Tradition Magazine, Issue Six: Christmas
Part II: The Christmas Story
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The Nativity in Tatian’s Diatessaron
About the Text: Tatian was an Assyrian living in the second century who became a Christian during a prolonged stay in Rome. He was a disciple of Justin Martyr but was likely the founder of the Encratitic sect, which emphasised celibacy and abstinence from meat. He is believed to have brought Christianity to Mesopotamia and his Diatessaron—a synthesis of…
The Burning Babe
About the Author: A native of Norfolk, England, Robert Southwell (c. 1561–1595) went to the continent to join the Society of Jesus and was ordained to the priesthood in 1584. In 1586 he returned to England as a secret missionary priest and spent six years ministering to English Catholics in secret. He was arrested in 1592, imprisoned, and tortured, befo…
St. Francis of Assisi and the Creche
About the text: One of the best-known biographies of St. Francis of Assisi is that written by one of his greatest followers—St. Bonaventure. He admits that he set out to compose the Life of St. Francis in gratitude for the saint’s intercession that saved Bonaventure from an untimely death while still a child. Bonaventure therefore brought together many …
The Protoevangelium of James
About the Text: The Protoevangelium of James is an apocryphal gospel that recounts not only the infancy of Christ but also the miraculous conception and infancy of Mary, and her betrothal to Joseph. A significant source of Marian tradition, the Protoevangelium