Library: Christianity by Credo Reference: People & Places

Theologians & Clergy

Peter Abelard (1079 - 1142): Topic Page
1079-1142, French scholastic philosopher, teacher, and theologian. His love affair with Héloïse is one of the famous romances of history.
Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274): Topic Page
Italian theologian, scholastic philosopher, and Dominican friar, whose works include Summa contra Gentiles (1259-64) and Summa Theologiae (1267-73), the first attempt at a comprehensive theological system.
Antoine Arnauld (1612 - 1694): Topic Page
Arnauld, Antoine (b. 1612, d. 1694; French), theologian and philosopher, strongly associated with the controversial Port-Royal school.
Cornelius Jansen (1585 - 1638): Topic Page
Dutch Roman Catholic theologian. In Augustinus (1640) he defended the teachings of St. Augustine, especially on free will, grace, and predestination.
Henry Edward Manning (1808 - 1892): Topic Page
1808–92, English churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
John Henry Newman (1801 - 1890): Topic Page
British prelate and theologian. A founder of the Oxford movement, he converted to Roman Catholicism (1845) and was made a cardinal (1879).
Origen: Topic Page
Christian theologian, born in Alexandria. His writings include Hexapla, a synopsis of the Old Testament, Contra Celsum, a defence of Christianity, and De principiis, a statement of Christian theology.
Reginald Pole (1500 - 1558): Topic Page
English prelate. The last Roman Catholic archbishop of Canterbury (1556), he was a leading figure in the Counter Reformation.
Girolamo Savonarola (1452 - 1498): Topic Page
Italian religious reformer, b. Ferrara. He joined (1475) the Dominicans. In 1481 he went to San Marco, the Dominican house at Florence, where he became popular for his eloquent sermons, in which he attacked the vice and worldliness of the city, as well as for his predictions.
Edith Stein (1891 - 1942): Topic Page
Edith Stein’s philosophical work falls into two parts, the earlier phenomenology which took its impetus from her years as personal assistant to Husserl, responsible for the editing and transcription of his notes, and her later, Thomist writings, undertaken after her conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1922.
Jeremy Taylor (163 - 1667): Topic Page
English bishop and theological and devotional writer. He was distinguished as a preacher and as the author of some of the most noted religious works in English.
Peirre Teilhard de Chardin (1881 - 1955): Topic Page
French Jesuit priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher. The Phenomenon of Man (1938-40), uses scientific evolution to prove the existence of God.

Notable Places

Avignon: Topic Page
A city in SE France, on the Rhône: seat of the papacy (1309-77); famous 12th-century bridge, now partly destroyed. Population: 181 136 (1990).
Canterbury Cathedral: Topic Page
Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is in the form of a double cross, with a central and two west towers. The total length is 160 m/525 ft, the east transept measuring 47 m/154 ft. The finest work of four centuries of medieval English architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, is represented in the building.
Hereford Cathedral: Topic Page
Cathedral in the city of Hereford, Herefordshire, England. Founded not later than 680 by its first bishop, Putta, it was destroyed in 1055 by the Welsh, and rebuilt late in the 11th century.
Lourdes: Topic Page
A town in SW France: a leading place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics after a peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, had visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858. Population: 17 100 (1995 est.).
Papal States: Topic Page
From 754 to 1870 an independent territory under the temporal rule of the popes, also called the States of the Church and the Pontifical States.
Salisbury Cathedral: Topic Page
Cathedral in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. With the exception of its crowning tower and spire, it is a building of uniform Early English design, built to one plan between 1220 and 1258 (unlike any other English cathedral except Exeter).
Sistine Chapel: Topic Page
Private chapel of the popes in Rome, one of the principal glories of the Vatican. Built (1473) under Pope Sixtus IV, it is famous for its decorations.
St. Paul's Cathedral: Topic Page
Cathedral church of the City of London, the largest Protestant church in England, and a national mausoleum second only to Westminster Abbey.
Vatican City: Topic Page
An independent state forming an enclave in Rome, with extraterritoriality over 12 churches and palaces in Rome: the only remaining Papal State.
Westminster Abbey: Topic Page
A Gothic church in London: site of a Benedictine monastery (1050-65); scene of the coronations of almost all English monarchs since William I.
York Minster: Topic Page
Cathedral in York, England. It is the cathedral and metropolitan church of St Peter, and one of the most famous of Europe's Gothic buildings.