Best Stephen J Bedard Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 69 – The First Council of Constantinople 8:13

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28d ago8:13

8:13

Many people are aware of the Council of Nicaea in 325, which gave us the […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 68 – Eusebius of Caesarea: The Father of Church History 7:54

3M ago7:54

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One of our most important sources for Christian history is Eusebius of Caesarea. While he […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 67 – The Golden Mouth of John Chrysostom 8:20

7M ago8:20

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In this episode, we explore the remarkable life of John Chrysostom, one of Christianity’s greatest preachers […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 66 – The Life and Legacy of Ambrose of Milan 5:38

9M ago5:38

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This episode explores the extraordinary life of Ambrose of Milan, a Roman governor turned bishop […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 65 – The Cappadocian Fathers 11:44

10M ago11:44

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Among the highlights of the fourth century was a group of theologians, two brothers and […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 64 – Missionary Diplomacy 31:40

1y ago31:40

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In this episode, I talk to Dr. Emily Conroy-Krutz, author of Missionary Diplomacy. In the […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 63 – Sacred Service: American Chaplains in the First World War 30:34

1y ago30:34

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An important part of Christian history has been the role of clergy in supporting the […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 62 – Athanasius the Great 10:33

1y ago10:33

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One of the greatest defenders of what would be known as orthodox Christianity was Athanasius […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 61 – The Desert Fathers and Mothers 5:49

1+ y ago5:49

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While some Christians were gathering in councils and devising creeds, others were fleeing the cities […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 60 – Quest for the Historical Santa Claus: Bishop Nicholas of Myra 5:39

2y ago5:39

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In this special Christmas episode, we look at the figure who would be the inspiration […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 59 – The First Council of Nicaea 14:26

2y ago14:26

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One of the most important events in Christian history is the First Council of Nicaea […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 58 – The Rise of Arianism 8:57

2y ago8:57

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The Christian church was emerging out of a time of persecution but their troubles were […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 57 – Introducing Constantine the Great 12:42

2+ y ago12:42

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One of the most influential people in the history of the early church was someone […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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How Bad Was Constantine the Great? 8:53

2+ y ago8:53

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Emperor Constantine was Great, but was he good? If you were talk to many Christians […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 56 – Diocletian and the Great Persecution 16:42

2+ y ago16:42

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There had been numerous persecutions on a small scale for the first three centuries but […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 55 – The Popes of the Third Century 15:38

3y ago15:38

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The third century was a time of great upheaval for the Roman Empire and it […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 54 – The Rise of Manichaeism 12:00

3+ y ago12:00

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One of the religious movements that emerged in the third century was that of Manichaeism. […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 53 – The Roman Empire in the Third Century 16:39

3+ y ago16:39

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The Christian Church existed within and was growing inside the Roman Empire. What was happening […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 52 – The Church in the First Half of the Third Century 14:13

3+ y ago14:13

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By the third century, the church had been growing rapidly. They were facing threats both […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 51 – Origen and Tertullian: The Most Respected of Heretics 17:19

3+ y ago17:19

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Two of the brightest, most influential, and most prolific church fathers were Origen of Alexandria […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 50- A Pope in Wartime: Pius XII 10:36

3+ y ago10:36

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Pope Pius XII was the pope during the Second World War. There is controversy over […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 49 – Christian Apologists in the Second Century 17:30

4y ago17:30

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As we conclude our look at the second century, we revisit some of the people […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 48 – The Second and Third Jewish Wars 12:13

4y ago12:13

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Since the time before Jesus, the Jews were a part of the Roman Empire. Not […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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How Many Apostles Were There? 10:20

4y ago10:20

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It is impossible to say exactly how many people in the early church were considered […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 47 – The Roman Empire in the Second Century 12:54

4y ago12:54

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Back in episode 27, we looked at the Roman Emperors of the first century (or […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 46 – The “Popes” of the First Two Centuries 12:14

4y ago12:14

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One of the most important leaders in the Church today is that of the Pope. […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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5 Reasons Why I Love History 8:51

4y ago8:51

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I have loved history for as long as I can remember. When my friends were […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 45 – Clement of Alexandria 9:54

4y ago9:54

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Clement of Alexandria may not be the most well known of the Church Fathers but […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 44 – Irenaeus of Lyons 11:07

4y ago11:07

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In this episode, we look at one of the most influential of the early church […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 43 – Justin Martyr 7:11

4+ y ago7:11

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Justin Martyr was an important church father and pioneering Christian apologist. He had the courage […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 42 – Getting to Know the Gnostics 14:29

4+ y ago14:29

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One of the most important movements to understand the history of Christianity, especially for the […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 41 – Interview With a Historian: Gord Heath 38:39

5y ago38:39

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In this episode, I talk to Dr. Gordon Heath of McMaster Divinity College. We have […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 40 – Revived Thoughts 36:13

5y ago36:13

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How do we study Christian history? One way is to look at the sermons of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 39 – What is the Secret Gospel of Mark? 15:07

5y ago15:07

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What do we do with the Secret Gospel of Mark? Some scholars accept it as […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 38 – Quadratus and the Epistle to Diognetus 8:43

5+ y ago8:43

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In this episode, we finish up the collection of writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 37 – The Gospel of Thomas 13:28

5+ y ago13:28

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The Gospel of Thomas is probably the extra-canonical gospel that most people have heard of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 36 – A Noble Company: The Canadians 24:31

5+ y ago24:31

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I had the opportunity to write a chapter for A Noble Company: The Canadians. I […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 35 – The Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of Barnabas 14:28

6y ago14:28

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We continue to look at documents of the early church with a look at the […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 34 – The Apostle’s Creed and the Didache 12:08

6+ y ago12:08

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There are two ancient Christian writings that are attributed to the Twelve Apostles, even though […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 33 – Papias of Hierapolis 10:16

7y ago10:16

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Papias is the most important church father that you have never heard of. Even though […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 32 – Polycarp of Smyrna 15:42

7y ago15:42

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One of the most inspiring of the Apostolic Fathers is Polycarp. At the age of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Update on the Podcast 1:37

7y ago1:37

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It has been a while since the last episode but I have not given up […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 31 – Ignatius of Antioch 11:40

7+ y ago11:40

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We continue our look at the Apostolic Fathers with a brief look at Ignatius of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 30 – Clement of Rome 7:10

7+ y ago7:10

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Once we get out of the New Testament era, we move into the period of […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 29 – The Jewish War 10:15

7+ y ago10:15

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One of the most important events in the first century for both Jews and Christians […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 28 – Interview With Roman Montero on Early Christian Communism 33:20

7+ y ago33:20

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The book of Acts describes a church in which the members held all things in […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 27 – The Roman Empire in the First Century 15:38

7+ y ago15:38

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As important as the Jewish background is to the rise of Christianity, so is the […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 26 – Jewish Texts You Need to Know About 13:21

7+ y ago13:21

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Christianity emerged out of Judaism. We have already looked at the Jewish background of Christianity. […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Episode 25 – Synoptic Gospels (Did Jesus Exist?) 1:11:11

7+ y ago1:11:11

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This is the final episode of the series on the Synoptic Gospels based on my […]By Stephen J. Bedard

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Special Announcement 1:29

7+ y ago1:29

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We take a short break from our regular scheduled episodes to bring you a special […]By Stephen J. Bedard