca demands that King Helm's daughter Hera marry Freca's son Wulf. Helm takes exception to this and ends up killing Freca. His son Wulf swears vengeance, gathers an army from Rohan's enemies, and sets out to seize the crown for himself. In the book, Helm's sons are killed, and Helm himself dies in the defense of the Hornburg (which later becomes known as Helm's Deep), but his nephew Frealof gathers an army, kills Wulf, and becomes the new king of Rohan.   That would have been perfectly good for the plot, but as we mentioned above, I think the screenwriters decided they wanted to write about a Strong Female Character, so they massively expanded Hera's part and made her the protagonist. The problem with this as an adaptation is that Hera is only mentioned once in the book, so the script has to make up a lot of extra stuff to justify Hera's presence, which always weakens an adaptation of a book. This version of Hera would have been in danger of becoming a stereotypical #girlboss character, but she acts more like a Japanese anime protagonist, which does work better in this sort of movie than an Americanized Strong Female Character.   So, in the end, not a bad movie, but I think it would have worked better if they had stuck closer to the original plot in the book. Overall Grade: B-   Next up is Golden Era, which came out in 2022. This is a documentary about the making of the classic Nintendo 64 game Goldeneye and the company behind it. Until I watched this, I never knew that Rare, the company that made Goldeneye, was based in the UK.   I admit I really didn't play Goldeneye back in the ‘90s and early ‘00s. I did a few times at various social events, but I never really got into it since I didn't own a game console from 1998 to 2019. Nonetheless, Goldeneye was a very influential game that left its mark on all first-person shooter games since. The documentary interviews most of the people who were involved in the making of Goldeneye, and it was fascinating to see how they more or less accidentally created a genre-defining game.   If you enjoyed Goldeneye or are interested in video game history at all, the documentary is worth watching. After many years of official unavailability, Goldeneye is now available on Nintendo Switch and Xbox, so I may have to give it a try. Overall grade: B     Next up is Wonka, which came out in 2023. I didn't really intend to watch this, but it was on in the background while I was playing Starfield…and Starfield has a lot of loading screens. This movie wasn't made for me, not even remotely, but I thought it was a competently executed example of a movie musical.   Anyway, the plot revolves around a young Willy Wonka coming to a city that seems like a weird hybrid between Paris and New York. Wonka sets out to start selling his innovative chocolates, but soon runs into stiff opposition from the corrupt local candy industry, the corrupt local police chief, and his equally corrupt landlady, who has somehow transitioned from hospitality to luring people into debt slavery. Wonka makes allies from his fellow indentured workers, and soon he is conducting local chocolate manufacturing like a heist.   Like I said, this really wasn't made for me, and I'm sure people who actually like musicals would have many more detailed opinions. But this had some genuinely funny bits. Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa was hilarious, and so was Rowan Atkinson as a corrupt bishop. The best line: “Judgment has come…in a most unexpected form!” Overall grade: B     Next up is Man on the Inside, which came out in 2024, and this is a Netflix comedy series from Mike Schur, who created Parks and Recreation, The Good Place and Brooklyn 99. To describe this show, think of a meditation about accepting the inevitability of aging and death through Schur's comedic style, and you'll be there.   Anyway, Ted Danson stars as a recently widowed retired professor of engineering named Charles. His daughter is worried that he's not handling things well and becoming too isolated, so suggests that he find a hobby. Charles answers a classified ad for an “older man who can use technology” and finds himself recruited by a private investigator named Julie. Julie's company has been hired to find a thief within a retirement home, and Julie is about 35 years too young to convincingly infiltrate a retirement home. Hence, Charles pretends to be a new resident, and finds himself befriending the residents he is supposed to investigate. All the while, he tries to deal with the remaining grief from his wife's death, which he never got around to processing in the moment.   In my opinion, The Good Place and Brooklyn 99 both kind of fell apart in their final seasons, but Man on the Inside avoids that in its final episodes, providing good resolution to both the conflict and the emotional stakes. I thought it was both bittersweet and quite funny, and I approve that there's going to be a 2nd season. Overall grade: B   Next up is Minted, which came out in 2023, and this was an interesting documentary about the rise in the fall of the NFT, which in the early 2020s we were assured was going to be the next big thing, but it just turned out to be yet another scam.   The documentary follows an interesting course, first explaining what an NFT is, and then interviewing artists who made life-changing money from minting their early NFTS. But then the speculators arrived, and followed swiftly by the scammers. As of 2025, of course, NFTs are quite worthless, like so many much-vaunted Web 3.0 style technologies.   I think the documentary's biggest weakness was assuming that NFT technology was around to stay and would find a use that would help artists. I agree that it's around to stay, but I don't think it adds value to anything at all. Nevertheless, an interesting look into the NFT fad and the impact it had on artists. Overall grade: B     Next up is Gladiator 2, which came out in 2024. This is basically the same movie as the original Gladiator, just reshuffled a bit and with twenty years of improved technology. The main character Hanno is a soldier in an African city that rebels against Rome. After the rebellion is inevitably crushed, he is taken as a slave and ends up as a gladiator in Rome, determined to take his vengeance on the Roman general who ordered the death of his wife. However, the general was only carrying out the orders of the insane twin emperors Geta and Caracalla. For that matter, Hanno's owner, the charming and affable Macrinus, has his own agenda. As Hanno seeks revenge, he finds himself drawn into the deadly game of imperial politics and must confront the secrets of his own past.   The movie is only very vaguely accurate in terms of history, but it does a good job of capturing the corruption and decadence of the Roman Empire at that time. The empire was in very bad shape, and in fact was only a few years from what historians call the Crisis of the Third Century, a fifty year period of continual civil war, assassination, usurpation, and economic meltdown that resulted in the empire breaking into three separate states for about fifteen years. Everyone knows that the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD, but it very nearly didn't make it even to 300 AD. So the ending of Gladiator 2 is a total fantasy, like one of those alt-history books where the Roman Empire ends up conquering the Americas or expanding into outer space.   That said, I enjoyed the movie. Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen in particular gave very good performances, with Denzel Washington's Macrinus as the standout. Overall grade: B Next up is High Sierra, which came out in 1941, and this is 1940s true crime grimdark. A common misconception is that black and white films are generally more sanitized and saccharine than modern fare. This definitely isn't true – there wasn't any gratuitous violence and nudity in ‘40s movies, but some of them were very cynical and dark. High Sierra definitely falls into that category. Humphrey Bogart plays Roy Earle, a bank robber currently in Indiana state prison. His former boss Big Mac arranges a pardon for him, and brings him out to California for one last big job.   Unfortunately, the other people on Earle's crew are idiots, and he has a growing sense of impending disaster. Additionally, Earle gets emotionally entangled with two women – Velma, a sick woman from his hometown, and Marie, a woman inured to the lifestyle of criminals. As Earle prepares for the job and attempts to deal with the two women, things get more and more complicated. Definitely on the darker side as I mentioned, but well worth watching, both as a historical artifact and a crime story in its own right. Overall grade: B+   Next is Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, which came out in 2024. Lower Decks is an example of a parody of a thing that is so good that it sort of loops around the horseshoe and becomes a good example of the thing it is parodying. Season 5 is the undeserved end to the very funny Lower Decks series. Paramount really, really wants to get purchased by Skydance, and that's probably going to happen in 2025, so there's a lot of clearing the decks at Paramount, and I expect Lower Decks was one of the casualties.   Then again, our protagonists are no longer lower deckers but junior officers, so perhaps it was a natural place to end the show. So Lower Decks went out pretty strong with a collection of funny and good episodes. All the characters experienced plot arcs and development. The lower deckers matured from the callow ensigns they were in Season 1, and the senior officers likewise experienced character growth and development. (I liked Commander Ransom's triumphant battle cry of “high intensity interval training!”)   I'd say the only weakness is that the show ended with multiverse stuff, and I don't like multiverse stuff in general. Still, the show made a compelling argument for the multiverse as a concept, and the multiverse plot did give an excuse to bring back various Trek actors for speaking parts. And, to be fair, Star Trek has been doing multiverse stuff long, long before the Marvel movies ran the concept into the ground – Captain Kirk was dealing with alternate universe stuff back in the 1960s.   The last episode was a satisfactory conclusion to the series. Lower Decks might be over, but once the Skydance acquisition settles down, maybe the character will return in a new show called Junior Officers? One can hope! Overall grade: B+   Next up is the Frasier reboot Season 2, which also came out in 2024. I liked this about as much as I liked Season 1, which is to say I enjoyed it and found it funny. Frasier's and his son Frederick's relationship seems to have reached equilibrium, so the season spent more time on more 1940s style screwball comedy, which is not a bad thing. Some of the best comedy remains the conflicts between Frasier and Frederick, which is of course an echo of Frasier's own conflicts with his father back in the original show in the 1990s.   I think the best episode was the return of Frasier's scheming, Machiavellian agent Bebe and her daughter Phoebe, who did not exactly fall far from the maternal apple tree. The 10-episode format for the season does seem rather cramped compared to the 20-ish episodes per season of the original show, but that was a different era.   Frasier remains, as one of the characters said in the previous season, the same well-meaning buffoon who goes “that extra, ill-advised mile.” I hope we get a Season 3, but with the shakeups we mentioned at Paramount, that seems unlikely. Overall grade: A-     Finally, let's close with the three best things I saw in Winter 2024/2025.   The first of my favorite three is Saturday Night, which came out in 2024. This is a biopic about the chaotic first night of Saturday Night Live back in the 1970s. Quite hilarious in a vicious sort of way, and (from what I understand) it accurately captures the sheer chaos of live TV. Of course, the chaos surrounding SNL is probably a bit higher than usual for standard live television.   After I watched it, I looked it up, and it seems the movie compresses about three months' worth of events into the hour and a half before the launch of the very first episode. What's amusing is that the more outlandish an event in the movie was, the more likely it was to have actually happened in the leadup to the show's launch. It was the mundane stuff that was made up, not the crazy stuff.   JK Simmons was hilarious as Milton Berle. Nowadays, SNL is an Institution, so it was amusing to see it back when everyone thought it was a bad idea that would fail catastrophically. The movie convincingly captured the “look” of the 1970s – all the characters looked like they were made of nicotine, cholesterol, and cocaine, and in some instances, a lot of cocaine. That stuff is bad for you, as several SNL stars later found out to their sorrow.   It really shows the randomness of history – watching the creation of SNL, you wouldn't expect it to have lasting cultural impact, but it did. Overall grade: A The second of my three favorite things I saw was The Thin Man, which came out in 1934. This is based on a novel by Dashiel Hammett (most famous for writing The Maltese Falcon), and was made pre-Hays Code, so the female lead tended to wear outfits that show off a bit more skin than you would otherwise expect in a 1930s movie. Interestingly, The Thin Man is a fusion of a noir detective movie and a screwball comedy, not two genres that are usually connected, and somehow it all works.   Anyway, the movie centers around detective Nick and his wife Nora, who have returned to New York after a four-year sojourn to California. Nick used to be a private detective, but then he married the wealthy Nora, and wanted to retire to a life of ease and parties with a lot of alcohol. Except everyone in New York assumes that Nick isn't retired and is back on the case, and so he gets dragged into the disappearance of an eccentric factory owner and a string of murders that pop up around it. Of course, Nick isn't as reluctant to come out of retirement as he pretends.   As is often the case in many movies made in the 1930s, many of the rich characters are shown as malicious buffoons, especially the factory owner's ex-wife. Nick and Nora, as the protagonists, are of course exempt from this.   This is considered a classic, and deservedly so – the characters are sharply drawn, the dialogue is good, the performances are excellent, the movie manages to portray a fairly complex plot in 90 minutes. You'll want to watch it with the captions on, of course, because while human nature may not have changed in the ninety years since this movie came out, audio technology has sure improved.   Fun fact: Nick and Nora's dog is named Asta, which is apparently a frequent answer in crossword puzzles due to the double vowels. Overall grade: A   Now, for the third of my three favorite things I saw in Winter 2024/2025, that would be Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which came out in 2024. This is Star Wars meets The Goonies meets Pirates of the Caribbean, and despite that very odd combination of influences, the show was really quite good. The show opens on the idyllic planet of At Attin, which looks like an idealized version of 1980s suburbia filtered through Star Wars. Everyone on the planet has the same job – contributing to the Great Work (whatever that is). Since our four protagonists are kids, they don't pay much attention to that or the concerns of the adults. When one of the children discovers a derelict spaceship in the woods, they accidentally activate it and fly off-planet.   This is a problem because At Attin is protected by a Barrier that doesn't allow travel, and the galaxy is a dangerous place with a lot of pirate gangs roaming around looking for prey. However, the children fall in with Jod, who claims to be a Jedi who will help the kids get back to their home. Everyone they meet warns them that Jod is a con artist and not to be trusted, but he demonstrates Force powers again and again (which would seem to support his claim that he's a Jedi). And the kids' home of At Attin has a mysterious secret, one that Jod desperately wants to claim for himself.   This is very entertaining all the way through. Star Wars really works best as a kids' adventure show (in my opinion), though I'm still looking forward to the second season of Andor, which is Star Wars crossed with a John le Carre spy thriller. Overall grade: A     So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Felix of Nola; lived in the Third Century, born in Nola, near Naples, Italy; on the death of his father, Felix distributed his inheritance to the poor, was ordained by Bishop St. Maximus of Nola, and became his assistant; Maximus fled to the desert at the beginning of persecutions in 250, and Felix was seized and imprisoned in his stead; released by an angel, who directed him to the ailing Maximus, whom he brought back to Nola; Felix spent the rest of his life on a small piece of land sharing what he had with the poor, and died there on January 14, 255 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/14/25 Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

