Christian History
The material below has been obtained from CT Newsletters | Christianity Today
The material below has been obtained from CT Newsletters | Christianity Today
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2026
July
July 1, 1871: Rev Samuel McFarlane and Rev Archibald Murray of the London Missionary Society arrived on Erub (Darnley Island in the Torres Strait). Warrior Clan Elder of Erub, Dabad, observed their arrival. Dabad had intended to walk down to the water ready to defend his people but at his approach, Rev
McFarlane dropped to his knees on the beach and presented The Bible to Dabad. Dabad accepted The Bible – the ‘Light’ – thus introducing Christianity to
the Torres Strait Islands. The Coming of the Light Festival is celebrated on 1 July each year throughout Torres Strait Islander communities to recognize the
adoption of Christianity. The celebration has become an integral part of cultural identity to Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is marked as a public holiday for the region.
July 2, 1893: St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at Merivale and Peel Streets, South Brisbane was blessed and opened by Archbishop Dunne. It replaced the
first St Mary’s – a small wooden church built nearby in 1865. The church was designed by architects Simkin and Ibler. Construction was not complete at the time of the opening. A proposed tower, transepts and chancel were never built and it was not till 1929 that a permanent sanctuary was added to the eastern end of the building to the design of architects Cavanagh and Cavanagh. The church is significant for its architectural design, its role in education and its association with the Sisters of Mercy and the community’s focus on social justice.
McFarlane dropped to his knees on the beach and presented The Bible to Dabad. Dabad accepted The Bible – the ‘Light’ – thus introducing Christianity to
the Torres Strait Islands. The Coming of the Light Festival is celebrated on 1 July each year throughout Torres Strait Islander communities to recognize the
adoption of Christianity. The celebration has become an integral part of cultural identity to Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is marked as a public holiday for the region.
July 2, 1893: St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church at Merivale and Peel Streets, South Brisbane was blessed and opened by Archbishop Dunne. It replaced the
first St Mary’s – a small wooden church built nearby in 1865. The church was designed by architects Simkin and Ibler. Construction was not complete at the time of the opening. A proposed tower, transepts and chancel were never built and it was not till 1929 that a permanent sanctuary was added to the eastern end of the building to the design of architects Cavanagh and Cavanagh. The church is significant for its architectural design, its role in education and its association with the Sisters of Mercy and the community’s focus on social justice.
June
June 15, 1215: King John signed the Magna Carta, which begins, ‘The Church of England shall be free’.
June 19, 1566: James VI of Scotland, who later became King James I of England, was born. He wrote treatises on the divine right of kings, witchcraft, biblical
themes, and set into motion a translation of the Bible known as the King James Version.
June 17, 1703: John Wesley, founder of Methodism, was born in Epworth, England, to parents Samuel and Susanna. Though Methodism's emphasis on grace and instantaneous (often emotional) conversion marked a radical departure from high church tradition, Wesley always considered himself an Anglican.
June 29, 1869: The foundation stone of St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide was laid on St Peter’s Day. Building was commenced later the same year and the cathedral was consecrated in January 1878. The influence of French Gothic architecture can be seen in the West front, which features a rose window, similar to those found in many famous cathedrals overseas.
June 17, 1963: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that states cannot require the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools.
June 29, 1972: Rev William Frederick MacKenzie CBE died at the age of 75 years. He was superintendent of the Aurukun Mission from 1923 to 1965 and served as Chief Protector for the Aboriginal Protection Board. Son of a missionary and born in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), William MacKenzie served on the Western Front in World War I with the AIF, studied at Ormond College, University of Melbourne, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1925 and served as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland in 1949-50. MacKenzie’s tenure at Aurukun saw a strict regime where children were taken from their parents and housed and schooled in dormitories, young adults were trained for servile work and his punishments were described as ‘harsh, unorthodox and arbitrary’.
June 19, 1566: James VI of Scotland, who later became King James I of England, was born. He wrote treatises on the divine right of kings, witchcraft, biblical
themes, and set into motion a translation of the Bible known as the King James Version.
June 17, 1703: John Wesley, founder of Methodism, was born in Epworth, England, to parents Samuel and Susanna. Though Methodism's emphasis on grace and instantaneous (often emotional) conversion marked a radical departure from high church tradition, Wesley always considered himself an Anglican.
June 29, 1869: The foundation stone of St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide was laid on St Peter’s Day. Building was commenced later the same year and the cathedral was consecrated in January 1878. The influence of French Gothic architecture can be seen in the West front, which features a rose window, similar to those found in many famous cathedrals overseas.
June 17, 1963: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that states cannot require the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools.
June 29, 1972: Rev William Frederick MacKenzie CBE died at the age of 75 years. He was superintendent of the Aurukun Mission from 1923 to 1965 and served as Chief Protector for the Aboriginal Protection Board. Son of a missionary and born in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), William MacKenzie served on the Western Front in World War I with the AIF, studied at Ormond College, University of Melbourne, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1925 and served as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland in 1949-50. MacKenzie’s tenure at Aurukun saw a strict regime where children were taken from their parents and housed and schooled in dormitories, young adults were trained for servile work and his punishments were described as ‘harsh, unorthodox and arbitrary’.
June 7, 1099: The First Crusade reached Jerusalem.
June 9, 1549: England's Act of Uniformity, passed by Parliament in January, took effect. The act ordered that religious services be consistent throughout the country, using Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer.
June 5, 1661: English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton was admitted as a student to Trinity College, Cambridge. But the ‘greatest scientific genius the world has ever known’ actually spent less of his life studying science than theology, writing 1.3 million words on biblical subjects.
June 8, 1794: French revolutionaries replaced Christianity with a deistic religion honouring a trinity of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. They renamed churches Temples of Reason, and a new calendar announced a 10-Day week and holidays commemorating events of the revolution. The reign of terror followed, with some 1,400 people losing their heads. Napolean recognised the church again in 1804, then proceeded to imprison Pope Pius VII.
June 10, 1860: Wharf Street Congregational Church was opened on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf Streets, Brisbane by the minister, Rev George Wight.
June 14, 1913: King’s College for candidates for the Methodist ministry in Queensland was officially opened at 236 River Terrace, Kangaroo Point, students having been in residence since March 1913. Declining enrolments, due to World War I, led to an agreement that Emmanuel and King’s should be amalgamated – an agreement never acted upon.
June 17, 1917: A Nurses Honour Board was unveiled in St Luke's War Chapel at St Luke’s Church of England in Charlotte Street, Brisbane, in recognition of those who served in World War I. Canon David Garland was resident chaplain at St Luke’s and Director of the Soldiers’ Church of England Help Society. St Luke’s Mission corresponded with servicemen and women at the front. An Anzac Club was opened for returned soldiers and the hall at St Luke’s was used for Sunday teas and dances. The building is now a restaurant.
June 22, 1977: The Uniting Church in Australia was founded on 22 June 1977 when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union of Australia united under the UCA's Basis of Union.
June 9, 1549: England's Act of Uniformity, passed by Parliament in January, took effect. The act ordered that religious services be consistent throughout the country, using Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer.
June 5, 1661: English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton was admitted as a student to Trinity College, Cambridge. But the ‘greatest scientific genius the world has ever known’ actually spent less of his life studying science than theology, writing 1.3 million words on biblical subjects.
June 8, 1794: French revolutionaries replaced Christianity with a deistic religion honouring a trinity of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. They renamed churches Temples of Reason, and a new calendar announced a 10-Day week and holidays commemorating events of the revolution. The reign of terror followed, with some 1,400 people losing their heads. Napolean recognised the church again in 1804, then proceeded to imprison Pope Pius VII.
June 10, 1860: Wharf Street Congregational Church was opened on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf Streets, Brisbane by the minister, Rev George Wight.
June 14, 1913: King’s College for candidates for the Methodist ministry in Queensland was officially opened at 236 River Terrace, Kangaroo Point, students having been in residence since March 1913. Declining enrolments, due to World War I, led to an agreement that Emmanuel and King’s should be amalgamated – an agreement never acted upon.
June 17, 1917: A Nurses Honour Board was unveiled in St Luke's War Chapel at St Luke’s Church of England in Charlotte Street, Brisbane, in recognition of those who served in World War I. Canon David Garland was resident chaplain at St Luke’s and Director of the Soldiers’ Church of England Help Society. St Luke’s Mission corresponded with servicemen and women at the front. An Anzac Club was opened for returned soldiers and the hall at St Luke’s was used for Sunday teas and dances. The building is now a restaurant.
June 22, 1977: The Uniting Church in Australia was founded on 22 June 1977 when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union of Australia united under the UCA's Basis of Union.
June - May - April
May 31, 1578: Italian archaeologist Antonio Bosio discovered the Christian catacombs in Rome. Some had mistaken them for places of refuge or worship, but Christians used them mainly as burial chambers.
June 3, 1647: The Puritan British Parliament banned Christmas and other holidays.
June 6, 1654: Christina, Queen of Sweden, abdicated her throne and joined the Roman Catholic church. She spent the rest of her life engaged in religious thought (though she twice attempted to resume the crown).
May 31, 1701: Alexander Cruden, whose biblical concordance is still the standard for the King James Version, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Prone to erratic behaviour, he worked on the concordance between mental breakdowns.
June 1, 1843: Isabella Baumfree, having received a vision of God telling her to "travel up an' down the land showin' the people their sins an' bein' a sign unto them," left New York and changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She became one of the most famous abolitionists and women's rights lecturers in
American history.
May 29, 1874: English essayist, poet, and writer GK Chesterton was born in London. The 181kg man was occasionally absent-minded, but brilliant. He loved paradoxes and used them often in his writing. Poet TS Eliot credited him with doing "more than any man in his time … to maintain the existence of the
[Christian] minority in the modern world.“
June 6, 1883: The dedication service of St Andrew’s Church of England, South Brisbane, was held on Wednesday 6 June. His Lordship Bishop Hale and Archdeacon Glennie were amongst the clergy who attended. Madame Mallalieu and Mr Willmore presided at the two American organs. The chancel was
filled to overflowing by the various city choirs and the church was packed by over 500 persons. The building is a rare example of a substantial stone gothic-style church in Brisbane and is known for its fine stained glass windows and architectural significance. The design was by Italian-born Australian architect
Andrea Giovanni Stombuco.
June 4, 1948: The Far East Broadcasting Company, based in the Philippines and broadcasting across Asia, went on-air with the staff singing ‘All hail the power of Jesu’s name’.
June 4, 1988: Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls KCVO OBE (1906 – 1988), a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people, died. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor, and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation. Nicholls was the first Aboriginal Australian to be knighted in 1972 (he was subsequently appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1977). He was also the first—and as of 2025 the only—Indigenous Australian to be appointed to vice-regal office, serving as Governor of South Australia from December 1976 until his resignation on 30 April 1977 due to poor health.
June 5, 1954: Cromwell College at the University of Queensland opened its doors. The first residential college established on the St Lucia campus, it was conceived in 1950 by a group of Christian leaders from the Congregational Churches of Queensland. Its founding Principal was Rev G Lindsay Lockley.
June 3, 1647: The Puritan British Parliament banned Christmas and other holidays.
June 6, 1654: Christina, Queen of Sweden, abdicated her throne and joined the Roman Catholic church. She spent the rest of her life engaged in religious thought (though she twice attempted to resume the crown).
May 31, 1701: Alexander Cruden, whose biblical concordance is still the standard for the King James Version, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Prone to erratic behaviour, he worked on the concordance between mental breakdowns.
June 1, 1843: Isabella Baumfree, having received a vision of God telling her to "travel up an' down the land showin' the people their sins an' bein' a sign unto them," left New York and changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She became one of the most famous abolitionists and women's rights lecturers in
American history.
May 29, 1874: English essayist, poet, and writer GK Chesterton was born in London. The 181kg man was occasionally absent-minded, but brilliant. He loved paradoxes and used them often in his writing. Poet TS Eliot credited him with doing "more than any man in his time … to maintain the existence of the
[Christian] minority in the modern world.“
June 6, 1883: The dedication service of St Andrew’s Church of England, South Brisbane, was held on Wednesday 6 June. His Lordship Bishop Hale and Archdeacon Glennie were amongst the clergy who attended. Madame Mallalieu and Mr Willmore presided at the two American organs. The chancel was
filled to overflowing by the various city choirs and the church was packed by over 500 persons. The building is a rare example of a substantial stone gothic-style church in Brisbane and is known for its fine stained glass windows and architectural significance. The design was by Italian-born Australian architect
Andrea Giovanni Stombuco.
June 4, 1948: The Far East Broadcasting Company, based in the Philippines and broadcasting across Asia, went on-air with the staff singing ‘All hail the power of Jesu’s name’.
