Prison As a Parish

Christian

H iststory Issue 123 Captive Faith Prison as a parish

“ ...I was in prison and ye came unto me.” Matthew 25:36b the rock is a hard place Now closed, Alcatraz in San Francisco housed some of the United States’ most infamous criminals.

• Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37–38) was put away as a political prisoner. • King Jehoiachin of Judah (2 Kings 24–25, Jeremiah 52) was dethroned and put in prison by the king of Babylon but eventually released. • John the Baptist (Mark 6), was imprisoned for speaking against King Herod and eventually beheaded. • Peter (Acts 12) was imprisoned during a persecution of the church by King Herod and released by an angel. • Paul (Acts 16, 22–28) was put into prison several times on accusations of blasphemy and dis- Did you know? turbing the peace, and eventually beheaded. And, of course, Jesus himself was arrested, impris- Prisons and prison ministries from the oned, and executed, as all four Gospels tell us. 1 Peter 3:19–21 makes a brief reference to Jesus’ “preaching to Bible to the present day the spirits in prison” in the underworld between his death and Resurrection. Eastern Christian icons often From Joseph to John to Jesus show Jesus at his Resurrection leading all of humanity Many people in the Bible spent significant time in out of prison, beginning with Adam and Eve. prison. The biblical record speaks of both their pain- ful imprisonments and their ultimate trust in God. prison firsts and facts Examples include • The first document to state that no one can be • Joseph (Genesis 39–41) was put in prison for the imprisoned without trial by a jury of his or her peers false charge of assaulting Potiphar’s wife. was the Magna Carta in 1215. • Samson (Judges 16) was imprisoned by the Philis- • While upper-class and political prisoners were tines for his activities against them. often imprisoned for long periods of time, common • King Manasseh of Judah (2 Chronicles 33) was held criminals were usually sentenced (or released) on captive by the Assyrians, an experience that led him the spot. The only exception to this was imprison- to repent his previous policies. ment for debt, though locking poor people up pretty much guaranteed they would never be able to pay. The United States had debtors’ prisons until the 1830s. • Beginning in the 1500s, criminals were sometimes sent to workhouses if convicted of “leading a Rogu- ish or Vagabond’s Trade of Life.” In 1516 Thomas More’s Utopia was the first written recommendation of prison as a means of punishment for the average criminal as opposed to common alternatives—death, fines, public shame, and beatings. By 1680 Quakers were advocating the prison system as an alternative to the death penalty. ick Fund, 1947 • You may remember the “A” for “adulterer” that D ane

Hester Prynne wears in A Scarlet Letter. Other letters sb Bri

used in public shaming of criminals included “B” s tcard—Wikimedia s

(blasphemer), “D” (drunk), “F” (fighter), “M” (man- arri o H slaughterer), “R” (rogue), and “T” (thief). p DREAM CATCHER Joseph interprets the dreams of the • The modern penitentiary is based in large part lcatraz Arrest of Prostitutes by the Police in P a ris , c. 1759 (colour engraving), French School, (18th century) / Bi b liotheque N ationale, Pari s France A rchive C harmet Bridgeman I mage T yndale letter—With the courte s y o f State A rchive in Bru ss el , Off ice Fi cal du C on eil de Bra b ant, lia e 1330 A ngola p ri s on rodeo— G errit de H eu / lamy Stock Photo Wikimedia: butler and baker in prison in this 17th-c. print. on theories put forth in Cesare Beccaria’s Of Crimes A

Christian History Alcatraz postcard—Wikimedia Wikimedia: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1947

Arrest of Prostitutes by the Police in Paris, c. 1759 (colour engraving), French School, (18th century) / Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France / Archives Charmet / Bridgeman Images Tyndale letter—With the courtesy of the State Archives in Brussels, Office Fiscal du Conseil de Brabant, liasse 1330 Angola prison rodeo—Gerrit de Heus / Alamy Stock Photo Issue 123 tentiary, or“ prison andprayer spread prisonrevival. of Independence,includingThomas Declaration US the of •signers Several and soshouldtheTurnkeys [guards].” [jailer] should have a salary in lieu of them; Gaoler The Fees. of demand any to subject be should Prisoner “No 1777, in wrote He briefly was imprisoned himselfforpoliticalreasons. who (1726–1790), Howard John philanthropist and official ernment gov- reformerwas prison first England’s • Bringing lightintodarkplaces to warmtheirrooms. fuel and food, bedding, for) guards bribe their (or for pay to had prisoners tury, cen- nineteenth the in prisons state of rise the Until • repent theircrimes. reform criminalsbygiving themanopportunityto word the as root same the from comes “Penitentiary” (1764). and Punishment

A ngola,” originatedawide

L ouisiana : it was meant to meant was it penance: S tate Peni - - to theirknees. women many prayer,bringing and Scripture share toher allowed needs physical their to attention and presence calming Her me.” allow will you if you, serve to come am “I anyway,saying, went Fry But attacked. be would she that fear for ward, prison —Book ofCommonPrayer(1979) their lot. All this we ask for your mercy’s sake. Amen.” prison, O Lord, we do for you, constrain us to in improve those for do we what since And callous. or brutal becoming from them save and compassionate; and humane them keep institutions; these in work who those Remember improvejustice. to our us teach and us, forgive release; them unjustly,bring held are any to your will, and give them hope for their future. When guilty torepentance andamendment oflifeaccording pity and judgment. Remember your all prisoners, and bring the with prisons and jails our Visit criminal: a as condemned were you sake our for Jesus, “Lord A PRAYERFORPRISONERS arrest prostitutesinthis18th-c.engraving. fines, flogging,orpublicshaming. T 117) not to enter the women’s the enter to not see CH 117) (1780–1845; Fry beth Eliza- Quaker begged Jailers • prison reform in the United States. advanced (1746–1813), Rush min Benja- and (1743–1826) Jefferson message totheworld into thecart,please William ter fromprisonistheonlyitemwehavein heir punishment might have involved prison, heir punishmentmighthaveinvolvedprison, T yndale’s handwriting. CH Below left: Left: F rench police rench police

T his let -

Letters to the editor Readers in prison respond to Christian History

Many incarcerated individuals receive Christian History, and although we have published their letters before, we decided this time to feature their voices exclusively on our letters to the editor page.

ADDING TO THE LIST . . . again Dear CH, I am greatly enjoying your series on the Ref- and Worship in the Early ormation. The extensive timeline pull-outs are a won- Church (#37) has some informa- derful bonus. Please keep me on your subscription list! tion on your second. I am an indigent inmate and I am grateful for your gen- erous gift. God be with you. I am curious if you have I have learned a great deal ever or soon plan to do an issue on the phenomenon from the two issues I have of nineteenth and twentieth century Christian cults. received so far, and look for- — Wendell Scott, Imperial, CA ward to many more. Thank you and may God bless We’ll certainly add that suggestion to our ever-growing list! your ministry! P.S. Issue 119 briefly mentioned the a corrie story Bruderhof but I would love to know I was recently blessed to read issue 121 that one of my more about the Bruderhof community. Christian brothers shared with me. The articles were — Rick S. Whitman, Bismarck, ND powerful and amazing. One article which touched my heart was about Corrie ten Boom. I’d first heard The Bruderhof publishes the magazine Plough Quarterly. her name a few years back from Brother John, one of For books, you might start with Called to Community many Christian volunteers who visited our prison (2016) edited by Charles Moore and Why We Live in Com- unit. He knew Corrie personally, and told us stories of munity (2014) by Eberhard Arnold. his younger days when he and Corrie would smuggle Bibles into communist Russia. Back then it was practi- ONLY GOD CAN MAKE US WHOLE cally a death sentence if you were caught, yet the two Broken into a thousand pieces is my heart made of glass. of them persisted to spread God’s love. I’m currently on Shattered, with no regard to the pain. my thirty-first year on a life sentence and it’s rare to Seared into the leftover fragments. receive spiritual blessings from outside sources. I want No one cares or even notices. to let you know that your magazine was one such bless- This is all I have to offer. ing. Thank you!—David Dowler, Amarillo, TX Can you repair the damage that’s been done? Can you mend the pieces that are broken? I do enjoy your magazine very much and treasure every Can you put my glass heart back together again? copy. The last one on World Wars was the best yet. . . . I Loveless for so long. am unable to send any money at this time. God willing Hopeless beyond recognition. I will be released late this year. Upon my release I will Mourning the losses of a lifetime. send you some money to continue getting your wonder- Please take my humble offering. ful publication as long as I can still read.—Thomas Little, You say it’s damaged, but you can fix it. Rosharon, TX You say it’s broken, but you can make it whole again. You say it’s not much, but it’s enough. RESOURCES FOR PRISON STUDY Lord, this is all I have to offer. Church history is my favorite area of study, and it The pieces of my broken glass heart, was a breath of fresh air discovering your publication. That’s been broken, shattered, and trampled on. Christian history would have been my major in semi- That’s been without love, hope, or gladness. nary had I had the opportunity to complete it. What do I give it all to You, Almighty, powerful King. you all have available that deals with the issue of Tex- So Lord, I’m trusting You again. tus Receptus? Also, what was the early church fathers’ Only You can make me whole again.

#121 position when it came to holidays like Christmas and Only you can mend my brokenness. Easter?—Nathan Brown, Macon, GA Only you can fill me with love and joy!! istory # 122 H HISTORY —Kenneth Wells, Red Granite, WI How We Got Our Bible (#43) and the King James Bible’s HRISTIAN C Christian 400th Anniversary (#100) have a little on your first question, Thanks for sending us your poem, Kenneth.

Issue 123 3 Editor’s note In 2008, our founder Dr. Ken Curtis (1939–2011) wrote the mail them free copies, asking only for prayers for the introduction to a planned book of prison testimonies through- institute, its staff, and ministries. out church history. That book became CHI’s website Captive Furthermore one of our institute’s good friends, Faith, but Ken’s introduction was never published. We could Robert Downing, is a former judge in Louisiana who not think of a better way to introduce this issue than by let- visited prisoners with the Gospel and worked with ting Ken do it. We also encourage you to look at Christian their families in his off hours. Through him we became History issues 105, 109, and 116 for more about Christians aware of the revival in Angola that saw hundreds of in prison. Our commitment to prisoners continues to this prisoners in one of the toughest institutions in the day, as we mail free copies of CH to hundreds of prisoners world transformed by the grace of Christ. Finally Dan each quarter. Graves, a long-time contributor to Christian History Institute, served as a prison librarian for almost 20 Prison is not a pleasant subject, but, years. (See “Paradoxes of prison,” p. 19.) to judge by the number of books written and movies So we ask, what can we learn from the Christian made about it, the public finds the topic fascinating. prison experience? How did God’s grace appear to We are curious to see how the accused will handle those in prison? How can the experiences of Christian themselves. Each of us knows in our gut that it could be prisoners assist modern prisoners to transcend their us next, perhaps involved in a road accident that would circumstances? And how have Christians worked to put us behind bars for negligent homicide. False arrests assist those in prison down through the years? and wrongful convictions do happen. And Christians This issue gives examples of a wide spectrum of in many parts of the world go to prison for their faith. prison experiences from biblical accounts of impris- From Peter and Paul down to our own day, bear- onment to the twentieth century. Some of the most ers of the Gospel have spent a lot of time in prison and famous writings of Western civilization took form written about their prison experiences. Jesus taught within prison walls. We believe that the excerpts and that the sheep and goats are separated on the basis accounts that follow will be of interest to all readers and of how they have treated others, including, “I was in an inspiration to all who desire to know God better. C H prison and you visited me.” Consequently Christians have a long tradition of visiting prisoners, redeeming A. Kenneth Curtis captives, and attempting to improve prison conditions. Founding editor, But the real reasons for our interest are more personal. Christian History magazine Christian History Institute has made significant accomplishments with a small staff and small budget. Note: When Ken visited Angola in 2007, a film crew helped Part of its success, we believe, is owing to the prayers of capture the revival there in the one-hour documentary prisoners. We used to issue Glimpses, a bulletin insert Blessedness out of Brokenness, which of people and events from the church across the ages. you can view for free at captivefaith.org. obin Heller obin Heller Some of its most avid readers were men and women Contact us through the form in the center R who had come to faith in Christ in prison. They sought of this issue if you prefer a DVD copy. We to ground themselves more in the history of God’s peo- are pleased to offer this as our gift to you. ple while serving out their sentences, and we would —The Editors oto Find Christian History on Facebook as Christian History Magazine, Readers like you keep Christian History h or visit our website at www.christianhistorymagazine.org. in print. Make your annual donation eadquarters—line drawing by h

Don’t miss our next issue, Christianity in the City, focusing on early at www.ChristianHistoryInstitute.org, I Christianity as an urban faith. Visit www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/today for a daily dose of or use the envelope in the center of Christian history. this magazine. Ken Curtis—personal p Vision Video/CH

4 Christian History 6 15 19 dgeman Images Bri on, 6/11/62 / i at r on demonst i

at Captive Faith r nteg i 6 Prison as a parish: Christian inmates 24 Prison as a parish: Christian responses

ng an Christians in prison have shared similar stories Christians have tried to reform the justice system and ri through 2,000 years minister to prisoners ng, du i Roy Stults and Jennifer Woodruff Tait Todd V. Cioffi espass r Christians on trial William Morgan’s gift t 11 29 r Enduring testimonies from people in tight places An obscure Irish teenager committed Methodists Dwight D. Brautigam to over 200 years of prison ministry ested fo

rr Kevin M. Watson

as a 15 Thinking long thoughts w From prison Christians have produced classic 33 “Heaven at last the wrong shall right”

da. He literature that comforts and challenges One man’s thwarted attempts to change American ri o

Fl Catherine Barnett prisons , il Jennifer Graber 19 Paradoxes of prison ounty Ja C For some prisoners the plunge into the depths 37 Joys and challenges n’s

h became a step heavenward What does prison ministry look like today?

t. Jo Dan Graves Jim Forbes, Christiana DeGroot, Joe Roche, Jack Heller, S e

h and Susannah Moore n t i Prisoner voices ll

ce • Paul, p.10 • Perpetua, p.14 Also: il a j ce i • William Thorpe, p.18 • Jan Hus, p.28 • Did you know?, inside front cover • Letters, p.3 s hi • William Tyndale, p.32 • Quaker women, p.36 • Editor’s note, p.4 • Timeline, p.22 Just l s of na r i • Modern prisoners, p.41 • Statistics, p.39 • Recommended resources, p.42 m e ba Cri h een t

tment of Dr. A. K. Curtis Bill Curtis Deb Landis

r Prison, 1890 (oil on canvas), Gogh, Vincent van (1853–90) / Pushkin s bet

r Museum, Moscow, Russia / Bridgeman Images. Christian History is pub- epa Senior Editor Contributing Editor Proofreaders D Dr. Chris R. Armstrong Dr. Edwin Woodruff Tait Meg Moss lished by Christian History Institute, P.O. Box 540, Worcester, PA, 19490 and

exas Kaylena Radcliff is indexed in Christian Periodical Index. Subscriptions are available on a dona- JR, pee T a i Managing Editor Art Director

NG tion basis by calling 1-800-468-0458 or at www.christianhistorymagazine.org. I

K Rev. Dr. Jennifer Woodruff Tait Doug Johnson Circulation ot— med i R h Letters to the editor may be sent to Jennifer Woodruff Tait and per- k E

i Kaylena Radcliff H Advisory Editor CH 123 Image Researcher Sara Campbell missions requests to Dawn Moore. Credits: We make every effort to UT

mugs In memoriam Dr. A. K. Curtis Jennifer Awes Freeman L obtain proper permission to reproduce images. If you have informa- r us—W N i I Layout T tion about an image source that is not credited, please let us know. R Editorial Coordinator Publisher Dan Graves ucke

Ignat MA T Dawn Moore Christian History Institute Find us online at www.ChristianHistoryMagazine.org.

