New Books In Christian Studies

Stefania Tutino, Professor and Peter Reill Chair in European History at UCLA talks about her new book, A Fake Saint and the True Church: the Story of a Forgery in Seventeenth-Century Naples (Oxford UP, 2021), why history remains relevant and also very fun, and the role of narrative and historical imagination in the development of compassion for our fellow humans. This episode is as much a lively conversation as an interview about some fascinating subject matter.  A Fake Saint and the True Church uncovers the remarkable story of a fake saint to tell a tale about truth. It begins at the end of the 1650s, when a large quantity of forged documents suddenly appeared throughout the Kingdom of Naples. Narrating the life and deeds of a previously unknown medieval saint named Giovanni Calà, the trove generated much excitement around the kingdom. No one was more delighted by the news than Carlo Calà, Giovanni's wealthy and politically influential seventeenth-century descendant. Attracted by the prospect of adding a sai