What happens when emperors are murdered more often than they die of natural causes? Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. David Gwynn to unravel the Crisis of the Third Century, a pivotal, turbulent era in Roman history that served as a turning point between the classical and early medieval worlds. It was a time where soldiers like Maximinus Thrax rose to power, only to face rapid turnover and murder.Tristan and David discuss the complex web of civil wars, external threats from formidable foes like the Sassanians, Franks, and Goths, and the ultimate capture and grotesque end of Emperor Valerian. This is the time of ancient Rome's economic collapse, devastating plagues, and the dramatic rise of Christianity.Presented by Tristan Hughes. The audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.Theme music from Motion Array, all other music from Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here:https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/6FFT7MK

The Roman Empire, at its height, was a juggernaut.  However, during the third century, almost everything fell apart. In fact, for a brief period of time, it arguably did.  It suffered from invasions, plagues, a collapsing economy, lower agricultural productivity, and numerous political assassinations.  They eventually solved their problems, but the Empire was changed forever. Learn more about the Crisis of the Third Century and how the Roman Empire almost collapsed on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Sign up for ButcherBox today by going to Butcherbox.com/daily and use code daily at checkout to get $30 off your first box! Subscribe to the podcast!  https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Ben Long & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 9 you will learn everything you need to know about the society and economy of Roman Hispania, the political history of the Late Roman Empire before the barbarian migrations, and the significant transformations that occurred in the transition from Classical Antiquity to Late Antiquity, including the Christianization of Hispania. SUPPORT NEW HISTORY OF SPAIN: Patreon: https://patreon.com/newhistoryspain  Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/newhistoryspain  PayPal: https://paypal.me/lahistoriaespana  Bitcoin donation: bc1q64qs58s5c5kp5amhw5hn7vp9fvtekeq96sf4au Ethereum donation: 0xE3C423625953eCDAA8e57D34f5Ce027dd1902374 Join the DISCORD: https://discord.gg/jUvtdRKxUC  Or follow the show for updates on Twitter/X: https://x.com/newhistoryspain  OTHER SERVICES: My English to Spanish translation service: https://www.fiverr.com/s/Ke8yP4b  Join my course to learn how to use AI in your academic research and writing: https://www.udemy.com/course/ai-for-scholars/?referralCode=22121D97D0B1CECE5ECC YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@newhistoryspain Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-history-of-spain/id1749528700 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hstfgSYFfFPXhjps08IYi  TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Hook 00:31 Society of Roman Hispania 05:31 Economy of Roman Hispania 09:36 The Crisis of the Third Century 14:06 Diocletian and the Political Regime of the Dominate 16:42 The Christianization of Hispania 25:51 Transformations from Classical Antiquity to Late Antiquity 33:23 Constantine and the Legalization of Christianity 37:15 Theodosius, the Last Emperor of the Two Parts of the Roman Empire 40:12 The Verdict: Questions about the Late Roman Empire 41:12 Outro

Synopsis: Part 2 of a two-part Spotlight series on the rise and fall of the Roman Emperor Galerius: refugee, herdsman, soldier, Caesar, Augustus, Tetrarch, conqueror, schemer, would-be ruler of the (Dacian?) Empire, and persecutor of the Christians. A rollicking Third Century romp inspired by my current residence in his former tetrarchal capital of Thessaloniki, Greece. “Galerius…was born to wipe out the disgrace incurred by Valerian's capture.” – The Historia Augusta “Had I a hundred mouths, a hundred tongues, A voice of brass, and adamantine lungs, Not half the dreadful scene could I disclose.” – Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors Episode Images: https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/S8_Images.pdf References and Further Reading: https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/S8_References.pdf Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Synopsis: Part 1 of a two-part Spotlight series on the rise and fall of the Roman Emperor Galerius: refugee, herdsman, soldier, Caesar, Augustus, Tetrarch, conqueror, schemer, would-be ruler of the (Dacian?) Empire, and persecutor of the Christians. A rollicking Third Century romp inspired by my current residence in his former tetrarchal capital of Thessaloniki, Greece. “Galerius…(was) trained to arms in the severe school of Aurelian and Probus.” – Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire “In this wild beast there dwelt a native barbarity and a savageness foreign to Roman blood; and no wonder, for his mother was born beyond the Danube.” – Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors Episode Images: https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/S7_Images.pdf References and Further Reading: https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/S7_References.pdf Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the heart of darkness that was the Crisis of the Third Century, Postumus was one of those super talented generals cherry picked by the supreme talent scout that was the Emperor Gallienus.  A Roman through and through, as Juthungi and Frank warriors poured across the Rhine, Postumus rode a wave of discontent, was declared emperor of a new world that would be known as the Gallic Empire, killed Gallienus' son, and would build a new regime dedicated to holding the line on the Rhine frontier.  Villain or hero?  Emperor or usurper?  Tune in to Episode 44 to find out....

Who could have possibly imagined, that when Rome's fortunes hit their nadir, when the West had fallen away (to be ruled by the new Gallic Emperor Postumus) and the East crumbled under Shapur's relentless onslaught, it would not be a Roman Emperor, or a Roman General that saved Rome's eastern provinces from annihilation, but it would be a young guy born in the desert oasis town known as Palmyra that would rescue Rome.  Odaenathus rose from obscurity in an obscure place - Palmyra - last stop on the Silk Road, a watering hole in the Syrian desert.  And through sheer force of will and brilliant military and political tactics, he would become Rome's indispensable man in the heart of the storm known as the Crisis of the Third Century.

Septimius Severus, Rome's first African emperor.  Born in Leptis Magna, he ended the civil war that erupted following Commodus' death during the Year of the Five Emperors, restoring order to the Empire, cowing the Senate, strengthening the borders, and ushering in a new era of warrior-emperors just in time for the Crisis of the Third Century that would shortly bring Rome to her knees.  Rome wouldn't look this good again for A LONG TIME.  Pretty impressive resume, except for the whole dying-and-leaving-the-Empire-to-Caracalla bit.

This week on Royally Screwed, we're talking about the Crisis of the Third Century, a period in 3rd century CE Rome in which the Empire was splintered into three pieces. We're also going to be taking a look into the reign of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, the woman who would seek to bring the eastern half of the Empire under her control.Subscribe for more episodes as they come.Twitter: @Denim_CreekInstagram: denimcreekproMusic:Intro/Outro: “Life O' the Lavish” - Jules Gaia, “Action rock_full” - Radio_Parma, “Mysterious Package” - Kikoru, “Mystery Garden” - Brendon Moeller, “Upbeat Stomp Rock” - Alexey Anisimov, “Zone Out” - Daniel FridellCopyright 2024, Denim Creek Productions

Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Day of Prayer for Legal Protection of the Unborn Saint of the Day: St. Vincent Saragossa; protomartyr of Spain, a deacon of the Third Century; Vincent and his bishop, Valerius, were apprehended during a persecution; Valerius was banished, but Vincent was tortured to death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/22/24 Gospel: Mark 3:22-30

We continue our survey of ancient Rome on the small screen with our review of the first season of the British-Italian historical drama television series, Domina. Joined by special guest, Christina Hotalen, we dig into this re-re-envisioning of Rome's most infamous first lady, Livia Drusilla. We talk feminist retellings, history vs. narrative and the best ways to dispose of a body ca. 23 BCE. You can find images from Christina's dissertation project, "Embodying the Empire: Imperial Women and the Evolution of Succession Ideologies in the Third Century," here.

We continue our survey of ancient Rome on the small screen with our review of the first season of the British-Italian historical drama television series, Domina. Joined by special guest, Christina Hotalen, we dig into this re-re-envisioning of Rome's most infamous first lady, Livia Drusilla. We talk feminist retellings, history vs. narrative and the best ways to dispose of a body ca. 23 BCE.You can find images from Christina's dissertation project, "Embodying the Empire: Imperial Women and the Evolution of Succession Ideologies in the Third Century," here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No structure says ‘Crisis of the Third Century' more than the Aurelian Walls. The city of Rome had long been at peace and largely untouchable, but Aurelian realised that times had changed, and the capital of the empire needed defending. Guest: Associate Professor Caillan Davenport (Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University).

