Armada

In 1588 Philip II of Spain sent his Armada fleet consisting of 130 ships to punish England for it’s support of the Dutch Protestants and for plundering Spanish possessions in America and Cadiz. He was granted a papal licence to depose “the dragon of heresy”, the English Queen Elizabeth 1st. 600 priests and monks sailed with the sailors and soldiers, who were forbidden to gamble, swear or bring prostitutes on board. The Spanish believed that God was on their side but the English also believed they had divine help and in addition better ships. A torrential storm in the English Channel wrecks Philip’s plans.
The following year in England, the Roman Catholic Philip Howard was accused of treason having reputedly prayed for the success of the Spanish Armada. Despite the obvious fabrication of the story he was found guilty, though his life was spared as the courts decided that a prayer cannot be construed as treason. Howard died in prison heartbroken at being refused visits by his wife and young son.

The Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant was a chest made of acacia wood in which the Jews kept the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were carved. The Jews kept the Ark of the Covenant for many years, up to the time of Solomon, but no one knows what happened to it. There is speculation that it can be found in Ethiopia. The story goes that the 13th century King Lalibela of Ethiopia fell ill one time and whilst in a coma, he was visited by God in a vision. When he awoke he begun at once to carry out the order he received: to build a spectacular group of churches, hewn out of the rock of this mountainous region. Some believe that the lost Ark of the Covenant can be found here.

Aristotle

Aristotle (384-323 BC) was a Greek philosopher who advocated reason and moderation. Aristotle taught that ethics is the study of which types of conduct produce happiness: Vices are the excess or defect of virtues. He maintained that the greatest of all virtues is speculative wisdom. Aristotle was the first western man to argue that the universe owes its existence to an intelligent being eg God.

Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was was born into a family of the south Italian nobility. The youngest Son of Count Landuff, a Nobleman of Lombardic descent, his mother was Countess Theadora of Theate. Thomas' family were related to the Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II, in addition to the King of France.
A fat, slow, pious boy, Thomas was placed by his parents in the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, where his uncle was the Abbot. Early in his life Thomas was noted as being diligent and devoted to prayer.
As a teenager Thomas decided to enter the Dominican order. His mother and father determined that it was an improper way for an upper class member of an Italian family to behave, and opposed him. They had set their heart on Thomas becoming a Benedictine abbot.
Between 1239 and 1244 Thomas attended University of Naples. Diligent in study, Thomas was often heard to ask such profound questions as "What is God?" It was at Naples that he came under the influence of the Dominican preacher John of St. Julian. Impressed by the Dominican, he joined that order whilst still an Undergraduate.
Between 1245 and 1252 Thomas was a pupil of Albertus Magnus,(Albert the Great) at Paris and Cologne (a fellow Dominican ,and one of the most learned men of his time-he needed to be with a name like that). Heavy but well proportioned with a large head, bearded, receding hairline, and one huge eye dwarfed his other, Thomas was nicknamed at Paris University by fellow Students, "The Dumb Ox", due to his lofty bulk and slowness. Despite this Albertus predicted that "this Ox will one day fill the world with his bellowing." In 1256 Aquinas was awarded a doctorate in theology. He spent the rest of his life teaching in Paris and in Italy.
In his lifetime Thomas produced an enormous literary output with about 80 works are ascribed to him. The Bible, Augustine, Aristotle, Plato and the "sentences" of Peter Lombard were among his influences. At first, Thomas wrote his works with his own hand. His writing suggests someone left-handed, writing in great haste in the Latin shorthand of the time. Thomas's hand has been dubbed the litera inintelligibilis, unreadable writing. No wonder that with time he was assigned secretaries to take dictation. In his later years , at times he was dictating to several different scribes on several different subjects at the same time. His two most important works are the Summa Contra Gentiles and the Summa Theological. Summa Contra Gentiles was written at the request of an obviously persuasive Ramon de Penatuerle to convert the Spanish Muslims, this three volume masterpiece reconciled reason with revelation. Summa Theological. Aquinas' epic, unfinished work which strove to account for all phenomena logically. Basically a compendium of all human knowledge in relation to religion, written for novices, it is still accepted as the final authoritative exposition of the Catholic doctrine.
In 1273 Aquinas had a mystical experience that convinced him to stop writing. All he had written seemed like straw compared to what he had seen during that experience. Or so he said.
Thomas' books were banned, burnt and not widely read for three centuries but became influential leading up to the renaissance and became the embodiment of the world view taught in Universities for the following three centuries.

