Season 1, Episode 3
Napolean Murder Mystery & the Church of Scientology
One of the most secretive landmark buildings in Hollywood is the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre. This controversial religion counts some of Hollywood's biggest stars as members. But critics charge the religion is more focused on material than spiritual concerns. Authors Steven Hassan and Mark Ebner reveal how science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard founded the movement - and what led his church to fall into the crosshairs of the FBI. In the 1890s, the preferred house of worship for the upper crust of Fall River, Massachusetts is Central Congregational Church... including businessman Andrew Borden, and his daughter Lizzie Borden. When Andrew and his wife Abby are killed with a hatchet in their own home, Lizzie becomes the prime suspect. Author Stefani Koorey reveals the church's surprising role in one of the most sensational murder trials in our country's history. St. Patrick's Cathedral in midtown Manhattan is one of America's most prominent churches - but at the bottom of the Manhattan sits the smaller, feistier original - Old St. Patrick's. In the 1830s, the Church was almost destroyed, but fought back under the leadership of a priest who never backed down from a fight, "Dagger" John Hughes. Author Richard McCann and Cathedral Historian Jim Garrity reveal the church's violent and dramatic past. In 1920's Los Angeles, the moguls of the city's new moviemaking industry fund one of the most remarkable synagogues in the world, Wilshire Boulevard Temple. The dazzling synagogue's most daring feature is a mural surrounding the sanctuary - artwork some think defies the second commandment forbidding graven images - a move no other synagogue in the world dared do! Just weeks after the Temple opens, the building suffers structural problems. Senior Rabbi Steve Leder reveals how the Temple's Hollywood connection almost led to its undoing. Paris is home to some of the grandest churches in Europe - and the grandest of them all may be the Eglise du Dome. Built as a chapel for royalty, it's now the final resting place for one of France's greatest heroes. But does its imposing sarcophagus really house the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte - or are thousands of visitors being duped by one of history's greatest acts of subterfuge?
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