1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea where fierce rivalries, power struggles, and a war of words shaped the future of Christianity. Dr. Rebecca Usherwood TCD, Kieran O’Mahony Milltown Institute and Diarmaid MacCulloch Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University.
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50:45
Episode 18
The fist millennial saint Carlo Acutis - Fr. Michael Collins. Siofra Mulqueen reports on the mystery of the moving statues 40 years on. Religion thriving against the odds - theologian and Vatican advisor Prof. Anna Rowlands. Pádraig O Tuama pens his memory of Ballinspittle 1985.
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25:38
Episode 17
Saudi soap sparks scandal - Ahmed Al Omran of the FT. Impact of U.S. Foreign Aid cuts - Miriam Donohoe essay from Uganda. Religious tourism - Kevin Griffin, TU Dublin. Philippines report - Fr. Shay Cullen whose Preda Foundation is 50 years old.
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25:41
Episode 16
St. Patrick in his own words. What drove him, how others saw him and how his image was later shaped to match the ideal of an Irish Apostle. Dr. Elizabeth Dawson, lecturer in Medieval History, Carlow College and Thomas O'Loughlin, Emeritus Prof of Historical Theology, University of Nottingham. Reports on sacred sites and animals in world religions.
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54:11
Episode 15
On the eve of International Women's Day, Gina Menzies on women priests, Siofra Mulqueen visits the Poor Clare Sisters in Ennis, Seema Chauhan on the Hindu festival of Holi and Marie Staunton pays homage to spring flowers.
Our Divine Sparks with Dearbhail McDonald offers a fresh and engaging exploration of religious and spiritual life as well as an occasionally offbeat perspective on the world of religion.
Ireland