Acclaimed author and theologian George Weigel delivered a lecture titled “Evangelical Catholicism and Catholic Higher Education” to the Christendom community on Monday, September 14, the anniversary of the founding of Christendom College.

Weigel, who asserts that Christendom College is one of the best liberal arts colleges in America, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the founding president of the James Madison Foundation, and one of America’s leading public intellectuals.

Weigel is also the author of over twenty books, including: Letters to a Young Catholic; The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God; Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II; The End and the Beginning; and his most recent work, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Catholic Church. His scholarly works and reputation have earned him eighteen honorary doctorate degrees, as well as the papal cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal from the Polish Ministry of Culture.

Cuccinelli, who spoke to the Christendom community in 2012 as part of the college’s Major Speakers program, was elected Attorney General of Virginia and sworn into office on January 16, 2010. As attorney general, he rose to national fame through his fight against the unconstitutionality of the Healthcare Reform’s individual mandate, and was called “ObamaCare’s most formidable foe” at the time. In 2013, Cuccinelli was also the Republican candidate for Governor of Virginia in the Virginia gubernatorial election.

Prior to serving as attorney general, he served in the Senate of Virginia from August 2002 to January 2010. As a state senator and private attorney, he worked to improve the Commonwealth’s mental health system. In private practice, he served as a court-appointed attorney for individuals in Virginia’s involuntary civil commitment process. After joining the Senate in 2002, he passed legislation that provided for more humane treatment of the mentally ill.

He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in international commerce and policy from George Mason University, and his law degree from the George Mason University School of Law and Economics.

Tolkien expert Joseph Pearce delivered a public lecture titled “Unlocking the Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings” at Christendom College on March 30, in which he revealed the deep, theological truths that permeate Tolkien’s masterpiece.

Pearce, an internationally renowned author or editor of over twenty books, including Tolkien: Man or Myth, pulled two quotes from Tolkien together, explaining that the Lord of the Rings must fundamentally be religious and Catholic, and the fact that Tolkien is a Catholic is, by far, “the most important element in his authorship of that work.”

Joseph Pearce, the director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College, is the co-editor of the St. Austin Review, and one of the world’s most acclaimed authors. Born in London, England, Pearce was formerly involved with radical politics in his youth, before a discovery of the works of G. K. Chesterton led him to convert to Roman Catholicism in 1989.

Renowned Byzantine priest and liturgist Fr. David E. Anderson delivered a series of lectures at Christendom College beginning on February 4, focusing on the liturgical traditions of the Eastern Churches. This is the third of Fr. Anderson’s series, titled A Walk Through the Byzantine Divine Liturgy. In this lecture, Fr. Anderson delves into an extensive discussion of the divine liturgy of St John Chrysostom. 

Fr. David E. Anderson, a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago, was born in 1953 in Jamestown, N.Y. Educated at Wadhams Hall and St. Vladimir’s Seminary, where he was a student of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, he was ordained in 1983 and has served as a parish priest for 31 years, the last 15 of which have been at St. Peter’s Church in Ukiah, California. From before his ordination until now, he has been both a teacher and a translator of patristic and Byzantine liturgical texts.

Byzantine priest and liturgist Fr. David E. Anderson delivered a series of lectures at Christendom College focusing on the liturgical traditions of the Eastern Churches. This is the second of Fr. Anderson’s series, titled The Words of Institution of the Eucharist. 

Fr. Anderson reflects on the central expression of Christian life found in the words of Jesus Christ in the institution of the Eucharist.  He also discusses the historical circumstances and religious crisis that formed the differences between the Eastern and Western Church. 

Fr. David E. Anderson, a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago, was born in 1953 in Jamestown, N.Y. Educated at Wadhams Hall and St. Vladimir’s Seminary, where he was a student of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, he was ordained in 1983 and has served as a parish priest for 31 years, the last 15 of which have been at St. Peter’s Church in Ukiah, California. From before his ordination until now, he has been both a teacher and a translator of patristic and Byzantine liturgical texts.

Renowned Byzantine priest and liturgist Fr. David E. Anderson focuses his series of lectures at Christendom College on the liturgical traditions of the Eastern Churches. The liturgy is an encounter and expression of the Kingdom of God. This is the first of Fr. Anderson’s series, titled An Introduction to the Eastern Churches and Their Liturgical Traditions.

Fr. David E. Anderson, a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago, was born in 1953 in Jamestown, N.Y. Educated at Wadhams Hall and St. Vladimir’s Seminary, where he was a student of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, he was ordained in 1983 and has served as a parish priest for 31 years, the last 15 of which have been at St. Peter’s Church in Ukiah, California. From before his ordination until now, he has been both a teacher and a translator of patristic and Byzantine liturgical texts.

Thomistic scholar and author Reverend David Meconi, S.J.,  delivered Christendom College’s annual St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture on Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Fr. Meconi discussed how Augustinian principles influenced the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Fr. Meconi teaches in the Department of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University, and is the editor of Homiletic and Pastoral Review. . Fr. Meconi is a former president of the Jesuit Philosophical Association, as well as a Fellow at the Augustinian Institute at Villanova University, and serves on the ecclesiastical board of Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, as well as the Saint Benedict Institute at Hope College in Holland, MI.

Christopher O. Blum is Academic Dean and Professor of History and Philosophy at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado, having previously served on the faculties of Christendom College and the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts. He received his Ph.D. in European History and the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Notre Dame in 1996. He has published dozens of academic essays and numerous translations of early modern texts, including Roses Among Thorns (Sophia Institute Press, 2014), a collection of excerpts from the letters of St. Francis de Sales. He is co-author with Dr. Christopher Shannon of The Past as Pilgrimage: Narrative,Tradition and the Renewal of Catholic History.

Author and president of Belmont Abbey College Dr. Bill Thierfelder delivered a talk entitled “The Christian Vision of Sports” to Christendom students and faculty on October 27. Thierfelder examined how sports can be integrated into the Christian life, and made the case that world-class athletic performance and virtue are not exclusive.

Thierfelder, who received his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Sports Psychology from Boston University, is the author of “Less Than A Minute To Go: The Secret to World-Class Performance in Sport, Business and Everyday Life.” In this book, he draws upon his experiences as an NCAA Division I Coach, Olympian (did not compete due to injury), and a medalist at the 1981 U.S. Track & Field Indoor National Championship.

On October 23, visiting Professor Fox gave a lecture entitled “Roman Catholicism and Political Form: Carl Schmitt vs. Romano Guardini”.  He delved into the history and significance of Carl Schmitt and Romano Guardini, two notable German intellectual figures of twentieth century. 

Professor Fox holds a B.A. from Emory University in Atlanta, and M.A. grin the School of Philosophy at Catholic University of America and a Ph.D in modern European history from City University of New York.