Issue 123 5

Prison as a parish: Christian inmates christians in prison have shared similar stories through 2,000 years Roy Stults and Jennifer Woodruff Tait

Ever since jesus Christ was arrested and tried thrown to the lions Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of before Pilate, imprisonment has been the experience of John the apostle, died in the Roman arena under Trajan. many who follow him. Seldom are Christians imprisoned only for religious beliefs. There are often ethnic, social, political, or cultural reasons. And some Chris- at the stake during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, he tians, sadly, are imprisoned for actual crimes. prayed, “I give you thanks that you have counted me, worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a when in rome. . . . part in the number of your martyrs, in the cup of your Ancient Romans believed in gods who oversaw and pro- Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life.” tected various areas of life. Not showing respect and loy- Justin (100–165) was first impressed by the faithful- alty to these gods undermined the security of the state; ness and steadfastness of Christian martyrs. Then an when early Christians proclaimed one God as supreme, old Christian man walking on the seashore convinced they were seen as disloyal and treasonous. Periodic per- him that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Hebrew secutions brought many Christians to prison during the prophets. Justin opened a school of Christian philoso- first few centuries of the church. Prison in those days phy in Rome. Arrested for practicing an unauthorized was generally used to hold the accused before trial and religion, he refused to renounce Christianity and was the convicted until execution, not as a punishment in its beheaded along with some of his students.

own right. Origen (185–254) was also raised in the context of —Wikimedia s Polycarp of Smyrna (69–c. 155), like Ignatius of persecution. His father was martyred when Origen gnatiu Colle c tion / Bridgeman I mage s St. Cyprian ( c .200–258) Bi s hop of Carthage b rought efore E mperor Valerian (r.253–60) 1300–25, Catalan S hool, (14th entury) / M u eo pi sc opal de Vi , Os ona, Catalonia, Spain I ndex Bridgeman mage A u s tria, Wald v iertel, G reillen tein, P ri on , M edie al e tige of the an c ient fortre ss in R enai a tle (1570–1590) / D go tini i ture L b rary . agli O rti Bridgeman I mage I n s trument of T orture (from the o w er L ondon), illu tration from The H is t ory Pro es an isM b y Jame A itken Wylie (1808–1890), pu . 1878 (engra v ing), E ngli h S c hool, (19th entury) / P ri ate Colle tion he Stapleton Antioch (c. 35–c. 108), was a disciple of John. Burned was just 17 years old. As a young man, he became the I

6 Christian History

he Stapleton he Stapleton T tion / c s mage I ate Colle v ri P s entury) / c mage I ndex / Bridgeman I hool, (19th c h S s rti / Bridgeman O ngli E agli D ona, Catalonia, Spain / . ing), A Os v , c rary / b i L opal de Vi

. 1878 (engra say here Above left: Soldiers bring Cyprian before ture b sc c i

pi Valerian in the late 250s. P E tini eo s s

u cheerless and comfortless Above: In a medieval go M A prison, you might have suffered in a cell like this one e D in Austria and been tortured with instruments like these

entury) / (left) from the Tower of London. c itken Wylie (1808–1890), pu A

tle (1570–1590) / open place near the city of Carthage, becoming the first s a hool, (14th c c

y Jame bishop-martyr of Africa. e b c an isM t ss

an Christian prisons? t enai es R

t After Christianity became legal, Christians still ran

in afoul of their enemies and still committed crimes. Pris- ss ons generally served as holding places before execu- ory of Pro

t tion, the payment of fines or taxes, or public humilia- is H

ient fortre tion. Sometimes, though, prisoners would be assigned c only to serve time: in medieval England the most common long sentence was a year and a day. of the an

s Good treatment was frequently based on whether mperor Valerian (r.253–60) 1300–25, Catalan S tration from The E tige or not prisoners could pay their jailers. Christians were s s e v encouraged to visit and give to prisoners as one of the efore al b v seven corporal acts of mercy taught by the church in edie ondon), illu M response to Isaiah 58:6–10. Prisons were often mod- L , s rought

b student of Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215) and eled on monasteries to encourage contemplation and on s er of ri w was appointed the head of the Catechetical School penitence. In 1298 Pope Boniface VIII published a law P o T of Alexandria. Forced from Alexandria he went to stating that the purpose of prison was confinement, not tein, s

s Caesarea and was caught up in persecution. Tortured punishment—not that everyone agreed.

hop of Carthage and released he died of his injuries. As in the early church, the imprisoned medieval mage I s reillen G Cyprian (c. 200–258), born to wealthy pagan parents, Christians we know the most about are those who

orture (from the converted in his forties. Elected bishop of Carthage could write (see “Thinking long thoughts,” pp. 15–17). T iertel, v .200–258) Bi of

c in 250, he soon went into hiding to escape Emperor One exception to this rule was illiterate French peasant s Decius’s persecution, but could not escape Valerian’s girl Joan of Arc (1412–1431). Joan’s trial for heresy was tion / Bridgeman c persecution a few years later. After banishment and extensively documented by notaries: her visions, her tria, Wald trument s s u n Colle I St. Cyprian ( A I gnatiu s —Wikimedia imprisonment, he was executed by the sword in an donning of male dress to lead troops and avoid assault

Issue 123 7 s mage I e / Bridgeman c ran F ouen, R , s rt A by soldiers, and her assistance in crowning the French grace under fire Joan of Arc (left) may have stayed in Beaux- dauphin as Charles VII. At one point she protested a cell like the one above. Asked, “Do you know if you are s in the grace of God?,” she replied, “If I am not, may God

being restrained in irons, and her accusers responded: ee de s

place me there; if I am, may God so keep me.” u “You have before, and many times, sought, we are told, M to get out of the prison. . . . It is to keep you more surely that it has been ordered to put you in irons.” Guido de Brès (1522–1567), a student of John Calvin “It is true I wished to escape,” Joan answered, “and (1509–1564), authored the Belgic Confession (1561)—then aul) (1797–1856) /

so I wish still: is not this lawful for all prisoners?” threw it over the castle wall of Tournai so the Spanish P Faced with execution on May 24, 1431, Joan recanted government would notice it. In 1567 the Spanish and was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, “in Inquisition caught and imprisoned him at a level so low ippolyte ( order that you may bewail your faults, and that you he slept in sewage. An eyewitness account of his mar- H he, may no more commit [acts] which you shall have to tyrdom records: “Exhorting the prisoners to be of good c bewail hereafter.” courage, he declared that death was nothing. He quoted elaro D ),

But just four days later, Joan was wearing men’s a passage of Revelation . . . ‘Oh, happy are the dead s a clothes again and claiming visions. She protested the who die in the Lord! They now rest from their labors.’” v s an jailers had not kept their end of the bargain: “I would On the Catholic side, Edmund Campion (1540–1581) c mage rather die than be in irons! But if I am allowed to go to disguised himself as a jewel merchant to serve as a I Mass, and am taken out of irons and put into a gracious Jesuit missionary to England during the reign of Queen prison … I will be good, and do as the Church wills . . . I Elizabeth I (1533–1603). He was eventually betrayed and would rather do penance once for all—that is die—than discovered in a “priest hole” (small cupboards in which / Bridgeman UIG

endure any longer the suffering of a prison.” The church English Catholic families hid priests from the authori- ter in 1431, 1824 (oil on ley/ s s

burned her as a relapsed heretic on May 30. Twenty-five ties). Thrown into the Tower of London, he stayed in a he c inder

years later, her case was reversed on appeal. small cell called “Little-ease” and was tortured on the K rack. Elizabeth feared all Catholic priests were agents

of the pope and of Spain’s King Charles V; Campion orling “he declared that death was nothing” D The Reformation divided Western Christians into com- responded that he was not “a traitor to conspire the sub- tle / s

peting factions all too ready to persecute one another, version of my country, but . . . a priest to minister the a c al

and many iconic prison stories date from this era. Mar- sacraments, to hear confessions.” Convicted of treason, v tin Luther (1483–1546), ironically, was imprisoned for he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. in medie

his own protection, not as punishment. Frederick III Not all Reformation-era prisoners were there for (1412–31) and the Cardinal of Win s c r ar had him kidnapped and hidden in Wartburg Castle for religious reasons. Accused of robbery and murder, Jean- A b

10 months. Luther grew a beard, took the name Junker Pierre Chambon (d. 1562), chained in irons in Lyon, on s ri Joan of A rres t of he ‘ m e ro p oli an’ Phili , 1910 (oil on c an v a s ), S helko y, Sergey T imofeye i h ( b .1870) / R egional W. Were hagin rt M u eum, N ikolaye U kraine Bridgeman I mage M oltmann— A gen c e O pale / lamy Sto k P hoto Zamperini— P J F M ilitary Colle c tion / A lamy Sto k hoto Jörg, and set about writing (see pp. 15–17). France, ended up in a cell with Huguenot merchant P

8 Christian History Joan of Arc (1412–31) and the Cardinal of Winchester in 1431, 1824 (oil on canvas), Delaroche, Hippolyte (Paul) (1797–1856) / Musee des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, France / Bridgeman Images Prison bars in medieval castle / Dorling Kindersley/UIG / Bridgeman Images

Arrest of the ‘metropolitan’ Philip, 1910 (oil on canvas), Schelkovy, Sergey Timofeyevich (b.1870) / Regional W. Wereshchagin Art Museum, Nikolayev, Ukraine / Bridgeman Images Moltmann—Agence Opale / Alamy Stock Photo Zamperini—PJF Military Collection / Alamy Stock Photo Issue 123 a POW by the Japanese and repeatedly abused by a abused a POW repeatedly and Japanese by the made was 47 days Following atPacific. Zamperini sea, over the crashed Corps, then Air Army the star, joined collapsing. was regime Nazi the as by hanging camp, executed concentration and to aNazi transferred at Tegel, 1943April Gestapo, imprisoned he was by the (1906–1945). Bonhoeffer in of Dietrich Arrested story well-known the as such wartime, on center Many tell. literature. Russian of modern milestone autobiography, avivid he penned imprisonment a his during executed; being before hut Siberia, in a small r (1605–1681). Nikon patriarch, ing brutal He suffered church’s power Russian the of rul the to centralize of worship and form Orthodox Greek to the closer Orthodoxy Russian to bring meant changes accept water, and killed. food eventually denied and chained, wheretortured, he was to prison off Philip Ivan hauled Moscow’s Annunciation, of the Cathedral toIvan bless at refused Philip When promise. broke the But Ivan executions. and confiscation, police, land I of Moscow (1507–1569),ropolitan ruler his from exacted II, met state. Philip and church ity’s between struggle - Christian Eastern from come to us stories prison Some strangers andpilgrims were executed. converted. he was Both and over, won Chambon But Bergier’s kindness annoying. prayers Bergier’s found constant Peter Bergier. Chambon van “thevan Terrible” (1530–1584), to stop secret a promise eprisals for over 14 years, including imprisonment in in for over 14 imprisonment eprisals years, including Louis Zamperini (1917–2014), Zamperini Louis Olympic track an to stories have similar prisoners Christian Recent later Avvakum (1620–1682)A century to refused 9 - - Woodruff TaitWoodruff editor Christian managing of is History. Stults Voice the Jennifer Roy retired from is Martyrs. the of parish.” good avery Imust say been it And has aprison. indeed, m as Iwould choose, aparish, for me to choose missible (1909–2001) “God, it per release: is if his after remarked Wurmbrand Richard prisoner political As centuries. him. God, understood suffering the God, why have me,” Christ, you that forsaken he knew s the and of lament psalms the on stumbled butest soon it withoutmuch inter reading ever He started owned. Bible Moltmann first the was Bibles. This distributed and camp his visited chaplain army aBritish until by God He felt completely British. by forsaken the prisoner taken 18-year-old 1944 soon was an in and as army German n he forgave captors, As his his to Christ. life his mitted recom and prison, in and raft the on time his during prayers his he recalled There crusade. Graham Billy a attended Zamperini friends, Christian her and wife Years sergeant. of encouragement his later atcamp the brought home taken away of I Zamperini (bottom)bothmet amreadytosufferforthetruth.” tory of the Passion. When he read Jesus’ death cry, death Jesus’ he read Passion. When of “My the tory ightmares went away.ightmares evangelist. an He became y parish, a prison. And for 14 And was, my aprison. years parish y parish, M Moltmann’s story echoes many others through the the through others many Moltmann’s echoes story (b. 1926) the into Jürgen Moltmann drafted was oscow said,“ C H Left: I Right: am a stranger and a pilgrim on earth; amastrangerandpilgrimonearth; While beingtakentoprison, Jürgen C M hrist asprisonersofwar. oltmann (top)and P hilip L ouis ouis II - - -

remember my chains Rembrandt’s famous 17th-c. painting imagines Paul composing his prison epistles.

up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. (Ephesians 6:20–22)

I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. . . . And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my impris- s onment, most of the believers here have gained con- mage fidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. I (Philippians 1:6, 12–14)

Aristarchus, who is in prison “ I am hoping that God will with me, sends you his greetings, and so eemage / Bridgeman does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were L answer your prayers. . . . ” instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. Jesus (the one we call Jus- ermany / © he very first letters we have from an imprisoned tus) also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish G Christian are from the apostle Paul, who wrote to believers among my co-workers; they are working with Tthe Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and me here for the Kingdom of God. And what a com- Philemon while under house arrest. fort they have been! . . . HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL. Remember my chains. May God’s galerie, Stuttgart, When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of grace be with you. (Colossians 4:10–11, 18) s Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . . fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of every- This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for thing in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glo- preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from n (1606–69) / Staat j

rious, unlimited resources he will empower you with our brother Timothy. . . . Consider this as a request from i R

inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the an v

make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your sake of Christ Jesus. I appeal to you to show kindness sz roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith armen strong. And may you have the power to understand, while here in prison. H as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the randt high, and how deep his love is. (Ephesians 3:1, 15–18) past, but now he is very useful to both of us. I am b em sending him back to you, and with him comes my R Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every own heart. . . . One more thing—please prepare a occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers guest room for me, for I am hoping that God will for all believers everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask answer your prayers and let me return to you soon God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain (Philemon verses 2, 8–12, and 22). God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living I am in chains now, still preaching this message Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Paul in Prison , 1627 (oil on panel),

as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publish- t ain

10 Christian History mages I ridgeman B / t r A

phinx Fine Christians on trial S

o © enduring testimonies from people in tight places t ho P Dwight D. Brautigam ion / ct How do Christians end up in prison? In a stone’s throw Stephen was one of the first Chris-

e Colle tians tried and executed, and artists have been depicting t many cases their beliefs are at odds with the prevail- him ever since (this is a 16th-c. oil painting on marble).

riva ing government, they are arrested, and they are put on P trial. From the earliest days of the church, followers of o) / t

r. the Way were tried before Jewish and Roman authori- tt ties: not only Jesus himself, but Stephen, Paul, and . . . They asserted, however, that the sum and others. Peter and Silas escaped their famous impris- substance of their fault or error had been that onment the night before they were to be tried. they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn onio (1555–1630) (a t a hymn to christ as to a god to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves n A

a, In the early second century, we find one of the first by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit t records outside the Bible of Christians on trial before fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, a Roman official. Pliny, the governor of Bithynia et nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon Pontus (in modern Turkey) wrote to Emperor Trajan to do so. When this was over, it was their cus- in the year 112 with concerns about how he should tom to depart and to assemble again to partake punish Christians who refused to sacrifice to the of food—but ordinary and innocent food. Even emperor: this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after [I]n the case of those who were denounced to my edict by which, in accordance with your ephen (oil on marble), Tempes t

S me as Christians, I have observed the following instructions, I had forbidden political associa- t procedure: I interrogated these as to whether tions. Accordingly, I judged it all the more neces- they were Christians; those who confessed I sary to find out what the truth was by torturing interrogated a second and a third time, threaten- two female slaves who were called deaconesses. oning of Sain t ing them with punishment; those who persisted But I discovered nothing else but depraved,

The S I ordered executed…. excessive superstition.

Issue 123 11 recant or die Judges tried Joan of Arc in an ecclesiastical court before executing her (left) as a heretic in 1431 (see pp. 7–8). mages I Askew enforced royal orders to suppress Catholic religious orders, confiscate property, ridgeman

and levy new taxes to support the royal gov- B e /

ernment, things came to a boil. In October c of 1536, a widespread Lincolnshire uprising erupted in defense of the Roman church. aris, Fran Meanwhile, perhaps against Anne’s own P wishes, she had married her older sister’s ionale, t a

fiancé, the Catholic Thomas Kyme, after the N sister passed away. The couple had two chil- heque

dren, but religious differences dogged the t

marriage. Askew was willing to engage in iblio B disputes with Catholic priests, leading Kyme, ury) /

according to one source, to drive her “vio- t en

lently” away. She never used his name but c h always signed her writings as “Anne Askew.” t l.15 Askew seems to have sued for a divorce, f not entirely unreasonable given Henry VIII’s own precedent, but radical for a woman. Her uvergne) ( Over the centuries as Christianity was legal- pursuit of a divorce brought her to London, where she A ized and grew, Christians themselves brought other appears in the authorities’ records for preaching about Christians to trial. By the Middle Ages, an entire sys- her Protestant beliefs in ways that transgressed the

tem of ecclesiastical courts had evolved alongside of Act of Six Articles. Formally titled “An Act Abolishing aris (known as P the civil ones. Christians might find themselves in one Diversity in Opinions,” this 1539 act of Parliament reaf- ial de

or the other depending on whether their crimes were firmed traditional Catholic teachings. In March 1545 t ar

theological or practical. the London authorities arrested her for the first of three M times. Sixteen months later, at 24 years old, Askew was becoming protestant executed at the stake. We can explore the experience of being a Christian on By the time she came to the London authorities’ trial by examining one woman’s story. Anne Askew attention, the legal machinery was well oiled for deal- (1521–1546) was burned as a heretic in July 1546, late ing with Protestant heretics, but two competing fac- uvergne, 1484 (vellum),

in Henry VIII’s reign. She quickly became a martyr in tions were emerging at Henry’s court. Both were hop- A

the eyes of English Protestants, earning a place in John ing to gain ultimate influence over the king’s heir, the ial d’ t

Foxe’s famous Actes and Monuments. But how did a well- boy Edward, and through that influence to determine ar M

connected married Protestant woman and mother end the course of the Reformation after Henry’s death. by II V

up at the martyr’s stake? The conservative Catholic faction hoped that s e Askew grew up in an influential family in eradicating the Protestant threat in London would l har Lincolnshire that moved from staunch Roman strengthen its hold on power; pursuing outspoken peo- C de s

Catholicism to committed English Protestantism. Her ple like Askew made perfect sense. The Protestant fac- e l father, William, knighted by Henry VIII in 1513, accom- tion regretted persecution but saw her case as an ideal Vigi panied Henry to his famous meeting with French king opportunity to encourage Protestant supporters in s

Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and London by publicizing what they viewed as nefarious rom Le f in 1521 became high sheriff of Lincolnshire and a mem- Catholic activities. ake, ber of Parliament. One of Anne’s brothers was a mem- Askew herself unwittingly aided the Protestant t he s t ber of the King’s Privy Chamber; another served in effort by writing detailed accounts of her time in t a

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s household and was detention. Her writings about her treatment by the c r A

cupbearer to the king; and one sister married twice into authorities show a woman who viewed her struggle f well-known Protestant families. Suffice it to say, Anne as a small part of a greater spiritual battle. But her was well bred and well connected. supporters easily adapted her words for political use. .71 Joan o In the family’s home county of Lincolnshire, ten- Printed accounts of her writings circulated widely in f sions simmered between Protestants and a significant London and beyond, some appearing shortly after s Fr 5054 M contingent of conservative Catholics. When Sir William her execution. She captured the imagination of many The M ar t yrdom o f A nne skew, John L a c els, dams and N i olas B elenian S mi h ield, 1546, rom ts Monu m en by Foxe (1516–87) 1563 (wood u ), E nglish Sc hool, (16 ury) / P riva e Colle ct ion ridgeman I mages A n U nknown L ady, c alled “ nne ys ough/ skew, M rs Thomas K yme (1521–1546)” / Ta tt on P ark, Cheshire, UK N a t ional Trus ho ographi ibrary B ridgeman I mages

12 Christian History mages mages I ridgeman B ion / ct e Colle t riva P ury) / t en c h t hool, (16 Sc nglish E ), t u mages I c ridgeman B ibrary / L

c ographi t by John Foxe (1516–87) 1563 (wood ho P

ts t en

m burned ALIVE Anne Askew (right) became so signifi- Her interrogators, increasingly frustrated with cant that some of the realm’s most important officials her stubborn refusal to give them what they wanted,

ional Trus and courtiers viewed her execution (above). t grew so desperate that the lord chancellor and a and Monu N ts /

c another member of the king’s council took control of A UK the proceedings. Unable to extract a confession that rom f sympathetic readers who saw in her the essence of she was working with the Protestant faction, they their struggle for the freedom to worship God as they took the highly unusual and almost certainly ille- ark, Cheshire,

ield, 1546, believed they should. gal step of torturing her on the rack in the Tower of P f h t on Askew’s trial and prison experiences made for dra- London. Even this gambit failed. mi tt S

t matic reading. Her Catholic interrogators hoped to provoke her into admissions of collaboration with the flaming out but living on Protestant court faction, but instead she steadfastly As things turned out, the Protestants gained ascen- elenian a B held to central Protestant beliefs: dancy after Henry died in January 1547, just six months olas yme (1521–1546)” / Ta

c First Christopher Dare examined me at Saddlers’ after Askew’s execution. Boy-king Edward VI’s gov- i K N Hall . . . and asked if I did not believe that the sac- ernment adopted as official church teaching the same rament hanging over the altar was the very body beliefs Askew had espoused in life and while on trial, dams and rs Thomas

A of Christ really. Then I demanded this question of and had written about during her incarceration. M him: wherefore Saint Stephen was stoned to death. Her written accounts proved embarrassing for at least skew,

A And he said he could not tell. . . . Secondly, he said one member of the new royal council who had, in ques- els, John c

a that … I [taught] how God was not in temples made tioning her, demonstrated Catholic leanings. This led to L ough/ c with hands. Then I showed him chapters seven failed attempts to censor Askew’s writings. Faithful per- ys A and seventeen of the Acts of the Apostles, what sistence in the face of adversity by the woman who once nne A

skew, John Stephen and Paul had said therein. Whereupon he wrote, “With this world will I fight, And faith shall be A asked me how I took those sentences. I answered my shield” would continue to frighten and inspire pow- nne alled “ A

f that I would not throw pearls among swine, for erful English leaders for years after her death. C H ady,

L acorns were good enough. Thirdly, he asked me

yrdom o wherefore I said that I had rather to read five lines Dwight D. Brautigam is professor of European history at t ar nknown M in the Bible, than to hear five masses in the temple. Huntington University and co-editor of Court, Country, U n M s Fr 5054 f .71 Joan o A r c a t he ake, rom Le Vigi l e de C har V II by ar ial d’ uvergne, 1484 (vellum), P aris (known as uvergne) ( l.15 h en ury) / B iblio heque N ionale, aris, Fran ridgeman I mages The A I confessed that I said no less. . . . and Culture.

Issue 123 13 martyred mother Perpetua’s Passion is the first writing we have from a Christian woman apart from Mary’s “Magnificat” (Luke 1:46–55).

commended my son unto them. I pined because I saw they pined for my sake. Such cares I suffered for many days; and I obtained that the child should abide with me in prison; and straightway I became well and was lightened of my labor and concern for the child; and suddenly the prison was made a palace for me, so that I would sooner be there than anywhere else. . . . A few days later, the report went abroad that we were to be tried. Also my father returned from the city spent with weariness; and he came up to me to cast down my faith saying: “Have pity, daughter, on my grey hairs; have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called father by you; if with these hands I have brought you unto this flower of youth—and I—have preferred you before all your brothers; give me not over to the reproach of men. . . .” This he said fatherly in his love, kissing my hands and groveling at my feet; and with tears he named me, not daughter, but lady. And I “ Mine was the victory” was grieved for my father’s case. . . . Another day as we were at meal we erpetua (d. 203), a young, educated, Christian were suddenly snatched away to be tried; and we mother, was imprisoned for her faith pending came to the forum. . . . We went up to the tribunal. Pher execution in a public spectacle. She wrote an The others being asked, confessed. So they came account of her incarceration and trial up to the day before to me. And my father appeared there also, with her execution. my son, and would draw me from the step, saying: “Perform the Sacrifice; have mercy on the child.” In this same space of a few days we were bap- And Hilarian the procurator—he that after the death tized, and the Spirit declared to me, I must pray for of Minucius Timinian the proconsul had received in nothing else after that water except only endurance of his room the right and power of the sword—said: the flesh. After a few days we were taken into prison, “Spare your father’s grey hairs; spare the infancy of and I was much afraid because I had never known the boy. Make sacrifice for the Emperors’ prosper- NY

such darkness. O bitter day! There was a great heat ity.” And I answered: “I am a Christian.” e, c because of the press, there was cruel handling of the esour

soldiers. Lastly I was tormented there by concern for Later she describes one of her visions: R

t r

the child. A Then Tertius and Pomponius, the blessed dea- And the people began to shout, and my helpers ala /

cons who ministered to us, obtained with money began to sing. And I went up to the master of gladiators Sc that for a few hours we should be taken out to a bet- and received the branch. And he kissed me and said to ter part of the prison and be refreshed. Then all of me: “Daughter, peace be with you.” And I began to go T121017)— AR

them going out from the dungeon took their plea- with glory to the gate called the Gate of Life. And I awoke; ( c sure; I suckled my child that was now faint with and I understood that I should fight, not with beasts but hunger. against the devil; but I knew that mine was the victory. ua mosai And being concerned for him, I spoke to —The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, 3rd century, t erpe

my mother and strengthened my brother and trans. W. H. Shewring P

14 Christian History ages Im an m rance / Bridge F ouen, R liotheque Municipale, b Thinking long thoughts chool, (15th century) / Bi S From prison, Christians have produced classic literature rench F

), that comforts and challenges m Catherine Barnett oft (vellu l y a l “What else can one do when he is alone in a up, up, away In this illustration for a French transla- narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long tion of Boethius’s famed book, Lady Philosophy offers thoughts and pray long prayers?” him wings so that his mind can fly—even in prison. These words from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter e his mind to f bl from a Birmingham Jail” (1963) might have been have by a woman outside the Bible—the “Passion of

ena penned by any number of imprisoned Christians Perpetua and Felicitas” (p. 14). ll since the time of the apostle Paul. Innumerable letters, thoughts, prayers, poems, hymns, and novels time to write long books have been composed under some of the worst con- Several centuries later Roman philosopher, scholar, and ditions possible—many, like King’s letter, becoming statesman Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (c. 480– classics that continue to exhort, comfort, and inspire 524) was imprisoned on charges of treason against the readers today. Ostrogoth king Theodoric. Against his master Boethius Perhaps the earliest and most esteemed writ- supported the Roman senate; also, Theodoric was an ings from an imprisoned Christ-follower are Paul’s Arian while Boethius believed in the orthodox view of prison epistles: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, the Trinity. (Theodoric feared Trinitarians would unite hy offers to Boethius the wings that wi

p and Philemon (p. 10). They exemplify several com- against him with orthodox Easterners.)

oso mon themes of Christian prison writings: Paul In the year of imprisonment leading up to his exe- l recorded his own devotional musings, used his cution in 524, Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philoso- situation as a prisoner to establish his spiritual phy, which would become one of the most influential authority, and offered comfort and exhortation. texts in medieval and early modern Europe. Faced with Similar testimonies from prison abound during his own dramatic reversal of fortune, Boethius crafted the period of Roman persecution, perhaps none a dialogue in poetry and prose between himself and

Ms 3045 fol.68v Lady Phi more famous than the first Christian writing we Lady Philosophy, seeking comfort amid the paradoxes

Issue 123 15 ages Im an m

nothing to do but write and pray These cells, con- onstration, 6/11/62 / Bridge

tinents and centuries apart, held Martin Luther (left) and m Martin Luther King Jr. (above).

grace of God and came to regard suffering as an opportunity to identify with Christ, receive spiritual nourishment, and serve as a witness. Bunyan prob- ably wrote the bulk of The Pilgrim’s Progress while he was in prison, though it was not published until after his release. According to some reckonings, only the

Bible has sold more printed copies. ages Im an of human will, fickle fate, divine providence, and if these walls could sing m

mortal suffering. Others crafted poems and music in their cells. One, as arrested for trespassing, during an integration de w e

Among the many inspired by Boethius was Theodulph (750–821), bishop of Orleans, was theologi- H any / Bridge Thomas More (1478–1535). The influence of Consolation cal adviser to Charlemagne. Deposed in 818 by Char- m er lorida. G

of Philosophy is apparent in More’s own Dialogue of lemagne’s son, Louis I the Pious, for suspected conspir- F Comfort against Tribulation (1534). Like Boethius Thomas acy in a revolt, Theodulph was confined in a monastery isenach,

More wrote his Dialogue while imprisoned and await- in Angers (in western France) until his death. While E ounty Jail,

ing execution (in his case in the Tower of London). there he wrote the lyrics to “All Glory, Laud, and C urg, More, a staunch Roman Catholic, had refused to Honor,” a hymn of praise still widely sung (though now b

placate Henry VIII by signing the Act of Succession generally in English rather than Latin and with fewer t. John’s S when Henry desired to divorce Catherine of Aragon than the original 39 verses). and establish himself as the head of the Church of Centuries later John of the Cross (1542–1591), a mys- England. Like Boethius he explored the spiritual ben- tic theologian, priest, and associate of Teresa of Ávila, lungen auf der Wart ail cell in the

efits of tribulation and found his source of consola- was imprisoned for nine months in Toledo in the 1570s j mm a tion in an eternal perspective. Rather than drawing by an opposing church faction. Soon after his escape, S attention to his imprisonment, however, More created he composed his now-famous “Cántico Espiritual” ars of his an impression of the commonality of suffering—in (“Spiritual Canticle”), possibly begun in prison. b prison or out. And only a few decades later, the Tower of London astle (photo) / C One of the most famous prison classics is The housed poet and Jesuit priest Robert Southwell (c. 1561– een the w et urg b Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). Its author, John Bunyan (1628– 1595), who ministered to English Catholics, largely in b 1688), was arrested in 1661 for preaching; authorities secret, until he was betrayed and imprisoned in 1592. In , peers

feared nonconformists like Bunyan were stirring up the three years before his execution for treason, he was R J

rebellion against Charles II and cast suspicion on any tortured multiple times. Nevertheless he continued to in the Wart ING m K

group gatherings. During the 12 years he spent in a write poetry, including a lyrical expression of Peter’s oo R Bedford jail, anxiety for his wife and children and remorse following his denial of Christ. A collection LUTHER

uther

fears about the state of his own soul plagued Bunyan. of his poems, Saint Peter’s Complaint, with Other Poems L ARTIN he M T Taking Paul as his model, he found comfort in the (1595), was published shortly after his death. P ortrait of O livier Messiaen ( b / w photo), F rench hotographer, (20th century) H aags G e m eente useu , T he ague, N etherlands Bridge an Im ages

16 Christian History broken instruments Messiaen (right) wrote his quartet for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, the only instruments and musicians available in the German prison camp.

Instrumental music, too, came from prison terms. Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) crafted his Quartet for the End of Time in 1940, while a prisoner of war in the Stalag VIII-A camp in Görlitz, Germany. The eight movements reflect themes and images from Revelation. He recalled the performance later: “The Stalag was buried in snow. We were 30,000 prisoners (French for the most part, with a few Poles and Belgians). The four musicians played on broken instruments.” Some significant editions and translations of the Bible also developed in prison. Pamphilus of Caesarea (c. 240–310), a Christian scholar and priest, curated an extensive library and directed a theological school in Caesarea, Palestine. During the persecution of pagan Roman emperor Maximinus, Pamphilus was arrested, tortured, and executed. During his two years of imprisonment, he contin- ages

Im ued his work editing the Septuagint (a Greek trans- an m lation of the Hebrew Bible). His famous library was destroyed in the seventh century, but not before serving as an important source for many scholars. profound spiritual sorrow at his failings and identifies Over a thousand years later, following his excom- his sole refuge in God. munication and refusal to recant at the famous Diet of William Penn (1644–1718), the eldest son of an etherlands / Bridge

N Worms in May 1521, Martin Luther spent 10 months English admiral, was raised Anglican. However in hiding disguised and under a pseudonym in Castle his early twenties, he joined the Quakers; his enthusi- ague, H Wartburg. Frustrated by the imposed solitude and asm for his newfound faith led to his imprisonment in he T , excessive leisure, he suffered physical ills and appar- the Tower of London in 1668. There he wrote No Cross, m ent spiritual attacks. But they seemed to resolve when No Crown (1669), eloquently presenting Quaker ideals useu m he began the absorbing work of translating the New of self-denial, pacifism, and social reform. Released in

eente Testament in October 1521. 1669 he went on to lead an eventful political and reli- m e

G Working from the original Greek, Luther com- gious life (see CH issue 117). pleted it in 11 weeks; it was published in September German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and aags H 1522. Luther’s was not the first German transla- Papers from Prison (1951) were compiled from his writ- tion of Scripture, but his mastery of the language ings made between 1943 and 1945 (prior to his execution resulted in a text written for ordinary people. Its by the Nazi regime for his role in the plot to assassinate popularity shaped the evolution of the German Adolf Hitler). In them he spoke against the Nazi regime language. and described the horrors of his imprisonment. Richard Wurmbrand (1909–2001) spent 11 years Flowing with justice and mercy imprisoned in Romania for refusing to endorse the

hotographer, (20th century) / Many prisoners have served as advocates for social Communist Party. His wife, Sabina, also suffered P reform. Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498) of Florence, in prison. After his ransom by Western churches, rench

F a Dominican monk, lecturer, student, and ascetic, had Wurmbrand testified before the US Senate, showing established an impressive democratic government, but his scars as an appeal to the free people of America not

photo), his abrasive and scathing critiques of Pope Alexander to support his oppressors. The Wurmbrands went on w / b VI and other corrupt clergy earned him political and to found the Voice of the Martyrs in 1967, the same year religious enemies. Richard released his classic Tortured for Christ. Savonarola was arrested, suffered multiple “tri- Novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008), a als” under torture, and was hanged and burned for Soviet army captain enthusiastic about Communist livier Messiaen (

O schism and heresy in May 1498. A number of prison ideals, was accused of anti-Stalin conspiracy in 1945 writings have been inaccurately attributed to him, but and spent the next eight years as a political prisoner. In one, at least, is almost certainly his: the “Exposition 1952 he underwent emergency cancer surgery by a doc- ortrait of T he L uther R oo m in the Wart b urg C astle (photo) / S a mm lungen auf der urg, E isenach, G er any Bridge an Im ages M ARTIN LUTHER K ING J R , peers b et w een the ars of his j ail cell in S t. John’s C ounty Jail, F lorida. H e as arrested for trespassing, during an integration de m onstration, 6/11/62 / Bridge Im ages P and Meditation on the Psalm ‘Miserere’ [51]” expresses tor who shared his own conversion to Christianity. The

Issue 123 17 book of prisoners and martyrs Below: John “ Much more I rejoiced Foxe’s Actes and Monuments contains many prison in the Lord” tales, including William Thorpe’s.

