Tag Archives: Acts and Monuments

How the church lost the biblical definition of martyrdom and the Reformers recovered it (temporarily)

In scripture, martyrdom has a much broader meaning than physical death. Not until the second century is the meaning of martyrdom narrowed down in the church in this way.[i] Even then, and for centuries after, Christian writers like Clement, Origen, … Continue reading

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How did the author of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs respond to the Coronavirus of his time?

John Foxe never liked being called a martyrologist (he regarded his work as church history), but the author of Acts and Monuments of the Christian Church, popularly called Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs”, turned to the martyrs as exemplars when in … Continue reading

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