Christianity in focus

To shed light on one of the most tumultuous religious periods in history, a College of William and Mary chancellor and professor of history spoke Tuesday night at the University Student Commons Ballroom.

Dale Hoak’s lecture, “God’s Empire: The English Reformation and the Invention of ‘Great Britain,’ ” was the newest addition in an annual lecture series on the history of Christianity.

“I like hearing about how politics and religion overlap and relate to each other in this conflict,” student Jillian Ketron said.

This year’s lecture discussed the intricacies of the Reformation and the rollercoaster of religion and politics that led England through the 16th century.

The lecture series, known as the William E. and Miriam S. Blake Lectures in the History of Christianity, has brought scholars to VCU for 13 years. The Blakes personally donated $25,000 to the lectures’ fund after William Blake retired from his post as professor emeritus of history at VCU.

Funds for the series recently received a large, anonymous donation, bringing the program’s reserve to $1 million – enough to fund the creation of a chair for VCU’s History of Christianity.

“I never dreamed that (the funding for a chair) was going to happen in my lifetime,” Blake said in a VCU campaign release. “We will be forming a search committee in early April, and we hope to have the chair filled by fall of 2008.”

Next year’s speaker is professor Barbara MacHaffie of Marietta College Ohio, who will be speaking about women in the Christian tradition. MacHaffie authored “Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition.”

The specific date of the 15th annual William E. and Miriam S. Blake Lecture has yet to be scheduled.