June 4, 1988: Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls KCVO OBE (1906 – 1988), a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people, died. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor, and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation. Nicholls was the first Aboriginal Australian to be knighted in 1972 (he was subsequently appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1977). He was also the first—and as of 2025 the only—Indigenous Australian to be appointed to vice-regal office, serving as Governor of South Australia from December 1976 until his resignation on 30 April 1977 due to poor health.
June 5, 1954: Cromwell College at the University of Queensland opened its doors. The first residential college established on the St Lucia campus, it was conceived in 1950 by a group of Christian leaders from the Congregational Churches of Queensland. Its founding Principal was Rev G Lindsay Lockley.
May 26, 1521: The Edict of Worms condemned Martin Luther's teachings. Those who feared for his life kidnapped Luther and hid him in Wartburg castle.
May 26, 1647: Massachusetts enacted a law forbidding any Jesuit or Roman Catholic priest from entering Puritan areas. Second-time offenders could face
execution.
June 1, 1884: Sunday Services in the morning and evening, both conducted by Rev Colin McCulloch of Wickham Terrace Presbyterian Church, Brisbane were held to mark the opening of St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church (now St Stephen’s Uniting Church) in Toowoomba. Designs for the church were prepared by architect James Marks who also supervised the construction. The Gothic style church was built of local basalt with freestone dressings of Murphy’s Creek stone. The pastor of the congregation was Rev William S Rathjen.
May 27, 1903: The foundation stone of a new Congregational Church at Landisfarne was laid at 3 o’clock by the Rev George Clarke. Steamers left Hobart
and Bellerive at 2.15 pm and conveyed a number of visitors, the whole ceremony being carried out in an orthodox manner without a hitch. The building of brick with stone facings with seating for 200 worshippers was completed for the opening service on Wednesday, 4 November 1903. The congregation joined the Uniting Church in 1977. The church and nearby residence were sold to a new Islamic organization called The House of Guidance Hobart on 12 August 2024. The property will be called Masjid and Islamic Services Centre providing a mosque, 4 classrooms for Quran, Arabic and Islamic learning and dedicated areas for youth and community programs.
May 26, 1647: Massachusetts enacted a law forbidding any Jesuit or Roman Catholic priest from entering Puritan areas. Second-time offenders could face
execution.
June 1, 1884: Sunday Services in the morning and evening, both conducted by Rev Colin McCulloch of Wickham Terrace Presbyterian Church, Brisbane were held to mark the opening of St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church (now St Stephen’s Uniting Church) in Toowoomba. Designs for the church were prepared by architect James Marks who also supervised the construction. The Gothic style church was built of local basalt with freestone dressings of Murphy’s Creek stone. The pastor of the congregation was Rev William S Rathjen.
May 27, 1903: The foundation stone of a new Congregational Church at Landisfarne was laid at 3 o’clock by the Rev George Clarke. Steamers left Hobart
and Bellerive at 2.15 pm and conveyed a number of visitors, the whole ceremony being carried out in an orthodox manner without a hitch. The building of brick with stone facings with seating for 200 worshippers was completed for the opening service on Wednesday, 4 November 1903. The congregation joined the Uniting Church in 1977. The church and nearby residence were sold to a new Islamic organization called The House of Guidance Hobart on 12 August 2024. The property will be called Masjid and Islamic Services Centre providing a mosque, 4 classrooms for Quran, Arabic and Islamic learning and dedicated areas for youth and community programs.
May 20, 1277: Pope John XXI died when his castle ceiling collapsed on him. His name was a mistake—there was never a John XX.
May 23, 1430: French mystic and military hero Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians. They sold her to the English army, who tried her for sorcery and heresy.
May 21, 1471: Painter, engraver, and woodcut designer Albrecht Durer was born in Nuremberg, Germany. Durer, one of the greatest artists of his day, converted to Protestantism in the 1520s.
May 24, 1543: Polish astronomer and cleric Nicolas Copernicus died. His sun-centered concept of the solar system was radical. Some theologians strongly criticised the theory. The Roman Catholic church never ordained Copernicus, but he participated in a religious community at the cathedral of
Frauenburg.
May 23, 1618: Bohemian Protestant rebels stormed the castle of Catholic Hapsburg king Ferdinand II and threw his governors out of the window (and into a pile of manure). This act touched off Europe's Thirty Years War, which ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia.
May 24, 1689: Parliament passed England's Toleration Act, granting freedom of worship to Dissenters (non-Anglicans). but not to Catholics.
May 21, 1738: Charles Wesley, experienced an evangelical conversion while sick with pleurisy. ‘In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and believe, and thou shalt be healed of thy infirmities’, a mysterious voice told him in his sickbed. One year later on this date, he wrote a poem to commemorate the event. Its seventh stanza begins with the line O for a thousand tongues to sing.
May 24, 1738: John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed when he heard a reading of the preface to Luther's commentary on Romans on Aldersgate Street in London.
May 21, 1780: English Quaker and social reformer Elizabeth Fry was born in Norwich, England. She was involved in reforms to education and poverty, but her greatest issue was to improve prison life.
May 24, 1844: Samuel Morse sent the first long-distance telegraph message: What hath God wrought.
May 25, 1851: The first Presbyterian church in Queensland was opened by Rev Thomas Mowbray. It was built on an area of land in Grey Street, South Brisbane where South Brisbane Railway Station now stands. A tender to build a small weatherboard church building for £112 from John Graham was accepted and construction commenced in 1850. The first minister was Rev Walter McLeod and Presbyterians attended from both sides of the Brisbane River.
May 24, 1854: Presbyterians founded the first black college in the United States: Pennsylvania's Lincoln University.
May 23, 1430: French mystic and military hero Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians. They sold her to the English army, who tried her for sorcery and heresy.
May 21, 1471: Painter, engraver, and woodcut designer Albrecht Durer was born in Nuremberg, Germany. Durer, one of the greatest artists of his day, converted to Protestantism in the 1520s.
May 24, 1543: Polish astronomer and cleric Nicolas Copernicus died. His sun-centered concept of the solar system was radical. Some theologians strongly criticised the theory. The Roman Catholic church never ordained Copernicus, but he participated in a religious community at the cathedral of
Frauenburg.
May 23, 1618: Bohemian Protestant rebels stormed the castle of Catholic Hapsburg king Ferdinand II and threw his governors out of the window (and into a pile of manure). This act touched off Europe's Thirty Years War, which ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia.
May 24, 1689: Parliament passed England's Toleration Act, granting freedom of worship to Dissenters (non-Anglicans). but not to Catholics.
May 21, 1738: Charles Wesley, experienced an evangelical conversion while sick with pleurisy. ‘In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and believe, and thou shalt be healed of thy infirmities’, a mysterious voice told him in his sickbed. One year later on this date, he wrote a poem to commemorate the event. Its seventh stanza begins with the line O for a thousand tongues to sing.
May 24, 1738: John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed when he heard a reading of the preface to Luther's commentary on Romans on Aldersgate Street in London.
May 21, 1780: English Quaker and social reformer Elizabeth Fry was born in Norwich, England. She was involved in reforms to education and poverty, but her greatest issue was to improve prison life.
May 24, 1844: Samuel Morse sent the first long-distance telegraph message: What hath God wrought.
May 25, 1851: The first Presbyterian church in Queensland was opened by Rev Thomas Mowbray. It was built on an area of land in Grey Street, South Brisbane where South Brisbane Railway Station now stands. A tender to build a small weatherboard church building for £112 from John Graham was accepted and construction commenced in 1850. The first minister was Rev Walter McLeod and Presbyterians attended from both sides of the Brisbane River.
May 24, 1854: Presbyterians founded the first black college in the United States: Pennsylvania's Lincoln University.
May 11, 330: Roman emperor Constantine, the first Christian emperor, inaugurated Constantinople, now Istanbul, as his capital city on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium.
May 15, 1265: Poet and politician Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy was born in Florence, Italy. Dante finished the epic poem just before his death, and it was quickly recognised as brilliant.
May 12, 1543: British Parliament prohibited any women or craftsman’s apprentices, tradesmen, farm workers, or labourers from reading the New Testament in English.
May 14, 1572: Gregory XIII, who reformed the Julian calendar into the calendar used today and celebrated the killing of French Huguenots with a Te Deum (a Latin hymn), was named pope.
May 11, 1682: The General Court of Massachusetts repealed two 2-year-old laws: (1) a ban on the celebration of Christmas, and (2) capital punishment for banished Quakers who returned to the colony.
May 15, 1803: The first Catholic Mass in Australia took place in Sydney celebrated by Father James Dixon, a convict who had been transported to the colony of New South Wales for his alleged involvement in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Governor Philip Gidley King, influenced by the uneasiness of the Irish in the colony at not being able to practise their religion, granted Father Dixon conditional emancipation and permission to exercise his duties as a priest. King even decided to pay Dixon a salary of £60 but soon afterwards, for a number of reasons, King reversed his decision and determined to enforce the convicts' attendance at Anglican services.
May 14, 1882: The opening dedicatory service of a new church called the United Methodist Free Church was held at Ann Street, Petrie’s Bight, Brisbane. The service was conducted by the pastor, Rev S I Alden. The Gothic style building was designed by architect F D G Stanley. There was seating accommodation for 330. Total cost of the building and land was £1,647. When the congregation joined the union of Methodist churches in Australia, the Ann Street Church was purchased in 1898 by the Church of Christ at a cost of £1,100.
May 13, 1917: Three shepherd children reported that the Virgin Mary appeared to them in Fatima, Portugal.
May 13, 1925: Florida's House of Representatives passed a bill requiring schools to conduct daily Bible readings.
May 17, 1971: The musical Godspell, based on Matthew's gospel, opened at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York.
May 20, 2022: Caroline Jones AO, an Australian radio and television journalist and social commentator who had a career in the media industry for over 50 years, died following a fall in Sydney, aged 84. Jones joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission, now known as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in Canberra in 1963 and later became the first female reporter for the daily This Day Tonight current affairs television program. She then became a presenter on Four Corners, a weekly current affairs television program, from 1972 to 1981. From 1987 to 1994 she presented a spirituality-focused radio program called The Search For Meaning on ABC Radio National, on which she interviewed people about their lives. Caroline Jones grew up in a Protestant family. In 1985, she was received into the Roman Catholic Church. In 1996, Caroline Jones began hosting the weekly biographical program Australian Story on ABC television. During 1988, she worked alongside Aboriginal broadcasters at Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association in Alice Springs as they produced their first cultural and current affairs programs for television. In 1998 she was appointed an Ambassador for Reconciliation by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
May 15, 1265: Poet and politician Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy was born in Florence, Italy. Dante finished the epic poem just before his death, and it was quickly recognised as brilliant.
May 12, 1543: British Parliament prohibited any women or craftsman’s apprentices, tradesmen, farm workers, or labourers from reading the New Testament in English.
May 14, 1572: Gregory XIII, who reformed the Julian calendar into the calendar used today and celebrated the killing of French Huguenots with a Te Deum (a Latin hymn), was named pope.
May 11, 1682: The General Court of Massachusetts repealed two 2-year-old laws: (1) a ban on the celebration of Christmas, and (2) capital punishment for banished Quakers who returned to the colony.
May 15, 1803: The first Catholic Mass in Australia took place in Sydney celebrated by Father James Dixon, a convict who had been transported to the colony of New South Wales for his alleged involvement in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Governor Philip Gidley King, influenced by the uneasiness of the Irish in the colony at not being able to practise their religion, granted Father Dixon conditional emancipation and permission to exercise his duties as a priest. King even decided to pay Dixon a salary of £60 but soon afterwards, for a number of reasons, King reversed his decision and determined to enforce the convicts' attendance at Anglican services.
May 14, 1882: The opening dedicatory service of a new church called the United Methodist Free Church was held at Ann Street, Petrie’s Bight, Brisbane. The service was conducted by the pastor, Rev S I Alden. The Gothic style building was designed by architect F D G Stanley. There was seating accommodation for 330. Total cost of the building and land was £1,647. When the congregation joined the union of Methodist churches in Australia, the Ann Street Church was purchased in 1898 by the Church of Christ at a cost of £1,100.
May 13, 1917: Three shepherd children reported that the Virgin Mary appeared to them in Fatima, Portugal.
May 13, 1925: Florida's House of Representatives passed a bill requiring schools to conduct daily Bible readings.
May 17, 1971: The musical Godspell, based on Matthew's gospel, opened at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York.
May 20, 2022: Caroline Jones AO, an Australian radio and television journalist and social commentator who had a career in the media industry for over 50 years, died following a fall in Sydney, aged 84. Jones joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission, now known as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in Canberra in 1963 and later became the first female reporter for the daily This Day Tonight current affairs television program. She then became a presenter on Four Corners, a weekly current affairs television program, from 1972 to 1981. From 1987 to 1994 she presented a spirituality-focused radio program called The Search For Meaning on ABC Radio National, on which she interviewed people about their lives. Caroline Jones grew up in a Protestant family. In 1985, she was received into the Roman Catholic Church. In 1996, Caroline Jones began hosting the weekly biographical program Australian Story on ABC television. During 1988, she worked alongside Aboriginal broadcasters at Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association in Alice Springs as they produced their first cultural and current affairs programs for television. In 1998 she was appointed an Ambassador for Reconciliation by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
May 7, 1274: The Second Council of Lyons convened with the goal of reunifying the Roman and Greek churches. Orthodox delegates agreed to recognise the papal claims and recite the Creed with the filioque* clause, but the majority of Orthodox clergy and laity fiercely rejected the union.
