Author Archives: richardsh

Leo, Bishop of Rome, was born in 391c.e and died on this day in 461 c.e. Remembered as Leo the Great, he helped the Church articulate one of its most precious convictions: Yeshua the Messiah is truly divine and truly … Continue reading →

From Scattered Believers to a Gathered Voice For the AGM, 3 October 2026 The story of Jewish disciples of Jesus in France is much older than the modern Messianic Jewish movement. Individual Jewish believers can be traced through many centuries, … Continue reading →

On this day Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090–1153), Cistercian abbot, mystic, preacher of the Second Crusade and one of the most influential churchmen of the Middle Ages, died at Clairvaux. His legacy for Jewish disciples of Yeshua is problematic. Bernard … Continue reading →

According to tradition we mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of Shabtai Tzvi, שַׁבְּתַי צְבִי, the most famous Jewish messianic claimant of the early modern period. Born in Smyrna, modern Izmir, in 1626, he became the centre of a … Continue reading →

During my recent visit to Helsinki, I spent a couple of hours in the Ateneum Art Museum. As a visitor to Finland, I was deeply moved. What began as a cultural excursion became a reflection on identity, memory, belonging, and … Continue reading →

On this day in 1564 John Calvin died in Geneva, aged fifty-four. Born in Noyon on 10 July 1509, he became one of the great architects of the Protestant Reformation: preacher, pastor, commentator, organiser of Geneva’s church life, and author … Continue reading →

Pip: On this day in Messianic Jewish history, a monk in Northumbria died having never left England — and somehow shaped how an entire nation understood itself through the story of Israel. No pressure, Bede. Mara: richard harvey traces that … Continue reading →

On this day, 25 May 735, the Venerable Bede died at the monastery of Jarrow in Northumbria. Scholar, monk, biblical commentator, historian, translator, teacher, and saint, Bede became the most influential intellectual figure in early English Christianity and the first … Continue reading →

Remembering Mattityahu Today we remember Mattityahu, מַתִּתְיָהוּ, “gift of the LORD,” known in Christian tradition as Matthias the Apostle. In the Western calendar he is commonly commemorated on 14 May, although older Anglican and Roman calendars kept 24 February, while … Continue reading →

Life and Work Born in Tréguier, Brittany, on 28 February 1823, Ernest Renan trained for the priesthood but soon moved into philology, Oriental languages and the historical-critical study of religion. In 1863 he published his celebrated work Vie de Jésus … Continue reading →