History From the Old Brick Church
Take a journey through history with a new podcast from St. Luke’s Historic Church & Museum, hosted by John Ericson. Join the conversation with scholars and historians to tackle subjects like race, women’s history, and constitutional law. Explore how the pursuit of religious freedom in colonial America has shaped our modern life. Tune into History from the Old Brick Church Podcast today! Podcast made possible by a grant from the Virginia Humanities Foundation.
Episodes
29 episodes
Sleeping with the Ancestors: Joseph McGill and the Slave Dwelling Project.
In this episode John Ericson, the Education Coordinator at St Luke's and Host of the Old Brick Church Podcast, interviews Joseph McGill. Joseph is the founder and Director of the Slave Dwelling Project that seeks to offer a more inclusive narra...
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40:36
Reflections on Ways of Being
John Ericson discusses the recent Symposium at Jamestown Settlement entitled: Ways of Being; Evolving Religion and America with Dr. Travis Harris, Visiting Assistant Professor at Norfolk State University.
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51:35
Atheism in an Age of Doubt
The Reformation raised doubts about centuries-old church doctrines. Did this contribute to the emergence of atheism in the modern world? Or was it the violence of religious wars and the oppression stemming from the marriage of religion and gove...
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25:56
Born from Conflict: Quakers in the UK and North America
In this episode, we interview Dr. Naomi Pullin, a Professor at Warwick University in the UK, about the Quaker story on both sides of the Atlantic. The Society of Friends was persecuted for their beliefs but held fast to their ethics of equality...
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44:05
The Pamphlet Wars
Today we often talk about the impact of social media on forming public opinion, its effect on elections, and how it fuels division. In 17th century England, the printing press and the proliferation of pamphlets were doing similar things. In thi...
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57:04
The Cromwell Dilemma
In this episode St Luke's Education Coordinator John Ericson interviews the Curator of The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon UK, Stuart Orme. Cromwell is a figure steeped in a great deal of myth and clouded by his brutality towards the Irish. Is he...
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55:35
Born from Conflict: Travelog
In this episode St Luke's Education Coordinator John Ericson discusses the recent trip to the UK and the many great people who are empowering our documentary and other educational material.
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46:42
The Bishop's Wars
Our upcoming documentary, entitled "Born from Conflict: Cavaliers and Puritans of Newport Parish," is based on the 17th century conflicts in the United Kingdom and in the English Colonial Possessions in North America. Most notably we are ...
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11:51
The English Reformation: A Series of Unintended Consequences
In this episode we interview Professor Alec Ryrie of Durham University in the UK on the topic of the English Reformation. England was the most diverse in its reforming efforts and the conflicts that arose in the 16th and 17th centuries would...
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Episode 21
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47:29
Stories From the Newport Parish: The Tumultuous Life and Times of Joseph Bridger
In this episode we discuss the life of Joseph Bridger the patron of the "Old Brick Church" and about the challenging decade of 1676-1686, a time of civil war in the Virginia Colony. How did these conflicts lead to the racist codes that would po...
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15:26
Stories from the Newport Parish: Clergy, Tobacco and the Road to Revolution
In This Episode the host of History from the Old Brick Church, John Ericson, tells the story of a former Minister of the Newport Parish whose protest helped fan the flames of America's revolutionary spirit. This is the first in a series of stor...
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16:44
American Myths
In this episode, Education Coordinator, John Ericson interviews Dr. David Sehat of Georgia State University concerning some of the myths of America's founding, especially in regard to issues of religious freedom. Dr. David Sehat is ...
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53:23
Witches in Colonial Virginia
The 17th century featured dozens of trials for witchcraft. How was Colonial Virginia's experience different from what happened in Salem, Massachusetts? What was the role of the church and religion in connection to witchcraft trials? How does th...
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49:44
Beyond Cromwell
In this podcast we explore the time period of the English Republic with Historian Anna Keay, author of the book "The Restless Republic: Britain without a Crown." This time period is often reduced to the time of Oliver Cromwell, but there are ma...
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50:25
Challenges to Religious Freedom
David Callaway discusses the modern challenges to religious freedom with host John Ericson. David Callaway is the Religious Freedom Specialist for the Freedom Forum, a non-profit fostering First Amendment freedoms for all. David ov...
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40:13
Religion, Race, Authority and Freedom in the Atlantic World
In this episode, we interview Dr. Katharine Gerbner, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, about her research on the religious dimensions of the Atlantic slave trade. Dr. Gerbner studied three groups: Anglicans, Quakers, and M...
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58:07
Stories from the Old Brick Church
There’s an old ghost story about an Anglican Minister who is buried right behind the east wall of St. Luke’s. His name is Alexander Norris. But, Norris’ real story is even more intriguing than the ghost story. In this episode, we talk with Isle...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:04:47
Indigenous People and the Church of England
In this episode, we discuss, with Buck Woodard, the religious experience of the Indigenous people of the Chesapeake, their interactions with the Church of England and the Native American School at the College of William & Mary, the Braffert...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:03:50
The Women of Jamestown and the Church of England
In 2019, there were many lectures and commemorations of the first African Americans to arrive in the Colony of Virginia who were forced into labor for the Planter class. But, 1619 was also the year that brought the first large influx of English...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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41:30
Religion, Race and Bacon’s Rebellion
Bacon’s Rebellion is often considered a precursor of the American Revolution. However, nothing could be further from the truth. We will discuss in Episode 3, with Dr. James Rice, the strange events that led to the burning of the Capitol of the ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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58:28
Religion and Emancipation
In this episode, we will explore, with Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, the role of the church in the movement towards Emancipation. How did the Christianity of the English Planter Class become transformed into the power of Emancipation by the en...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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1:09:19
The Church and Origins of Race
The term race once meant any group of people with a common ancestor. But, by the late 17th century, it had taken on a new meaning as that of skin color. In 1682, the Maryland Assembly passed an anti-miscegenation law that, for the first time, d...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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1:14:30
Podcast Update
History from the Old Brick Church is on hiatus for a few weeks to finish up our recording and editing of Season 2, which will air later this Spring. We will tackle such subjects as the Church and Race, Women's History, Bacon's Rebellion and the...
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2:25
Episode 6: The Continuing Fight for Religious Freedom
Dr. Eric Mazur discusses challenges to religious freedom in the early American Republic. Religious minorities like the Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists were the victims of violence and discrimination. Several court cases have struggled to fin...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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52:55
Episode 5: Religion and the Constitution
Podcast Host John Ericson interviews Author Tony Williams on the role of religion in the Constitution. This episode focuses on Article VI, which prevents religious tests for holding public office, and the 1st Amendment, which guarantees that th...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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56:30