May 10, 1310: In Paris, 54 Knights Templar were burned alive. The Templars had been created to protect Holy Land pilgrims from bandits, but the Knights' quick rise in power and wealth made them unpopular. Trumped up charges of blasphemy and homosexuality convinced Pope Clement to disband the order.
May 6, 1527: An army of barbarians who had been sent by Emperor Charles V sacked Rome. Many Protestants interpreted the attack as a divine rebuke, and some Catholics agreed: Cardinal Cajetan, wrote ‘Everyone is convinced that all this has happened as a judgment of God on the great tyranny and disorders of the papal court’.
May 5, 1816: The American Bible Society in New York organised the distribution of the Bible throughout the world. They have since distributed hundreds of millions of Bibles in thousands of languages worldwide.
May 8, 1828: Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross and the YMCA was born in Geneva. He won the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
May 7, 1833: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg. Intensely religious, he wrote many works for the church though not officially employed by a church. He compiled the biblical texts for his German Requiem.
May 12, 1850: The first Mass in Brisbane was celebrated in St Stephen’s Church (now known as St Stephen’s Chapel or Old St Stephen’s Church) by Fr James Hanly, when there were just sixty catholic families in town. The chapel was designed by English architect Augustus Pugin and built between 1848 and 1850. In June 1859 it became the cathedral for Bishop James Quinn, the first Bishop of Brisbane. It is the oldest Catholic church in Queensland.
May 10, 1886: Karl Barth, an important theologian of the twentieth century and opponent of theological liberalism and political fascism was born in Basel, Switzerland. When asked in 1962 how he would summarize the essence of the millions of words he had published, he replied, Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.
May 10, 1885: Opening services, morning, afternoon and night, were held on Sunday 10th May 1885 in the new Warner Street Presbyterian Church, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Rev J M Ross, a delegate from New South Wales attending the Presbyterian Assembly meeting in Brisbane, preached at the morning and afternoon services. The congregations were very large on both occasions. In the morning the discourse was on the work and doctrines taught by the Lord Jesus Christ and in the evening from the text, "He that believeth in the Soul of God hath the witness in himself, and he that believeth not God hath made him a liar." Both discourses were powerful and argumentative. In the evening Rev Ross dealt in a vigorous and philosophical manner with the internal and external evidences of the truth of Christianity and his sermon was a masterly attack upon the free-thought theories advanced to cast discredit upon the doctrines of the Christian religion. In the afternoon Rev J D Hennessey conducted a service for the young, and spoke from the words, "The ark had rest." There was a good congregation. The collections during the services amounted to £57 5s. 0d.
May 5, 1925: Dayton, Tennessee, teacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom. The resulting trial led to public mockery of fundamentalist Christians, driving them into a more self-contained subculture. *The Filioque clause is the Latin phrase “and the Son,” added to the Nicene Creed to indicate that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, a change that sparked major theological controversy between Eastern
and Western Christianity.
May 10, 1310: In Paris, 54 Knights Templar were burned alive. The Templars had been created to protect Holy Land pilgrims from bandits, but the Knights' quick rise in power and wealth made them unpopular. Trumped up charges of blasphemy and homosexuality convinced Pope Clement to disband the order.
May 6, 1527: An army of barbarians who had been sent by Emperor Charles V sacked Rome. Many Protestants interpreted the attack as a divine rebuke, and some Catholics agreed: Cardinal Cajetan, wrote ‘Everyone is convinced that all this has happened as a judgment of God on the great tyranny and disorders of the papal court’.
May 5, 1816: The American Bible Society in New York organised the distribution of the Bible throughout the world. They have since distributed hundreds of millions of Bibles in thousands of languages worldwide.
May 8, 1828: Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross and the YMCA was born in Geneva. He won the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
May 7, 1833: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg. Intensely religious, he wrote many works for the church though not officially employed by a church. He compiled the biblical texts for his German Requiem.
May 12, 1850: The first Mass in Brisbane was celebrated in St Stephen’s Church (now known as St Stephen’s Chapel or Old St Stephen’s Church) by Fr James Hanly, when there were just sixty catholic families in town. The chapel was designed by English architect Augustus Pugin and built between 1848 and 1850. In June 1859 it became the cathedral for Bishop James Quinn, the first Bishop of Brisbane. It is the oldest Catholic church in Queensland.
May 10, 1886: Karl Barth, an important theologian of the twentieth century and opponent of theological liberalism and political fascism was born in Basel, Switzerland. When asked in 1962 how he would summarize the essence of the millions of words he had published, he replied, Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.
May 10, 1885: Opening services, morning, afternoon and night, were held on Sunday 10th May 1885 in the new Warner Street Presbyterian Church, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Rev J M Ross, a delegate from New South Wales attending the Presbyterian Assembly meeting in Brisbane, preached at the morning and afternoon services. The congregations were very large on both occasions. In the morning the discourse was on the work and doctrines taught by the Lord Jesus Christ and in the evening from the text, "He that believeth in the Soul of God hath the witness in himself, and he that believeth not God hath made him a liar." Both discourses were powerful and argumentative. In the evening Rev Ross dealt in a vigorous and philosophical manner with the internal and external evidences of the truth of Christianity and his sermon was a masterly attack upon the free-thought theories advanced to cast discredit upon the doctrines of the Christian religion. In the afternoon Rev J D Hennessey conducted a service for the young, and spoke from the words, "The ark had rest." There was a good congregation. The collections during the services amounted to £57 5s. 0d.
May 5, 1925: Dayton, Tennessee, teacher John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom. The resulting trial led to public mockery of fundamentalist Christians, driving them into a more self-contained subculture. *The Filioque clause is the Latin phrase “and the Son,” added to the Nicene Creed to indicate that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, a change that sparked major theological controversy between Eastern
and Western Christianity.
April 29, 1429: Joan of Arc, who had experienced mystical visions and voices since childhood, entered the besieged French city of Orleans to lead a victory over the English. The next day, the English retreated, but, because it was a Sunday, Joan refused to allow any pursuit. The next year, the English captured Joan and put her on trial for heresy.
April 27, 1667: Blind, bitter, and poor, Puritan poet John Milton sold for £10 the copyright for Paradise Lost—a book that would influence English thought and language nearly as much as the King James Version of the Bible and the plays of Shakespeare.
April 28, 1789: In the South Pacific, a band of sailors staged the famous mutiny on the Bounty. The mutineers then sailed to uninhabited Pitcairn Island, where they soon fell into drinking and fighting. Only one man and several women (taken earlier as slaves) and children survived. The man, Alexander Smith,
discovered the ship's neglected Bible, repented, and transformed the community. The Bible is still on display in a Pitcairn church.
May 1, 1849: The ship Chaseley arrived in Moreton Bay with 214 immigrants from London, the second of Dr. John Dunmore Lang's ships in his colonisation plan. The passengers disembarked in Brisbane the following day.
April 30, 1909: Political activist, Elizabeth Brentnall died in Brisbane. She was state president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in Queensland from 1886 to 1899. She first called for women’s suffrage in her presidential address to the WCTU annual convention in 1888. Forceful, eminently capable
and with fine organisational ability, Elizabeth Brentnall had been head mistress of the large Wesleyan day school for girls at Bacup in Lancashire and had followed Rev Frederick Thomas Brentnall to Sydney where they married. Frederick Brentnall, a moral extremist, opposed votes for women, except with a property qualification which placed him in direct opposition to his wife’s political ideology.
May 3, 1910: Thomas Rees-Thomas (1910–1993), Congregational and Uniting Church minister, was born at Pontarddulais, Carmarthenshire, Wales, third of four sons of Thomas Thomas, master bootmaker, and his wife Sarah Jane, née Rees. The family migrated to Queensland in 1913, living at Yandina for three
years and then at Blackstone, Ipswich. Welsh was the language spoken in Tom’s boyhood home and the family attended the local United Welsh Church. Educated at Blackstone State School and Ipswich Technical College’s commercial high school, he worked briefly as a bookkeeper-clerk for Gollin & Co. Pty
Ltd, Brisbane before educational training for the Christian ministry.
May 4, 2022: Richard Connolly, Australian musician, composer and former broadcaster, died in Sydney, Australia, aged 94. Connolly's published and performed works allowed him to be counted among Australia's most prolific composers of Catholic Church music, particularly the hymns he composed for the
church in Australia which are now published and used inter-denominationally. His hymns were composed to accommodate and adorn the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
April 27, 1667: Blind, bitter, and poor, Puritan poet John Milton sold for £10 the copyright for Paradise Lost—a book that would influence English thought and language nearly as much as the King James Version of the Bible and the plays of Shakespeare.
April 28, 1789: In the South Pacific, a band of sailors staged the famous mutiny on the Bounty. The mutineers then sailed to uninhabited Pitcairn Island, where they soon fell into drinking and fighting. Only one man and several women (taken earlier as slaves) and children survived. The man, Alexander Smith,
discovered the ship's neglected Bible, repented, and transformed the community. The Bible is still on display in a Pitcairn church.
May 1, 1849: The ship Chaseley arrived in Moreton Bay with 214 immigrants from London, the second of Dr. John Dunmore Lang's ships in his colonisation plan. The passengers disembarked in Brisbane the following day.
April 30, 1909: Political activist, Elizabeth Brentnall died in Brisbane. She was state president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in Queensland from 1886 to 1899. She first called for women’s suffrage in her presidential address to the WCTU annual convention in 1888. Forceful, eminently capable
and with fine organisational ability, Elizabeth Brentnall had been head mistress of the large Wesleyan day school for girls at Bacup in Lancashire and had followed Rev Frederick Thomas Brentnall to Sydney where they married. Frederick Brentnall, a moral extremist, opposed votes for women, except with a property qualification which placed him in direct opposition to his wife’s political ideology.
May 3, 1910: Thomas Rees-Thomas (1910–1993), Congregational and Uniting Church minister, was born at Pontarddulais, Carmarthenshire, Wales, third of four sons of Thomas Thomas, master bootmaker, and his wife Sarah Jane, née Rees. The family migrated to Queensland in 1913, living at Yandina for three
years and then at Blackstone, Ipswich. Welsh was the language spoken in Tom’s boyhood home and the family attended the local United Welsh Church. Educated at Blackstone State School and Ipswich Technical College’s commercial high school, he worked briefly as a bookkeeper-clerk for Gollin & Co. Pty
Ltd, Brisbane before educational training for the Christian ministry.
May 4, 2022: Richard Connolly, Australian musician, composer and former broadcaster, died in Sydney, Australia, aged 94. Connolly's published and performed works allowed him to be counted among Australia's most prolific composers of Catholic Church music, particularly the hymns he composed for the
church in Australia which are now published and used inter-denominationally. His hymns were composed to accommodate and adorn the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
April - March
April 23, 1538: John Calvin and William Farel were banished from Geneva. On the day before, Easter Sunday, both had refused to administer communion, saying the city was too full of vice to partake. Three years later, Calvin returned to the city he would forever be associated with.
April 25, 1599: Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan Lord Protector of England, was born near Cambridge. As Lord Protector, he sought to allow more freedom of religion for Puritans but also introduced intrusive and unpopular authoritarian measures.
April 29, 1890: Joseph Reed, English born architect in Melbourne, died, aged 67. Considered the city’s greatest architect, his prolific works include many of the city’s most loved buildings and significant heritage listings. These include the Royal Exhibition Building, Rippon Lea Estate, Melbourne Town Hall, Geelong City Hall, Bank of New South Wales in Collins Street and the State Library of Victoria. Joseph Reed also designed many churches in Melbourne – Collins Street Independent, Scots’ Church, St Jude’s at Carlton, Wesley Church in Lonsdale Street, Church of All Nations in Carlton, Ormond College, Holy Trinity Church and Sacred Heart Church at St Kilda and the Chapter House, St Paul’s Cathedral.
April 25, 1916: The first observance of Anzac Day in Queensland was held on the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. It consisted of a number of events, including church services in the morning, a marching parade of veterans and military personnel, evening gatherings and one minute's silence at 9pm, when all Queenslanders were to pray for, or to reflect on, those who had served and those who had died.
April 23, 1920: Rev Dr Henry Youngman, President General of the Methodist Church of Australia, and President of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association of Brisbane, performed the official opening ceremony of Thornburgh College at Charters Towers. Thornburgh College, a school for boys, began classes on 16 June 1919 with J F Ward, MA of Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, as Principal.
