Christ’s kingdom is not like Caesar’s; it is not like the kingdoms of the world. But this does not mean that it leaves these kingdoms alone to dominate the lives of humanity. Rather, the reality of the crucifixion and resurrection and their recapitulation in the lives of the faithful, most spectacularly through martyrdom, undoes the very foundations of tyrannical power. Christianity overcomes fear through hope, and the powers of the world rule only through fear. This talk begins in the New Testament, moves through the age of Roman martyrdom, and through to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, with an eye always toward our current predicament.

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Join the Alcuin Institute on October 7th for our annual Bl. Alcuin of York Lecture & Award Ceremony! This year, we are honoring Dr. Andrew Willard Jones, who will in turn honor us with a lecture entitled “The Weakness of Caesar and the Power of the Cross: How Martyrdom Defeats Tyrants.” The event will begin with Mass at 5:00pm, followed by a social, dinner, lecture, and the presentation of our signature Our Lady of Victory Medal. We hope you will be able to join us as we honor a robust Catholic thinker and his promotion of Catholic culture!

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Andrew Willard Jones is the Director of Catholic Studies at Franciscan University and is a founding editor of the website and journal, New Polity. He is the author of Before Church and State: A Study of Social Order in the Sacramental Kingdom of St. Louis IX and most recently of The Two Cities: A History of Christian Politics. Andrew’s work focuses on a re-evaluation of our current social predicament through an authentically Catholic vision of reality. Andrew was raised in Washington State, attended Hillsdale College, earning degrees in history and economics, followed by a PhD in Medieval Church history from St. Louis University. He lives in Steubenville with his wife, Sara, and their nine kids.