Stfx Religious Studies

04/28/2026

The job ad for 2026-2027 part-time instructors in Religious Studies at StFX was just posted, at https://recruiting.ultipro.ca/GOV5000GOVE/JobBoard/b0aac1dd-538d-4eb2-91aa-e8ce062974c9/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=ffa893ad-22dd-4898-af98-c61a9ba1eed5
Please post and share widely!

03/28/2026

"Religious Studies? What can you do with THAT?"
X-Religions Presents: A Lunchtime Q&A with Religious Studies Profs.

Tuesday, March 31
11:45-12:45
NT 512

Ask em anything about their grad school and career stories. Drop-in style.

BYO-Lunch ... or share our snacks!

Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications StFX University

03/07/2026

Today the Christian calendar remembers Saints Perpetua and Felicity, two early believers from third‑century Carthage whose story became one of the most powerful martyr narratives in early Christianity.

Perpetua, a young woman from a noble family, and Felicity, an enslaved woman, were executed during Roman persecutions in 203 CE. Their shared testimony reveals the diversity of early Christian communities and the solidarity that could emerge across social boundaries.

The account traditionally associated with their deaths offers a window into how early Christians understood courage, faith, and identity. If you're interested in more, we have a course on Early Christian Women taught by Sara Parks PhD!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetua_and_Felicity

Perpetua and Felicity (Latin: Perpetua et Felicitas; c. 182[5] – c. 203) were Christian martyrs of the third century. Vibia Perpetua was a recently married, well-educated noblewoman, said to have been 22 years old at the time of her death, and mother of an infant son she was nursing.[6] Felic...

03/02/2026

Tonight marks the beginning of Purim, one of Judaism’s most fun festivals commemorating courage, resilience, and communal survival in the face of threat of physical extermination. As the Book of Esther is read, and communities come together with feasting and acts of charity, Purim reminds us of the power of story, identity, and celebration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim

Today too, many in South India observe Masi Magam, with ritual bathing, temple processions, and spiritual cleansing under the full moon and the astrological Magha Nakshatra.

02/28/2026

Congrats to Dr. Linda Darwish, who was consulted and interviewed for this piece in Broadview Magazine, about the complex stories of Iranian Muslim newcomers to Montreal who have found a home in Christian communities. Dr Darwish's research on Iranian Muslim converts to Christianity was published in Studies in Religion|Sciences Religieuses 47/1 (2018): 45-77.

https://broadview.org/st-jax-church-iranians/

Stfx Faculty of Arts Communications StFX University St Jax Church Montréal

Iran is in crisis, but converts continue to find welcome and love at St Jax

02/26/2026

When an Augustine scholar has a birthday, why not adapt Sermon 92 for his cake?

Happy birthday, Robert P. Kennedy!

02/22/2026

🥳Congrats to our Dept. Chair Ken M. Penner on his newest publication! His chapter "Evaluating AI for the Digital Scholarly Edition: Tools for Translation and Interpretive Commentary" was just published in _Artificial Intelligence for Bible Translation and Interpretation_ edited by Douglas Estes (T&T Clark, 2026).

Check out the table of contents here:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/artificial-intelligence-for-bible-translation-and-interpretation-9798765163412/

02/13/2026

Tomorrow (Feb 14) is the Feast of Saint Valentine, a day rooted in Christian martyrology and expanded through centuries into cultural expressions of love and care.
Historically, Valentine’s Day began as a feast for Saint Valentine, a third‑century Christian martyr whose story became intertwined with themes of commitment and concern for others. Over time, as the date entered wider cultural life, it became associated with exchanged greetings, caring gestures, and reflections on relationships of all kinds.

What St. Valentine, an ancient Roman festival, and Geoffrey Chaucer all have in common.

02/11/2026

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick.
On this day, Catholics recall the 1858 Marian appearances at Lourdes. It is also the World Day of the Sick. Both point to what religious traditions teach about suffering, care, and human dignity. Through pilgrimage, prayer, or quiet reflection with those who are ill, on February 11 faith and embodied life where vulnerability and hope meet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes (French: Notre-Dame de Lourdes; Occitan: Nòstra Senhora de Lorda) is one of the devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of 18 apparitions reported by a 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in Lourdes...

02/09/2026

Today (February 9) is recognized in the Maronite Church as the feast of St. Maroun (Maron), a 4th-century Syriac hermit regarded as the spiritual father and namesake of the Maronite tradition. In Lebanon, the day is widely marked with church services and public remembrance (often as an official holiday). While St. Maron is also venerated in some Eastern Orthodox calendars, his principal liturgical commemoration there is commonly observed on a different date.

Maron, also called Maroun or Maro (Syriac: ܡܪܘܢ, Mārōn; Arabic: مَارُون, Mārūn; Latin: Maron; Ancient Greek: Μάρων), was a 4th-century Syriac Christian hermit monk in the Ta**us Mountains whose followers, after his death, founded a religious Christian movement that became known a...