April 26, 1925: Our Lady of Victories Church in Bowen Hills, Brisbane was blessed and opened by Archbishop Duhig. Incorporating Spanish mission elements, the church was designed by architects Hall and Prentice and constructed by H Cheetham for £9435. The church is dedicated in memory of the Catholic Sailors and Soldiers of Queensland who fought and died in the Great European War 1914-1919. Also known as White Temple of Peace, the church was placed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1996 for its historical fabric and ongoing social significance.
April 24, 1960: The Greek Orthodox Church of St George at Edmondstone and Besant Streets, South Brisbane was consecrated by Archbishop Ezekiel.
April 23, 1968: In the United States, The Evangelical United Brethren Church joined with the much larger Methodist Church, forming the United Methodist Church, the largest Methodist group in the world and America's second-largest Protestant denomination after the Southern Baptist Convention.
April 26, 1992: The bells of the Ivan the Great Belltower in Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow peal on Easter for the first time in seven decades. Since the time of the Communist Revolution in1917, Russian Orthodox Christian experienced severe repression but churches remained open and continued to hold
services despite government persecution.
April 25, 1599: Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan Lord Protector of England, was born near Cambridge. As Lord Protector, he sought to allow more freedom of religion for Puritans but also introduced intrusive and unpopular authoritarian measures.
April 29, 1890: Joseph Reed, English born architect in Melbourne, died, aged 67. Considered the city’s greatest architect, his prolific works include many of the city’s most loved buildings and significant heritage listings. These include the Royal Exhibition Building, Rippon Lea Estate, Melbourne Town Hall, Geelong City Hall, Bank of New South Wales in Collins Street and the State Library of Victoria. Joseph Reed also designed many churches in Melbourne – Collins Street Independent, Scots’ Church, St Jude’s at Carlton, Wesley Church in Lonsdale Street, Church of All Nations in Carlton, Ormond College, Holy Trinity Church and Sacred Heart Church at St Kilda and the Chapter House, St Paul’s Cathedral.
April 25, 1916: The first observance of Anzac Day in Queensland was held on the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. It consisted of a number of events, including church services in the morning, a marching parade of veterans and military personnel, evening gatherings and one minute's silence at 9pm, when all Queenslanders were to pray for, or to reflect on, those who had served and those who had died.
April 23, 1920: Rev Dr Henry Youngman, President General of the Methodist Church of Australia, and President of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association of Brisbane, performed the official opening ceremony of Thornburgh College at Charters Towers. Thornburgh College, a school for boys, began classes on 16 June 1919 with J F Ward, MA of Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, as Principal.
April 26, 1925: Our Lady of Victories Church in Bowen Hills, Brisbane was blessed and opened by Archbishop Duhig. Incorporating Spanish mission elements, the church was designed by architects Hall and Prentice and constructed by H Cheetham for £9435. The church is dedicated in memory of the Catholic Sailors and Soldiers of Queensland who fought and died in the Great European War 1914-1919. Also known as White Temple of Peace, the church was placed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1996 for its historical fabric and ongoing social significance.
April 24, 1960: The Greek Orthodox Church of St George at Edmondstone and Besant Streets, South Brisbane was consecrated by Archbishop Ezekiel.
April 23, 1968: In the United States, The Evangelical United Brethren Church joined with the much larger Methodist Church, forming the United Methodist Church, the largest Methodist group in the world and America's second-largest Protestant denomination after the Southern Baptist Convention.
April 26, 1992: The bells of the Ivan the Great Belltower in Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow peal on Easter for the first time in seven decades. Since the time of the Communist Revolution in1917, Russian Orthodox Christian experienced severe repression but churches remained open and continued to hold
services despite government persecution.
April 15, 1452: Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci was born in Florence, Italy. Among his most famous religious works are the Virgin of the Rocks, The Last Supper, and St John the Baptist.
April 16, 1521: German reformer Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms, convinced he would get a hearing to discuss the abuse of indulgences and his 95 Theses. He was astounded to discover it would not be a debate, but a judicial hearing to see if he wished to recant his words. Luther said, "I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen!" When negotiations over the next few days failed to reach any compromise, Luther was condemned.
April 17, 1708: Ambrose, Archbishop of Moscow from 1768-1771 was born. In 1771, in the middle of an outbreak of the plague, Ambrose was martyred by a mob when he removed an icon from the church to prevent the spread of infection.
April 15, 1729: Johann Bach conducted the first and only performance of St. Matthew Passion during his lifetime at a Good Friday Vespers service in Leipzig, Germany. The choral work has been called "the supreme cultural achievement of all Western civilization," and even the radical skeptic Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) admitted upon hearing it, "One who has completely forgotten Christianity truly hears it here as gospel.”
April 20, 1832: The first dedicated Congregational church building (chapel) in Hobart opened in Brisbane Street. Beforehand, services had been conducted in a hired room from October 1830.
April 18, 1874: Having died nearly a year earlier in what is now northern Zambia, missionary-explorer David Livingstone was interred in London's Westminster Abbey. His tombstone reads, ‘His remains had been brought by faithful hands over land and sea’.
April 15, 1889: Belgian Roman Catholic priest, Joseph Damien, a missionary to lepers in Hawaii, died from leprosy.
April 15, 1892: Dutch writer Corrie ten Boom, known for hiding Jewish refugees in her home during World War II (dramatized in the 1971 film The Hiding Place) was born. She also died on this date in 1983.
April 17, 1937: With Mussolini's troops occupying Ethiopia, Sudan Interior Mission missionaries who had started a small church among the previously devil-worshiping Wallamo tribe were forced to leave the country. "We knew God was faithful," one missionary wrote. "But still we wondered--
if we ever come back, what will we find?" The missionaries returned in July 1943 to find that, despite severe persecution by Italian soldiers, the Christian community had grown from 48 members to 18,000.
April 16, 1521: German reformer Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms, convinced he would get a hearing to discuss the abuse of indulgences and his 95 Theses. He was astounded to discover it would not be a debate, but a judicial hearing to see if he wished to recant his words. Luther said, "I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen!" When negotiations over the next few days failed to reach any compromise, Luther was condemned.
April 17, 1708: Ambrose, Archbishop of Moscow from 1768-1771 was born. In 1771, in the middle of an outbreak of the plague, Ambrose was martyred by a mob when he removed an icon from the church to prevent the spread of infection.
April 15, 1729: Johann Bach conducted the first and only performance of St. Matthew Passion during his lifetime at a Good Friday Vespers service in Leipzig, Germany. The choral work has been called "the supreme cultural achievement of all Western civilization," and even the radical skeptic Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) admitted upon hearing it, "One who has completely forgotten Christianity truly hears it here as gospel.”
April 20, 1832: The first dedicated Congregational church building (chapel) in Hobart opened in Brisbane Street. Beforehand, services had been conducted in a hired room from October 1830.
April 18, 1874: Having died nearly a year earlier in what is now northern Zambia, missionary-explorer David Livingstone was interred in London's Westminster Abbey. His tombstone reads, ‘His remains had been brought by faithful hands over land and sea’.
April 15, 1889: Belgian Roman Catholic priest, Joseph Damien, a missionary to lepers in Hawaii, died from leprosy.
April 15, 1892: Dutch writer Corrie ten Boom, known for hiding Jewish refugees in her home during World War II (dramatized in the 1971 film The Hiding Place) was born. She also died on this date in 1983.
April 17, 1937: With Mussolini's troops occupying Ethiopia, Sudan Interior Mission missionaries who had started a small church among the previously devil-worshiping Wallamo tribe were forced to leave the country. "We knew God was faithful," one missionary wrote. "But still we wondered--
if we ever come back, what will we find?" The missionaries returned in July 1943 to find that, despite severe persecution by Italian soldiers, the Christian community had grown from 48 members to 18,000.
April 12, 1204: The Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople, an allied city. The attack virtually destroyed the Byzantine Empire and ruined any hope of
reunifying eastern and western Christians.
April 4, 1507: Martin Luther was ordained a priest in Erfurt, Germany.
April 4, 1742: Charles Wesley preached his famous sermon, Awake, thou that sleepest, to the University of Oxford. The sermon soon became Methodism's
most popular tract.
April 13, 1742: Handel's famous oratorio Messiah premiered in Dublin's Fishamble Street Musick Hall and was met with critical praise.
April 14, 1759: George Frideric Handel, composer of Messiah, died at age 74 in London.
April 9, 1816: Richard Allen and others organised the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. A few years earlier, Allen and his colleagues had left the Methodist Episcopal Church when it removed blacks from white seats during prayer.
April 8, 1901: After nearly 30 years of successful church planting in New Guinea, Presbyterian missionary James Chalmers (accompanied by missionary Oliver Tomkins) set out to explore a new part of the islands. No one ever saw the two again. A rescue party learned the men had probably been clubbed to death and eaten by cannibals.
April 15, 1907: James Frederick (Fred) McKay (1907–2000) who later became the Superintendent of the Australian Inland Mission of the Presbyterian Church of Australia (AIM) was born at Walkerston, Queensland, third of nine surviving children of Irish-born John McKay, farmer, and his Queensland-born wife Juliana Pauline, née Krieger.
April 4, 1968: Civil rights leader and Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
reunifying eastern and western Christians.
April 4, 1507: Martin Luther was ordained a priest in Erfurt, Germany.
April 4, 1742: Charles Wesley preached his famous sermon, Awake, thou that sleepest, to the University of Oxford. The sermon soon became Methodism's
most popular tract.
April 13, 1742: Handel's famous oratorio Messiah premiered in Dublin's Fishamble Street Musick Hall and was met with critical praise.
April 14, 1759: George Frideric Handel, composer of Messiah, died at age 74 in London.
April 9, 1816: Richard Allen and others organised the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. A few years earlier, Allen and his colleagues had left the Methodist Episcopal Church when it removed blacks from white seats during prayer.
April 8, 1901: After nearly 30 years of successful church planting in New Guinea, Presbyterian missionary James Chalmers (accompanied by missionary Oliver Tomkins) set out to explore a new part of the islands. No one ever saw the two again. A rescue party learned the men had probably been clubbed to death and eaten by cannibals.
April 15, 1907: James Frederick (Fred) McKay (1907–2000) who later became the Superintendent of the Australian Inland Mission of the Presbyterian Church of Australia (AIM) was born at Walkerston, Queensland, third of nine surviving children of Irish-born John McKay, farmer, and his Queensland-born wife Juliana Pauline, née Krieger.
April 4, 1968: Civil rights leader and Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
April 2, 742: Charlemagne was born. Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, 800. He was far more influential in church affairs than the pope. Charles appointed and deposed bishops, directed a revision of the text of the Bible, instituted changes to the liturgy, set rules for life in the monasteries, and sent investigators to dismiss priests with insufficient learning or piety.
March 31, 1146: French monastic reformer and theologian Bernard of Clairvaux preached for the Second Crusade in France. He urged his audience to "take the sign of the cross," and so many responded that he ran out of cloth crosses to pass out (he ended up tearing pieces from his own habit to stitch on the shirts of would-be crusaders). When the crusade proved to be a failure, people were shocked that a venture supported by such a powerful man of God could go
wrong.
March 31, 1492: After the Inquisition failed to convert Spain's Jews, monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella signed an edict giving them three months to leave the country. An estimated 150,000 Jews fled, the last reportedly leaving August 2. The next day, August 3, Christopher Columbus sailed for America.
April 3, 1593: George Herbert, one of England's greatest religious poets, was born in England. He became rector of rural Bremerton. He wrote ‘Let all the world in every corner sing’.
March 31, 1732: Franz Joseph Haydn, mentor to both Beethoven and Mozart, was born in Austria. His greatest contribution to church music is probably his 1798 oratorio The Creation.
April 5, 1842: English Benedictine monk, John Bede Polding OSB, was appointed the first bishop of Sydney and subsequently Archbishop on 22 April 1842. He had arrived in Sydney in 1835 and authorities soon realised the good effect his influence was having, and arranged that on the arrival of every ship-load of convicts, all the Catholics should be placed at his disposal for some days during which the bishop and his assistants saw each prisoner personally and did
all they could for them before they were drafted off to their various destinations. Hard-working Polding travelled widely throughout Australia. Despite his many successes as a founding bishop, he experienced a degree of resistance from his largely Irish Catholic church in Australia. Even after the English Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, the Irish were resistant to non-Irish bishops.
April 3, 1897: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms died at age 63. A devout Lutheran he wrote extensively for the church. His German Requiem (1868) is considered a major sacred choral work of his century.
April 3, 1910: Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) on the Australian $5 note, was a Scottish-born Australian writer, preacher, and social reformer. Spence began her career as a writer of fiction and later used her journalism and public speaking to become an influential public figure in the colony of South Australia. By the time of her death, she was widely eulogised as the "Grand Old Woman of Australia". She advocated for a range of causes,
including electoral reform, women's suffrage, poverty relief, and girls' education. She was also a regular lay preacher at the Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church.