All Saints: Blessed are… St. Matthew 5:1-12 & Revelation 7:2-27 by William Klock The Feast of All Saints is one of the oldest holy days on the Christian Calendar.  We have evidence of sermons preached on this occasion going all the way back to the Third Century.  It took a while for our different communions to settle on dates.  The Eastern church still celebrate it on the Sunday after Pentecost, while we celebrate it November 1st.  And the purpose of the day has evolved.  In those early centuries, the church observed All Saints' Day as a way to commemorate and honour the martyrs—the men and women who stood firm and who, when the time came, took up their crosses and followed Jesus.  Just as the enemies of God thought they had silenced Jesus when they crucified him, the enemies of God thought that could silence the gospel witness of those first Christian.  But the opposite happened.  The blood of the martyrs fertilised the soil of the empire and through their witness, the gospel put down deep roots, growing and spreading, eventually bringing even mighty Caesar to his knees before the cross, confessing his faith in Jesus the Messiah.  In the words of our Old Testament lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon, “in the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died” and “in the sight of men they were punished”, but the reality is that their hope was not in vain, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will touch them…They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.”  Apocryphal that text may be, but it highlights the truth of God's kingdom and its conflict with the world.  The kingdom of God seems upside-down, but only because the values of fallen humanity were upside-down already.  It's not an easy thing to follow Jesus and to take up your cross, but the Lord will vindicate his people. And this is just what Jesus is getting at in our Gospel today from Matthew 5.  Blessed are, blessed are, blessed are…nine times Jesus says and each time he connects the blessing with people whose values are right-side up in contrast to the upside-down values of the world.  It's language straight from the Lord's covenant with Israel, going all the way back to Abraham.  Remember how the Lord call Abraham and promised to bless him, but the point wasn't just to bless Abraham.  The point was that Abraham would then be a blessing to the world.  Through Abraham, the Lord would reveal himself to a world that had forgotten him, to a world that would, through his people, see his goodness, his grace, his faithfulness, and one day give him glory.  Through Abraham and his family, the Lord would remind the world that he will not leave it as it is, broken and fallen.  One day he would come himself to set humanity and the rest of his creation to rights, one day he will wipe away sin and death, and with them all the tears.  His people were—and still are—the witnesses of his faithfulness to that promise. Israel mostly failed at that mission.  Instead of glorifying the God of Israel, the nations looked at Israel's faithlessness and mocked her God.  But there were always some—like the people the Gospels start with—people like Mary and Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna.  Faithful people, believing people, people with precious little blessing, but still committed to and still longing to see the Lord set this broken world right-side up.  It was to them that Jesus came and it was in their midst that the gospel started doing its work.  And as people like these gathered around him, Jesus exhorted them.  The Lord would not tolerate the faithlessness of Israel for much longer.  The axe was set to the root of the tree.  Judgement was coming.  The long-awaited age to come, God's great plan to set the world right-side up was about to start unfolding, and here Jesus is saying, “This is how you have a share in it and it starts by forsaking the upside-down ways of the world and following me.  It means being the people who will finally witness the Lord's presence with them.  It means being the people who will lift the veil on the Lord's new creation to show the nations what it looks like.  And so he begins in Matthew 5:3, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”   Before we go any further, we need to understand what it means to be blessed.  It's the Hebrew idea of shalom—something so broad, it's hard to nail down exactly, but it's the sense of completeness, and wellness, of peace with God and in the community.  It's about being set to rights and living in a community or a world set to rights.  That last bit is important.  It's not just an individual thing; it's a community thing—a covenantal thing.  It goes back to Abraham and to the exodus and to God's creation of a people who would know the blessing of living in his presence and then witness that blessing to the world around them—that they would witness it until the knowledge of the Lord's glory covers the whole world as the waters cover the sea.  The very next thing Jesus goes on to preach about after the Beatitudes is being a people who are salt and light to the world.  It's another illustration of what it looks like not just to be God's people in the world, but to be God's people for the world.  To be and to live out God's new creation here and now.  To be the dawn that drives away the darkness of the long night. That's what being blessed is about.  The people Jesus describes in these blessings are people who are already living the life of the kingdom, even if imperfectly.  Their desire is to see the Lord set his people and his world to rights and they're already living that way.  They're prepared for the kingdom—unlike so many others who were still invested in the ways and values of fallen Israel, fallen humanity, and this broken world.  Jesus starts out with the poor in spirit and I can't help but think of Mary.  When she finds out that she's going to bear the Messiah—the one who will set everything to rights—what does she do?  Instead of the news filling her with pride, it humbles her.  She bursts out in song: “My soul doth magnify the Lord…for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden.” Most people though that God would usher in his kingdom and set the world to rights by coming like a great warrior-king to the important and the wealthy, to the powerful and politically connected.  Instead, he came to a young girl in a backwater village.  And people like Mary flocked to Jesus and through them the kingdom of God burst into the world.  The humble came in faith and he opened their eyes, healed their diseases, cast out their demons, and forgave their sins.  And all the while the powerful and connected, people like the Sadducees, fumed that Jesus was offering forgiveness apart from the temple.  The Pharisees fumed that he was healing on the Sabbath and welcoming tax collectors and sinners.  But Jesus says that judgement is coming and those who will see the kingdom will not be the powerful or the self-righteous, but those humble enough to recognise the kingdom in Jesus and to follow him. The rest of the Beatitudes go the same way.  Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:4-9) These don't come out of the blue.  All through these sayings, Jesus is drawing from the prophets and, especially, the psalms.  He began his ministry preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth with the words of Isaiah: “The Lord anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…to comfort all who mourn.”  Isaiah was announcing judgement on Israel and so was Jesus.  But those who mourn the sins of the people, those who mourn their broken fellowship with the Lord, they will be the ones to pass through the fires of the coming judgement to live in that new messianic community of the age to come. In Psalm 37, David declared, “the meek shall inherit the land and shall take delight in the abundance of peace”.  It's ironic, because so many people expected the Messiah to come like mighty David, crashing into Jerusalem to put the enemies of his people to the sword.  They expected the kingdom to come by violence.  But David himself had declared that it's the meek who would inherit the land—the kingdom, life in the presence of God. Jesus draws on Psalm 107 when he says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness or justice will be satisfied.  The people longed for justice, but for far too many people in Israel that justice looked more like vengeance than justice and that's not the way.  Violence begets violence.  It always has and it always will.  But Jesus shows the way of the kingdom as he let violence do its worst and then forgave, breaking the cycle and turning evil back on itself.  Humility, gentleness, mercy, forgiveness—and a desire to see the wicked repent—that's the way of the kingdom.  And, of course, that's why only the merciful can ever truly know God's mercy. And the pure in heart.  Jesus echoes Psalm 24:3-6.  “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart…He will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”  To see the kingdom, to live before the face of God, means you have to value that kingdom.  You have to want to be part of the world set to rights—not just to receive its benefits, but truly be part of it.  And so outward piety won't do.  The people of the kingdom love it, they long for it, they want to be part and parcel of the world set to rights, to contribute to it, and so they don't go through the motions—they're truly pure of heart. And the peacemakers.  