Intellect PlusReligious figures
385 cards. Each one is a 40-second story with a five-minute read behind it. Page 7 of 7.
Jerome’s Vulgate made Hebrew, not only Greek, Latin scriptureSaint Jerome (about 342/347–420), commissioned by Pope Damasus I, produced the Latin Bible translation that became the Vulgate. Unlike earlier Latin Old Testaments based on the Gr…
Jesus of Nazareth became Christianity’s central figureJesus (about 6–4 BC to AD 30 or 33) was a first-century Jewish preacher in Roman Judaea. Christianity, now the world’s largest religion, treats him as its center; most churches te…
Golden-mouthed John preached from Antioch to ConstantinopleJohn Chrysostom (about 347–407)—the name means golden-mouthed—was archbishop of Constantinople and a Church Father famed for preaching. Eastern Christians rank him among the Three…
John of Damascus defended icons from a monastery near JerusalemBorn Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn in Damascus around 675 or 676, John of Damascus became a monk, priest, hymn writer and apologist. Tradition places his death at Mar Saba on 4 Dec…
John of the Cross mapped the soul’s dark nightsSpanish Carmelite Juan de Yepes (1542–1591), known as John of the Cross, helped Teresa of Ávila reform the order into the Discalced Carmelites. One of thirty-eight Doctors of the …
Was the apostle John really the author of John?John the Apostle (about 6–100 AD), son of Zebedee and brother of James, ranks among Jesus’s Twelve and is often called the Beloved. Tradition credits him with the Gospel, three ep…
A wounded Basque soldier founded the Jesuit orderIgnatius of Loyola—baptised under a Basque family name in the 1490s and dead in 1556—left soldiering for priesthood and, with six companions, founded the Society of Jesus. In Pari…
Irenaeus answered Gnostics with scripture, tradition and bishopsSecond-century Greek bishop Irenaeus of Lyon fought Gnostic secret-wisdom claims by naming three pillars of orthodoxy: the scriptures, apostolic tradition and the teaching church.…
Jan Hus preached reform in Prague—and died for it in 1415Czech theologian Jan Hus (about 1369–1415) attacked simony, contested Eucharist teaching and other Church practices from Charles University pulpits in Prague. Excommunicated, forc…
The Seraphic Doctor steered Franciscans and a councilBorn Giovanni di Fidanza around 1221, Bonaventure rose from Paris master to Minister General of the Franciscans and Cardinal Bishop of Albano. Canonized in 1482 and named a Doctor…- Alexandria's teacher mixed Greek philosophy with gospelTitus Flavius Clemens, active around 147 to 215, converted from a pagan household and taught at Alexandria's catechetical school—where Origen sat among his pupils. His surviving t…
- Rome's Clement ordered Corinth to reinstate its eldersNear the year 100, Bishop Clement of Rome—counted among the Apostolic Fathers—wrote to Corinth after locals deposed their presbyters. His letter insists those elders rule by apost…
Two brothers invented an alphabet so Slavs could prayConstantine and Michael of Thessalonica—remembered as Cyril and Methodius—answered Great Moravia's call in 862 with a script fitted to Slavic speech. Glagolitic came first; its de…
Cyril's Ephesus council crushed Nestorius in 431Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444, Cyril of Alexandria wrote fiercely on Christ's natures and chaired the Council of Ephesus that deposed Nestorius. Later ages crowned him P…
A silk merchant's son rebuilt chapels and an orderGiovanni di Pietro di Bernardone—Francis of Assisi—traded fine clothes for radical poverty, gathered friars, inspired Clare's Poor Clares, and even crossed to Egypt in 1219 seekin…
A Navarrese noble became Asia's Jesuit pathfinderFrancis Xavier, born 1506 in Navarre, roomed with Ignatius of Loyola in Paris and joined the first Jesuits' 1534 vows. As Portugal's man in the East he missionized India, tried Ja…
Only three Orthodox saints wear the title TheologianGregory of Nazianzus, Cappadocian archbishop and Doctor of the Church, shaped how East and West speak about the Trinity. Orthodoxy ranks him with John the Apostle and Symeon the N…
The quiet Cappadocian deepened Trinity beyond BasilGregory of Nyssa never matched brother Basil's administrative clout or Nazianzen's fame, yet his philosophical theology—touched by Origen—helped lock Trinitarian and Nicene teachi…
A Roman governor became bishop of Milan by popular acclamation overnightAmbrose of Milan served as governor when the crowd shouted his name at a bishop's election in 374 AD. Within a week he was baptized, ordained, and consecrated—the first Western ar…
A monk who invented the ontological argument became archbishop twice exiledAnselm of Canterbury, born around 1033 in Aosta, rose from Bec novice to Europe's foremost abbey leader, then archbishop from 1093 to 1109. He defended the Church against William …
One Alexandrian priest's theology split the Roman Empire for centuriesArius, a presbyter in Alexandria around 300 AD, taught that God the Father created the Son and that the Son had a beginning. His dispute with Bishop Alexander sparked the Arian co…
The patriarch exiled five times for insisting Christ equals the FatherAthanasius of Alexandria, born around 296–298, served 45 years as patriarch from 328 to 373 despite spending 17 years in exile. At 27 he helped shape the Nicene Creed against Ariu…
An itinerant healer in Podolia founded Hasidic Judaism almost by accidentIsrael ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov or Master of the Good Name, lived from about 1700 to 1760 in Polish Podolia. Census records trace him in Medzhybizh as kabbalist, miracle-wor…
A Cappadocian bishop built hospitals, fought Arians, and shaped monasticismBasil of Caesarea, born around 330, served as bishop from 370 until his death in 379. He supported the Nicene Creed, created the Basileiad hospital complex for the poor, and wrote…
A poisoned monk wrote the rule that shaped a thousand European monasteriesBenedict of Nursia, born around 480, abandoned Roman studies for cave solitude at Subiaco, survived two poisoning attempts, founded twelve monasteries, and built Monte Cassino aro…