he “Testimony of William Thorpe” from the early next day, the doctor was mysteriously bludgeoned to 1400s tells the story of a Lollard (follower of John death. The experience inspired in Solzhenitsyn a new TWycliffe) imprisoned for his beliefs. John Foxe and deep awareness of God and of life. included a version edited by William Tyndale in Actes Nine years after his 1953 release, Solzhenitsyn and Monuments (1603). Though some scholars now published One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), question whether Thorpe ever existed, it gives an authen- based on his own experiences in the gulag. The bluntly tic picture of what Lollards believed and suffered. honest book caused an uproar in Russia; his works, though officially banned, were And then I was rebuked, widely circulated. Solzhenitsyn’s scorned, and menaced on every masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, side; and yet after this diverse critiques the prison camp system persons cried upon me to kneel and the Soviet Union. Initially down and submit me, but I stood circulated clandestinely in man- still and spoke no word. . . . Then uscript form, it was officially awhile after the archbishop published in 1973, after which said to me, “Wilt thou not sub- Solzhenitsyn was deported. It mit thee to the ordinance of has since been published in hun- holy church?” And I said, “Sir, dreds of editions and dozens of I will full gladly submit me, languages. as I have showed you before.” New Christian Charles Colson, And then the archbishop formerly President Nixon’s top aide bade the constable to have me and “hatchet man,” experienced a forth thence in haste. And so crisis in conscience and spiritual then I was led forth and brought conviction in 1974. Colson volun- into a foul unhonest prison tarily pleaded guilty to Watergate- where I came never before. But related charges and served a seven- thanked be God when all men month prison term. His memoir, were gone forth then from me, Born Again (1976), relates his polit- and had barred fast the prison ical experiences and his spiritual door after them . . . [I] busied me rebirth in prison. to think on God and to thank him [for] his goodness. marching from jail And I was then greatly com- But perhaps no prison work is forted in all my wits, not only as well known as a statement for because I was then delivered for a time from the justice than the letter with which we began. In April sight, from the hearing, from the presence, from 1963 an important desegregation campaign planned the scorning, and from the menacing of mine ene- for the Easter season was faltering, so Martin Luther mies; but much more I rejoiced in the Lord, because King Jr. decided to get himself arrested by ignoring a that through his grace he kept me so, both among court directive against holding marches. the flattering and among the menacing of mine While in prison King penned his “Letter from a adversaries. . . . Birmingham Jail” in response to eight local clergy-

Now good God, for thine holy name, and to the men who had called him and his colleagues extremists. edia m i praising of thy most blessed name, make us one In answer to the accusation, King affirmed his com- k together if it be thy will, by authority of thy word, mitment to love and justice and aligned himself with that is true perfect charity. . . . And that it may thus other “creative extremists”: Paul, Martin Luther, John

be, all that [who] this writing read or hear pray Bunyan. He exhorted the church to “recapture the sac- onuments— Wi M heartily to the Lord God that he for his great good- rificial spirit” of early Christians who “rejoiced at being ness that cannot be with tongue expressed, grant to deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed.” C H ctes and us and to all other[s] . . . to be knit and made one in A true faith, in steadfast hope, and in perfect charity. Catherine Barnett is adult and young adult services librar- —“Testimony of William Thorpe” (1407) as printed in ian in the Chillicothe Public Library District in Chillicothe, itle page of

Actes and Monuments (1563); spelling modernized. Illinois. T

18 Christian History Paradoxes of prison For some prisoners, the plunge into the depths became a step heavenward Dan Graves

Jerry McAuley (1839–1884) committed every crime crime scene Jerry McAuley haunted New York City’s short of murder. The Irish-born young man caused so waterfront (shown here 40 years later) looking for much trouble as a teenager that his grandmother (who opportunities to steal from boats.

N was raising him) sent him to relatives in New York

ivisio City, where he became a street fighter and a “river of doing it was to shut me up in a cell within those D

hs thief.” Eager to get rid of him, residents of New York heavy stone walls. There’s many a one beside me ap City’s Fourth Ward swore he had committed a hold-up, who will have cause to thank God for ever and though he always maintained his innocence. He was ever that he was shut up in a prison. sentenced to 15 years in Sing Sing Prison. McAuley led several fellow prisoners to Christ: nd Photogr a “Punishment never did me a particle of good, it only “The love of Christ was so abounding, it drowned made me harder,” he wrote in his memoir. His turn- every trouble. . . . If my comrades abused me, I felt that around began when he attended a prison chapel ser- I could pray for and forgive them.” But when released vice and was astonished to discover Orville Gardner, in 1864, the “wavering, unstable, half-and-half faith” of formerly a partner in crime, as the speaker. Gardner most Christians he met was no help. He relapsed into wept as he pleaded with prisoners to turn to Christ, drink and theft until a Christian worker latched onto ry of Congress Prints a prompting McAuley to read the Bible. After weeks of him and helped him turn his life around permanently. inward struggle, he knelt before God: er; Libr l It seemed as if a hand was laid upon my head, and what love is this? these words came to me: “My son, thy sins, which Themes in McAuley’s tale recur in the stories of other are many, are forgiven.”. . . God was more merci- prison conversions: amazement at God’s grace, pro- ful to me than man. His pure eyes had seen all my found transformation, struggles to continue in new- treet—A. Loeff S sin, and yet he pitied and loved me, and stretched found faith, and dealings with those who doubt con-

West out his hand to save me. And his wonderful way verted prisoners’ sincerity.

Issue 123 19 ges a m I n a ridgem B rti / O i l g Da ry / A. a ture Libr c Another common theme has been the desire to evan- gelize. During the Napoleonic Wars, a French privateer

captured an English brig. Among the prisoners of war e Agostini Pi D

was African American evangelist John Jea (b. 1773), who y / al t I

in 18 months led 200 fellow prisoners to Christ. , a i David Berkowitz (b. 1953) was in prison for his role c res

in New York’s Son of Sam murders. Another prisoner B provided him with Scripture. Psalm 34:6 shattered his the man in the gulag Above: Solzhenitsyn is pictured here during the imprisonment he later made famous. hard shell: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” Convinced not going anywhere Left: An artist renders the scene isorgimento, R

God accepted him for Christ’s sake, he began to do all of Pellico writing his autobiography in prison, complete l the good he could for fellow prisoners. with chains and straw bedding. useo de

He also corresponded with people outside prison, M ges

designated his book profits to help victims of crime, a m I n

and testified about Christ on national TV and through a “bless you, prison” entury / a website detailing his transformation from “Son of In showcasing those who triumph over prison, we risk c ridgem

Sam” to “Son of Hope.” Out of respect for the families minimizing the misery of incarceration. Yet prison has B h, 19th

he harmed, Berkowitz has rejected parole. Sounding proven a blessing for many. In The Gulag Archipelago, his ap hoto) /

like McAuley, he wrote, “God actually used our forced exposé of Soviet prison camps, Alexander Solzhenitsyn p

ithogr l confinement in prison to save our lives . . . he had to use (1918–2008) famously wrote, w extreme measures to save fools from their own folly.” In the surfeit of power I was a murderer and an hromo Karla Faye Tucker (1959–1998) exercised a similar oppressor. . . . it was only when I lay there on rot- c 1945–1953 (b/ ted, evangelistic ministry from prison. Her mother had set ting prison straw that I sensed within myself the a er USSR c

an example of drug use and schooled her in prostitu- stirrings of good. . . . And that is why I turn back to r tion at age 14. During a drug-crazed robbery, Tucker the years of my imprisonment and say. . . . “Bless ca e in l

helped kill two acquaintances with a pickaxe. Awaiting you, prison!” hi w risonment in

trial she was intrigued by the peace she saw in a team After Nicoleta Valeria Bruteanu (1919–1996) was p m of ex-cons ministering in jail. To find out more, she stole jailed by Romanian Communists for her religious I a Bible (not realizing it was free) and began reading. and political convictions, God seemed far away. But Realization dawned on Tucker “that no matter what one day, “when the cell door closed behind me, I felt rote My Prisons

I had done I was loved,” and it sank in that people were another door open within me. . . . I wanted to make w ho

hurting because of her. Tucker became a vibrant death- peace with myself and God.” She held firm under tor- w zhenitsyn during his

row evangelist whose prayer ministry and televised ture and scratched psalms memorized in childhood l o testimony reached far beyond her cell. Even relatives of onto her cell wall. “I never was closer to God than I was S nder o (1789–1854)

her victims grew close to her and wept on February 3, in prison,” she asserted. a c i ex l 1998, when Texas executed her. Among her last words Playwright Silvio Pellico (1789–1854) was impris- ll were: “I love all of you very much. I am going to be face oned for revolutionary associations. The experience vio Pe l i S Writer A to face with Jesus now.” prompted his gripping, widely read autobiography, My C H A R L ES O SON —Chu c k Nac ke / la my S to Photo T u c ker mugshot— ex a s D e pa rtment of Crimin al Justi

20 Christian History the man from watergate Left: Colson devoted his later years to Prison Fellowship; he speaks here at a Billy Graham crusade.

the girl from texas Below: Tucker (pictured here in her original mug shot) converted, but did not escape a controversial execution.

remarked that requiring religious devotional exercises of prisoners caused them to add hypocrisy to all their other crimes. Sociologist Byron Johnson found that recidivism rates for Florida’s prison con- verts were no better than for nonconverts. Such outcomes can lead to cynicism. Acquaintances of “Happy Jack” Burbridge (1937–2015) thought his conversion was faked to gain early release. Drug dealer, pimp, and enforcer, he lost his family following a crime spree. On his way to jail, the words of a Christian policeman brought Burbridge under conviction: “God had to show me His standards in the form of Mr. Lytton before I could see how bad off I was,” he wrote in The Enforcer (1980). After his conversion he admitted his guilt in court as evidence of a newfound commitment to truth, convinced that Christ expected no less. After his release, Ten Years Imprisonment (1832): “To awake the first night past confederates expected him to revert to crime. When in a prison is a horrible thing,” he wrote. “Strange this that didn’t happen, they surmised he was waiting for his should be the first time I truly felt the power of religion parole to expire. Instead Burbridge got his family back in my heart.” He described in detail the reasoning that and returned to prison repeatedly as a soul-winning soon led him to declare himself “openly a Christian.” evangelist for From Crime to Christ Ministries. Armando Valladares (b. 1937) was 23 when he went Watergate conspirator Charles Colson (1931–2012) to prison in Cuba for refusing to allow a Communist silenced some of his detractors and proved the sincer- slogan on his desk. He spent 22 years in cruel condi- ity of his conversion by founding Prison Fellowship tions that he later described in Against All Hope (2001), a after serving time. “I shudder to think of what I’d powerful exposé of Castro’s brutal regime: been if I had not gone to prison,” he said. Jeb Stuart Every night there were firing squads. There came Magruder (1934–2014), also imprisoned for his role in

e a moment when, seeing those young men full of Watergate, attended divinity school after his release c courage depart to die before the firing squad and and served for years as a Presbyterian minister. Justi

al shout “Viva Cristo Rey” at the fateful instant, I . . . And in the end, Jerry McAuley’s conversion proved k Photo

c understood instantly, as though by a sudden revela- real too. He founded the first city rescue mission in the to S tion, that Christ was indeed there for me. . . . Those United States, Water Street Mission, and led a revival my

la cries of the executed patriots—“Long live Christ in New York that reached into the highest levels of soci-

rtment of Crimin the King! Down with Communism!” had wakened ety. When Christ comes alongside a prisoner, he makes ke / A pa

e me to a new life. possible the paradoxes of prison—the unlovable dis- Nac D k s a c covering love, the irredeemable finding redemption, ex T captives becoming transcendentally free. CH

—Chu convert or counterfeit?

SON Such stirring testimonies raise the question: how real L O

C are most prisoner conversions, especially when conver- Dan Graves is the layout editor for Christian History, ES L sion takes place in a setting where it might ingratiate writes Christian History Institute’s “This Day in Christian R ker mugshot— A c H u S i l vio Pe ll c o (1789–1854) w ho rote My Prisons hi e in ca r er a ted, hromo ithogr ap h, 19th entury / M useo de R isorgimento, B res , I t al y D Agostini Pi ture Libr ry A. Da g O rti ridgem n m ges Writer A l ex a nder S o zhenitsyn during his I m p risonment in USSR 1945–1953 (b/ w hoto) / B ridgem n ges C T authorities? A nineteenth-century English report dryly History” feature, and maintains the website Captive Faith.

Issue 123 21

The Christian History Timeline Crime and punishment

(and, once, fire) and rebuilt a num- — 1610s: England begins to use penal ber of times until it closes in 1844. transportation to the American ges

colonies as a means of punishment. a m I n

— 1215: The Magna Carta estab- a lishes the right to trial by a jury of — 1624: Women are allowed to plead one’s peers. “benefit of clergy.” / Bridgem UK — 1298: Pope Boniface VIII, in Liber — 1635: One of America’s earliest jails xford,

Sextus, his collection of canon laws, opens in Boston. O argues that the purpose of prison is Paul, 4th-c. fresco confinement, not punishment. niversity of — 600 BC: The earliest prison we know — c. 1300: The Mirror of Justices (Eng- U of through archaeological evidence land) forbids certain kinds of torture. useum, M

is built, the Mamertine Prison in n a Rome. It will be the imprisonment — 1351: The “benefit of clergy” site of both Peter and Paul. (escaping a death sentence by being a clergyperson) is extended to any — 450 BC: The Law of the 12 Tables literate person in England. ges

of Rome refers to the possibility of a m I n

imprisonment for debt. — 1516: Thomas More suggests in Steel belt worn by Cranmer, 16th c. a Utopia that imprisonment (rather

— Socrates is impris- than death, flogging, or other — 1680s: Quakers begin to campaign chool, (16th century) / Ashmole

399 BC: S oned and executed in Athens. punishments) is a solution to against the death penalty. tive / Bridgem a

petty crime as well as more nglish E re C

— 30s AD: John the Baptist, Jesus, and serious offenses. — 1686: Construction begins on the l), a phic

various apostles are imprisoned as Ospizio di San Michele in Rome. a Christianity is born and spreads. — Martin Luther begins It will house a jail and a hospital.

1521: eogr G

translating the Bible into German l a

— Before 313: Christians are impris- while imprisoned. — 1706: England abolishes the literacy rdo prison (met tion a

oned and executed during times test for avoiding the death penalty. Na of persecution, most famously under Nero (64), Decius (249–251), — 1730: John and Charles Wesley

Valerian (258–259), and the “Great begin visiting prisons along with ynn Johnson/ L Persecution” of Diocletian and his their friend William Morgan. nd the key of Boc successors (303–313). a — 1745: John Wesley publishes nmer, a ching (photo) / — 1166: Henry II of England commis- A Word to a Condemned Malefactor. r a C s

sions the building of prisons and a ul pre hom

introduces the concept of trial — 1748: Baron de Montesquieu T Pa y by jury. A prisoner carving, 1848. publishes Spirit of the Laws, urging b

more leniency in punishments. orn w

— 1188: Newgate is built in England — 1546: Anne Askew is executed a een in response to Henry II’s commis- for heresy. — 1764: Cesare Beccaria’s On Crimes b ve sion. It is used for over 700 years, and Punishments condemns torture a

closing in 1902. — 1557: Bridewell Palace reopens in and the death penalty; it influ- id to h a rving—Wikimedi London as the first modern work- ences the development of the a elt; s

— 1197: The Fleet Prison is built in house. modern penitentiary system. b

London. It is destroyed by riot risoner c teel S A 4th-century fresco of the Apostle P Blind H ouse lockup— HIP / Art R esource, NY H o wa rd visiting a P rison (engr ving), E nglish S chool, (19th century) / riv te C ollection © L ook nd e rn Bridgem n I m ges S outhern C h a in Ga ng— L i b r ry of ongress

22 Christian History (Adapted from PrisonHistory.net, PrisonWatch UK, the Colonial Williamsburg Journal, and other sources)

Prisons, prison ministries, and Christians

— 1818: Auburn Prison opens in — 1873: The Indiana Women’s Prison, New York state, using the “Auburn the first US prison exclusively for system” of hard labor in groups females, accepts 17 prisoners. during the day coupled with solitary confinement at night. — 1891: The United States establishes a federal prison system. — 1820s: The United States begins to move from the workhouse system — 1934: Alcatraz opens. to the penitentiary system. — 1971: The Stanford Prison Experi- — 1826: Sing Sing Prison opens ment simulates prison conditions in New York state, built by to test the psychology of prisons. Elam Lynds. It employs solitary A blind house lock-up, 18th c. confinement and whipping. — 1976: Chuck Colson founds Prison Fellowship. — 1774: The Maison de Force is built — 1829: Eastern State Penitentiary in Belgium and is considered a enforces solitary confinement — 1987: David Berkowitz, the model prison for its time. at all times, later called the “Son of Sam” killer, is converted “Pennsylvania system.” in prison. ges a m

I — 1776: Jonas Hanway’s Solitude in n a Imprisonment recommends solitary — 1833: Gustave de Beaumont and — 1989: The United States estab- confinement as a punishment. Alexis de Tocqueville publish On lishes its first “supermax” prison. the Penitentiary System in the United rn / Bridgem

a — 1777: Prison reformer John Howard States and Its Application in France. — 1995: Burl Cain becomes warden e L publishes The State of the Prisons in at Louisiana State Penitentiary and nd a England and Wales. — 1840s: The idea of parole develops. establishes faith-based reforms in ook L the prison. — 1779: The United Kingdom passes the Penitentiary Act. — 1998: Karla Faye Tucker is executed

ollection / © despite widespread protests C

te — 1780s: The United States begins to arguing for the commutation of a

riv cease sentencing people to death her sentence. P for any crime other than murder.