The Messiah came to make peace.  To make peace with God by bearing in himself the sins of his people that they might be forgiven.  And to set us right so that we can be at peace with each other.  The vengeful, the violent, the proud—they'll be the ones swept away in the coming judgement.  Only the peacemakers—following in the footsteps of their peace-making Messiah—will have a place in the kingdom of peace. But Jesus also warns these people.  To see the kingdom, you're going to have live out it's values in the present evil age, and for that you will be hated, mocked, scorned, and even killed.  He goes on in verses 10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” To follow Jesus and to live for the kingdom is costly.  It means taking up your cross—sometimes very literally.  As Jesus would say: The servant is not greater than his master.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth, the people were so angry with him that they tried to throw him off a cliff.  Before too long the religious leaders would be scheming to have him killed.  He knew from the beginning that that was the path he had to take.  And he knew his people would suffer for the sake of his name.  At the cross the present evil age was dealt a death blow.  In rising from the grave Jesus inaugurated the age to come.  The present age is passing away and the age to come is breaking in, but Jesus knew that his people would live in the overlap.  God brought salvation and renewal this way for a reason.  The people of Jesus' day wanted it to come all at once, but God chose to bring it slowly.  People today have the same sort of expectation.  They ask how a good God can allow so much evil in the world.  But in asking that question, in asking why God doesn't come and deal with evil we're showing the same sort of self-righteous mindset that dominated Israel.  We're forgetting that for God to come and deal with evil means that God will not only have to deal with our enemies and the people who cause us grief, but that he'll also have to deal with us.  We're all sinners.  We're all responsible for the mess this world is in—some more, some less—but we've all contributed to it.  And so God sent Jesus to deal with that sin and to inaugurate his kingdom, but he also delays, and in that he gives sinners a chance to repent and turn to him.  It also means that those who, in this in-between time, insist on revealing the kingdom, those who insist on confronting the sinful systems of the old age through their poverty of spirit, through their meekness, through their mercy, through their peace-making will face the same backlash that Jesus faced.  As God's people show the world set to rights, those invested in the way things are will fight back.  When God's people declare that Jesus is the world's true Lord, the Caesars of this age and their supporters will lash out to silence the challenge. The martyrs are a testimony to Jesus' promise.  And when you see your brothers and sisters being carried off to die—whether by the Jewish authorities, or the Romans, or Communists, Islamists, Hindus, Buddhists, or radical secularists in our age, it's easy to fear.  Are we really blessed when we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness?  This was the purpose behind St. John's “revelation”.  The church was on the verge of being plunged into violent persecution—a time of great trial and tribulation.  Would their faith hold?  And what about those who died for the sake of faith in Jesus?  And so God gave John a vision.  Just as Jesus had promised, judgement was coming, first on unbelieving Israel and then on the pagan word of the Greeks and Romans.  The scroll of judgement announcing judgement on Jerusalem and Judah is brought forth.  The redeeming lamb is now the great lion of Judah.  The wrath of God is about to be poured out.  And then everything is paused.  What's to happen to the faithful, to Jesus' people in the midst of the storm.  This is where our Epistle picks up in Revelation 7:2-3. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” The imagery here is drawn from Ezekiel.  The prophet was shown a vision of Israel's idolatry and then a vision of a “man clothed in linen” who was directed by the Lord to “put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it” (Ezekiel 9:3-4).  In the divine judgement to come, no one was to touch those market out for the Lord.  What the Lord did in Ezekiel's day was about to happen again, but the Lord would spare the faithful.  Those who are sealed by the angel are announced in verse 4: And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. The text goes on to list specifically twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes.  This is the remnant of faithful Israel, much like those marked out in Ezekiel's vision centuries before.  This is the Jewish church of Jerusalem and Judea, those Jews who heard the good news and trusted in Jesus.  Those Jews who were appalled by Israel's abominations.  Those who were about to face violent persecution at the hands of their fellow Jews.  The Lord would not abandon them, even though they die.  He places his mark on them and seals them as his own.  And their faithfulness to Jesus the Messiah, is the means by which the nations are brought to the cross.  They are persecuted for righteousness' sake, and they know blessing as a result, because it is through their faithfulness to Jesus that they fulfil the Abrahamic covenant's call to be a blessing to the nations. John hears the announcement of the sealing of the Jewish church, and then he sees a vision of a multitude that could not be numbered, drawn from the nations: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10) And jumping down to verse 13: Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”… And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  (Revelation 7:13-14) John's vision now draws on the imagery of the prophet Daniel, who wrote of another time of great distress through which the Lord saw a faithful remnant of his people.  The wise amongst them were refined through persecution that they might “shine like the brightness of the sky above” (12:3) so that they would “turn many to righteousness”.  Faithful Israel, through her unwavering allegiance to Jesus in this time of trial would serve as the witnesses that will bring the nations to faith in the Lord.  The faithfulness of the 144,000, of the Jewish martyrs, their robes soaked in their own blood, brings that multi-ethnic multitude to Jesus that he might wash their robes in his blood and make them part of his people.  As Zechariah had prophesied, ten men from the nations, of every tongue, will take hold of the robe of a Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!” (8:23) Brothers and Sisters, because of the faithful witness of the martyrs, you and I are here today in the house of the Lord.  Our lessons today remind us their faithfulness to the Lord Jesus, their faithfulness to his kingdom, even in the midst of persecution, was the means by which God brought the nations to himself.  It's also a witness to the faithfulness of God, who fulfils his promises.  He gives his own Spirit to his people that they—that even we—might face persecution in faith.  Today we see him embracing his people and wiping away their tears.  Revelation tells us the story of our brothers and sisters who lived in the First Century—of those Jewish believers who faced persecution and martyrdom at the hands of unbelieving Israel and of that multitude drawn pagan Greco-Roman world because of their witness.  They, too would face persecution at the hands of an empire that would, because of their witness, eventually be brought in submission to the lordship of Jesus.  And yet there's obviously more to the story of Jesus' people.  What we see in John's vision is intermediate and temporary.  The martyrs held close by God as saints on earth and in heaven await the consummation of history, that day when the faithful will follow Jesus in his resurrection, when all things are made new, when heaven and earth are rejoined, and when men and women once again dwell in the presence of the Lord. Brothers and Sisters, we don't know what will happen between now and then.  We may face our own time of great tribulation one day, but even if we don't, we continue in the ordinary fight of Christians in every generation against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  We face the ordinary troubles of life in an imperfect world and the difficulties of being faithful witnesses of Jesus in a culture that worships its own versions of Caesar and Mammon, Mars and Aphrodite.  Let us, like the saints who have gone before, stand firm in faith as stewards of the good news of Jesus and his kingdom, knowing that our God is faithful to his promises.  Let us be the people blessed to be a blessing, living out the life and values of Jesus' kingdom.  Let us confront the upside-down values of the world in poverty of spirit, with mourning and meekness, and mercy; let us hunger and thirst for justice as we serve the Lord with pure hearts—lifting the veil on God's future, showing the people around us what a right-side up world looks like.  And no matter the trials and tribulations that come, remember that Jesus has promised to hold us close, even in death, until that day when he makes all things new. Let's pray:  Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.

