Saint J Trivia Quiz

Answer: James and John

Eleven of the twelve apostles are now known as saints (Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and led to his arrest, so he is not considered a saint). Two of Jesus' followers were James and John. When Jesus first recruited them in Matthew 4, they were preparing nets in a fishing boat with their father.

The fact that they were helping their dad and not working alone suggests that they were both still quite young. When the two disciples are mentioned together, James is usually named before John, implying that John was the youngest.

Answer: Vulgate

Jerome was born in the 4th century and educated in Rome, where he became interested in philosophy, grammar, and rhetoric. He became renowned as one of the leading Biblical scholars of his time. In 382, Pope Damasus commissioned Jerome to create a Latin translation of the Bible that could be used across the Church.

At the time, various translations were being used, but the Vulgate would become an agreed standard for teaching and debate through the Middle Ages.

Answer: France

Canonised in 1920, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) became a national hero in France as a result of her actions in the Hundred Years' War. She claimed to have had religious visions and direct commands from God. In 1429, Joan and other French soldiers reclaimed a number of English forts.

Despite being injured, Joan continued to fight, inspiring other soldiers to do the same. A year later, she was captured and tried as a heretic. She was burned at the stake, but the sentence was annulled two decades later by Pope Calixtus III.

Answer: 19th century

Josephine Butler was a social reformer in 19th century Britain and has been officially recognised as a saint in the Anglican church. She believed that women should have the same higher education opportunities as men at a time when few women attended university and even fewer were allowed to graduate.

Another key issue that Josephine campaigned on was prostitution. As part of a group, she lobbied for the age of consent to be raised from 13 to 16 to provide some protection for children and young people. She was also a campaigner against the Contagious Diseases Acts which came into force in the 1860s. In order to prevent the spread of venereal diseases within the armed forces, women who were suspected of prostitution could be arrested and examined against their will. Male clients were not subjected to similar medical examinations. Campaigners like Josephine believed the medical checks to be unjust. Thanks to her work (and the work of others like her) the Acts were eventually repealed in 1886.

Answer: True

Julian of Norwich is a celebrated figure in the Anglican church and, although she is also venerated in the Catholic church, she was never formally canonised. While suffering from a terrible disease in the late 14th century, Julian had a series of religious revelations.

After her recovery, she wrote about her epiphany in a book called 'Revelations of Divine Love'. It is the oldest surviving English language text that was written by a woman. Other than her revelations, very little is known about the woman. Even her name is taken from the church she was attached to. Any record of her birth name has not survived.

Answer: The First Council of Nicaea

In 325 CE, Christian Bishops from across the vast expanse of the Roman Empire were invited to Nicaea (in modern-day Turkey) in order to come to a consensus on theological issues that were up for debate at the time. One of the key issues that were discussed was the nature of the Holy Trinity. Arianism, the belief that Jesus was not God but was created by him, was growing in popularity. The council decided that the teaching was heretical and that the Father and Son were "of the same substance", a doctrine that was included in the Nicene Creed.

As the Bishop of Nisibis (also in present-day Turkey), Saint Jacob was one of the attendees at the First Council of Nicaea. According to some sources, he was responsible for the construction of the first church in Nisibis.

Answer: None of them

Christian teaching holds that John the Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare people for the coming messiah. In the Jordan River, he baptised Jews who had confessed their sins and repented. Jesus was one of the people who came to be baptised in Matthew 3.

Matthew 14 forms an account of John the Baptist's death. He openly criticised Herod's (the ruler of Galilee) marriage and claimed that it was unlawful. John was subsequently imprisoned. Soon after, Herod offered his daughter a gift of anything that she wished for. Her mother convinced her to ask for John the Baptist's head on a plate, so the prophet was beheaded. Later on, as Jesus gained prominence, Herod believed that he was John who had returned from the dead. As John the Baptist died before Jesus, it's unlikely that he personally contributed to the New Testament texts, which were completed after Christ's resurrection.

Answer: Spain

John of the Cross (Juan de la Cruz) was born in Spain in 1542. Famous for his writing, he was declared a Doctor of the Church for his influential literature. Two of his most famous works are "The Spiritual Canticle" and "The Dark Night of the Soul", which both describe the journey of the human soul.

He was also one of the people who founded the religious order of Discalced Carmelites. Saint John of the Cross was canonised in 1726.

Answer: Joanna

Saint Joanna was one of the few female followers of Jesus who were named in the Gospel of Luke. Along with Mary Magdalene and Susanna, Joanna was one of the "many" women who were supporting Jesus and his disciples "out of their own means" (Luke 8:3). Her husband was the manager of Herod's (the ruler of Galilee) household.

She had been cured of an evil spirit or disease and is considered to be one of the women who went to prepare Jesus's body for burial after his death.

Answer: Corsica

Originally from Carthage, Julia was sold into slavery after a raid on the city. She was bought by a pagan merchant, but stayed true to her Christian beliefs. She worked diligently and impressed her employer, Eusebius, with her dedication both to her work and to the God she believed in.

When Eusebius travelled to the island of Corsica, he attended a pagan festival. When the authorities realised that Julia was not participating, they tried to force her to convert to their religion. Julia refused. As she was tortured, she continually compared her suffering to that of Christ.

In the end, she refused to renounce Christianity and was crucified just as Jesus was. She was declared a patron saint of Corsica in 1809.