April 5, 2015: Rev Dr Gordon Keith Moyes AC, MLC, B.A., LL.D., Litt.D., D.D., F.R.G.S., F.A.I.M., F.A.I.C.D., M.A.C.E. one of Australia’s most respected Christian leaders, died. Ordained in 1959 as a minister of the Churches of Christ with ministries at Newmarket, Ascot Vale, Ararat and Cheltenham he later was ordained in the Uniting Church in Australia serving for 27 years as the Superintendent of Wesley Mission Sydney. Gordon led this church to become one of Australia’s largest non-government welfare providers and a uniquely shaped multi-cultural, city-based church, passionate about sharing God’s love in both Word and Deed. This extraordinary ministry was extensive in its breadth, significant in its range and innovative in its scope. Financial counselling, refugee support, property redevelopment in the central business district, financial sustainability, employment services, child and family support, disability and
mental health services, media presence, retail and conference centres – where there was a need and opportunity, Gordon saw a vision to serve.
April 7, 2019: The Rev Bill Crews Foundation was established as a charity in New South Wales. It provides free meals, accessible healthcare, welfare support, educational programs and therapy for children in Sydney. It is headed by Rev Bill Crews, Minister of Ashfield Uniting Church. Its Loaves and Fishes Restaurant in Ashfield and food vans in Sydney suburbs are well known.
March 31, 1146: French monastic reformer and theologian Bernard of Clairvaux preached for the Second Crusade in France. He urged his audience to "take the sign of the cross," and so many responded that he ran out of cloth crosses to pass out (he ended up tearing pieces from his own habit to stitch on the shirts of would-be crusaders). When the crusade proved to be a failure, people were shocked that a venture supported by such a powerful man of God could go
wrong.
March 31, 1492: After the Inquisition failed to convert Spain's Jews, monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella signed an edict giving them three months to leave the country. An estimated 150,000 Jews fled, the last reportedly leaving August 2. The next day, August 3, Christopher Columbus sailed for America.
April 3, 1593: George Herbert, one of England's greatest religious poets, was born in England. He became rector of rural Bremerton. He wrote ‘Let all the world in every corner sing’.
March 31, 1732: Franz Joseph Haydn, mentor to both Beethoven and Mozart, was born in Austria. His greatest contribution to church music is probably his 1798 oratorio The Creation.
April 5, 1842: English Benedictine monk, John Bede Polding OSB, was appointed the first bishop of Sydney and subsequently Archbishop on 22 April 1842. He had arrived in Sydney in 1835 and authorities soon realised the good effect his influence was having, and arranged that on the arrival of every ship-load of convicts, all the Catholics should be placed at his disposal for some days during which the bishop and his assistants saw each prisoner personally and did
all they could for them before they were drafted off to their various destinations. Hard-working Polding travelled widely throughout Australia. Despite his many successes as a founding bishop, he experienced a degree of resistance from his largely Irish Catholic church in Australia. Even after the English Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, the Irish were resistant to non-Irish bishops.
April 3, 1897: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms died at age 63. A devout Lutheran he wrote extensively for the church. His German Requiem (1868) is considered a major sacred choral work of his century.
April 3, 1910: Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) on the Australian $5 note, was a Scottish-born Australian writer, preacher, and social reformer. Spence began her career as a writer of fiction and later used her journalism and public speaking to become an influential public figure in the colony of South Australia. By the time of her death, she was widely eulogised as the "Grand Old Woman of Australia". She advocated for a range of causes,
including electoral reform, women's suffrage, poverty relief, and girls' education. She was also a regular lay preacher at the Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church.
April 5, 2015: Rev Dr Gordon Keith Moyes AC, MLC, B.A., LL.D., Litt.D., D.D., F.R.G.S., F.A.I.M., F.A.I.C.D., M.A.C.E. one of Australia’s most respected Christian leaders, died. Ordained in 1959 as a minister of the Churches of Christ with ministries at Newmarket, Ascot Vale, Ararat and Cheltenham he later was ordained in the Uniting Church in Australia serving for 27 years as the Superintendent of Wesley Mission Sydney. Gordon led this church to become one of Australia’s largest non-government welfare providers and a uniquely shaped multi-cultural, city-based church, passionate about sharing God’s love in both Word and Deed. This extraordinary ministry was extensive in its breadth, significant in its range and innovative in its scope. Financial counselling, refugee support, property redevelopment in the central business district, financial sustainability, employment services, child and family support, disability and
mental health services, media presence, retail and conference centres – where there was a need and opportunity, Gordon saw a vision to serve.
April 7, 2019: The Rev Bill Crews Foundation was established as a charity in New South Wales. It provides free meals, accessible healthcare, welfare support, educational programs and therapy for children in Sydney. It is headed by Rev Bill Crews, Minister of Ashfield Uniting Church. Its Loaves and Fishes Restaurant in Ashfield and food vans in Sydney suburbs are well known.
March
March 26, 655: Deusdedit became the first English-born Archbishop of Canterbury. He served until 664.
March 26, 2026 Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to take on the role in its near 1,500-year history.
March 24, 1208: After England's irreligious King John opposed his choice for Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Innocent III placed Britain under an interdict. Pope Innocent had all religious services cancelled, churches closed, and the dead were not given Christian burials until John surrendered. Soon after, the king signed the Magna Carta, in which the first article affirms ‘The Church of England shall be free...’
March 25, 1625: England's King James I died. In 1604, James authorised the translation project that produced the 1611 King James (Authorised) Version of the Bible.
March 28, 1661: Scottish Parliament passed the Rescissory Act, repealing all church-state legislation created since 1633. In essence, the act restored the Anglican episcopacy to Scotland and quashed Presbyterianism, which had been the national church since 1638. In 1690 Parliament again established the Church of Scotland as Presbyterian
March 21, 1685: German organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. Though largely unrecognized in his day and forgotten for years after his death, he has since become recognised as one of history's unequalled musical masters. Nearly three-quarters of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship. Between his musical genius, his devotion to Christ, and the effect of his music, he has gained recognition in many circles as the ‘Fifth Evangelist’.
March 21, 1788: Charles Wesley, brother of John and author of 8,989 hymns died at age 81.
March 28, 1885: George James Coles, businessman and philanthropist, was born at Jung Jung, Victoria. He enlisted in the AIF in 1917 and fought in France as a lance corporal. In April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux he was shot in the knee and evacuated to England. He was discharged from the AIF in 1919 in Melbourne. His brothers Arthur, Jim and David also served in the AIF; Jim was killed in action in 1916 and David died of wounds in 1917. George Coles married Margaret and they had five children. With his brother Arthur, George Coles established GJ Coles & Co. In 1957 Coles was knighted. In his later years Sir George James Coles gave money for building the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine. He was a warden at St John’s Anglican Church at Toorak. He died in 1977.
March 31, 1929: The Greek Orthodox Church of St George was officially opened in the grounds of the Hellenic Club in Charlotte Street, Brisbane, by the Consul-General for Greece, Mr Christy Freeleagus who unveiled the memorial stone. The church was designed by the architectural firm of Atkinson, Powell and Conrad to seat 400 worshippers. Congregations had earlier met at St Luke’s Anglican Church in Charlotte Street, Wharf Street Congregational Church and St Barnabas Anglican Church at Red Hill. Greek Orthodox priest at the time was Father Elias Kotiadis. The congregation later moved to South Brisbane. The property at Charlotte Street was sold in 1981 and the building demolished. Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., lead more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators on a march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. By the time they reached their destination four days later, the group had expanded to 25,000.
March 26, 2026 Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to take on the role in its near 1,500-year history.
March 24, 1208: After England's irreligious King John opposed his choice for Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Innocent III placed Britain under an interdict. Pope Innocent had all religious services cancelled, churches closed, and the dead were not given Christian burials until John surrendered. Soon after, the king signed the Magna Carta, in which the first article affirms ‘The Church of England shall be free...’
March 25, 1625: England's King James I died. In 1604, James authorised the translation project that produced the 1611 King James (Authorised) Version of the Bible.
March 28, 1661: Scottish Parliament passed the Rescissory Act, repealing all church-state legislation created since 1633. In essence, the act restored the Anglican episcopacy to Scotland and quashed Presbyterianism, which had been the national church since 1638. In 1690 Parliament again established the Church of Scotland as Presbyterian
March 21, 1685: German organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. Though largely unrecognized in his day and forgotten for years after his death, he has since become recognised as one of history's unequalled musical masters. Nearly three-quarters of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship. Between his musical genius, his devotion to Christ, and the effect of his music, he has gained recognition in many circles as the ‘Fifth Evangelist’.
March 21, 1788: Charles Wesley, brother of John and author of 8,989 hymns died at age 81.
March 28, 1885: George James Coles, businessman and philanthropist, was born at Jung Jung, Victoria. He enlisted in the AIF in 1917 and fought in France as a lance corporal. In April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux he was shot in the knee and evacuated to England. He was discharged from the AIF in 1919 in Melbourne. His brothers Arthur, Jim and David also served in the AIF; Jim was killed in action in 1916 and David died of wounds in 1917. George Coles married Margaret and they had five children. With his brother Arthur, George Coles established GJ Coles & Co. In 1957 Coles was knighted. In his later years Sir George James Coles gave money for building the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine. He was a warden at St John’s Anglican Church at Toorak. He died in 1977.
March 31, 1929: The Greek Orthodox Church of St George was officially opened in the grounds of the Hellenic Club in Charlotte Street, Brisbane, by the Consul-General for Greece, Mr Christy Freeleagus who unveiled the memorial stone. The church was designed by the architectural firm of Atkinson, Powell and Conrad to seat 400 worshippers. Congregations had earlier met at St Luke’s Anglican Church in Charlotte Street, Wharf Street Congregational Church and St Barnabas Anglican Church at Red Hill. Greek Orthodox priest at the time was Father Elias Kotiadis. The congregation later moved to South Brisbane. The property at Charlotte Street was sold in 1981 and the building demolished. Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., lead more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators on a march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. By the time they reached their destination four days later, the group had expanded to 25,000.
March 17, 461 (traditional date): Patrick, missionary to Ireland and Ireland's patron saint, died. Irish raiders captured Patrick in Roman Britain and enslaved him as a youth. He escaped to Gaul (modern France) but returned to Ireland. Patrick was a successful missionary there, and only the far south remained predominantly pagan when he died.
March 18, 1314: Thirty-nine Knights Templar were burned at the stake in Paris. Though few besides Dante championed the innocence of the oft-maligned military order, most scholars now agree with him. Created to protect pilgrims going to the Holy Land, they became wealthy after the crusades. Perhaps because of jealously, they were accused of sodomy, blasphemy, and heresy.
March 15, 1517: Needing money to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, Pope Leo X announced a special sale of indulgences. A Dominican monk promoted the sale in Germany and erroneously declared that indulgences would cover future sins (Leo's forgave all past sins). This angered monk Martin Luther, who soon posted
his 95 Theses in response.
March 18, 1861: London's Metropolitan Tabernacle opened. Spurgeon had insisted that the enormous building employ Greek architecture because the New Testament was written in Greek—a decision that influenced church architecture throughout the world.
March 25, 1877: Mrs Caroline Chisholm died in London, England. Her grave in Northampton bears a headstone inscribed The Emigrant’s Friend. In England and Australia, she worked with skill and dedication to influence immigration policies, to change attitudes towards women settlers and to advocate for family welfare. She was born in Northampton in 1808 and spent much of her life in Australia especially Sydney and Kyneton. A devoted wife and mother, Caroline Chisholm helped to give dignity to women and families in a harsh colonial society. She is remembered on the Australian $5 note, featuring her portrait with the faces of those she helped to early settlement in Australia.
March 15, 1953: Billy Graham held his first integrated revival at Chattanooga, Tennessee. After the ropes cordoning off the black section of the auditorium were removed, Graham told the ushers who threatened to put them back up, ‘Either these ropes stay down or you can go on and have the revival without me.’
From then on, Graham permanently adopted the policy of holding only integrated revivals.
March 24, 1964: Wayside Chapel was opened by Methodist minister, Rev Ted Noffs in a block of flats in Hughes Street, Kings Cross, Sydney. He was known for his radical, inclusive approach to ministry. Wayside Chapel became a haven for marginalised youth and people in Kings Cross by offering unconditional love, support, and a coffee shop in an era of social change, breaking down barriers to faith and addressing issues like drug culture and social justice.
March 25, 2005: Rev John Davis McCaughey AC, an Irish-born Australian academic theologian, Christian minister, university administrator and the 23rd Governor of Victoria from 1986 to 1992, died at the age of 90. He began his life in Australia as the Professor of New Testament Studies at the Theological Hall at Ormond College. He became the Master of Ormond College (1959-1979). In 1957 he had taken on a leading role in the creation and establishment of the Uniting Church in Australia, a twenty-year process that culminated in the inauguration of the Church in 1977, with McCaughey as its first president. He
became a member of the Council of University of Melbourne, acting on two occasions as its Deputy Chancellor, before becoming, in his retirement, Governor of Victoria.