Men are obsessed with the Roman Empire. And it's for good reason because there are some eerie parallels between Rome and America today. In this episode, we will cover the causes behind the fall of the Roman Empire and whether America is heading down a similar path. Sponsored By:Good Ranchers: Go to https://go.goodranchers.com/nickfreitas and use promo code "Nick" for $25 off your order + free shipping.---------------------------------------------Links from today's ep: https://howardwiseman.me/Roman/19Maps.html#9%20ADhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeNpEQ0hfMg&ab_channel=BalkanHistoryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Actiumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Romanahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century#:~:text=The%20Crisis%20of%20the%20Third,implementation%20of%20reforms%20in%20284https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fancientrome%2Fcomments%2Fjv5sa8%2Froman_debasement_of_silver_a_graph_i_made_from%2F&psig=AOvVaw0isqrHzZNsrGOdY5MaDupd&ust=1695827318418000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=2ahUKEwjwmMuYx8iBAxUjDFkFHTmPCDYQjRx6BAgAEAwhttps://www.visualcapitalist.com/currency-and-the-collapse-of-the-roman-empire/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Greathttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAfTqfYR-jM&ab_channel=CostasMelashttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Europe_and_the_Near_East_at_476_AD.pnghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mfWeykPsUY&ab_channel=ImperiumRomanumhttps://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fh5991zk5glz51.png

Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian; Third Century pope and bishop, respectively, who were friends; Cornelius had to deal with the controversy of readmission of those who had left the Church during persecution; he ordered that they be readmitted with the Sacrament of Penance Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/16/23 Gospel: Luke 6:43-49

Christian History is the whole reason I started this podcast. I love Christian History. As I take a break from the podcast for a little while, I would like to share with my new listeners my favorite episodes which happen to be my earliest episodes on Christian History. In this episode, we will focus on the important happenings and people of the Third century.Feel free to email me at soulanchorpodcast@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Welcome to episode 67! We cover the ancient and the recent in this one! First up, Laurel takes the Smoke Circle back to the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century. Rome was a revolving door of emperors and constant uprisings and civil wars. During this period of time, one regent queen rose up and broke away from Rome, creating her own empire in a meteoric rise... Next, Kt tells the story of two struggling artists who pitched the idea of a young man bitten by a radioactive spider for a comic hero. Coming so close to not being made at all, Spider Man ended up being one of comics' greatest heroes and it biggest breakout star. *~*~*~* Mentioned In The Stories: Map of the Palmyrene Empire Spider-Man's First Appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 A Little History Podcast with Patrick Little *~*~*~* The Socials! Instagram⁠ - @HightailingHistory  TikTok⁠- @HightailingHistoryPod  Facebook⁠ -Hightailing Through History or @HightailingHistory  ⁠Twitter⁠ - @HightailingPod YouTube- Hightailing Through History *~*~*~* Source Materials: Queen Zenobia-- Queen Zenobia of Palmyra: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Levant's Most Famous Queen by the Charles River Editors https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/history-queen-zenobia-defied-rome https://www.worldhistory.org/zenobia/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Septimius-Odaenathus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_civil_wars_and_revolts Spider-Man-- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spider-Man-comic-book-character https://around.uoregon.edu/spider-man-60-learning-history-comics https://www.anchorcounselingcenters.com/superhero-blog/week-5-spider-man-learning-with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility *~*~*~*~ Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/laurel-rockall/message

Welcome to episode 67! We cover the ancient and the recent in this one! First up, Laurel takes the Smoke Circle back to the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century. Rome was a revolving door of emperors and constant uprisings and civil wars. During this period of time, one regent queen rose up and broke away from Rome, creating her own empire in a meteoric rise... Next, Kt tells the story of two struggling artists who pitched the idea of a young man bitten by a radioactive spider for a comic hero. Coming so close to not being made at all, Spider Man ended up being one of comics' greatest heroes and it biggest breakout star. *~*~*~* Mentioned In The Stories: Map of the Palmyrene Empire Spider-Man's First Appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 A Little History Podcast with Patrick Little *~*~*~* The Socials! Instagram⁠ - @HightailingHistory  TikTok⁠- @HightailingHistoryPod  Facebook⁠ -Hightailing Through History or @HightailingHistory  ⁠Twitter⁠ - @HightailingPod YouTube- Hightailing Through History *~*~*~* Source Materials: Queen Zenobia-- Queen Zenobia of Palmyra: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Levant's Most Famous Queen by the Charles River Editors https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/history-queen-zenobia-defied-rome https://www.worldhistory.org/zenobia/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Septimius-Odaenathus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_civil_wars_and_revolts Spider-Man-- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spider-Man-comic-book-character https://around.uoregon.edu/spider-man-60-learning-history-comics https://www.anchorcounselingcenters.com/superhero-blog/week-5-spider-man-learning-with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility *~*~*~*~ Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/laurel-rockall/message

It seems to be commonly held among scholars that the so-called monarchical episcopate (i.e. the system of having one bishop governing a city church with presbyters working with him) was not apostolic and did not come to Rome until the late second century or even later. That is the opinion of scholars such as Alistair Stewart (in his commentary Hippolytus: On the Apostolic Tradition), Brent Allen (in his Hippolytus and the Roman Church in the Third Century), and others such as the late great J.N.D. Kelly. By this figuring the Christians in Rome had no one leader who spoke for all of them, but were divided into a number of self-governing communities with different leaders described by various titles. A single leader who could speak for all the communities in Rome only arose in the late second century (with Bishop Victor) or the early third century (with Bishop Pontianus). Writers such as Irenaeus who asserted there were such singular leaders and bishops in Rome from the days of the apostles were, according to this theory, anachronistically projecting back a later system into an earlier time. It also follows therefore that the document known as the Apostolic Tradition, ascribed to Hippolytus and dating from the early third century, cannot be taken as evidence of a monepiscopate in Rome at that time, but must be regarded as the result of extensive redaction. What are we to make of this? Need we dump that section of Irenaeus' work?

It seems to be commonly held among scholars that the so-called monarchical episcopate (i.e. the system of having one bishop governing a city church with presbyters working with him) was not apostolic and did not come to Rome until the late second century or even later. That is the opinion of scholars such as Alistair Stewart (in his commentary Hippolytus: On the Apostolic Tradition), Brent Allen (in his Hippolytus and the Roman Church in the Third Century), and others such as the late great J.N.D. Kelly. By this figuring the Christians in Rome had no one leader who spoke for all of them, but were divided into a number of self-governing communities with different leaders described by various titles. A single leader who could speak for all the communities in Rome only arose in the late second century (with Bishop Victor) or the early third century (with Bishop Pontianus). Writers such as Irenaeus who asserted there were such singular leaders and bishops in Rome from the days of the apostles were, according to this theory, anachronistically projecting back a later system into an earlier time. It also follows therefore that the document known as the Apostolic Tradition, ascribed to Hippolytus and dating from the early third century, cannot be taken as evidence of a monepiscopate in Rome at that time, but must be regarded as the result of extensive redaction. What are we to make of this? Need we dump that section of Irenaeus' work?

It seems to be commonly held among scholars that the so-called monarchical episcopate (i.e. the system of having one bishop governing a city church with presbyters working with him) was not apostolic and did not come to Rome until the late second century or even later. That is the opinion of scholars such as Alistair Stewart (in his commentary Hippolytus: On the Apostolic Tradition), Brent Allen (in his Hippolytus and the Roman Church in the Third Century), and others such as the late great J.N.D. Kelly. By this figuring the Christians in Rome had no one leader who spoke for all of them, but were divided into a number of self-governing communities with different leaders described by various titles. A single leader who could speak for all the communities in Rome only arose in the late second century (with Bishop Victor) or the early third century (with Bishop Pontianus). Writers such as Irenaeus who asserted there were such singular leaders and bishops in Rome from the days of the apostles were, according to this theory, anachronistically projecting back a later system into an earlier time. It also follows therefore that the document known as the Apostolic Tradition, ascribed to Hippolytus and dating from the early third century, cannot be taken as evidence of a monepiscopate in Rome at that time, but must be regarded as the result of extensive redaction. What are we to make of this? Need we dump that section of Irenaeus' work?

Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Agnes; lived in the Third Century; legend has it that she was a beautiful young woman, desired by many men; one whom she refused reported to authorities as a Christian; she was arrested and confined to a house of prostitution; one man who looked at her lustfully was blinded, but regained his sight as a result of her prayer; she was condemned and executed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/21/23 Gospel: Mark 3:20-21

By the third century AD, it was hard to imagine Rome being in worse condition. Historians literally refer to this period in Roman history as the Crisis of the Third Century. And it was brutal. Roman citizens couldn't believe what they were experiencing... it was incomprehensible to them that their fatherland had become so weakened. Inflation was running rampant. The Empire was stuck in a quagmire of foreign wars and had suffered some humiliating defeats. Rome experienced multiple bad pandemics, coupled with even worse government response. Foreign invaders were flooding across their borders on a daily basis. Trade broke down, causing shortages in many vital goods. And terrible social strife dominated people's daily lives. Ordinary Roman citizens were at each other's throats, and it was a time of disunity and outrage. One contemporary writer of the era named Cyprian described the situation as follows: “The World itself... testifies to its own declines by giving manifold concrete evidence of the process of decay... There is a decrease and deficiency in the field, of sailors on the sea, of soldiers in the barracks, of honesty in the marketplace, of justice in court, of concord in friendship, of skill in technique...” Cyprian wasn't just describing Rome's obvious decline. Rather, his summary is an indictment of Rome's inability to stop it's decline. Everyone in the imperial government knew what was happening in Rome. They simply lacked the ability to do anything about it. Historian Arnold Toynbee called this the “Challenge and Response” effect... and it's an interesting idea. The concept is that every society has to deal with certain challenges; if the challenges are too great, the society will not survive... i.e. the desert is too harsh, the tundra is too frozen, etc. But sometimes a society becomes so decadent, so prosperous, that it loses its ability to address challenges. It no longer has the social capital necessary— unity of purpose, the ability to compromise, the capacity to engage in rational debate. That is the position where Rome found itself in the 3rd century AD. And I believe the West is quickly heading in this direction. This is the subject of today's podcast. We start out talking about Rome's mortal enemy... and how, after more than a century, Rome emerged victorious as the lone superpower in the Mediterannean. Everything was great, and peace and prosperity reigned for more than 200 years. But over that time, the decadence set in. Wheras once Romans had valued hard work, freedom, and unity of purpose, their entire value system changed. People expected, then demanded, to be taken care of by the state. Corruption became commonplace.The bureaucracy multiplied. Social conflict soared. And eventually Rome lost the ability to meet its challenges. I make a lot of historical parallels to our modern world, including some specific examples of absurdities which occurred just in the last couple of days. But I also discuss why, in the end, these conditions actually create unique opportunity for creative, hard working, talented people. You can listen to the podcast here. Download Transcription as PDF Open Podcast Transcription [00:00:01.290] Today we're going to go back in time nearly 3000 years ago to the year 821 BC. To a city called Tyre, which is located in modern day Lebanon. Now, I want to give you an appreciation for just how old Tyre is, because if we go back to 821 BC, tire had already existed for nearly 2000 years prior to that. That's basically the the difference between us and Julius Caesar, right? So that's how old Tyre is.   [00:00:29.050] That even nearly 3000 years ago, it was already nearly 2000 years old. So that's an old, old city. And again, it still exists today. It's got a population of around 200,000 people. This is a real city today, located again on the Mediterranean and modern day Lebanon thousands of years ago.

By the third century AD, it was hard to imagine Rome being in worse condition. Historians literally refer to this period in Roman history as the Crisis of the Third Century. And it was brutal. Roman citizens couldn't believe what they were experiencing... it was incomprehensible to them that their fatherland had become so weakened. Inflation was running rampant. The Empire was stuck in a quagmire of foreign wars and had suffered some humiliating defeats. Rome experienced multiple bad pandemics, coupled with even worse government response. Foreign invaders were flooding across their borders on a daily basis. Trade broke down, causing shortages in many vital goods. And terrible social strife dominated people's daily lives. Ordinary Roman citizens were at each other's throats, and it was a time of disunity and outrage. One contemporary writer of the era named Cyprian described the situation as follows: “The World itself... testifies to its own declines by giving manifold concrete evidence of the process of decay... There is a decrease and deficiency in the field, of sailors on the sea, of soldiers in the barracks, of honesty in the marketplace, of justice in court, of concord in friendship, of skill in technique...” Cyprian wasn't just describing Rome's obvious decline. Rather, his summary is an indictment of Rome's inability to stop it's decline. Everyone in the imperial government knew what was happening in Rome. They simply lacked the ability to do anything about it. Historian Arnold Toynbee called this the “Challenge and Response” effect... and it's an interesting idea. The concept is that every society has to deal with certain challenges; if the challenges are too great, the society will not survive... i.e. the desert is too harsh, the tundra is too frozen, etc. But sometimes a society becomes so decadent, so prosperous, that it loses its ability to address challenges. It no longer has the social capital necessary— unity of purpose, the ability to compromise, the capacity to engage in rational debate. That is the position where Rome found itself in the 3rd century AD. And I believe the West is quickly heading in this direction. This is the subject of today's podcast. We start out talking about Rome's mortal enemy... and how, after more than a century, Rome emerged victorious as the lone superpower in the Mediterannean. Everything was great, and peace and prosperity reigned for more than 200 years. But over that time, the decadence set in. Wheras once Romans had valued hard work, freedom, and unity of purpose, their entire value system changed. People expected, then demanded, to be taken care of by the state. Corruption became commonplace.The bureaucracy multiplied. Social conflict soared. And eventually Rome lost the ability to meet its challenges. I make a lot of historical parallels to our modern world, including some specific examples of absurdities which occurred just in the last couple of days. But I also discuss why, in the end, these conditions actually create unique opportunity for creative, hard working, talented people. You can listen to the podcast here.

Just what is this Trinity thing all about, anyway? Hear what the third century had to say about it here! Works referenced in the episode: Origen, Commentary on John Tertullian, Against Marcion Tertullian, Against Praxeas

Today we're sharing with you one of our absolute favorite presentations from our Restore gathering that happened in October  — a talk by Patrick Mason that he called “Envisioning the Restoration's Third Century.”As we prepare for our Church to enter into this next era, it's become increasingly clear that something fundamental has changed; people inside and outside the Church are seeing the world and their place in it in different ways. Patrick points out that the world itself is rapidly becoming more secular, or, at the very least, less religious. The response of some of our Christian brothers and sisters has been to advocate for a withdrawal from the world, the creation of a religious counterculture set up opposite mainstream secular society.But Patrick advocates for something different here — he says that even if that were possible, it's probably not a good idea, and it's certainly not what Jesus asked us to do. Not only did Christ's incarnation set a literal example of going “into the world,” he also told his disciples explicitly to do so in his great commission. Patrick also reminds us that we're to do that Christian work not with fear, but with a spirit of love — following Christ's example again by ministering to the broken-hearted, the betrayed, and the marginalized — and to those affected by war, poverty, racism, or any other type of prejudice or violence. That's how Patrick believes we can truly fulfill our mission as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and participate in the audacious work of “saving the world.”You'll also hear Dawn Dimick, who's recently become the first woman to be approved by the Church to be an army chaplain, ask some really insightful follow-up questions to Patrick after his presentation.This was an absolute highlight for us at Restore and we're so happy to share it with you. If you'd like to see Patrick's presentation visually, along with his slides, you can head to the Faith Matters YouTube channel. And of course, digital access to our entire Restore gathering is available for purchase at faithmatters.org/restore.

In which third century Christians experience a massive rise in membership during Rome's troubled century.

"In conditions of chaos, people from outside the Roman social elite can rise to the top."Join Tom and Dominic for their World Cup episode on Croatia, where they discuss the extraordinary life of the Emperor Diocletian. They talk about the Crisis of the Third Century, the Roman 'sidebar of shame', crisis in Gaul, Roman Brexit, foundations of the Byzantine Empire, and the best fact Dominic has heard in the World Cup series so far...Join The Rest Is History Club (www.restishistorypod.com) for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community.Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Email: restishistorypod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which we look at the turbulent fourth century through the lens of the chaotic third century: a time when emperors came and went with the seasonal fashions, castrati priests paraded up and down the capital, and patriotism meant having a LOT of steak dinners.

