Tricky Church History Trivia Quiz

Answer: God would reuse them as other parts of the body

Augustine discusses the resurrection of the body in 'The City of God', Book XXII, Chapter 19. He considered the question of what would happen to things such as hair and fingernails that had been cut from the body. He argued that their substance would not be lost, but could be restored as flesh elsewhere in the resurrected body.

Answer: Church of England

During the English Civil War and Commonwealth period, Puritan influence led Parliament to suppress the celebration of Christmas. In 1647, Parliament formally abolished Christmas, Easter and Whitsun as festival days. Christmas celebrations were restored after the monarchy returned in 1660. Puritans regarded traditional Christmas festivities as excessive and associated them with practices they considered unscriptural or 'popish'.

Answer: French lawyer

John Calvin studied law at the universities of Orléans and Bourges in France. His father had originally intended him for the priesthood, but later decided that Calvin should pursue a career in law instead. Calvin completed his law studies around 1532 before turning increasingly toward religious writing and the Reformation.

Answer: Children's and Shepherds' Crusades

The popular movements of 1212 and 1251 are commonly known as the Children's Crusade and the Shepherds' Crusade respectively. The term 'Children's Crusade' refers to the young people who were said to have taken part in the 1212 movement, although medieval accounts are confused and contradictory.

The 'Shepherds' Crusade' refers to the large number of shepherds and other rural workers who took part in the 1251 movement. Neither movement was an officially sanctioned Crusade.

Answer: They were encouraged to vote for a man who rarely attended church over one who regularly attended

In 1976, evangelical Christians had strongly supported Jimmy Carter, but by 1980 influential evangelical leaders and organisations were encouraging their supporters to vote for Ronald Reagan. Groups such as the Moral Majority, led by Jerry Falwell, mobilised evangelical voters and supported Reagan's campaign.

This reflected the growing political influence of the conservative evangelical movement.

Answer: 30,000

Benjamin Franklin was impressed by George Whitefield's powerful voice and clear delivery. In his autobiography, Franklin described walking away from Whitefield while he preached in Philadelphia until the voice was no longer distinct. He then estimated that Whitefield could be heard by more than 30,000 people.

Answer: burned them and threw their ashes into a river

John Wycliffe died in 1384, but in 1415 the Council of Constance declared him a heretic and ordered that his remains be exhumed and removed from consecrated ground. In 1428, about forty years after his death, his bones were dug up, burned, and the ashes scattered in the River Swift at Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

The burning and scattering were unusual and may have been intended to prevent his remains from becoming objects of veneration.

Answer: 1844

Codex Sinaiticus is a fourth-century Greek manuscript of the Christian Bible. In 1844, German biblical scholar Constantin von Tischendorf was shown 129 leaves at St Catherine's Monastery and obtained 43 of them. He returned in 1859 under the patronage of Tsar Alexander II and examined the much larger portion of 347 leaves.

These leaves were taken to Russia, and in 1869 the Codex was formally donated to Tsar Alexander II and transferred to the Imperial Library in St Petersburg. In 1933, the Soviet government sold the 347-leaf portion to the British Museum for £100,000 to raise foreign currency.

Answer: Water

After Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, monks collected blood from his wounds. It was mixed with water and given to pilgrims as a healing substance known as St Thomas' Water. The practice continued for centuries, until the shrine was destroyed during the Reformation in 1538.

Answer: His relics were highly prized, and there was fear that people might seize them to obtain them after his death

As Francis was dying in 1226, his companions feared that the people of Perugia might seize him and take him to their city so that they could claim his relics after his death. He was therefore escorted to Assisi under a strong guard. The episode illustrates how highly the physical remains of revered religious figures were valued in medieval Christianity.