March 18, 1314: Thirty-nine Knights Templar were burned at the stake in Paris. Though few besides Dante championed the innocence of the oft-maligned military order, most scholars now agree with him. Created to protect pilgrims going to the Holy Land, they became wealthy after the crusades. Perhaps because of jealously, they were accused of sodomy, blasphemy, and heresy.
March 15, 1517: Needing money to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, Pope Leo X announced a special sale of indulgences. A Dominican monk promoted the sale in Germany and erroneously declared that indulgences would cover future sins (Leo's forgave all past sins). This angered monk Martin Luther, who soon posted
his 95 Theses in response.
March 18, 1861: London's Metropolitan Tabernacle opened. Spurgeon had insisted that the enormous building employ Greek architecture because the New Testament was written in Greek—a decision that influenced church architecture throughout the world.
March 25, 1877: Mrs Caroline Chisholm died in London, England. Her grave in Northampton bears a headstone inscribed The Emigrant’s Friend. In England and Australia, she worked with skill and dedication to influence immigration policies, to change attitudes towards women settlers and to advocate for family welfare. She was born in Northampton in 1808 and spent much of her life in Australia especially Sydney and Kyneton. A devoted wife and mother, Caroline Chisholm helped to give dignity to women and families in a harsh colonial society. She is remembered on the Australian $5 note, featuring her portrait with the faces of those she helped to early settlement in Australia.
March 15, 1953: Billy Graham held his first integrated revival at Chattanooga, Tennessee. After the ropes cordoning off the black section of the auditorium were removed, Graham told the ushers who threatened to put them back up, ‘Either these ropes stay down or you can go on and have the revival without me.’
From then on, Graham permanently adopted the policy of holding only integrated revivals.
March 24, 1964: Wayside Chapel was opened by Methodist minister, Rev Ted Noffs in a block of flats in Hughes Street, Kings Cross, Sydney. He was known for his radical, inclusive approach to ministry. Wayside Chapel became a haven for marginalised youth and people in Kings Cross by offering unconditional love, support, and a coffee shop in an era of social change, breaking down barriers to faith and addressing issues like drug culture and social justice.
March 25, 2005: Rev John Davis McCaughey AC, an Irish-born Australian academic theologian, Christian minister, university administrator and the 23rd Governor of Victoria from 1986 to 1992, died at the age of 90. He began his life in Australia as the Professor of New Testament Studies at the Theological Hall at Ormond College. He became the Master of Ormond College (1959-1979). In 1957 he had taken on a leading role in the creation and establishment of the Uniting Church in Australia, a twenty-year process that culminated in the inauguration of the Church in 1977, with McCaughey as its first president. He
became a member of the Council of University of Melbourne, acting on two occasions as its Deputy Chancellor, before becoming, in his retirement, Governor of Victoria.
March 10, 1681: Charles II made English Quaker William Penn sole proprietor of the American colony known today as Pennsylvania. Penn gave legal rights not only to Native Americans but also to persecuted Christians like the Mennonites.
March 10, 1748: John Newton, the captain of a slave ship, converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He had been reading Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ and was struck by a line about the uncertain continuance of life. He eventually became an Anglican clergyman, author of ‘Amazing Grace, and a zealous abolitionist.
March 11, 1812: Fire engulfed English Baptist missionary William Carey’s print shop in Serampore, India, destroying his massive polyglot dictionary, two grammar books, sets of type for 14 eastern languages, and whole versions of the Bible. Undaunted, Carey said, ‘The loss is heavy, but travelling a road the second time is usually done with greater certainty than the first time. . . . We are cast down but not in despair’.
March 9, 1831: Evangelist Charles Finney concluded a six-month series of meetings in New York. The meetings led to the closing of the town's theatre and taverns, a two-thirds drop in crime, and a reported 100,000 conversions.
March 16, 1877: First Catholic Archbishop in Australia, John Bede Polding, died in Sydney aged 82. He was initially buried at Petersham Cemetery. He founded many churches and began the construction of the second St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney in 1868, where he was re-buried. He helped establish St John's College, University of Sydney and St Mary's College, Lyndhurst. Polding travelled to Rome in 1846 hoping to obtain a coadjutor bishop and Benedictine nuns to help in his diocese. He was successful and also gained approval for the establishment of Melbourne as a separate see. Polding established the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, an Australian congregation of Religious women.
March 17, 1889: St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in James Street, Toowoomba was officially opened on St Patrick’s Day. A Victorian Gothic church designed by James Marks for the then Catholic Toowoomba Mission, built of basalt. Besides St Patrick’s, James Marks's most notable designs in Toowoomba included the Royal Bank of Queensland, the Imperial Hotel, St Stephen's Presbyterian Church and several grand private residences. The opening ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Robert Dunne, witnessed by 2000 people. The original costing of no more than £5000 had by completion blown out to £8500, funded by the continual raising of funds amongst the local community.
March 13, 1912: Emmanuel College, University of Queensland, was officially opened. This residential college was founded on the educational traditions of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church, with a belief that education, faith and service were vital to building strong communities and shaping future leaders. Following the establishment of The University of Queensland in 1909–1910, and driven by the determination of Reverend Dr Ernest Merrington MA (1876–1953), a graduate of Edinburgh and Harvard, the Church purchased a property in 1911 on Wickham Terrace to house a Presbyterian residential college. The name Emmanuel—meaning God with us—was chosen and the College’s motto, Fiat Lux— ‘Let there be light’—reflected its mission to enrich lives through education and service.
March 14, 1926: Theodore Delwin Noffs who became a Methodist, then Uniting Church minister and social activist, was born at Mudgee, New South Wales, second of three children of German-born Theodore Erwin Bernhardt Noffz, travelling salesman, hunter, and artist (and an atheist), and his wife Leila Eva Mary, née Roth, who was from an immigrant German winegrowing family at Eurunderee, near Mudgee (and a devoted Anglican). With his parents moving to Sydney to escape poverty in the bush during the Depression, Ted Noffs completed his primary school education at Parramatta and went on to Parramatta High School (1939–41) and North Sydney Technical College. Ted Noffs opened Wayside Chapel in 1964.
March 16, 1963: The first Lifeline Centre opened its telephone lines in Sydney, Australia. The service was founded by the Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker OBE after he was deeply affected by a call from a distressed man who later took his own life. The Lifeline Centre, operating out of Wesley Mission (then the Central Methodist Mission), took over 100 calls on its first day and became a worldwide movement for crisis support and suicide prevention.
March 13, 1988: 12 bells, originally purchased by public subscription in 1876 and hung for chiming at the Pro-Cathedral in George Street, Brisbane, were dedicated in St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane. They now hang in the central tower of the cathedral for traditional English style ringing. The bells are rung for service every Sunday and on special occasions by a voluntary group of ringers. St John’s is only one of two towers in Brisbane to have bells arrayed for change ringing, and only one of three in Queensland. They were moved to the present Cathedral site in 1910 where they were hung in a temporary wooden tower and chimed for service. It was only in 1988 that the bells were finally hung in the Cathedral proper for full-circle ringing.
March 14, 1999: A statue of Archbishop Daniel Mannix was unveiled at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, by the Governor of Victoria, Sir James Gobbo who delivered an address paying tribute to Dr Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne from 1917 to 1963. The work was completed in bronze and marble by Nigel Boonham, an English sculptor. The statue faces Parliament House.
March 10, 1748: John Newton, the captain of a slave ship, converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He had been reading Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ and was struck by a line about the uncertain continuance of life. He eventually became an Anglican clergyman, author of ‘Amazing Grace, and a zealous abolitionist.
March 11, 1812: Fire engulfed English Baptist missionary William Carey’s print shop in Serampore, India, destroying his massive polyglot dictionary, two grammar books, sets of type for 14 eastern languages, and whole versions of the Bible. Undaunted, Carey said, ‘The loss is heavy, but travelling a road the second time is usually done with greater certainty than the first time. . . . We are cast down but not in despair’.
March 9, 1831: Evangelist Charles Finney concluded a six-month series of meetings in New York. The meetings led to the closing of the town's theatre and taverns, a two-thirds drop in crime, and a reported 100,000 conversions.
March 16, 1877: First Catholic Archbishop in Australia, John Bede Polding, died in Sydney aged 82. He was initially buried at Petersham Cemetery. He founded many churches and began the construction of the second St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney in 1868, where he was re-buried. He helped establish St John's College, University of Sydney and St Mary's College, Lyndhurst. Polding travelled to Rome in 1846 hoping to obtain a coadjutor bishop and Benedictine nuns to help in his diocese. He was successful and also gained approval for the establishment of Melbourne as a separate see. Polding established the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, an Australian congregation of Religious women.
March 17, 1889: St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in James Street, Toowoomba was officially opened on St Patrick’s Day. A Victorian Gothic church designed by James Marks for the then Catholic Toowoomba Mission, built of basalt. Besides St Patrick’s, James Marks's most notable designs in Toowoomba included the Royal Bank of Queensland, the Imperial Hotel, St Stephen's Presbyterian Church and several grand private residences. The opening ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Robert Dunne, witnessed by 2000 people. The original costing of no more than £5000 had by completion blown out to £8500, funded by the continual raising of funds amongst the local community.
March 13, 1912: Emmanuel College, University of Queensland, was officially opened. This residential college was founded on the educational traditions of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church, with a belief that education, faith and service were vital to building strong communities and shaping future leaders. Following the establishment of The University of Queensland in 1909–1910, and driven by the determination of Reverend Dr Ernest Merrington MA (1876–1953), a graduate of Edinburgh and Harvard, the Church purchased a property in 1911 on Wickham Terrace to house a Presbyterian residential college. The name Emmanuel—meaning God with us—was chosen and the College’s motto, Fiat Lux— ‘Let there be light’—reflected its mission to enrich lives through education and service.
March 14, 1926: Theodore Delwin Noffs who became a Methodist, then Uniting Church minister and social activist, was born at Mudgee, New South Wales, second of three children of German-born Theodore Erwin Bernhardt Noffz, travelling salesman, hunter, and artist (and an atheist), and his wife Leila Eva Mary, née Roth, who was from an immigrant German winegrowing family at Eurunderee, near Mudgee (and a devoted Anglican). With his parents moving to Sydney to escape poverty in the bush during the Depression, Ted Noffs completed his primary school education at Parramatta and went on to Parramatta High School (1939–41) and North Sydney Technical College. Ted Noffs opened Wayside Chapel in 1964.
March 16, 1963: The first Lifeline Centre opened its telephone lines in Sydney, Australia. The service was founded by the Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker OBE after he was deeply affected by a call from a distressed man who later took his own life. The Lifeline Centre, operating out of Wesley Mission (then the Central Methodist Mission), took over 100 calls on its first day and became a worldwide movement for crisis support and suicide prevention.
March 13, 1988: 12 bells, originally purchased by public subscription in 1876 and hung for chiming at the Pro-Cathedral in George Street, Brisbane, were dedicated in St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane. They now hang in the central tower of the cathedral for traditional English style ringing. The bells are rung for service every Sunday and on special occasions by a voluntary group of ringers. St John’s is only one of two towers in Brisbane to have bells arrayed for change ringing, and only one of three in Queensland. They were moved to the present Cathedral site in 1910 where they were hung in a temporary wooden tower and chimed for service. It was only in 1988 that the bells were finally hung in the Cathedral proper for full-circle ringing.
March 14, 1999: A statue of Archbishop Daniel Mannix was unveiled at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, by the Governor of Victoria, Sir James Gobbo who delivered an address paying tribute to Dr Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne from 1917 to 1963. The work was completed in bronze and marble by Nigel Boonham, an English sculptor. The statue faces Parliament House.
March 1, 589: David of Wales died. His self-disciplined life earned him the love of all Wales. He is now the patron saint of that country.
March 6, 1475: Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in Caprese.
March 1, 1562: At the Massacre of Vassy, French Protestants (called Huguenots) were killed by Roman Catholics. The action set off a series of eight religious wars that lasted 36 years.
March 8, 1782: Ninety-six Christian Native Americans living peacefully in a Moravian Brethren town in Ohio, are killed by militiamen in ‘retaliation’ for Indian raids made elsewhere in Ohio.
March 2, 1791: Founder of Methodism John Wesley died in London. Thanks to his meticulous record keeping, we know exactly how many followers he had when he died: 71,668 British members, 294 preachers, 43,265 American members with 198 preachers and 19 missionaries.
March 10, 1849: The first Methodist Church in Brisbane was opened. The first service was conducted the next day by a Presbyterian minister, Rev Thomas Mowbray. The modest brick chapel stood on the corner of Albert Street and Burnett Lane. The building, measuring 35 feet long and 18 feet wide, could seat 150 people and cost £150.