Thomas Aquinas was a gifted preacher in a Neapolitan dialect who preached the Word of God. He argued that Scripture alone was the basis of all theology and his sermons were full of solid instruction, scriptural illustrations and quotes. A great admirer of Mary, he once wrote, "As sailors are guided to port by a star, so are Christians guided to Heaven by Mary." However he opposed the Immaculate Conception, the belief that Christ's Mother was, by a special act of grace preserved free from sin. The Dominican scholar introduced the word "limbo" as a place for the souls of those who weren't Christians, but didn't deserve to go to hell went. Those in limbo he argued include unbaptised infants and the prophets of the Old Testament. He was instrumental in developing the doctrine of transubstantiation, by which the communion bread and wine upon consecration, became the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. The Angelic Doctor defended the practice of veneration of saint's relics during a time when some regarded it as mere superstition. Aquinas argued that the bodies of the saints are vessels of the Holy Spirit. He taught that man was a sinner and needed Christ's saving grace which comes to man exclusively through the seven sacraments which are, baptism, confirmation, the Lord's Supper, confession, anointing of the sick, marriage and ordination. To sum up, Thomas Aquinas is recognized as the greatest scholastic theologian of the Middle Ages and the influence he has exercised on Roman Catholic thought and doctrine is enormous.
His system of Philosophy called Thomism is still active in France, Philosophers such as Jacques Maritian and Etienne Gilson still operate within its framework.

Apocrypha

The Apocrypha is fourteen books not included in the Protestant or Jewish Canon but recognised by Roman Catholics and included by them as an Appendix to the Old Testament of the Bible. They were written during a period of 300 years after the Jews had returned from their captivity in Babylon up to the birth of Jesus. They are a mixture of history and fiction and are not considered equal to the sacred Scriptures. In 1644 the English Parliament in effect removed the Apocrypha from the majority of Bibles by ordaining that only books in the Hebrew collection can be read in the Church of England thus meaning only the Catholics retain the Apocrypha in their Bibles. Apocrypha means hidden or secret (writings).

Saint Anthony the Great

On losing his parents in 270, the wealthy 20 year old Egyptian Saint Anthony (250-356), impressed by the scripture in the Gospel of Matthew, “Go and sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven”, gave away his inheritance to those born in less priviliged circumstances than him. Anthony went to live in the desert as a solitary hermit dedicating himself to lonely contemplation thus becoming one of the first Christian monks. After spending a number of years in an abandoned fort, the entrance to which Anthony had barricaded, some of his admirers broke in. By the early 4th century his visions and several miraculous healings had attracted followers and he devoted several years to instructing these disciples in the ways of monastic life. Anthony then left his retreat to found a community of monks, at first only a group of separate and scattered cells. This was one of the earliest attempts to instruct people in the monastic way of life. After setting up this community Anthony was moved by the Spirit to go further into the desert on his own. There he spent most of his time meditating, worshipping, rope plaiting and maintaining a herb garden to feed those who had trekked through the desert for several days to visit him. At the age of 105, filled with serenity, he died in his remote retreat. In the middle of the 4th century his biography, written by St Athanasius, largely helped to spread the ideals of the ascetic movement. The many lurid temptations he grappled with later became a popular theme for Christian art.

Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family in 1195. Against the wishes of his family, Anthony entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. After his ordination, Anthony was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morocco to preach to the Muslims there. Anthony was strongly attracted to the simple Gospel lifestyle of the Franciscan friars and he obtained permission from his superiors to join the Franciscan order. He was commissioned by Brother Gratian, the minister provincial, to preach the Gospel throughout Lombardy a region in northern Italy. It was as a preacher that Anthony revealed his supreme gift and as time went on he was recognised as the most popular and effective preacher of his day. His rich voice and arresting manner attracted crowds of up to 30,000. Pope Gregory IX hailed his preaching as a "jewel case of the Bible" and he was commissioned to produce "Sermons for Feast Days." Anthony also earned the title "hammer of the heretics" for converting so many of the dualistic Cathari. When he died of dropsy in 1231, it is said that the children cried in the streets and that all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord, rung by angels come to earth to honour the death of the saint.

Anti-Semitism

A Semite is a member of any of the peoples said to be descended from Shem, who was one of Noah's sons, or speaking a Semitic language. Anti-Semitism is defined as the hatred of Semites , especially Jews or of their interest. It is a form of racism and has been practised since the persecution of the Hebrews by the ancient Egyptians before the Exodus. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 led to the dispersal of the Jews, many settling in Europe and throughout the Roman Empire. In the 4th century, Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Empire, which reinforced existing prejudice against Jews who refused to convert. Anti-Semitism increased in the Middle Ages because of the Crusades and later the Inquisition. Also Christians were taught that the Jews killed Jesus.
In 1189 King Richard 1st was to be crowned King of England. He forbade any Jews to make an appearance at his coronation, but some Jewish leaders showed up anyway to present gifts for the new king. Richard's courtiers stripped and flogged the Jews, then flung them out of court. The people of London joined in to persecute the Jews, and a massacre began. Many Jews were beaten to death, robbed, and burnt alive. At least one was forcibly baptised. Some sought sanctuary in the Tower of London, and others managed to escape half-dead. Later, when Richard wrote of this incident, he called the massacre a "holocaustum".
A hundred years later life for Jews in England had not improved. To finance his war to conquer Wales, Edward I taxed the Jewish moneylenders, legally an occupation Christians were not allowed to undertake. For years the English King taxed them heavily, and the cost of Edward's ambitions soon drained the money-lenders dry and when they got into debt the state accused them of disloyalty. Anti-Semitic feeling grew, until the King decreed the Jews a threat to the country and restricted their movements and activities. Edward decreed that all Jews must wear a yellow patch in the shape of a star attached to their outer clothing to identify them in public.
In the course of King Edward's persecution of the Jews, he arrested all the heads of Jewish households. The authorities took over 300 of them to the Tower of London and executed them, while killing others in their homes. Finally, 1290 , the King ordered the expulsion of all 16,000 Jews from England. Edward's wife, Queen Eleanor, died months after their expulsion.
Strasbourg, part of the Holy Roman Empire, was the scene of the first mass holocaust of Jews in Europe in 1349. Collectively accused of causing the Black Death by poisoning the local water supplies, 2,000 men, women and children were herded into a circle and burnt alive.
In 1492 as part of the Spanish Inquisition close to 200,000 Jews, who refused to be baptized, were driven out of Spain. This was inspired by the king and queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella who interpreted the fall of Granada as a sign that Christ’s second coming was imminent; the removal of the Jews being required before Jesus returned. Their departure brought great economic distress to Spain for in turning out their most talented and industrious citizens, Spain became speedily crippled economically.
From the 16th century Jews were forced by law in many cities to live in a separate area, or ghetto. Ghettos continued into the 20th century, and were often seen as a prison, but they have also been regarded by some as a safeguard to maintaining religious identity.
Small signs of improvement began at the end of the 16th century. In 1570 At the Council of Trent the Catholic Church absolved Jews of responsibility for Jesus’ death. In 1579 the Union of Utrecht united the northern provinces of the Netherlands, which meant the city of Amsterdam was able to offer religious toleration. As a consequence there was an influx of Jewish refugee merchants who provided the city with an unrivalled access to the world’s most profitable trading networks. In 1655 the deeply religious English Protector, Oliver Cromwell, allowed all Jews to return to England after being banished for 350 years. He believed that if they returned to Britain, a country where now the purest form of Christianity exists, the Jews would convert to Christianity and this will bring about the Second Coming of Christ. In 1758 the first group of Jews to emigrate to America arrived in Newport, Rhode Island. 15 families mainly from Portugal and Spain had decided to establish a congregation here encouraged by its reputation for freedom of religion. Back in Europe late 18th- and early 19th-century liberal thought improved the position of Jews in European society. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for example, they were allowed to own land, and following the French Revolution (1789–99) the ‘rights of man’ were extended to French Jews. The Enlightenment in 18th-century France encouraged the assimilation of Jews but expected them to give up the practice of their religion. The rise of 19th-century nationalism and unscientific theories of race instigated new resentments, and the term ‘anti-Semitism’ was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr. Literally it means prejudice against Semitic people (, but in practice it has been directed only against Jews. Anti-Semitism became strong in Austria, France and Germany, and from 1881 pogroms in Poland and Russia caused refugees to flee to the USA.
In the 20th century, fascism and the Nazi Party's application of racial theories led to organized persecution and the genocide of the Holocaust. Between 1933–45 about 6 million Jews died in concentration camps and in local extermination pogroms, such as the siege of the Warsaw ghetto. In the Soviet Union, Jews had their religion stamped on their passports and were not allowed to leave; synagogues were shut down, and the use of Hebrew forbidden. After World War II, the creation of Israel in 1948 provoked Palestinian anti-Zionism, backed by the Arab world. In Eastern Europe, as well as in Islamic nations, anti-Semitism exists and is promoted by neo-fascist groups. In Western countries Anti-Semitism is still fostered by extreme right-wing groups, such as the National Front in the UK and France, and the neo-Nazis in, particularly, the USA and Germany.