— 1787: England begins to John Howard visits transport prisoners to Australia. a prison, 18th c.

chool, (19th century) / — 1790: Solitary confinement is first — 1844: Isaac Hopper organizes the S used in US prisons. New York Prison Association. In NY

nglish 1845 his daughter Abigail Hopper E

ongress — 1791: English philosopher Jeremy Gibbons organizes the Women’s C ving), esource, a Bentham designs the “panopticon,” Prison Association. R ry of

a a prison layout where all inmates r b / Art i L can be watched from one guard post. — 1848: John Luckey publishes HIP rison (engr ng— P

Prison Sketches. a Ga

in — 1813: Elizabeth Fry first visits a h

C Newgate. In 1817 she establishes the — 1872: Reformed convict ouse lockup— H

rd visiting Association for the Reformation of Jerry McAuley founds the

wa Southern chain gang, c. 1903 o outhern the Female Prisoners in Newgate. Water Street Mission in New York. H A 4th-century fresco of the Apostle Pa ul pre a ching (photo) / L ynn Johnson/ Na tion l G eogr phic C re tive Bridgem n I m ges P risoner c a rving—Wikimedi S teel b elt; s a id to h ve een w orn y T hom C r nmer, nd the key of Boc rdo prison (met l), E nglish chool, (16th century) / Ashmole n M useum, U niversity O xford, UK Bridgem I m ges Blind S

Issue 123 23 Prison as a parish: Christian responses How Christians have tried to reform the justice system and minister to prisoners Todd V. Cioffi

From Joseph’s imprisonment in Genesis CAPTIVE apostles This altar stands today in the Mam- to Satan’s in Revelation, references to prisons fill the ertine Prison, traditional imprisonment site of Peter and Bible. And Christians have spent considerable effort Paul. on how best to respond to crime and punishment, imprisonment and release. They have sought to minis- Isaiah declared that God had called him “to proclaim ter to prisoners; they have tried to influence the justice freedom for the captives and release from darkness for system; and their input became crucial in the rise of the prisoners” (Isa. 61:1). the modern-day prison. Jesus echoed Isaiah’s words, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he proclaiming freedom has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He Biblical testimony in general speaks little of verdicts has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners” of crime and punishment and more of mercy and fel- (Luke 4:18). The Book of Hebrews commends us “to lowship. In Genesis we read of Potiphar imprison- remember those who are in prison, as though in a

ing Joseph and how “the Lord was with Joseph and prison with them” (Heb. 13:3). And in Matthew’s ikimedi showed him steadfast love” (Gen. 39:21). Psalm 107 Gospel, we discover that to visit the prisoner is in fact W depicts those rightly imprisoned for rebelling against to visit Jesus himself (Matt. 25:36). God’s word, and yet, when “they cried to the Lord in For its first three centuries, the early church had ine Prison— their trouble . . . he saved them from their distress . . . and little influence over Roman law concerning crime and t mer The Flee t Prison f rom Ackerm a nn’s Microcos m of London , Volume II 1809 ( qu at in ), R owl ndson, T.(1756–1827) nd Pugin, A. C .(1762–1832) / Vic ori & Alber M useum, L ondon, UK B ridgem n I ges S e v en cor p or a l works o f mercy— W ikimedi broke their bonds asunder” (vv. 13–14). The prophet punishment. Things changed, however, by the early Ma

24 Christian History TENNIS ANYONE? Right: Prisoners seek amusement in the courtyard of the Fleet Prison in London.

we serve Below: The “seven corporal works of mercy” commanded by the church (and illustrated here) include visiting prisoners.

fourth century with Emperor Constan- tine’s legalization of Christianity. Not only did Constantine eliminate persecution of ges a Christians, but in 320 he issued an edict m I n

a limiting mistreatment of prisoners awaiting their day in court. It literally loosed the ridgem

B chains of the prisoners to eliminate undue /

UK pain in their wrists or ankles. Prisoners were to be kept in good health, not tortured ondon,

L or mistreated. Indeed Christianity seems to have had useum,

M a significant impact on the Roman Empire’s

t treatment of prisoners. Jailers would often allow imprisoned Christians gifts and even & Alber a visitors as they awaited trial and sometimes ori t execution. And judges got a first-hand look at prisons every Sunday, when they con- firmed the prisoners had enough food and access to bathing. One edict in 367 released a .(1762–1832) / Vic C large number of prisoners in honor of Easter. Such changes were significant for the Roman Empire, whose criminal justice sys- nd Pugin, A. a tem could be extreme, arbitrary, and unfor- giving. In the time of Augustine (354–430), punishments were severe. Some offenders were hauled goal in such ideal cases is not to make the wrong- off and banished from the realm, but others faced beat- doers miserable through punishment but to bring ings, torture, or death. Prisons were used as holding them happiness through correction. ndson, T.(1756–1827) a places until judgment or as short-term punishment for owl R lesser crimes. Long-term prison sentences were uncom- ), The poor in Christ t

in mon, and Christians most often protested the state’s In the Middle Ages, religious orders and Christian lay- at

qu use of punishment and not prison sentences. people took up the cause of the downtrodden in ear- a Augustine took up this cause in his sermons, teach- nest. They established hospitals and organized aid to , 1809 (

II ing that criminal punishment should aim for moral the poor, the sick, abandoned children, the elderly, and and spiritual rehabilitation of the criminal, redirecting pilgrims. By the twelfth century, they included prison- the criminal to the true good of society, and ideally to ers, often called “the poor in Christ,” in these efforts, God. He acknowledged that punishment had its place and an obligation of charity for the imprisoned became in a just society, but thought a “deserved punishment commonplace for Christians. of London , Volume

m should always be imposed as gently as possible.” It wasn’t long before church leaders and magis-

a Augustine taught that one of the roles of a bishop is trates brought their case to medieval kings, who in turn to re-establish the offender as part of the Christian “fel- granted acts of mercy to prisoners. Influence also came ikimedi W lowship of the altar,” acting as an intercessor between from monasteries. According to the Rule of St. Benedict, nn’s Microcos a the criminal, the state, and the church. He personally wayward monks were to be confined, “walled up,” and mercy—

f pleaded with civil authorities to mitigate the punish- required to do penance for their sins, with a goal of rec- ment of criminals, especially capital punishment. In the onciliation with the monastic community. In time the rom Ackerm

f end his driving force was Jesus’ commandment to love wider society began to use the monastic goal of confine- l works o a one’s neighbor and even one’s enemy: ment producing penitence in addition to punishment. or p Prison

t The only person who is fit to punish anyone is In early modern Europe, severe corporal punish- the one whose love has overcome the hatred which ment for crimes lessened and other punishments en cor v e The Flee S Ma mer t ine Prison— W ikimedi a often rages in us when we desire revenge. . . . The emerged. The church and the state often shared

Issue 123 25 victorian reality tv? A 19th-c. audi- ure a - t ence watches the first man electrocuted at N

Auburn Prison in the United States (left), and ini Pic a family examines plaster casts of executed t prisoners’ heads at Newgate (below). e Agos D us used. From La at For many sixteenth-century reform- r appa ry 15, 1873 /

ers, the moral law, sometimes referred to as a the natural law, had several so-called uses. , Febru

First the moral law had a civil use, restrain- inghouse t LXII

ing people from criminal conduct. Second es W it had a theological use, condemning those olume ion. v who fell short of God’s law. Finally the t ews ,

moral law had an educational use, teaching N he execu

people how to conduct their lives before t or

God and with others. f This understanding of the uses of the

moral law can be seen in various legal ustrated London

conceptions of criminal law, especially Ill zine

in England and America. Early modern jurists saw a g themselves as God’s vice-regents in the world, God’s a

authority on earth. As such, penal law was meant to rom m hree surges were needed f reflect God’s moral law—seeking to judge immorality, t ion at r condemn sinfulness, and educate the offender to reha- used: t t bilitate, reform, and ultimately rejoin society. urren C

The state of the prisons ing ingdom, illus at Much agitation for prison reform came from the work K ern ed t t

of John Howard (1726–1790) in England. High sheriff of ni Bedfordshire and survivor of a brief imprisonment, he U 1890. Al refused to delegate his duties of inspecting the county t ondon, L

jail, going there himself. He was so horrified by what e, at

he found that he ended up visiting prisons throughout A, 6 Augus ewg US N the country and publishing the exposé The State of the f Prisons in England and Wales (1777).

There he described the many prisons he had vis- rison o p ited, such as this one: “Two dirty day-rooms; and three nged in offensive night-rooms: That for men eight feet square: ir, Auburn Prison, a a ges

one of the women’s, nine by eight; the other four and a a m I n ric ch a

half feet square: the straw, worn to dust, swarmed with t e been h

vermin: no court: no water accessible to prisoners. The av ridgem

petty offenders were in irons: at my last visit, eight were B / ed by elec t ls who h

women.” Out of his work came the Penitentiary Act of UIG a e/ 1779, which prescribed solitary confinement, religious v n execu crimin instruction, hard labor, and the abolishment of jailer’s a f m ges t a

jurisdiction over those convicted of crimes. fees. He eventually toured European prisons as well. ory Archi ds o m I t irs a f n is a Ecclesiastical judges often gave milder sanctions than American reformers also pushed for a prison dis- H he l t a

did other judicial bodies, such as military courts. cipline that would rehabilitate and not merely punish, rom he f ers ridgem v

For instance a church judge might require an but they were not always successful (see “Heaven at last B ni ken / U a emmler, ta K offender to wear a penitential garment for a period of the wrong shall right,” pp. 33–35). US penitentiaries n a s t ir. s a

time or go barefoot while dressed in a sheet through the were divided between the “Pennsylvania system” and a

public square. At times ecclesiastical judges would with- the “Auburn system.” The first kept prisoners in soli- er c Ambrosi ric ch t a t ember 1890. / s

hold punishment and simply require a fine. Over time tary confinement at all times, and the second allowed a ec l pt t p e

S the practices of religious courts spread to the secular them to work together in silence during the day. f iblio B ion o realm. Of course early modern European governments Even as Howard and others were pressing for ris, 6 ion by elec t a t ry / , P

still used harsher punishments, such as torture or execu- reform, imprisonment was growing more popu- a ollec xecu ibr E C L Pr a yer be f ore rodeo ( D J X 16 H )— ZUM A Press, I nc. / Al my St ock Pho t o H elen Pre j e a n ( ENY 0T N )— ZUM A Press, I nc. / Al my St ock Pho t o tion, but the church’s influence had a mitigating effect. lar. By 1790 in England, approximately two-thirds of ture

26 Christian History Execution by electric chair. Kemmler, the first man executed by electric chair, Auburn Prison, USA, 6 August 1890. Alternating Current used: three surges were needed for the execution. Westinghouse apparatus used. From La Na- ture, Paris, 6 September 1890. / Universal History Archive/UIG / Bridgeman Images Collection of plaster casts taken from heads of criminals who have been hanged in prison of Newgate, London, United Kingdom, illustration from magazine Illustrated London News, volume LXII, February 15, 1873 / De Agostini Picture Library / Biblioteca Ambrosiana / Bridgeman Images

Prayer before rodeo (DJX16H)— ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo Helen Prejean (ENY0TN)— ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo Issue 123 h they as behavior—just changed and ance, ers purchased liquors from a regular tap in the prison.” the in tap aregular from liquors purchased ers floor the on bedding, without sleeping no was provision), (for there which clothing sufficient of destitute dirt, were rags crowded and . . in children, numerous their women, with hundred three “Nearly scene: Her of biographer the wrote to anew wave reform. of prison directly led conditions, appalling where shefound (see prisons and punishment, crime, with deal civil—to and religious, of society—judicial, sectors various development, galvanizing prison’s modern werePenn to key the low-level offenses. who committed had those imprisoning promoted and of manners” reformation the for “societies formed Christians eras, to earlier contrast In punishment. not just for rehabilitation, opportunity an as seen to be came reflection solitary and labor law, moral the of forced acombination educative of the on use added emphasis b could walls prison within labor” and ness thereafter. built prisons many for basis the as Bentham’s served design prisoners. all observe could jailer a central apanopticon called aprison designed Jeremy 1785 Bentham philosopher In British entailed sentences criminal for example, evangelizes prisoners, but also offers offers but also prisoners, for example, evangelizes l to work and for more just of prisoners needs itual to physical to attend andspir try predecessors, their like ministry, involved prison in Christians Modern minis ideal, at the rate. any is That i are Prisons reform. spiritual for and moral tunity oppor of an work as solitude and experience monastic the much like something at providing to aim began visit prisoners. o groups voluntary to organize effort made great and influence, and contact promoted personal ishment, p between bonds social sustaining lowship, and creating t defining in arole for and religion punishment tal aws and more humane treatment. Prison Fellowship, Prison treatment. aws more humane and ntended to be communities of moral and spiritual fel spiritual of and moral ntended communities to be he purpose of prison. They denounced bodily pun bodily denounced They of prison. he purpose f Christians and concerned citizens to regularly to regularly citizens concerned and f Christians e opportunities for moral reflection, pen reflection, moral for opportunities e rison staff, inmates, and even those outside the prison. outside prison. the even those and inmates, staff, rison ad been for medieval monks. With the With the monks. for medieval ad been Q Quakers like Elizabeth Fry and William “idle 1800s itBy that thought was the A CH s a result of these reforms, the modern-day prison prison modern-day the reforms, of these s aresult uakers called for the abolishment of capi abolishment for the called uakers t issue 117). issue Fry’s to Newgate, visits ering insideandou 27 imprisonment. t

where where . - - The prison The ------

Calvin Initiative. Prison College at Calvin codirector studies the of and ministry Todd V. and congregational of an assistant professor is Cioffi Christ.” to “the in mercy poor showing church’s the continue of long legacy will Christians whether is question The crimes. for minor including U Today rehabilitation. the spiritual for and moral nities opportu criminals giving on insistence Christian the is considerable;West been striking most perhaps has pp. 37–40).challenges,” (see “Joys inside the and from system the transform State Penitentiary, to attempt Louisiana the inside Seminary Theological Baptist New Orleans of the branch long-standing the like programs, Educational advocacy. legal does and families, works with wardens, trains training, re-entry and life-skills by thebookandfilm advocate . andnuns cowbo A ngola (Louisiana nited States leads the world in incarceration rates, world the leads incarceration States in nited Christian influence on crime and punishment in the the in punishment and crime on influence Christian y today fortheabolishmentofdeathpenalty. s . Above: Helen Top: S tate P risoners pray before a rodeo at risoners praybeforearodeoat , continues to Dead ManWalking,continuesto P enitentiary). P rejean, thenunmadefamous CH -

come along, sir This 19th-c. lithograph shows soldiers leading John Hus to his execution.

stoned, twice suffered shipwreck, for two years bound with chains and in divers ways afflicted; who saith in his epistle: We were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of life. They have now passed their trials and torments, and there remaineth

for them infinite bliss and the life of quietness that ges a m I

knows no suffering. n a Now Peter and Paul reign with the King

above, now they are with the choirs of angels, ridgem B now they see the King in His beauty, now are rn / a e

they released from weariness and are full of bliss L nd

unspeakable. May those glorious martyrs, thus a

united with the King of glory, deign to inter- ook L cede for us, that, strengthened by their help, we

may be partakers in their glory, by patiently suf- ion / © t fering whatever God Almighty shall ordain in ollec this world for our greater good. Amen. —To John of C e

Chlum, June 29, 1415 [feast day of Peter and Paul] vat

God be with you! May it please Him ury) / Pri “ Keep my fur cloak in to bestow upon you the eternal reward for t h cen

the many kindnesses you have shown me, t memory of me” and still do show, although perhaps in the body I am already dead. . . . Give thanks in chool, (19 S

ohn Hus (c. 1369–1415) cared nothing for talk of reform my name to my gracious mistress the Queen for all n a when it first came to Bohemia, but became impressed the kindnesses she hath conferred on me. Greet your erm with the truth of much that the reformer Wycliffe had family and the other faithful friends, whose names G

J ho), written. Following his change of heart, Hus became zeal- I may not mention. I entreat you all to pray to God in t ous for Christ. He was invited to the great Council of my behalf; by His help we shall soon meet together in Constance, which ousted three popes and made a new one. His gracious and holy presence. Amen. Promised safe conduct to the council by the emperor, he I write this in prison in fetters, which I am wearing, was instead imprisoned and subjected to an unfair trial, I trust, for the gospel of God, expecting every moment then burned as a heretic. These letters are among the last the sentence of death. For God’s sake, I pray you suffer

he wrote from prison. not good priests to be oppressed. . . . nce, 6 July 1415 (colour li Peter, dearest friend, keep my fur cloak in mem- ta ons I, Master John Hus, in chains and in prison, now ory of me. Lord Henry Lefl, live a good life with thy C ion,

standing on the shore of this present life and expect- wife. My thanks to thee! God be thy reward! Faithful t ing on the morrow a dreadful death, which will, friend, Master Lideˇri and Mistress Margaret, Masters I hope, purge away my sins, find no heresy in myself, Skuoˇcek and Mikešk and others: may God grant you o his execu

and accept with all my heart any truth whatsoever an eternal reward for your toils and the other kind- t

that is worthy of belief.—To the University of Prague, ness you have conferred on me. Master Christian, ken June 27, 1415 faithful and beloved, God be with thee! Master ta Martin, my disciple, remember those things which us being

The kings of this world do not act thus with I taught thee. Master Nicolas and Peter, the Queen’s H n their servants. They only care for them so long as they chaplain, and the other masters and priests, be dili- a are useful and necessary to them. Not so Christ, the gent students of God’s word. Priest Gallus, preach the ormer J King of glory, Who hath to-day crowned the apostles word of God. Finally, I entreat you all to persevere in f n re a

