Christianity

Pope Pius XII's archives will be unsealed next year

The Vatican Will Unseal the Archives of Pius XII, the Controversial Holocaust-Era Pope

Some have accused the pope of remaining silent in the face of Nazi persecution, while others say he quietly worked to rescue Jews

An Appreciation of <i>Küchle</i>, My Family’s Deep-Fried Dough Tradition for Fat Tuesday

Avoid a grease fire. Support a local bakery.

Mock-up of the statue in place alongside the Segovian aqueduct

Why a Smiling Statue of Satan Is Stirring Up Controversy in Spain

Some Segovian locals say the affable bust is “offensive for Catholics, because it constitutes the glorification of evil”

Heavily Abridged ‘Slave Bible’ Removed Passages That Might Encourage Uprisings

The rare artifact is the focus of a new exhibition at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

Waiting on a lie

When Do Children Give Up on Santa?

A preview of a new international study explores when kids stop believing and how, after the jig is up, it impacted them psychologically

View of the Silent Night Chapel

A Brief History of 'Silent Night'

The classic Christmas tune was first composed as a poem, and it was set to music for the first time in the winter of 1818

The Nazis appropriated Christmas imagery for political purposes, even changing the lyrics of traditional holiday songs like "Silent Night"

Berlin Exhibition Chronicles Evolution of Christmas Decorations From 19th Century to Today

Selections include swastika-adorned baubles from Nazi Germany, miniature bombs and warships popularized during World War I

An aerial shot of North Sentinel Island

Inside the Story of John Allen Chau’s Ill-Fated Trip to a Remote Island

Questions abound about the ethics of the missionary’s trip and what will happen next

The Vatican-endorsed game lets you "collect" Catholic saints.

There's a Pokémon Go-Inspired App for Catholics

The Pope was reportedly impressed by the new game

Since 2002, a series of fragments with questionable provenance have flooded the antiquities market

Museum of the Bible Acknowledges Five of Its Dead Sea Scrolls Are Forgeries

Analysis suggests nearly one-third of the museum's 16 scrolls are fakes, and study of the remaining fragments may yield similar results

Altar Frontal (1741), Isfahan. Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

The Met’s Latest Show Traces Armenia’s Cultural Evolution

<i>Armenia!</i> features more than 140 artifacts, including gilded reliquaries, illuminated manuscripts, textiles

Monks likely used the disc-shaped gaming board to play Hnefatafl, a Norse strategy game that pits a king and his defenders against two dozen attackers, during the 7th or 8th century

Archaeologists Unearth Medieval Game Board During Search for Lost Monastery

Scotland's oldest surviving manuscript, the Book of Deer, was written by monks living in the Aberdeenshire monastery

Pocket-Sized Bible Returns to Canterbury Cathedral After 500 Years

The volume was lost after Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the cathedral’s monastery

The giants and big heads have been a hit among Folklife Festival-goers, says performer Jesus Bach Marques. "They're amazed by our giants! For most of them, it's something really new."

For Hundreds of Years, Papier-Mâché Has Lent a Surreal Face to Catalan Culture

Street performers disguised as Giants and Big Heads blend reverence with ribaldry at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Knights of the SMOTJ wear the red cross pattée, believed to have been first used by the Knights Templar in 1147.

Meet the Americans Following in the Footsteps of the Knights Templar

Disbanded 700 years ago, the most famous of the medieval Christian orders is undergoing a 21st century revival

The Legendary Sultan Saladin Was Likely Killed by Typhoid

Reviewing historical accounts of his death, doctors and historians believe his sweating fits and weakness were brought on by the bacterial infection

No, the Bone of Saint Clement Was Probably Not Just Found in London's Trash

A waste hauler found the bone fragment in a case sealed with red wax and tied with red cords. It included a faded label reading: “Ex Oss. S Clementis PM"

William Sloane Coffin Jr., followed by his sister, arrives at federal building in Boston on May 20, 1968.

How Vietnam War Protests Accelerated the Rise of the Christian Right

The anti-war efforts of Yale chaplain William Sloane Coffin Jr. and other church leaders alienated many Protestant Americans—with lasting repercussions

Eldgjá, Iceland

A Violent Volcanic Eruption Immortalized in Medieval Poem May Have Spurred Iceland’s Adoption of Christianity

A new study looks for traces of the devastating volcanic event in a poem composed in approximately 961 A.D.

Billy Graham, Jr. James Pease Blair 1958 (printed later) Gelatin silver print

Billy Graham, the Evangelical Pastor Who Preached to Millions, Has Died at 99

He distinguished himself from other charismatic preachers with his ambition, technological savvy and message of inclusivity

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