March 11, 1855: The first Congregational Church in Queensland was opened in Brisbane Street, Ipswich. It played a large part in the daily lives of many devoted Ipswich families, including the Cribbs and the Wrights.
March 2, 1938: Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, one of the founders of Germany's Confessing Church, was sentenced to seven months in prison for opposing Hitler.
March 8, 1948: The US Supreme Court found religious education in the public schools is in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
March 6, 1984: Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, a prisoner for his opposition to the Nazis, died. Because his advocacy for complete neutrality between East and West Germany was perceived as a compromise with communism, he spent his later years in obscurity.
March 7, 1992: The first ordination of female Anglican priests in Australia occurred in Perth, Western Australia, where Archbishop Peter Carnley ordained 10 women at St George’s Cathedral. This historic event followed a narrow national agreement in 1992 allowing the practice, with subsequent ordinations occurring in other dioceses, including Melbourne and Brisbane during December 1992.
March 6, 1475: Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in Caprese.
March 1, 1562: At the Massacre of Vassy, French Protestants (called Huguenots) were killed by Roman Catholics. The action set off a series of eight religious wars that lasted 36 years.
March 8, 1782: Ninety-six Christian Native Americans living peacefully in a Moravian Brethren town in Ohio, are killed by militiamen in ‘retaliation’ for Indian raids made elsewhere in Ohio.
March 2, 1791: Founder of Methodism John Wesley died in London. Thanks to his meticulous record keeping, we know exactly how many followers he had when he died: 71,668 British members, 294 preachers, 43,265 American members with 198 preachers and 19 missionaries.
March 10, 1849: The first Methodist Church in Brisbane was opened. The first service was conducted the next day by a Presbyterian minister, Rev Thomas Mowbray. The modest brick chapel stood on the corner of Albert Street and Burnett Lane. The building, measuring 35 feet long and 18 feet wide, could seat 150 people and cost £150.
March 11, 1855: The first Congregational Church in Queensland was opened in Brisbane Street, Ipswich. It played a large part in the daily lives of many devoted Ipswich families, including the Cribbs and the Wrights.
March 2, 1938: Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, one of the founders of Germany's Confessing Church, was sentenced to seven months in prison for opposing Hitler.
March 8, 1948: The US Supreme Court found religious education in the public schools is in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
March 6, 1984: Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, a prisoner for his opposition to the Nazis, died. Because his advocacy for complete neutrality between East and West Germany was perceived as a compromise with communism, he spent his later years in obscurity.
March 7, 1992: The first ordination of female Anglican priests in Australia occurred in Perth, Western Australia, where Archbishop Peter Carnley ordained 10 women at St George’s Cathedral. This historic event followed a narrow national agreement in 1992 allowing the practice, with subsequent ordinations occurring in other dioceses, including Melbourne and Brisbane during December 1992.
February - March
February 27, 380: Roman emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official law of the land. "It is our will," he decreed, "that all the peoples we rule shall practise that religion that Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans“.
February 25, 616 (traditional date): Ethelbert, the first Christian English king died.
February 24, 1208: Francis of Assisi experienced a vision in the church of Portunicula, Italy convincing him to begin a mission of preaching repentance, singing, caring for lepers, and aiding the peasants. He and his followers renounced wealth and followed absolute poverty.
February 25, 1570: Pope Pius V excommunicated England's Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, declaring her to be a usurper to the throne. It was the last time a pope "deposed" a reigning monarch.
February 24, 1582: Gregory XIII required all Catholic countries to follow October 4 with October 15, replacing the Julian calendar with the Gregorian (which we still use today). By 1582, the Julian calendar was out by ten days.
March 1, 1846: A Benedictine mission to the local Yued Aboriginal people in Western Australia was started by a small group of Spanish Benedictine monks led by Giuseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado. Within a year the mission was moved to where the town of New Norcia is today.
March 1 1847: New Norcia Monastery, Australia’s only Benedictine monastery was founded by Spanish monks. Established as a mission for Aboriginal people it developed into a unique, Spanish style community featuring an abbey church, monastery and former boarding colleges.
February 26, 1918: Sir Lloyd George Geering was born in Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a theologian who faced charges of heresy in 1967. He considered Christian and Muslim fundamentalism to be ‘social evils’. Geering is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2007, he was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest civilian honour, limited to 20 living people. Turning 100 in February 2018, he is currently the oldest known living man in New Zealand.
February 26, 1928: Father Elias Kotiadis, from Rhodes was ordained by the Greek Metropolitan, Dr Christophorous Knitis in St Luke’s Hall, Charlotte Street, Brisbane, to be the priest for the Greek Orthodox community of St George in Brisbane. Father Kotiadis’s first services were in the Wharf Street Congregational Church as there was no Greek Orthodox church building in Brisbane till the following year.
February 28, 1944: Nazi soldiers arrested Dutch Christian Corrie ten Boom and her family for harbouring Jews. The Jews hiding in her house escaped. Corrie was the only member of her family who survived internment in concentration camps.
February 27, 1977: Fortitude Valley Methodist Church and Church Hall were closed, revoking their status as sacred buildings. A listing on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992, indicated the importance of the church and hall in Queensland’s history, providing evidence of the development and growth of the Wesleyan Church in Brisbane and as one of a group of substantial churches built in Fortitude Valley in the 1870s and 1880s reflected the residential growth of the Valley and adjacent suburbs. The hall, which seated 400 persons, serving as the church from 1871 till was 1889, is a fine example of the work of architect James Cowlishaw. The church is a fine example of the ecclesiastical architectural work of George Simkin.
February 25, 616 (traditional date): Ethelbert, the first Christian English king died.
February 24, 1208: Francis of Assisi experienced a vision in the church of Portunicula, Italy convincing him to begin a mission of preaching repentance, singing, caring for lepers, and aiding the peasants. He and his followers renounced wealth and followed absolute poverty.
February 25, 1570: Pope Pius V excommunicated England's Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, declaring her to be a usurper to the throne. It was the last time a pope "deposed" a reigning monarch.
February 24, 1582: Gregory XIII required all Catholic countries to follow October 4 with October 15, replacing the Julian calendar with the Gregorian (which we still use today). By 1582, the Julian calendar was out by ten days.
March 1, 1846: A Benedictine mission to the local Yued Aboriginal people in Western Australia was started by a small group of Spanish Benedictine monks led by Giuseppe Serra and Rosendo Salvado. Within a year the mission was moved to where the town of New Norcia is today.
March 1 1847: New Norcia Monastery, Australia’s only Benedictine monastery was founded by Spanish monks. Established as a mission for Aboriginal people it developed into a unique, Spanish style community featuring an abbey church, monastery and former boarding colleges.
February 26, 1918: Sir Lloyd George Geering was born in Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a theologian who faced charges of heresy in 1967. He considered Christian and Muslim fundamentalism to be ‘social evils’. Geering is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2007, he was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest civilian honour, limited to 20 living people. Turning 100 in February 2018, he is currently the oldest known living man in New Zealand.
February 26, 1928: Father Elias Kotiadis, from Rhodes was ordained by the Greek Metropolitan, Dr Christophorous Knitis in St Luke’s Hall, Charlotte Street, Brisbane, to be the priest for the Greek Orthodox community of St George in Brisbane. Father Kotiadis’s first services were in the Wharf Street Congregational Church as there was no Greek Orthodox church building in Brisbane till the following year.
February 28, 1944: Nazi soldiers arrested Dutch Christian Corrie ten Boom and her family for harbouring Jews. The Jews hiding in her house escaped. Corrie was the only member of her family who survived internment in concentration camps.
February 27, 1977: Fortitude Valley Methodist Church and Church Hall were closed, revoking their status as sacred buildings. A listing on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992, indicated the importance of the church and hall in Queensland’s history, providing evidence of the development and growth of the Wesleyan Church in Brisbane and as one of a group of substantial churches built in Fortitude Valley in the 1870s and 1880s reflected the residential growth of the Valley and adjacent suburbs. The hall, which seated 400 persons, serving as the church from 1871 till was 1889, is a fine example of the work of architect James Cowlishaw. The church is a fine example of the ecclesiastical architectural work of George Simkin.
January - February
February 23, 155 (traditional date): Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, was martyred. Reportedly a disciple of the Apostle John, at age 86 he was taken to be burned at the stake. The flames, legend says, would not touch him, and when he was run through with a sword, his blood put the fire out.
February 23, 1455: Johannes Gutenberg published the Bible, the first book ever printed on a press with movable type.
February 19, 1473: Astronomer and cleric Nicolaus Copernicus, whose concept of the solar system became the foundation of modern astronomy, was born in Poland. Both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic hierarchy condemned his theory, but Copernicus remained a faithful member of the Catholic Church.
February 18, 1564: Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian Renaissance artist who painted the ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, died.
February 19, 1569: Miles Coverdale, translator and publisher of the first complete English Bible, died. Parts of his Bible were revisions of Tyndale’s.
February 18, 1678: Puritan preacher John Bunyan published The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the best-selling books (apart from the Bible) in history. The allegorical tale describes Bunyan's own conversion process.
February 23, 1685: George Frederic Handel, composer of the oratorio Messiah was born. He died in 1759, having spent the last six years of his life in total blindness.
February 19, 1849: Rev Charles Stewart, chaplain on board the ship Fortitude conducted, in the Brisbane Court House, a thanksgiving for the safe arrival of the Fortitude. It attracted the largest crowd ever seen in the town to that time.
February 18, 1986: Rev John Davis McCaughey, first President of the Uniting Church in Australia, was appointed Governor of Victoria. He opened Government House, Melbourne to the public, exchanged the Rolls-Royce car for an Australian-made vehicle, flew business class instead of first
class and dispensed with military aides de camp. Premier John Cain said of him, ‘He was unassuming, down-to-earth, unfailingly courteous to everybody and unaffected by the trappings of the office’.
February 23, 1455: Johannes Gutenberg published the Bible, the first book ever printed on a press with movable type.
February 19, 1473: Astronomer and cleric Nicolaus Copernicus, whose concept of the solar system became the foundation of modern astronomy, was born in Poland. Both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic hierarchy condemned his theory, but Copernicus remained a faithful member of the Catholic Church.
February 18, 1564: Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian Renaissance artist who painted the ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, died.
February 19, 1569: Miles Coverdale, translator and publisher of the first complete English Bible, died. Parts of his Bible were revisions of Tyndale’s.
February 18, 1678: Puritan preacher John Bunyan published The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the best-selling books (apart from the Bible) in history. The allegorical tale describes Bunyan's own conversion process.
February 23, 1685: George Frederic Handel, composer of the oratorio Messiah was born. He died in 1759, having spent the last six years of his life in total blindness.
February 19, 1849: Rev Charles Stewart, chaplain on board the ship Fortitude conducted, in the Brisbane Court House, a thanksgiving for the safe arrival of the Fortitude. It attracted the largest crowd ever seen in the town to that time.
February 18, 1986: Rev John Davis McCaughey, first President of the Uniting Church in Australia, was appointed Governor of Victoria. He opened Government House, Melbourne to the public, exchanged the Rolls-Royce car for an Australian-made vehicle, flew business class instead of first
class and dispensed with military aides de camp. Premier John Cain said of him, ‘He was unassuming, down-to-earth, unfailingly courteous to everybody and unaffected by the trappings of the office’.
February 10, 60 (traditional date): The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on Malta.
February 14, 270: According to tradition, Valentine, a priest in Rome during the reign of Claudius II, was beheaded along the Flaminian Way. One explanation for Valentine’s Day is this: In order to recruit more soldiers, Claudius forbade marriage. Valentine ignored the order and performed secret marriages—an act that led to his arrest and execution.
February 14, 869: Cyril, "apostle to the Slavs," died. He was a bishop and creator of the Cyrillic alphabet (still used in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and elsewhere), and translator of the Scriptures into Slavonic.
February 10, 1535: A dozen Anabaptists ran stark naked through the streets of Amsterdam. These strange actions, led to the group's ridicule by Protestants and Catholics alike.
February 15, 1386: Jagiello, king of the Lithuanians, was baptised, and became King of Poland.
February 12, 1663: Congregational minister Cotton* Mather was born in Boston. The most celebrated New England writer of his day, he was a scientist (whose work included early studies of inoculation), one of the founders of Yale University, and pastor of Boston's Second Church, just as his father, Increase Mather, had been. (*Cotton was his mother’s maiden name.)
February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffered a fall on the ice-covered London Bridge and was carried to the home of Mary Vazeille, a sailor's widow. Within a week, the two were married—with disastrous results. The unhappy couple spent so little time together that, in 1771, Wesley recorded in his journal: "I came to London and was informed that my wife died on Monday. I was not aware.’
February 17, 1788: Rev Richard Johnson celebrated the first communion in the colony in Lieutenant Ralph Clark’s tent, borrowed for the occasion. The event at Sydney Cove was recorded by Clark in his journal: “I will keep this Table as long as I live for it is the first Table that ever the Lord’s Supper was eat of in this country.”