Peter and Paul—Peter by crucifixion, Paul by behead- the truth of God. [signed] On the feast day of the apostles i ing—and welcomed them into the kingdom of the St. Peter and St. Paul, about the time of the evening meal. t hris C

heavenly fatherland. —To his friends in Bohemia, June 29, 1415 n Peter was four times imprisoned and was led forth a ohemi

by an angel. Paul was thrice beaten with rods, once These letters were translated by R. Martin Pope. B

28 Christian History William Morgan’s gift An obscure Irish teenager inspired Methodists to Undertake over 200 years of prison ministry Kevin M. Watson

In 1732 A YOUNG MAN named William Morgan a much bigger holy club John Wesley (in the high died in Dublin. pulpit) and Charles (in the low) are shown with over 400 The young Irishman had come to Oxford Univer- Methodist preachers in a 19th-c. engraving. sity as a student in 1729. There, amid the usual colle- giate crowd more interested in social life than studies, their methodical approach to the spiritual life, the Morgan was two unusual things: a serious student and name that eventually stuck: Methodists. a serious Christian. He quickly became friends in May mages I 1729 with another young man in the same boat: Charles “that ridiculous society” Wesley (1707–1788). These young scholars weren’t content to merely study Charles’s older brother, John (1703–1791), was serv- together. At Morgan’s urging they soon turned their ing in local church ministry in Epworth and Wroot. youthful zeal toward action—visiting the poor, the When he returned to Oxford in the summer of 1729, he sick, and prisoners. Richard Morgan, William’s father, promptly joined with Charles and William to encour- was displeased with his son’s actions, writing to him age one another in their faith. from Ireland in 1732: They attended Communion, studied, prayed, and You can’t conceive what a noise that ridicu- fasted together. Other undergraduates called them lous Society which you are engaged in has made names: the Reforming Club, the Godly Club, the Holy here. Besides the particulars of the great follies Club, Sacramentarians, Bible Moths, Bible Bigots, of it at Oxford, which to my great concern I have

John Wesley Preaching—Wikimedia: Wellcome Supererogation Men, Enthusiasts—and, because of often heard repeated, it gave me sensible trouble

Issue 123 29 appointed to die 18th-c. prisoners were frequently transported to prisons and to

executions in carts like these. The Wesleys rode with them and comforted them.

much good if anyone would be at the pains of now and then speaking with them. This he so frequently repeated that on the 24th of August, 1730, my brother and I walked with him to the Castle. We were so well satisfied with our conversation there that we agreed to go thither once or twice a week; which we had not done long before he desired me to go with him to see a poor woman in the town who was sick. In this employment too, when we came to reflect upon it, we believed it would be worth while to spend an hour or two in a week, provided the minister of the parish in which any such person was were not against it.

preaching in prison to hear that you were noted for your going into Before long, John explained to Richard Morgan, visit- the villages about Holt, entering into poor peo- ing prisoners in Oxford became a part of the weekly ple’s houses, calling their children together, teach- discipline of John, Charles, William Morgan, and Bob ing them their prayers and catechism, and giving Kirkham, who was the fourth to join with them. John them a shilling at your departure. told Morgan’s father that the Oxford Methodists had I could not but advise with a wise, pious, and asked for permission from the bishop of Oxford’s chap- learned clergyman. He told me that he has known lain to meet with the prisoners who were “condemned the worst of consequences follow from such blind to die.” zeal, and plainly satisfied me that it was a thor- John had also expressed his intention to preach in ough mistake of true piety and religion. prison once a month if the bishop approved. They not Soon William Morgan died—on August 26, only received approval for all of this but, John explained 1732—and his father thought the Wesleys’ rig- to Morgan’s father, the bishop had said he “was greatly orous religious routine, which involved fast- pleased with the undertaking, and hoped it would have ing as well as visiting the poor and prisoners, the desired success.” played a role in his death. Richard Morgan wrote John delivered on those commitments, preaching in to Charles, “The Wesleys he raved of most of all in the Castle prison at least once a month for the next four .

his sickness.” and a half years and visiting prisoners multiple times T John Wesley responded. As with most things each week. He wrote down his weekly schedule in the John wrote, he later published his letter to Richard. It front of his 1731 diary, which recorded that he would became the first public defense of Methodism, includ- visit the Bocardo prison on Monday and Friday and the othenburg o.d.

ing the prison ministry instituted by William Morgan: Castle prison on Tuesday and Saturday. R In November 1729, at which time I came to reside Meeting with prisoners became a central Methodist at Oxford, your son, my brother, myself, and one ministry and a bridge to other acts of mercy, especially more, agreed to spend three or four evenings to the poor and sick. Morgan had brought together chil- riminalmuseum

in a week together. Our design was to read over dren from the poorest families in Oxford, and at the K the classics, which we had before read in private, end of June 1731, John Wesley hired a woman named on common nights, and on Sunday some book Mrs. Plat to care for them. In his 1731 diary, John listed in divinity. Wednesday as a day he would visit with these children;

In the summer following Mr. M[organ, i.e. Sunday he set aside to visit with the “poor and elderly.” ittelalterliches William] told me he had called at the jail to In 1735, three years after Morgan’s death, John and M see a man who was condemned for killing his Charles Wesley and others traveled to the colony of wife, and that, from the talk he had with one Georgia as missionaries, disrupting the stability of the Prison carts— B ridgeman I mages of the debtors, he verily believed it would do Holy Club. However the influence of William Morgan William M organ—courtesy the O xford C entre for ethodism and hurch H istory, B rookes U niversity, UK J OHN W ESLEY — T he Philadel p hia M useum of A rt / R esource, NY C harles Wesley, illustration from The Chur c h of E ngland: A H is t ory for he Peo p le by . D M Sp ence-Jones, ub. c.1910 (litho) (se ia hoto), nglish S chool, (18th century) (after) / Private ollection T ta leton

30 Christian History short life, Long legacy Left: Without William Morgan, Methodists might never have

developed their worldwide, two-centuries-long commitment to prison ministry.

ollection / C from brother Below: John Wesley continued to preach in prisons throughout his life. . . leton p ta S he T ollection / C

and his commitment to the downcast would live on. to brother Above: . . . and

chool, (18th century) (after) / Private When John returned from Georgia in Charles Wesley continued to S 1738, he continued to preach in the Oxford write hymns for the poor and for prisoners. nglish prisons; Charles also continued prison min- E istry with those condemned to die. (Given

hoto), the numerous offenses the English penal p ia

p code of the time punished with death, there were many and found that “a great part of these men are almost of these.) naked.” He immediately wrote a letter to the editor of One passage in Charles’s journal in 1738 describes Lloyd’s Evening Post seeking to raise the public’s aware- how he visited with a group of prisoners during their ness of their condition and exhort people to provide last hours, offering Holy Communion, singing hymns appropriate clothing for the winter months. Just over UK ub. c.1910 (litho) (se

p with them, and accompanying them to the place of exe- two weeks later, he wrote the editor of the Morning cution. In one chilling note, he wrote, “By half-hour Chronicle describing the collection he had taken for niversity,

U past ten we came to Tyburn . . . waited till eleven; then these same prisoners:

ence-Jones, were brought the children appointed to die.” On Tuesday, October 16 last, I made a collection Sp . rookes

M In 1742 Charles published a “Hymn for Condemned at the New Room in Bristol for the French prison- B . D .

H Prisoners.” Soon John set out three requirements for ers confined at Knowles. The money contributed xford

O any person who wanted to continue as a Methodist then and the next day was about three-and-twenty le by p in his short tract The Nature, Design, and General Rules pounds. istory,

he Peo of the United Societies (1743): “doing no harm,” “doing Judged it best to lay this out in shirts and flan- H t good,” and “attending upon all the ordinances of God.” nel waistcoats, and accordingly bought, of Mr. hurch

C Among the ways Methodists went about “doing good” Zepheniah Fry, in the Castle, check shirts and wool- ory for t is

NY was “by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the len cloth to the amount of eight pounds ten shillings H

A naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick, or in and sixpence; and of Mrs. Sarah Cole, check linen to prison.” Prison ministry, originally Morgan’s idea, had the amount of five pounds seventeen shillings. esource, ethodism and ngland: R M E become woven into the very fabric of the Methodist The money remaining I lodged in the hands rt A

h of understanding of Christian discipleship. of Mr. James Ireland of Horsleydown Street, as c rt / A he speaks French readily, and Mr. John Salter of entre for C “Almost naked” Bedminster, who had been with me both at the John Wesley continued to preach and minister in pris- prison and the hospital. I directed them to give xford useum of O M ons throughout his life. In 1748, after preaching in Dub- a waistcoat and two shirts to every one who was hia p lin prisons, he wrote in his journal that “the poor pris- remanded from the hospital to the prison, and the oners, both in the Castle and in the city prison, had now other half to those they should judge most needy none that cared for their souls; none to instruct, advise, or most deserving. he Philadel T

— comfort, and build them up in the knowledge and love Similar stories weave throughout John Wesley’s mages I

organ—courtesy the of the Lord Jesus.” journal. Richard Morgan had thought his son and the M ESLEY

W In October 1759 (more than 25 years after Morgan’s Wesleys were making a “thorough mistake of true piety harles Wesley, illustration from The Chur ridgeman OHN Prison carts— M ittelalterliches K riminalmuseum R othenburg o.d. T . William J B C death), John visited French prisoners at Knowles and religion.” But as long as Methodists followed the

Issue 123 31 “gently corrected” Tyndale’s translation (below) was controversial because it clearly reflected interpretations

“ I shall be patient” of Scripture identified with Luther. ible into B

illiam Tyndale (1494–1536) translated the Bible into English, illegal in England since the days of General Rules, they understood “doing good” to include WJohn Wycliffe. After over a year’s imprisonment, ministry with those in prison. he was tried as a heretic by imperial authorities, found guilty In 1784, at age 81, John Wesley said of one prison of Protestant beliefs, and executed (though the translation, as preaching experience in London: such, was not on the list of charges). I preached the condemned n for his translation of the This letter, from winter 1535, addressed criminals’ sermon in Newgate. w to the governor of Vilvoorde Castle Forty-seven were under sen- ell kno

where he was jailed, is the only writing tence of death. While they were w e is

in Tyndale’s hand still extant. coming in, there was some- H thing very awful in the clink of I believe, right worshipful, that their chains. you are not ignorant of what But no sound was heard, either has been determined concerning from them or the crowded audi- to his execution. me [by the Council of Brabant]; ence, after the text was named: p therefore I entreat your Lordship, “There is joy in heaven over and that by the Lord Jesus, that if one sinner that repenteth, more I am to remain here [in Vilvoorde] than over ninety and nine just during the winter, you will persons, that need not repen- request the Procurer to be kind tance.” The power of the Lord enough to send me from my was eminently present, and goods, which he has in his pos- most of the prisoners were in session, a warmer cap, for I suffer tears. A few days after, twenty extremely from cold in the head, of them died at once, five of being afflicted with a perpetual whom died in peace. catarrh, which is considerably In 1785, at the age of 78, Charles increased in the cell. Wesley published an entire hymnal A warmer coat also, for that for prisoners, Prayers for Condemned which I have is very thin; also Malefactors, that drew on his con-

a piece of cloth to patch my leg- tinued prison ministry. One of its mages I gings: my overcoat has been worn out; my shirts final hymns offers grace to sinners, whether in prison

are also worn out. He has a woolen shirt of mine, or not, with these words: ho became a leading figure in Protestant reform the years u w ridgeman if he will be kind enough to send it. I have also And let these wretched bodies die, B with him leggings of thicker cloth for the putting If thou at last receive on above; he also has warmer caps for wearing at The souls thou didst so dearly buy, eserved / night. I wish also his permission to have a candle That we with God might live: R nglish scholar E

in the evening, for it is wearisome to sit alone in Death as the wages of our sin, ights R ll

the dark. Our just desert we claim, A But above all, I entreat and beseech your clem- But hope eternal life to win, oard. ency to be urgent with the Procurer that he may Through grace—and Jesu’s name. B kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Jesus, thou all-redeeming Lord, yndale (c.1494–1536) ibrary T Grammar, and Hebrew Dictionary, that I may spend Remember Calvary, L my time with that study. And in return, may you And think on sinners self-abhorred, ritish obtain your dearest wish, provided always it be con- Who gasp in death to thee: B / ©

sistent with the salvation of your soul. And while thy mercy’s utmost power UK On us is magnified, But if any other resolutions have been come to ortrait of William p

ondon, A concerning me, before the conclusion of the winter, O save us at our latest hour L C H

I shall be patient, abiding the will of God to the Who hast for felons died! age— p ibrary,

glory of the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ, whose L itle spirit, I pray, may ever direct your heart. Amen. Kevin M. Watson is assistant professor of Wesleyan and T ritish ible B

—Translation by Jacob Isidor Mombert, reprinted from CH Methodist studies at Candler School of Theology at Emory B 16. In our Did you know? (inside front cover), you can view University, and the author of several books on Wesleyan nglish / yndale

an image of the Latin letter in Tyndale’s own handwriting. discipleship and the Wesleyan class meeting. T E

32 Christian History Adapted From THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION: PRISONS AND RELIGION IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA by Jennifer Graber. Copyright © 2011 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. www.uncpress.unc.edu Sing Sing—Wikimedia: New York Public LIbrary, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building / Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs eaven at last the “ Issue 123 ety, not on spiritual transformation. Only a few years years afew Only transformation. ety, not spiritual on soci a civil Luckey. fostering on was focus But its main like just reformation, inmate and discipline prison (NYPA).Association NYPA The severe less wanted New York the founded Edmonds as Prison of conflicts to anew series led of Edmonds Luckey’s enlistment 1844 NewIn Lynds York of duty. relieved officials W profit. order on and focused riously severe discipline Lynds (1784–1855) agent Elam notoprison his to modify Sing’s Sing pressed shop. then prison Edmonds the in worker ahard became prisoner The him. lashing from keepers the stopped and inmate, moved, the visited In 1843S d immediate seeking to provokeately beating, tried afatal in a Twelve Years’ (1860), Chaplaincy deliber inmate the to Luckey’s memoir, Life in Sing Sing Seen as State Prison, 1874), According inmate. of asuicidal to plead case the (1799– judge Edmonds lawyerand John the inspector, Luckey (1800–1876), went to New York’s head prison Jennifer Graber JenniferGraber One man’ H shall right”shall eath over the slow one of serving out his sentence. sentence. out his over sloweath the of one serving hen Lynds refused Edmonds called for his removal. removal. for his called Edmonds Lynds refused hen The victory,The however, short-lived. was fact In To appeared Edmonds chaplain’s the surprise, i 33 ng S s

t i ng’ hwar s re t si ed a dent chapla tt emp ts

i to n , John John , change - - - ment to Sabbath school and the prison library, and was library, was and prison the and school ment to Sabbath Seymour’s He Wiltse. appreciated replaced commit new agent under David Seymour, who Sing’s start fresh down New York sidewalks. City prison- from not could stop himself and 20 years fork and after when hepardoned was knife a how to use He forgotten had floggings. weekly m prisoner, a“used up ple Irish one Luckey dealt with For exam aftermath. by the dominated was ministry Luckey’s a months, few Wiltse under served he only While Wiltse. Robert warden cruel investigating was moment;have at Seward amore dramatic appeared May 1839. in Sing come to Sing had He not could Luckey Seward, of Governor William backing With the unable touseaknifeandfork Sing. Sing from missal later, Luckey’s would help Edmonds orchestrate graphed onlyafewdecadesafterLuckey’stimethere. solitary bars an,” who had been “absolutelyan,” who been had by near- brutalized” A L uckey relished the opportunity to be part of Sing of Sing part to be opportunity the relished uckey merican pri ThesecellsinSingwerephoto- so n s wrong

lockstepping dis - - -

phs a r g hoto P nd a rints P Art, f ivision o D h ac ll

soon visiting inmate families, bringing in temperance Wa .

step in time Sing Sing prisoners march to work under D

speakers, and assisting inmates in transitioning to post- a r

the watchful eye of guards in the late 1800s. I prison life. But most of all, he relished the “mildness” of nd a

the new discipline. Keepers used the lash infrequently. m a iri

Mentally ill convicts received gentler treatment. Lynds also ended the privileges of the last few M Luckey preached a message of suffering, conversion, years: family visitation, letters from friends, and tion, and regeneration, emphasizing industriousness, moral- singing in worship. He dismantled the prison library, c ity, and self-discipline, and drawing on Methodist prac- stopped the Sabbath school, and curtailed Luckey’s

tices to shape his day-to-day ministry (see “William interaction with prisoners. Despite increasing inmate phy Colle a r

Morgan’s gift,” pp. 29–31). In fact Luckey functioned population, budgets for food, clothing, and hospital g

like a Methodist class leader inside Sing Sing. He visited supplies shrank. In an 1843 report, Edmonds and hoto P /

prisoners regularly; listened to them to “advise, reprove, other inspectors wrote that “to talk of the power g comfort, or exhort”; rebuked them; and tried to convince of moral suasion in a company of felons, is to talk ildin

them of their need for prayer. nonsense.” Bu n In Sunday chapel presentations, Luckey read letters In his memoir Luckey referred to this period as a rzm from discharged convicts, assuring inmates that their a “bloody time” and a “reign of terror.” Mentally ill a hw

affliction worked for good. Those discharged reported inmates suffered. On one occasion Luckey pleaded Sc that they had read the Bible, learned new professions, with Lynds not to flog one. Lynds responded that chap- and received the mercies of God. But all these things lains were “benevolent dupes.” But Luckey’s experi- tephen A. paled against the hope of heaven “through the merits ence with the prisoner who tried to get himself killed S ry, of a crucified Saviour,” as one letter put it. by a fatal beating proved to be a catalyst for change. For a br LI

In 1840 the New York Evangelist attested to signifi- starters it got Lynds fired. c

cant tract distribution and inmate conversion at Sing bli Pu Sing. Articles detailed Luckey’s Sunday schedule—his change for the better? ork sermon on the prodigal son, prayers with sick inmates, But the conflict was not over. Edmonds’s new NYPA Y ew N and afternoon visits to individual cells—and included rejected the belief that most prisoners were unredeem- : a inmate testimonies of thankfulness at having been able, but its vision focused not on redemptive suffering ikimedi

brought to prison to learn the word of God. but on prisoners’ potential for citizenship. Chaplains W Governor Seward’s reforms, however, lasted only as were not to speak of God’s judgment and mercy, but long as he remained in office. New Yorkers elected a rather to contribute to the prison’s educational mission. to work—

Democratic governor in 1842 who named a new slate The NYPA soon named a new matron for Sing Sing’s g oin

of prison inspectors, including Edmonds. Edmonds, female inmates, and Eliza Farnham (1815–1864) brought g in turn, hired Lynds. Lynds had previously served a new psychological approach. She relaxed rules in the as warden at both Sing Sing and Auburn, where he women’s quarters, allowing conversation and popu- risoners P -

founded the “Auburn system” of prison discipline. lar novel reading. She also advocated phrenology and g in S Lynds restored the tough discipline of his earlier terms. invited an artist to make drawings of inmates’ heads. g in S The number of floggings soared. It was rumored that she argued against preaching only Gov. S ew a rd— W ikimedi : J. T e j ed , NY John Luc key, L i f e in S g t a te P rison; D rew University ibr ry

34 Christian History failed reformer Governor William Seward (left) sent pastor John Luckey (below) to Sing Sing as a chaplain twice, but Luckey felt both terms ended in defeat.

