Author Archives: clarevmerry

#3 Celtic Church

The patron saints of Ireland are Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid and Saint Columba.  The life of St Patrick appeared in the last section as he was a Roman citizen.  Saint Brigid will be discussed later under the heading: Cult of Saints.  It was Saint Columba, a Gaelic Christian who really set up the Celtic ChurchContinue reading “#3 Celtic Church”

#2 One of the 70 came to Britain

The mission of Jesus Christ lasted three years.  One of the first things that Jesus did was call twelve disciples to live and travel with him.  The gospels of Matthew chapter 10 and Luke chapter 9 describe the sending out of the twelve disciples to towns in Judea.  In addition to this, later on, JesusContinue reading “#2 One of the 70 came to Britain”

#1 The History of Christianity in Britain

Introduction The British Isles was one of the earliest places to be evangelized.  The Ancient Britons, who were the original inhabitants historically of Britain, were first evangelized by missionaries from Judea in the 1st century AD. Britain has a 2000 year history of Christianity incorporating the Brittonic-speaking church, the Celtic Church and the Saxon church whichContinue reading “#1 The History of Christianity in Britain”

#12 Summary of Star of Bethlehem Article

It is known that it was decided by the Church to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ, in December to replace the Pagan festival of the winter soltice popular in Europe. It was thought mistakenly that the soltice occurred on the 25th December rather than on the 21st December so this date was chosen. ActualContinue reading “#12 Summary of Star of Bethlehem Article”

#10 Conclusion to Star of Bethlehem article

The three wise men followed an actual astronomical phenomenon that appeared in the east.  It led them from Persia to Judea.  The phenomenon travelling across the sky was a comet probably travelling southwards. As stated in the birth narrative of the gospel of Matthew, the star, in the line of sight of the wise menContinue reading “#10 Conclusion to Star of Bethlehem article”

#8 Supporting Evidence that Jesus was Born at Passover

There are two lines of evidence to support the view that Jesus was born just before Passover in the month of April: “There was no room at the inn.”  Jerusalem and Bethlehem nearby would have been very busy between the 13th and 27th April 5 BC as all adult Jewish males were required to celebrate Passover atContinue reading “#8 Supporting Evidence that Jesus was Born at Passover”

#7 Was Jesus Born at Passover?

The first appearance of the star seems to mark the exact time of Jesus’ birth – at least King Herod interpreted it this way: Matt 2:7 “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.”  This implies that the Messiah – Jesus was born on theContinue reading “#7 Was Jesus Born at Passover?”

#6 Comets as Signs

From ancient times comets seen as bright stars in the sky were taken as signs of momentous happenings on Earth –  portents of changes of power in government.  The Star of Bethlehem was not a customary event, but an unexpected appearance indicating that it had special significance. The Chinese called these stars ‘broom stars’ dueContinue reading “#6 Comets as Signs”