Bamber Gascoigne's The Christians

Season 1

The Christians is a meticulously constructed, lavishly produced series that describes the experiences and actions of Christians from the birth of Christ, through the Roman Empire, the Renaissance and Lutheran reform to modern times.

Where to Watch Bamber Gascoigne's The Christians • Season 1

13 Episodes

A Peculiar People
E1
A Peculiar PeopleBeginning with the followers of an itinerant preacher in a backwater of the Roman Empire, Christianity became Rome's religion with astonishing speed.
The Christian Empire
E2
The Christian EmpireThe 1130-year span of the Byzantine Empire is the background for a look at Christianity's spread; the development of monasticism, initiated by St. Anthony; the fall of Constantinople to the Turks; and Moscow's subsequent claim to the title of the "third Rome."
The Birth of Europe
E3
The Birth of EuropeAfter waves of barbarians swept through the Roman Empire, Charlemagne struck a deal with Pope Leo III to establish both religious and political stability.
Faith and Fear
E4
Faith and FearConstantly living in the shadow of death, medieval Christians turned to relics to temper God's judgment and built mighty cathedrals to glorify Him.
People of the Book
E5
People of the BookJews, Christians, and Muslims hold sacred not only some of the same scriptures, but also some of the same sites, which they've fought over for centuries.
Princes and Prelates
E6
Princes and PrelatesLeading up to the Renaissance, as many as three popes simultaneously claimed spiritual and political authority--while dissidents decried their corruption.
Protest and Reform
E7
Protest and ReformMartin Luther's reformist ideas threatened to wreak theological and political havoc, but soon his acolytes had exported Protestant concepts all over Europe.
The Conquest of Souls
E8
The Conquest of SoulsIn the 16th century, as Spain expanded Christianity into the New World, the Catholic Church countered the Reformation with its elite "shock troops," the Jesuits.
In Search Of Tolerance
E9
In Search Of ToleranceMany Protestants persecuted breakaway sects as vigorously as the Catholic Church has attacked heretics. But when some victims sought refuge in America, they too turned tyrannical.
Politeness And Enthusiasm
E10
Politeness And EnthusiasmGeorge Whitefield and John Wesley injected emotion into a faith that had become rational, genteel, and--for too many Christians--boring and irrelevant.
Missions At Home And Abroad
E11
Missions At Home And Abroad
The Roots Of Disbelief
E12
The Roots Of DisbeliefIt took the Vatican two centuries to accept a heliocentric universe. But science proved only one threat to faith, and change often sparked a fundamentalist reaction.
The Godless State
E13
The Godless StateIronically, Christianity survived--even thrived--in Communist Russia and Poland, while Communism exerted itself in nominally Catholic Italy.