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Angola prison and the communion of saints

Angola prison
Entrance, Louisiana State Penitentiary.

by Rhonda Mawhood Lee (originally appeared at Faith & Leadership (used by permission).

FOR MORE ARTICLES ABOUT CHRISTIANS IN PRISON, READ CHRISTIAN HISTORY #123, CAPTIVE FAITH: PRISON AS A PARISH.

Raymond Marler, a plumber, pipe fitter and welder, died at age 59. He considered welding “a noble trade and often spoke with pride about his aunt, who was one of a cadre of female welders who filled traditional male roles in armament factories during World War II.” Continue reading “Angola prison and the communion of saints”

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African Prisoners

Abuna Salama
Abuna Salama, Metropolitan of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Henry A. Stern, Wanderings Among the Falashas in Abyssinia (London: Wertheim, Macintosh, and Hunt, 1862) p.137.

By Dan Graves

In the pages of Captive Faith we have featured only one African prisoner—Perpetua—and she was of European extraction. This has not been by design or by oversight, but because our focus is on prisoners who produced poems, letters, Scripture, court transcripts, or biographies during jail time or because of being jailed, or whose prison story became part of God’s word.*

This does not mean that African Christians have not had experience of prison. Here are a few of their stories. Continue reading “African Prisoners”

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Softening a Desperate Place


Murals in Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary.

By Dawn Moore

On a recent Sunday afternoon, my husband and I were looking for something fun to do with our daughter Susie and her friend David. It was raining, so plans to stroll the local arboretum were tabled. Susie is an avid advocate for prison reform and delighted to explore historic Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) in Philadelphia. I mostly wanted to see the historic architecture and learn a bit of history in a nice low-key way, without undue challenge to my comfortable suburban mindset.

I wasn’t disappointed in my quest for fascinating architecture, but our first steps inside quickly told me this would be a challenging afternoon. Continue reading “Softening a Desperate Place”

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Fleet Prison Marriages

Fleet Prison marriage
A Fleet Prison marriage. Wikimedia.

Chamber’s Book of Days (1881) is full of fascinating tidbits, some of which concern imprisonment. One is an account of shady marriages conducted by incarcerated clergymen of the Fleet Prison, London.

“The trade was taken up by clerical prisoners living within the Rules of the Fleet, who, having neither cash, character, nor liberty to lose, became the ready instruments of vice, greed, extravagance, and libertinism.” Continue reading “Fleet Prison Marriages”

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Announcing a new design for Captive Faith!

old site
The old Captive Faith site.

Captive Faith has been around for many years, before i-phones and tablets and other mobile devices were in wide use, so it is high time for a redesign.

You’ll find the same great stories, the same inspiring writings and the convenient organization by eras that we had in our old website, but with an updated look. We’re also mobile-friendly now, making it easier to read on the go. Continue reading “Announcing a new design for Captive Faith!”