The Surprising Lives of Christian Saints

You may be familiar with the Christian saints St. Peter, to whom Jesus gave the keys to the kingdom in the Bible; St. Joan of Arc, who led France to victory in the Hundred Years War; and St. Thomas Aquinas, whose philosophy around faith and reason, the existence of God, and the nature of the soul is embedded deeply in Church theology today. There are a host of lesser-known saints, who’ve been immortalized for the miracles attributed to them and the struggles they endured, including Kateri Tekakwitha, Absalom Jones, Josephine Butler, and many others.

Have you ever wondered who these people were who were named as saints? Or how everyday people around the world have been canonized to sainthood? Who were they, what did they do, and why do they matter for Christianity today? Now, you have the opportunity to unpack these questions with The Surprising Lives of Christian Saints. Over the course of 24 in-depth lectures, Professor Emily Graham, an Associate Professor of History at Oklahoma State University, surveys the global history of Christian sainthood.

As you’ll discover, the stories of Christian saints are not just fascinating, but they’re also an integral part of Christian history. Through their lives, in particular moments of time, you can trace the historical context that shaped the Church over two millennia, meeting such figures as:

• Mary Magdalen, an early saint who’s been interpreted and reinterpreted countless times over the years;
• Perpetua and Felicity, mothers and martyrs in fourth-century Carthage;
• Francis of Assisi, a homeless veteran known for ministering to the poor;
• Elizabeth Ann Seton, an American convert, founder, and struggling mother; and
• Andrei Rublev, an icon painter whose striking artwork married Byzantine and Russian influence.

What these saints have in common is that they were ordinary people who did extraordinary things, from negotiating political strife to championing the poor and the dispossessed. Filled with illuminating stories and a cast of unforgettable figures, The Surprising Lives of Christian Saints takes you on an enlightening journey through time, revealing the profound lives of individuals who’ve left an indelible mark on our world.

Embark on a Historical Tour

As Professor Graham takes you through the biographies of myriad saints, she also gives you a broader understanding of the historical and cultural context of the times in which these saints lived. She has carefully chosen to focus on saints whose lives are interesting in their own right, but who also reveal something about the history of the Church or civilization around the world.

Take, for instance, the life of Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk native in what is now upstate New York. She is remembered today for her journey to join a new faith community led by Jesuit missionaries, and for her asceticism. A complicated figure who died young, Tekakwitha’s life offers insights into the colonization of America.

Another powerful figure is Absalom Jones, a freed slave living in Philadelphia in the 19th-century. Jones was a venerated abolitionist, the first African American to be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church, and a founder of one of first Black churches in the United States. His story offers a significant development in the Episcopal Church, but it’s also inextricably linked to the history of America in the years before the Civil War.

Across the Atlantic, Josephine Butler’s story also offers insights into the intersection of religious and political history. A Victorian feminist, Butler was a passionate advocate for women’s rights in a society that provided little opportunity for women. Professor Graham walks you through Butler’s politically charged, often sensational life.

Discover the Human behind the Halo

The word “saint” likely conjures up the image of an innocent do-gooder or an impossibly kind soul who smiles even under great persecution. While every saint you meet in this course certainly has done something “above and beyond,” Professor Graham walks you through historical evidence to reveal the human behind the legend.

The lives of these saints represent an all too human experience. Consider Margaret of Cortona, a rebellious teenager who ran away to live with her wealthy boyfriend. But when her lover died, her fairytale existence came to an end, and she found herself to be a homeless single mother. You’ll examine how she reinvented herself as a penitent and ultimately received holy visions from God.

Óscar Romero is perhaps best remembered for his dramatic assassination in 1980. His life of political struggle is quite understandable. You’ll watch, for instance, as his family mortgages the farm during the Great Depression and he has to work his way into the seminary. The poverty and Cold War interventions in El Salvador inspired him to advocate for the rural poor, which ended up putting his name on government hit lists.

Margaret, Óscar, and the other saints you will study are complex figures. Beyond the virtue of loving one’s neighbor, they faced flesh-and-blood challenges and lived “in the arena” of life. They spoke truth to power, fought for justice, and shined the light of salvation in what often were shadowy corners of the world.

Intellectually Fascinating, Spiritually Rewarding

Throughout this course, Professor Graham steps back to survey the bigger picture and asks: How does a person become canonized? From the early cults and legends of saints shrouded by the passage of time to the rigorous investigations of miracles in the 20th century, you’ll see how Christianity has evolved over the centuries.

Additionally, you’ll see how interpretations of people and events change as each new generation comes to its own understanding of Christianity and world history. Mary Magdalen offers an excellent case study for interpretation. On one hand, we have the figure presented to us in the Gospels (the biblical Magdalen), but medieval Europeans and then Reformation-era Protestants had radically different understandings of her. Which understanding is correct? And what does the historical evidence tell us?

The issue of interpretation is the most human of challenges. How are you meant to understand yourself? Your history? Or is it histories? Whether you’re a history enthusiast, a devout Christian, or someone curious about sainthood, The Surprising Lives of Christian Saints is an extraordinary examination of the forces that have shaped our beliefs and our world.