Christian theology and stopped an assistant who tried ments ranged from solitary confinement and whipping to convert Catholic prisoners to Protestantism. to showering and yoking. In 1855 the New York Times Chaplain Luckey and his wife, Dinah, took their reported on violent episodes at the prison including concerns to the prison inspectors. According to former “the shaking of eight or nine hundred iron doors, and keepers in the women’s wing, Farnham had allowed the unearthly groans of the men.” public reading of Dickens’s novels, works by phrenolo- In Prison Sketches Luckey told of an insane female gist George Combe, devotional pieces, travelogues, and inmate found, just weeks after her release, wander- her own memoir. This proved maddening to Dinah ing New York with her Bible in one hand and shoes in Luckey: a prisoner who came to the prison “deeply pen- the other. Luckey tried to find work for another dis- itent,” Dinah claimed, became unconcerned about her charged inmate hoping to lead a good life, but he was so eternal soul and captivated by notions of becoming a impaired by prison beatings that Luckey could not help. “fine lady” after three months of novel reading. Luckey’s stories are classic warnings to the impeni- The NYPA, though, agreed with Farnham’s willing- tent, but also commentary on the slim possibilities of ness to enlist a broader reforming arsenal in the inter- redemption in Sing Sing as it was then administered. est of producing a virtuous citizenry. She won the battle Prison Sketches includes only two hopeful stories, where over inmate education. Luckey lost his job. successful outcomes rely on the intervention of benevo- ry a Even as he ministered in other places (including lent Christians, not on regular prison routines. ibr L New York’s notorious Five Points mission), Sing Sing Luckey depicted prisoners as fellow human beings stayed on Luckey’s mind. In 1853 he published Prison who had done wrong, transformed by Sing Sing into Sketches. The book included some inmate conversions, subhuman wretches. Rescue from this hell was only but they paled in comparison to the number of stories available through benevolent Christians offering a rew University D about bad prison staff, politics, insanity, false imprison- tract, a dollar, some food, or a job. At the end of his ment, and despair. Although God’s grace was available memoir, the chaplain quoted a former inmate who rison; P NY

, in prison, many inmates failed to experience it. Convict wrote, “Heaven at last the wrong will right.” te a a t ed S

j life was awful, Luckey warned. Upon retirement Luckey moved to Missouri, but e g T in

S Sing Sing haunted him. When he died in 1876, his wife

: J. g a

in “unearthly groans” shipped his remains back to Ossining at his request. S In 1855, when a Whig governor was elected, Luckey His body is buried on Sing Sing’s grounds. C H e in ikimedi f i W L found a way back into Sing Sing. This time he spent rd— a key, less time trying to make the system better and focused Jennifer Graber is associate professor of religion at the ew Luc S instead on how good Christians could minister in an University of Texas at Austin and the author of The Furnace S in g - P risoners oin to work— W ikimedi a : N ew Y ork Pu bli c LI br ry, tephen A. Sc hw rzm n Bu ildin / hoto r phy Colle tion, M iri m nd I D . Wa ll ac h ivision o f Art, rints phs Gov. John awful situation. Conditions were deteriorating; punish- of Affliction.

Issue 123 35 words from women Evans and Cheevers were encouraged to speak for themselves in a Quaker assembly like this one in London.

Land, and perils at Sea, fiery trials, cruel threatenings, grief of heart, sorrow of soul, heats and colds, fastings and watchings, fears within, and frightings without, terrible temptations and persecutions, and dreadful imprisonments and buffetings of Satan; yet in all these our trials the Lord was very gracious unto us, and not absent himself from us, neither suffered his faith- fulness to fail us, but did bear us up . . . we sat one in one room, and the other in the another, near a year; as Owls in deserts, and as People forsaken in solitary places. . . .

And from another letter: es ag

And we do believe, that neither principalities, nor m “ To God alone we I n

powers, nor sufferings, nor imprisonment, nor per- a em

secution, nor life nor death, shall be able to separate g

cry and weep” rid us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and B uakers Katharine Evans (d. 1692) and Sarah Saviour, Amen: Dearly beloved Friends, though our rmet / Cheevers (d. 1694) were held by the Maltese bodies are bolted up in the Rocks and Caves of the a Inquisition from 1558–1663. These excerpts are Earth, yet our spirits (you know) none can limit nor

Q hives Ch

from A True Account of the Great Trials and Cruel confine to any place. c Sufferings Undergone by Those Two Faithful Servants

of God (1663), a collection of their papers and letters from This poem was written by Katharine: tion / Ar c prison compiled by Daniel Baker. My love to Truth doth me constrain In Prison ever to remain; te Colle From their account of their imprisonment: If it in truth be so that I a riv Now in short time after we were taken Cannot be set at liberty. P

Prisoners, we were stung with Flies called Mus- My dear Redeemer’s face so bright, ter) / katoes [mosquitos], in our faces and our heads, Doth shine upon me day and night; af as we lay in our Beds, that were swollen as if we His Countenance doth exceed all had the small-Pox, so that all people were afraid of Captivity and Bondage thrall. rd (1673–1733) (

us, save the English Consul; they thought we had a

been unclean persons, so that a Friar told Sarah he And this poem is by both: ern B

saw an evil Spirit in her face, which was a great In Prisons strong, and Dungeons deep, rt, ca i

trial . . . we were told, that they had seen them that To God alone we cry and weep: P did pray and preach every day, were burnt for Our sorrows none can learn nor read, Witches in a short time. . . . And glory be to our But those that in our path do tread. God, they cannot lay guilt to our charge, but are But He whose Beauty shineth bright, ) (b/w photo), made to confess the Truth. Who turneth darkness into Light, g vin a

Makes Cedars bow, and Oaks to bend r g From a letter to some friends: To him, that’s sent to the same end. Though we be the least of God’s Flock, yet we He is a Fountain pure and clear, are of the true Fold, whereof Christ Jesus is shep- His Crystal Streams run far and near, ondon, 1736 (en

herd; and he hath had as tender a care over us, To cleanse all those that come to him, L as he hath had of any of his Lambs which he For to be healed of their sin. hath called forth in this the day of his Power; All them that patiently abide, and hath carried us through, and over as great And never swerve nor go aside;

afflictions as most of our Brethren and sufferers The Lord will free them out of all ker Assembly in for his Name, both in mockings, scoffings, scorn- Captivity, Bondage and Thrall. ua A Q ings, reproaches, stripes, contradictions, perils at —A True Account (1663); spelling modernized

36 Christian History Joys and challenges What does prison ministry look like today? We Interviewed five individuals active in prison ministry to get first-hand accounts. Photo ck to S

y Jim Forbes is media director at Prison Fellowship. freedom in the word Inmates at Darrington Prison

lam in Texas study for ministry degrees from Southwestern

A For more than 40 years, Prison Fellowship has been /

y Baptist Theological Seminary. h going into correctional facilities, sharing the good p news of Jesus Christ with those behind bars, and offering the hope of true transformation. Through The Calvin Prison Initiative got started when Calvin

h Photogra the use of Bible-based programming and with the Theological Seminary faculty members were inspired ic help of thousands of committed volunteers, lives are by the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, where being changed, hope is being restored, and darkness the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary oper- Daemmr b is being replaced with the promise of a future. ates a Bible college inside the prison with over 200 grad- At the same time, we also envision a safer, more uates. The seminary partnered with Calvin College to redemptive society. With the help of our advocacy offer a BA at Handlon Prison in Ionia, Michigan. s Cotera/Bo y work, we call for those responsible for crime to be Every year an entering class of 20 students is drawn held accountable through a fair system that values from men’s prisons all over Michigan. They have to e Kam i their human dignity and potential, and for churches meet certain criteria: having a GED or having finished arjor

M and communities to provide care for victims high school, being free of misconduct tickets for two and restoration for those who have paid their debt years, having leadership potential, and being seen as YK7)— to society. good citizens. ENT They are recommended by their warden or the le ( ib Christiana DeGroot is professor of religion at Cal- chaplain or principal. They are transferred to Handlon th B i vin College and codirector of the Calvin Prison Initiative and a hold is put on them for five years to keep them with Todd V. Cioffi (see pp. 24–27). CPI allows prisoners to from being transferred out. If they succeed to the end,

Inmate w pursue a BA degree through Calvin. they will earn a Calvin BA in ministry leadership.

Issue 123 37 These students take Calvin core requirements and a needle pulling thread Above: Prisoners learn to courses in the ministry leadership major and then have knit in a Sing Sing classroom in 1915. room for electives; almost all of the courses are taught in the prison by Calvin’s seminary and college faculty. I teach the Old Testament survey course. two students to a computer and they could only work on We welcomed our first cohort in 2015. We find the them when the professor was present. students to be eager and highly motivated. More than Also some of the officers have not been helpful. half are lifers. We want to help prisoners succeed when Slowly that is changing as we’re winning trust and they leave prison, but also want to change the culture respect, so the guards know that we’re not do-gooders in the prison. The lifers can look at prison as a mis- being taken advantage of. The unit our students stay sion field: mentoring other prisoners, being involved in has seen a dramatic decline in misbehavior tickets. in worship services, and being chaplains’ assistants. They all stay in their cells studying. The students look When lifers are finished, for opportunities to give back. The prison has started they’ll be transferred out of a leader dog program, and students are involved in Handlon to different prisons that. A number of students have also started growing in Michigan. We hope that their hair out to donate to Locks of Love. st they can take what they’ve We’re trying to build bridges between what goes i learned and put it to good use. on at Handlon and on our main campus. In the long the art by

There are unique joys. So run, we hope it will change the perception of our stu- Photo d far everyone who’s taught dents here about prison. There is nothing like first- ck to S

there wants to do it again. hand experience. We train tutors here that help prison- y lam on grante i I’ve never taught such keen, ers write papers and study. Last night some basketball A / ss i thoughtful students. They do alumni went out to Handlon and played the prison bas- c erm p on In their reading twice. They write ketball team. A reporter who was there said it felt like i t o, c a paper and revise it. They a high school basketball game. Everybody was on one d arna

know they have been handed a level playing field, watching a good game. V

gift of unbelievable value and i asht verett Colle V

are very grateful. When you Joe Roche of Faith and Family Films operates a prison E by

come you are always welcome. lending library. D) — ome JG H There are challenges to We send books to inmates. We also provide Chris- K T working behind bars. There’s tian films. The volunteers who show them say they y’s ng (B i add tt

no access to the Internet. They get very positive feedback. We also lend CDs when i n prisoners are allowed to have them, in minimum- k

now have their own computers ther: D ts a ic F

and can take them to their cells, security prisons or halfway houses. The prisoners a Abb Conv but when we started, we had also appreciate having Bibles. We’ve been doing E xalte d b e m y S av i or Cross by Cather ne Parta n, p erm ss on grante the art st

38 Christian History Prisons today by the numbers • Approximate number of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons and in local jails in the United States: 2,200,000 (0.7% of the US population)

– 93% are male, 7% female. – 35% are African-American, 34% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 14% of mixed ethnicity. – About 75% are serving sentences of 20 years or less. – About 75% are between ages 20 and 50; 1% are juveniles. • Eighteen states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are at or over their maximum capacity for housing prisoners. • About 2,900 prisoners are under death sentences, but there is a backlog of executions: fewer than 50 prisoners are generally executed per year. • 365 juveniles were executed in the United States between 1624 and 2005, when executing minors was declared unconstitutional. • Since 1973, 158 people have been released from death row when their innocence was proved. • About half of state prisoners are incarcerated for violent crimes. • About half of federal prisoners are incarcerated for drug offenses. • Nearly half of prisoners conditionally released from federal prison and 75% of conditionally released state prisoners are rearrested within five years. beauty from pain One exhibit of prison-inspired art included a crucifix made from Birmingham prison bars to 5.1 million people in the United States are on parole or probation. honor Martin Luther King Jr. (above) and a painting called • “Daddy’s Home” by the child of a prisoner (below left). • The United States imprisons more than 700 people for every 100,000 citizens, the highest rate of incarceration in the world. this since January of 2007. We’re always looking for —Sources: Federal Bureau of Prisons, US Bureau of Justice pen pals for the inmates (via Outreach Ministries, st

i Statistics, Eastern State Penitentiary, and others. PO Box 91, Randolph, VT, 05060), although people should be aware that when the inmates get out they the art

by often stop writing to their pen pals.

d Pendleton Correctional Facility, near Indianapolis. We Jack Heller is associate professor of English at Hun- completed the first-ever performance of Shakespeare’s on grante

i tington University, directs the program Shakespeare at Roman tragedy Coriolanus in a prison in 2015, and in ss i Pendleton, and consults with the national organization 2017 presented scenes from Much Ado about Nothing and erm

p Shakespeare Behind Bars, which teaches prisoners to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. n, i perform Shakespeare. This program gives the men an opportunity to I became interested in working with incarcerated peo- explore abilities they may not have known that they ne Parta i ple after seeing the 2005 documentary film Shakespeare have. It gives them a chance to break out of the mun- Behind Bars. It follows the work of men incarcerated at dane routines of prison life and to learn some things

Cather the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, about themselves. The first play we did, Coriolanus, is by Kentucky, as they spend nine months preparing to per- largely about anger, and I think it gave several of the form The Tempest. I visited the men in Kentucky, talk- men opportunities to reflect upon their past experi- or Cross i ing with them as a professor about their plays, bringing ences with uncontrolled anger. av S

y students, conducting annual week-long seminars, and Doing Shakespeare and working with reader e m b

seeing their performances. groups in prison may seem to have a less than obvious d In 2013 I decided to try to facilitate a program spiritual intention. However in the passage most often xalte Conv ic ts k n i tt ng (B T K JG D) — E verett Colle c t on In / A lam y S to ck Photo Abb a F ther: D add y’s H ome by V asht i arna d o, p erm ss on grante the art st E myself, so I began Shakespeare at Pendleton at the used in support of ministries to prisoners, Matthew

Issue 123 39 40

with friends that is also Christ-centered. also is that friends with out of hanging anight give them, we can release stress of forms greatest of one the is that Ithink kids: regular they’re if out as just to hang them to allow is goal Our for them. chocolate and buy Doritos and games bring We there. kids the out with hanging hours two spend Center.Detention We and Friday night go other every of volunteering. year my now third in I am S prisoners. visiting of meaning the out, Ithink, fills training job with and i hungry, Providing poor, sick. for the the the ing and heal and of clothing, food, needs the meet will alone Bibles that to believing would akin be of prisoners needs the meet Toneeds. Bibles will only that believe i involves physical, prisoners But Ivisit. visiting ons i are Those Bible Bibles and studies. providing as ers sick. the comforting and destitute, the hungry,the clothing put is alongside of feeding prisoners the 25, visiting e but wasn’t prisons in old before, Iwas ested enough so I’vecomplete of service. 20 hours inter always been to freshmen of their all Universityrequires Eastern the through in Wayne, University Pennsylvania, serves who at Eastern mportant, and I see these ministries in the pris the in ministries these Isee and mportant, nmates with education, with creative opportunities, opportunities, creative education, with with nmates spiritual and emotional, occupational, ntellectual, xcited to volunteer through EU’s prison ministry. EU’sxcited to volunteer through ministry. prison usannah O work envision prison with Christians Many ur main focus is Lancaster County Youth County Lancaster is focus main ur college prison ministry college prison M oore is a junior and a student chaplain chaplain ajunior astudent is and . - - - -

ing with prisoners. prisoners. with ing work my Iwantto spend life to work prisoners. with me called has Lord the restorative approach. Ithink to amore system justice criminal the reforming lifestyles. to criminal back or reverting illness mental someday, having society than rather to re-enter them to allow going ways are in that them treating to be we of society, need then members contributing into kids these to form looking we If are for them. a lot of struggles it schedule, causes own worldthe their have and to make attack. have anxiety an often they schedule, their there’s in If change. a change handle no longer can They walls. concrete with rooms small these in environment, uptight and arigid such in stuck situation. traumatic put was another and into situation traumatic out of a coming Here she was she needed. care medical and rest the of getting instead lights, bright with room a up in sitting times, at group other the with to be had She times. days and at certain nurse the see only could but beat up.had her bad concussion, areally had She wrong. haven’t and done anything care actually foster into to get waiting days or are many oftoo school, away ran home,were drugs, caught from skipped with Maybe they violent crimes. who have not committed kids shelter side The related. houses drug often crimes, violent who have side for kids detention is committed center. detention sides The two to the are There Hispanic. I have found a passion for prisoners and for and I have for prisoners apassion found out get into they When harmful. incredibly is This are they because not developing are normally Kids father her because there who once in was agirl I met The majority are African American and and American African are majority The arson. seven-year-old committed had The seven. as young as kids have seen forgiveness. and acceptance much loveand much grace so and there’s that toWe show them so try prisoners in1970. the 1950sinSanQuentin,performsfor not ana his lifearoundthroughprisontheaterin s no way is we that there and ners sinners.” such we are think they us, because judging in, coming are Christians “Oh, these think, often love, show and they grace because to is goal main Our comfortable. feel don’t they if about faith have to talk it’sthem space, asafe don’t but they tell and organization aChristian are hould ever be looking down on them. them. down on hould ever looking be The kids are typically 12 to 18, typically but are I kids The The truth is that all of us are sin are of us all that is truth The We we that know always them let CH c t R ick Cluchey, who turned ick Cluchey,whoturned Christian History - -

Cluchey—NYT: Jack Manning

Matthew harper—reprinted under a creative commons 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Prison chapel (ENTWJ3)—Marjorie Kamys Cotera/Bob Daemmrich Photography / Alamy Stock Photo does hope live here? A guard opens the door of the chapel at Dar- rington Prison.