Sources Hutchinson Encyclopedia
Wikipedia

Susan B Anthony

Susan Brownell Anthony (1820 1906) was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. Raised as a Quaker by her strictly religious father, Anthony took part in anti-slavery and temperance movements from an early age. At the age of 29 she moved to her family farm in Rochester, New York, where she started attending the local Unitarian Church and began to distance herself from the Society of Friends. This was in part because she had frequently witnessed instances of hypocritical behavior such as the use of alcohol amongst Quaker preachers. However her background attending Quaker services, where unlike most other denominations both men and women were allowed to speak, was influential on her beliefs and contributed to Anthony deciding to devote herself totally to the cause of equal rights for women. For 45 years, she traveled the United States and Europe, giving 75 to 100 speeches every year on women's rights. In 1869 Anthony, along with Elizabeth Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, the first women's movement in the USA.

Saint Anselm

Saint Anselm (d 1109) was born at Aosta in Piedmont about 1033. After devoting much of his youth to pleasurable pursuits he became a monk at the abbey of Bec in Normandy, where flourished one of the most celebrated schools in Europe. Anselm flourished under the tuition of the famed Lanfranc. He became abbot of the monastery in 1078, making it the greatest center of scholarship in Europe, whilst personally writing some much admired philosophical works. Much influenced by Augustine Anselm sought 'necessary reasons' for religious beliefs. In his Proslogion, (Addition), in which he attempted to use reason to explain belief, Anselm stated that the capacity of human beings to conceive of the existence of God was proof that God must exist.

The interests of his abbey sometimes took Anselm to England and he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William II of England in 1093, but was later forced into exile. He is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers and theologians of the middle ages.

Saint Ansgar

Saint Ansgar (801-865) was a Frankish Benedictine monk who from his teenage years been active in missionary work in north Germany and Denmark. In 829 the "Apostle of the North” was sent by the Holy Roman Emperor, Louis the Pious, the deeply religious son and successor of Charlemagne To Sweden. He had heard that several Swedes were willing to convert to the Christian faith and the Swedish king Björn had personally requested a Christian mission in his land. The king allowed Ansgar to build the first church in Sweden and amongst the small congregation was the monarch's own steward Hergeir.
In 831 Ansgar returned to Louis' court at Worms and was appointed to the Archbishopric of Hamburg. However he continued his missionary work to the northern lands.