Roman keynesianism that ruined the empire and destroyed the Roman economy. Original Article: "It Didn't Begin with FDR: Currency Devaluation in the Third Century Roman Empire" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. '

Roman keynesianism that ruined the empire and destroyed the Roman economy. Original Article: "It Didn't Begin with FDR: Currency Devaluation in the Third Century Roman Empire" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. '

In this episode, we speak to Greg Toppo and Jim Tracy, co-authors of Running with Robots: The American High School's Third Century from MIT Press, available at Amazon, Bookshop or wherever you get your books! Greg Toppo is a journalist with more than 25 years of experience, most of it covering education. He spent 15 years as the national education reporter for USA Today and was most recently a senior editor for Inside Higher Ed. From 2017 to 2021, he was president of the Education Writers Association.  Jim Tracy is Senior Advisor at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and Senior Scholar of the Center for Character and Social Responsibility at Boston University's Wheelock School of Education. He has been head of several independent schools, as well as a college president.Recommended Resources:Teaching Machines by Audrey Watters The Game Believes in You: How Digital Play Makes Kids Smarter by Greg Toppo

Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian; Third Century brothers skilled in the science of medicine; took no money for their services; captured as Christians during the persecution of Diocletian, tortured, and martyred; the patrons of pharmacists Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/26/22 Gospel: Luke 9:46-50

Listen to how one university is charting a path of major reform for its future students. Higher Education Reform and Navigating Transition is a conversation with President Casey, Colgate University,  discussing how the university has transitioned during his tenure. In particular, how they handled the COVID Pandemic and the funding needed from alumni. He then explains the launch of the Colgate Commitment, a new policy that provides full tuition for low-income students. Finally, he addresses the announcement of the Third Century Plan, the university's largest and most significant transformation moving forward.If you would like to learn more about the Colgate Campaign for the Third Century, please click here: https://www.colgate.edu/giveIf you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a review so others can find this, subscribe to hear more, and share this podcast with other amazing women.Connect with Julina Ogilvie:Website- principlewealthpartners.com/teamEmail- jogilvie@principlewealthpartners.comYouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTISXBl6sK8JsJn0ZhmQfkAFacebook- https://www.facebook.com/principlewealthpartnersLinkedIn- @julinaogilvieThe information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. The statements and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the author. PWP cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any statements or data. For current PWP information, please visit the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov by searching with PWP's CRD #290180

Welcome to the 24th episode of “We Effed Up,” where we talk about another blink-and-you'll-miss-it eff-up that managed to derail the restoration of an empire.SourcesHekster, Olivia. Rome and Its Empire, AD 193-284. Edinburgh U. Press, Edinburgh, 2008.Hijmans, Steven. Sol: The Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome. U. of Groningen Press, Groningen, 2009.Snyder, Graydon. Ante Pacem: Archaeological Evidence of Church Life before Constantine. Mercer U. Press, Macon, 2003.Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. Routledge, Oxon, 2001.Watson, Alaric. Aurelian and the Third Century. Taylor & Francis, London, 1999.White, John. Restorer of the World: The Roman Emperor Aurelian. Pen & Sword, London, 2015. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian; Third Century pope and bishop, respectively, who dealt with the Novatian heresy, which held that apostates could not be readmitted to the Church, even after repenting; under Roman persecution, Cornelius was martyred in 253, and Cyprian in 258. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/16/22 Gospel: Luke 8:1-3

Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Pontian and Hippolytus; Third Century pope and antipope, respectively, who were both exiled to the mines of Sardinia, where they reconciled, and both died as martyrs Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/13/22 Gospel: Matthew 19:13-15

In the middle of the Third Century, it was still illegal to be a Christian. That would not change until Emperor Constantine in 313. Still, the Church was growing and the Roman Emperors were getting worried. So much so, that Emperor Decius, in 250 A.D., issued an edict that every person in the Roman Empire had to sacrifice to a Roman god in the presence of a state official. They were then issued a certificate as proof saying that the sacrifice was offered. Many Christians moved to the countryside. Some obeyed the edict, even knowing that these Roman gods did not exist. Others purchased a certificate and avoided the sacrifice. Still others, refused to submit and were cruelly put to death.After being secretly ordained, Pope Sixtus II and a select group of companions would sneak into one of the catacombs that extended for miles under the city of Rome. Emperor Valerian, who succeeded Decius, sent soldiers into the catacombs to hunt them down. Perhaps they were drawn by the singing, but the Pope along with his deacon companions were all arrested and put to death. When St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage in North Africa received the news, he wrote the following letter: “Valerian has issued an edict to the Senate to the effect that bishops, presbyters, and deacons shall suffer the death penalty without delay…I must also inform you that Sixtus was put to death in a catacomb on the sixth of August, and four deacons with him…Let all our people fix their minds not on death but rather on immortality…knowing that in this contest the soldiers of God and Christ are not slain but rather win their crowns.”These thoughts from long ago come to mind in light of our Gospel reading today. Christ says to us, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” We need to ask ourselves what is most important in our lives. If we rely too heavily on our physical appearance, we will be disappointed. Looks, as we know, are fleeting. If we place too much emphasis upon the accumulation of wealth, then all our efforts will have to be passed on to others after we die. If we are relying on our accomplishments, they, too, will fade away. Even St. Thomas Aquinas, after all his philosophical and theological insights, felt they were all “like straw” compared to the glory that will be revealed to us.Our love for God and neighbor is the only thing we will take with us when we die.Blessings,Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R. 

In the middle of the Third Century, it was still illegal to be a Christian.  That would not change until Emperor Constantine in 313.  Still, the Church was growing and the Roman Emperors were getting worried. So much so, that Emperor Decius, in 250 A.D., issued an edict that every person in the Roman Empire

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

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

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

David Woodruff has been a key figure in some of the largest and most successful fundraising efforts in healthcare and higher education. He oversaw the $1.5 billion Campaign for the Third Century of Massachusetts General Hospital and then directed a record-setting $6 Billion Campaign for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. David joined Marts & Lundy as a consulting partner following his retirement as Associate Vice President and COO of Resource Development at MIT this month. In this episode, we speak with him about his journey, lessons learned, and opportunities for engaging the rising generation of donors.

Like all bad things, the Roman Empire came to an end. But why did it take hundreds of years for that to happen? This week, the gang guides us through an astonishingly chaotic period when Rome did NOT fall — the Crisis of the Third Century — and explores how late Roman figures like Constantine, Queen Zenobia, and Julian the Apostate created the medieval world. Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Halal Sam. Further listening: E04 - Barbarians, E28 - Quo Vadis --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gladiofreeeurope/support

The middle of the third century saw unrest and upheaval across the board in the known world – long established empires dwindled into dust and the Roman Empire itself nearly suffered the same fate during a time aptly named the Crisis of the Third Century. Enter Zenobia: clever, opportunistic and proud, Zenobia capitalized on a Rome distracted by invasions from Germanic tribes and deadly infighting. She'll end up accomplishing what no other woman was able to do before or after; Zenobia will rule one-third of the Roman Empire independent of any male lovers or consort . . . at least for a time. In this episode we also talk about birthdays, taxidermied emperors, fast and the furious [baby] camels and our go-to comfort activities. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app