Prison is not a new concept, we know that Christ spent a night in one, and the apostles spent many nights in them. When the Old Testament makes reference to setting prisoners free, we can safely assume there were prisons to be set free from. There are traditionally three reasons given for prisons, and the first is simple punishment. We have done what is wrong, and we pay for that wrong with some period of our life. With limited opportunities and freedoms, we atone for our crimes with our most valuable earthly pos- session, time. The second reason is for protection. Not the protection of the criminal, but protection of innocent people from criminals. We are locked up to keep you safe. The third reason . . . is for repen- tance and amendment of life. We are incarcerated with the hope that

/4.0/) in our punishment we will repent by “ God is here, deliverance has of our wrongdoing and in doing so

enses/ we will cultivate compassion and ic come, and there is hope” social responsibility. By sending

Photo us to prison society hopes we will one day return

ck ric Dickerson is incarcerated in Pennsylvania and as better people. . . . to S ommons.org/l

c y hopes to be released in the fall of 2018. He has been Jesus makes the point succinctly [in Luke 12]. ve i lam

A writing to CHI staff for more than a decade. There was a rich man, who got even richer, and / reat y E c h As we look into the Scripture we clearly see then died. What did his riches matter? Paul tells p s://

p that once people come into the presence of Jesus, the Colossians to leave their past life in the past. that’s when their lives were transformed forever. Put it to death, bury it in Christ. Set your mind on

h Photogra They then set about glorifiying Christ. . . . The Holy what is above, move forward, and keep the faith. ens e (htt ic ic Spirit is comforting me, teaching me, and/or pur- That is easier to say than do. Especially in here, posing me for something. We shall see. To God be where, for both punishment and protection, I am Daemmr b the glory. All that I know is that time spent with constantly reminded of my past [Colossians 3:1–11]. ommons 4.0 l

c Jesus is life transforming. Whom the Son sets free But there is still a third reason . . . built on repen- ve i is free indeed. tance and forgiveness. There is punishment and s Cotera/Bo reat y

c captivity, but it isn’t forever. God is here, deliver- Matthew Harper has been in prison since 1999 for mur- ance has come, and there is hope. er a e Kam i d der and arson and is scheduled to be released in 2029. That hope cannot be found in one of our pro- un d arjor He is studying for the Episcopal priesthood and wrote M grams, and it cannot be founded on a twelve-step nte i r 3)—

p these reflections for the website Lecto Carcere: Prison program. Those things may help build the house, Lectionary. but the foundation must rest on Christ. Our hope, ENTWJ er—re

p With over two million men and women our redemption, our new life, must be built on our el ( p

ha incarcerated in America today, and millions more relationship with God. That isn’t the only point of c under custodial supervision, it is perhaps time to ask prison, but it is the one I will hold on to. It’s the son i atthew har Pr M Clu c he y — N Y T : J a ck M ann i ng ourselves, what’s the point? only one that matters.

Issue 123 41 Recommended resources Here are some recommendations from CH editorial staff and this issue’s authors to help you navigate the history of Christians in prison and Christians ministering to prisoners.

Books There are many books about the history of prisons William Sheils, eds., Prison Writings in Early Modern and punishment. Some of the most help- England (2009). We’ve recommended biographies and ful include Anthony Babington, The Power autobiographies of famous to Silence (1968); Blake McKelvey, American imprisoned Christians in Prisons (1977); Nicole Hahn Rafter, Partial previous issues (see the back Justice (1990); Richard Bauman, Crime and issue list on the next page). Punishment in Ancient Rome (1999); Mark Some not previously men- Colvin, Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and tioned include Robert Offord, Chain Gangs (1997); Norval Morris and Jerry McAuley, An Apostle to David Rothman, eds., The Oxford History of the Lost (1907); Charles Colson, the Prison (1997); Scott Christianson, With Born Again (1976); Armando Liberty for Some (1998); Adam Jay Hirsch, The Valladares, Against All Hope Rise of the Penitentiary (1992); Paul Griffiths (1987); Linda Strom, Karla Faye and Simon Devereaux, eds., Penal Practice and Culture, Tucker Set Free (2000); Stephen 1500–1900 (2004); John Witte Jr., God’s Joust, God’s Justice Wang, The Long Road to Free- (2006); Pieter Spierenburg, The Prison Experience (2007); dom (2000); Thomas Horn and Donna Howell, Redeemed Guy Geltner, The Medieval Prison (2008); Unredeemable (2004); David Berkowitz, Son of Hope (2006); Ralph Pugh, Imprisonment in Medieval Eng- and Jürgen Moltmann, A Broad Place (2009). land (2008); and Edward Marston, Prison: 500 Years of Life Behind Bars (2009). Some anthologies of prison writings include Isidore Books on Christians involved in prison Abramowitz, ed., The Great reform and ministry also abound. Start Prisoners (1946); H. Bruce with Myra Glenn, Campaigns against Cor- Franklin, ed., Prison Writings poral Punishment (1984); Estelle Freedman, in 20th Century America (1998); Their Sisters’ Keepers (1984); Carter Lind- Geoffrey Bould, ed., Con- berg, Beyond Charity (1993); Helen Prejean, science Be My Guide (2005); Dead Man Walking (1993); Steven Mintz, and Bell Gale Chevigny, ed., Moralists and Modernizers (1995); Robert Doing Time (2011). Abzug, Cosmos Crumbling (1994); Andrew Skotnicki, Religion and the Development of the American Penal Sys- Many classic books written in prison are available tem (2000) and Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church from libraries, booksellers, and online—among them (2007); James Beckford and Sophie Gilliat, Religion in The Consolation of Philosophy (524) by Boethius; “The Prison (2005); Dennis Shere, Cain’s Redemp- Spiritual Canticle” (1622) by tion (2005); Jennifer Graber, The Furnace of John of the Cross; No Cross, Affliction (2011); Byron Johnson, More God, No Crown (1669) by William Less Crime (2011) and coauthor of The Angola Penn; Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) Prison Seminary (2016); Bryan Stevenson, by John Bunyan; The Gulag Just Mercy (2014); and Daniel Karpowitz, Archipelago by Alexander College in Prison (2017). Solzhenitsyn (1973); Letters and Papers from Prison (1951) Prisoners as authors figure in H. Bruce by Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and Franklin, Prison Literature in America (1989); “Letter from a Birmingham Daniel Cohen, Pillars of Salt, Monuments of Jail” (1963) by Martin Luther Grace (2006); and William Sherman and King Jr.

42 Christian History Eric Liddell, Corrie ten Boom, Richard Wurmbrand, and Adoniram Judson, all of whom were imprisoned for their faith.

Websites Christian History Institute has maintained the website Captive Faith for a number of years, featuring testimonies of imprisoned Christians from seven different eras of church history. Some of the excerpts in this issue were adapted from it. Many prisoners featured in Captive Faith have web pages devoted to them at other sites, including Anne Askew and Toyohiko Kagawa. Christian History issues A number of prisoner advocacy organizations Read these past issues of Christian History online; some maintain historical timelines and information about are still available for purchase. prisons; you can also find a timeline and pictures at • 16: William Tyndale PrisonHistory.net. Access statistics about modern • 32: Dietrich Bonhoeffer crime and prisons in the United States at the Bureau • 37: Persecution in the Early Church of Justice website, and learn about everything having • 48: Thomas Cranmer to do with federal prisons at the Federal Bureau of • 68: Jan Hus Prisons website. Similar information for the United • 69: The Wesleys Kingdom is found at the UK Ministry of Justice. • 89: Richard Baxter • 98: The Church in China • 109: The Modern Age of Persecution • 116: 25 Writings • 117: Quakers

The US government does not keep statistics on religion in prisons; one attempt to remedy that omis- sion is a survey of chaplains by the Pew Research Center. Prison chaplain organizations include the American Correctional Chaplains Association, the Correctional Ministries and Chaplains Association, and the International Prison Chaplains Association. DVDs from Vision Video Most individual prison ministries mentioned in Videos on the theme of this issue include Agent of this issue have websites: the most famous is prob- Grace; Bless You Prison; Blessedness out of Brokenness; ably Prison Fellowship. Helen Prejean, the real-life Beyond Torture; The Choice Is Yours; Corrie ten Boom; woman behind Dead Man Walking, maintains a website Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Eric Liddell; From University to at SisterHelen.org. The Calvin Prison Initiative has a Prison; The Hiding Place; John Bunyan; John Hus; Hanged website, and you can read more about the seminary ini- on a Twisted Cross; Killing Time; Long Road Back; Love tiative in Angola at the website of New Orleans Baptist Is Not a Luxury; Mama Luka Comes Home; One Killer Theological Seminary. If you’re intrigued by the idea of Too Many; Pilgrim’s Progress; Power of Forgiveness; Pris- Shakespeare in prison ministry, check out the website oners of Hope; Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand; Saving of Shakespeare Behind Bars. Finally you may be inter- Face; and Truth Prevails. Our Torchlighters series has ested in a Bible curriculum specifically for prisoners at episodes on Perpetua, John Bunyan, William Tyndale, the Theology of Work Project. C H

Issue 123 43 POWERFUL NEW BOOKS IGNATIUS PRESS fr

✦ THE PRIEST BARRACKS ✦ SLAVES IN PARADISE ✦ THE MAID OF ORLEANS Dachau 1938–1945—Guillaume Zeller A Priest Stands Up for Exploited The Life and Mysticism of Joan of Arc ow many people know that at the Sugarcane Workers—Jesus Garcia Sven Stolpe Nazi death camp Dachau, clergy he Dominican Republic is one of his acclaimed work on the life and permanentlyH occupied three barracks the most popular tourist destinations mysticism of Joan of Arc is consid- from 1938 to 1945? Some 2,579 priests, inT the Caribbean. Yet when missionary eredT by historians as one of the most monks, and Catholic seminarians from priest Fr. Christopher Hartley arrived convincing, well researched and best all over Europe were imprisoned there, there in 1997, he discovered another written accounts of the Maid of Orleans. out of whom 1,034 lost their lives. For side to this paradise: the deplorable liv- Stolpe vividly creates the contemporary eight years, both tragedies and magnifi - ing and working conditions of the people situation in France during Joan’s time, cent gestures punctuated the journey of who harvest the country’s sugarcane evaluates the latest research on her life, the clergy at Dachau, from the terrifying and the illegal human traffi cking that and arrives at an original and authen- forced march of “Holy Week,” to the brings them to the plantations as slaves. tic portrait—one that is also a work of heroic voluntary confi nement of priests Inspired by the Gospels and Mother literature. Stolpe sees Joan as primarily in the barracks of those dying of typhoid, Teresa, Fr. Hartley carried out intense a mystic, and her supreme achievement to the moving clandestine ordination evangelization, applying the social teach- and lasting signifi cance not so much in of a young German deacon by a French ings of the Church to fi ght for the dignity a mission to deliver France, though bishop. and justice of the sugarcane workers. important, but in her sharing in the PRB-P . . . 250 pp, Sewn Softcover, $16.95 SLP-P . . . 325 pp, 6 x 9 Sewn Softcover, $18.95 Passion of Christ, thus bringing the saint closer to the modern reader. “This extraordinary book provides us “A favorite son of Mother Teresa, Fr. with a window into both the triumphs Hartley shows us the face of Jesus in MO-P . . . 270 pp, Sewn Softcover, $17.95 and tragedies of the many priests the people he served. This book, quite “There have been many books about interred in Dachau. I highly recom- simply, should be read by everyone!” Joan of Arc, but none surpass this mend it to understand much of the —Fr. Larry Richards, Author, Be a Man! study in its recreation of Joan’s milieu, present crisis of secularism in today’s the vividness of its narrative, and its world.” —Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P., “Fr. Hartley’s mission of love is fueled sensitive understanding of the mystery Holy Apostles Seminary by his strong prayer life and intimacy of her life and death.” with God. I pray this book will inspire —James Hitchcock, Ph. D. “This powerful book reveals the heroic us all to a deeper faith in God and love Author, History of the Catholic Church holiness that is proper to the Church in for the poor.” the midst of suff ering. It comes at an —Cardinal Seán O’Malley, important time.” Archbishop of Boston —Fr. Paul Scalia, Author That Nothing May Be Lost www.ignatius.com

P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522 1 (800) 651-1531 Blessedness out of Brokenness Louisiana State Penitentiary, often called “Angola,” is home to some 5,000 inmates, many of whom are sentenced for life. Follow along as Ken Curtis, founder of Christian History Institute, visits Angola. As he was reflecting on the Beatitudes in light of his journey with cancer, Ken wanted to learn from people who knew well the brokenness Jesus describes as blessed. This one-hour documentary presents the stories of inmates who bring clarity to Jesus’ teaching as they share the blessedness of the Beatitudes in their own lives. Many of these men face life sentences, yet they have found new life and purpose through their faith in Jesus Christ. Blessedness out of Brokenness demonstrates the power of God to transform the darkest of circumstances into opportunities for mission. 60 minutes. DVD - #501676D, $9.99

Love Is Not a Luxury Saving Face Imagine a prison with bars but no Matt Kern was an A student in seventh guards…a prison where inmates hold the grade but a year later was stealing cars on keys. This Brazilian prison accommodates the weekends. He eventually landed in some of the most notorious inmates; yet prison where, unbeknownst to his parents, peace and good order now prevail. The he thrived by managing his own business film, shot by two of the inmates, examines and gambling operation. In solitary the day-to-day running of the prison and confinement he experienced guilt for the explores the personal development of two first time. This riveting story reveals the prisoners—with respective sentences of 70 details of his crime and time spent in and 114 years—who hold substantial prison, and the providential way in which responsibility for the harmony and security he received clemency. 80 minutes. of the prison. 50 minutes. DVD - #501352D, $9.99 DVD - #501149D, $14.99

Bless You Prison Long Road Back This is the true story of Nicoleta Valery A prison door clangs shut. The Grossu’s amazing survival in a Romanian reverberation echoes with immense Communist prison camp and how faith in meaning both for the person locked up the Lord enabled her to transcend the and those left on the outside. But the relentless cruelty. She was thrown in jail reality is that once offenders have served without any trial, interrogated night after their terms and leave prison, doors still night, tortured, and separated from other slam shut. Long Road Back seeks to reduce loved ones in prison. She could have the fear and stigma experienced by those betrayed others or she could have died, re-entering society after serving terms in but she found God in the Communist prison. 52 minutes. prison. 86 minutes. DVD - #501356D, $14.99 DVD - #4746D, $9.99

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This Changed Everything (DVD) celebrates the fruits of the Reformation while exploring difficult questions about the cost of division. Beautiful on-location footage, professional narration, and insights from a host of subject experts illuminate the Reformation in this award-winning program. Bonus material and a 14-lesson companion guide in pdf augment the three-hour presentation.

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Reformation fold-out timeline includes denominational comparison chart and Reformation-era quotes (measures 11" x 31").

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