February 15, 1905: Christian author Lew Wallace, author of Ben Hur (1880) died at age 77.
February 11, 1929: The Lateran Treaty was signed by Mussolini and the Holy See, recognising Vatican City as a sovereign state. At a mere 109 acres, it became the smallest nation in the world.
February 12, 1965: Thirty university students commenced their Freedom Ride against race discrimination in New South Wales country towns under the leadership of Charles Perkins. They visited Wellington, Dubbo, Gulargambone, Walgett and Moree. Their report on the Freedom Ride revealed shameful treatment of Aborigines by local RSL leaders and other "upper crust" groups, police, health authorities and government administrators. It also aroused widespread pride in the courage and dignity with which the young students and the local Aboriginal people, young and old, joined hands to expose racial oppression and hysteria.
February 9, 1986: The first ordination of female Anglican Deacons in Australia took place. Archbishop David Penman ordained eight women at St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. This milestone was followed by further ordinations in Tasmania, Perth and North Queensland that year.
February 10, 2018: Kay Maree Goldsworthy AO was installed as Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia, becoming the first female archbishop in the Anglican Church of Australia.
February 14, 270: According to tradition, Valentine, a priest in Rome during the reign of Claudius II, was beheaded along the Flaminian Way. One explanation for Valentine’s Day is this: In order to recruit more soldiers, Claudius forbade marriage. Valentine ignored the order and performed secret marriages—an act that led to his arrest and execution.
February 14, 869: Cyril, "apostle to the Slavs," died. He was a bishop and creator of the Cyrillic alphabet (still used in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and elsewhere), and translator of the Scriptures into Slavonic.
February 10, 1535: A dozen Anabaptists ran stark naked through the streets of Amsterdam. These strange actions, led to the group's ridicule by Protestants and Catholics alike.
February 15, 1386: Jagiello, king of the Lithuanians, was baptised, and became King of Poland.
February 12, 1663: Congregational minister Cotton* Mather was born in Boston. The most celebrated New England writer of his day, he was a scientist (whose work included early studies of inoculation), one of the founders of Yale University, and pastor of Boston's Second Church, just as his father, Increase Mather, had been. (*Cotton was his mother’s maiden name.)
February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffered a fall on the ice-covered London Bridge and was carried to the home of Mary Vazeille, a sailor's widow. Within a week, the two were married—with disastrous results. The unhappy couple spent so little time together that, in 1771, Wesley recorded in his journal: "I came to London and was informed that my wife died on Monday. I was not aware.’
February 17, 1788: Rev Richard Johnson celebrated the first communion in the colony in Lieutenant Ralph Clark’s tent, borrowed for the occasion. The event at Sydney Cove was recorded by Clark in his journal: “I will keep this Table as long as I live for it is the first Table that ever the Lord’s Supper was eat of in this country.”
February 15, 1905: Christian author Lew Wallace, author of Ben Hur (1880) died at age 77.
February 11, 1929: The Lateran Treaty was signed by Mussolini and the Holy See, recognising Vatican City as a sovereign state. At a mere 109 acres, it became the smallest nation in the world.
February 12, 1965: Thirty university students commenced their Freedom Ride against race discrimination in New South Wales country towns under the leadership of Charles Perkins. They visited Wellington, Dubbo, Gulargambone, Walgett and Moree. Their report on the Freedom Ride revealed shameful treatment of Aborigines by local RSL leaders and other "upper crust" groups, police, health authorities and government administrators. It also aroused widespread pride in the courage and dignity with which the young students and the local Aboriginal people, young and old, joined hands to expose racial oppression and hysteria.
February 9, 1986: The first ordination of female Anglican Deacons in Australia took place. Archbishop David Penman ordained eight women at St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. This milestone was followed by further ordinations in Tasmania, Perth and North Queensland that year.
February 10, 2018: Kay Maree Goldsworthy AO was installed as Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia, becoming the first female archbishop in the Anglican Church of Australia.
February 3, 1468: Johannes Gutenberg, who developed a printing press with movable type that helped the Protestant Reformation, died at age 67.
February 6, 1564: Carried to church in a chair, John Calvin preached his last sermon three months before his death.
February 7, 1478: Thomas More, lord chancellor of England during the English Reformation, was born. He supported the punishment of heretics and Protestants like Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He retired from office rather than acknowledge Henry VIII's divorce but was beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry as head of the church.
February 3, 1809: German composer Felix Mendelssohn, a very devout Lutheran, was born in Hamburg. His Elijah oratorio is well known; and he was responsible for rediscovering Bach, whose music had been forgotten for 80 years.
February 6, 1820: Eighty-six free black colonists sailed from New York to Sierra Leone, Africa. Though white abolitionists initially supported such emigration efforts, most free blacks denounced the effort as racist and ultimately proslavery.
February 3, 1904: The foundation stone of St Luke’s Church of England at 18 Charlotte Street, Brisbane, was laid by His Excellency, Sir Herbert Chermside, Governor of Queensland. The church became the head quarters of the Anglican Church Mission until the 1950s and as the meeting place of the Synod of the Diocese until 1977, after which St Luke’s was no longer needed for church purposes. It was converted to a restaurant, the Pancake Manor, in 1979.
February 4, 1906: Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Germany. He opposed the Nazis. Believing that Hitler was like a madman "driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders," he was privy to various plots to kill the leader. Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and eventually hanged—just days before Allied troops liberated the concentration camp where he was held.
February 7, 1938: After years of being closely watched by Nazi secret police, Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller was put on trial. He was subsequently confined in a concentration camp, but he survived and went on to hold a leadership role in the World Council of Churches from 1948-1968.
February 7, 1967: David Unaipon (Ngunaitponi) (1872 – 1967), an Aboriginal Australian preacher, inventor, author, orator and campaigner, featured on the Australian $50 note, died in the Tailem Bend Hospital, South Australia. He was from the Point McLeay Mission which was established by the Aborigines’ Friends’ Association (AFA). Christianity had a major influence on his life. He later said he owed much to his study of the bible and his father’s Christian example. The mission provided opportunities for David Unaipon to explore other interests including music and drawing. Unaipon played the church organ for a number of years and became a master of Handel’s The Messiah. The mission had books and journals and Unaipon pored over pages of scientific works. He became intrigued by the idea of perpetual motion. He developed plans for a flying machine with spinning blades and a sheep-shearing handpiece. He received no credit or financial award for his designs yet some of them were later adopted. He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He prepared a manuscript Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines that would not be published under his name until some eighty years later. David Unaipon had the wisdom and passion to educate himself and others. He was a master of the English language and a gifted writer. He was a thinker, driven to make a difference to the lives of
Aboriginal people.
February 6, 1564: Carried to church in a chair, John Calvin preached his last sermon three months before his death.
February 7, 1478: Thomas More, lord chancellor of England during the English Reformation, was born. He supported the punishment of heretics and Protestants like Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He retired from office rather than acknowledge Henry VIII's divorce but was beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry as head of the church.
February 3, 1809: German composer Felix Mendelssohn, a very devout Lutheran, was born in Hamburg. His Elijah oratorio is well known; and he was responsible for rediscovering Bach, whose music had been forgotten for 80 years.
February 6, 1820: Eighty-six free black colonists sailed from New York to Sierra Leone, Africa. Though white abolitionists initially supported such emigration efforts, most free blacks denounced the effort as racist and ultimately proslavery.
February 3, 1904: The foundation stone of St Luke’s Church of England at 18 Charlotte Street, Brisbane, was laid by His Excellency, Sir Herbert Chermside, Governor of Queensland. The church became the head quarters of the Anglican Church Mission until the 1950s and as the meeting place of the Synod of the Diocese until 1977, after which St Luke’s was no longer needed for church purposes. It was converted to a restaurant, the Pancake Manor, in 1979.
February 4, 1906: Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Germany. He opposed the Nazis. Believing that Hitler was like a madman "driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders," he was privy to various plots to kill the leader. Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and eventually hanged—just days before Allied troops liberated the concentration camp where he was held.
February 7, 1938: After years of being closely watched by Nazi secret police, Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller was put on trial. He was subsequently confined in a concentration camp, but he survived and went on to hold a leadership role in the World Council of Churches from 1948-1968.
February 7, 1967: David Unaipon (Ngunaitponi) (1872 – 1967), an Aboriginal Australian preacher, inventor, author, orator and campaigner, featured on the Australian $50 note, died in the Tailem Bend Hospital, South Australia. He was from the Point McLeay Mission which was established by the Aborigines’ Friends’ Association (AFA). Christianity had a major influence on his life. He later said he owed much to his study of the bible and his father’s Christian example. The mission provided opportunities for David Unaipon to explore other interests including music and drawing. Unaipon played the church organ for a number of years and became a master of Handel’s The Messiah. The mission had books and journals and Unaipon pored over pages of scientific works. He became intrigued by the idea of perpetual motion. He developed plans for a flying machine with spinning blades and a sheep-shearing handpiece. He received no credit or financial award for his designs yet some of them were later adopted. He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He prepared a manuscript Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines that would not be published under his name until some eighty years later. David Unaipon had the wisdom and passion to educate himself and others. He was a master of the English language and a gifted writer. He was a thinker, driven to make a difference to the lives of
Aboriginal people.
January 28, 814: Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, died. He was, in his day, not only one of the greatest political rulers of all time, but he was also more influential in church matters than the pope. He saw his task ‘to defend with our arms the holy Church of Christ against attacks by the heathen from any side and against devastation by the infidels’.
January 27, 1302: On a trumped-up charge of hostility to the church, Dante Alighieri was fined heavily and perpetually excluded from political office (he was a chief magistrate). Further condemned in March and driven out of Florence in April, Dante began writing The Divine Comedy, an epic poem in which he travels through hell, purgatory, and heaven.
January 28, 1547: England's Henry VIII, who split the church of England from Rome and presided over the founding of the Anglican church, died.
January 30, 1649: England's King Charles I, a devout Anglican but with Catholic sympathies staunchly defended the ‘divine right of kings’. He was executed after being convicted of treason under a Puritan-influenced Parliament.
January 31, 1686: King Louis XIV of France, having already revoked the Protestant-tolerating Edict of Nantes, ordered all Waldensian churches burned. The Waldensians, members of a pre-Reformation tradition that stressed love of Christ and his word and a life of poverty, were soon devastated: 2,000 killed, 2,000 ‘converted’ to Catholicism, and 8,000 imprisoned .
January 28, 1769: Thomas Middleton, first Anglican bishop of Calcutta, was born in England. While he oversaw a vast diocese covering all the territories of the East India Company, the church made some great advances, including the establishment of Bishop's College in Calcutta(a training college for missionaries in Asia).
February 3, 1788: The first Christian service in Australia was held at Sydney Cove. It was conducted by Rev Richard Johnson, chaplain in the colony, who sailed with his wife Mary with the First Fleet.
January 29, 2003: Rev Sir Alan Edgar Walker OBE, Australian theologian, evangelist, social reformer, broadcaster and activist, and Superintendent of Wesley Mission (formerly Central Methodist Mission), died at an aged care centre on Sydney's North Shore, aged 91.
February 1, 2005: Rev Gordon Powell AM KCSJ*, Presbyterian and Congregational Church minister, broadcaster and writer died. He preached to large congregations at Collins Street Independent Church and Scots Presbyterian Church in Melbourne and St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Sydney. (*KCSJ Knight Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem).
January 27, 1302: On a trumped-up charge of hostility to the church, Dante Alighieri was fined heavily and perpetually excluded from political office (he was a chief magistrate). Further condemned in March and driven out of Florence in April, Dante began writing The Divine Comedy, an epic poem in which he travels through hell, purgatory, and heaven.
January 28, 1547: England's Henry VIII, who split the church of England from Rome and presided over the founding of the Anglican church, died.
January 30, 1649: England's King Charles I, a devout Anglican but with Catholic sympathies staunchly defended the ‘divine right of kings’. He was executed after being convicted of treason under a Puritan-influenced Parliament.
January 31, 1686: King Louis XIV of France, having already revoked the Protestant-tolerating Edict of Nantes, ordered all Waldensian churches burned. The Waldensians, members of a pre-Reformation tradition that stressed love of Christ and his word and a life of poverty, were soon devastated: 2,000 killed, 2,000 ‘converted’ to Catholicism, and 8,000 imprisoned .
January 28, 1769: Thomas Middleton, first Anglican bishop of Calcutta, was born in England. While he oversaw a vast diocese covering all the territories of the East India Company, the church made some great advances, including the establishment of Bishop's College in Calcutta(a training college for missionaries in Asia).
February 3, 1788: The first Christian service in Australia was held at Sydney Cove. It was conducted by Rev Richard Johnson, chaplain in the colony, who sailed with his wife Mary with the First Fleet.
January 29, 2003: Rev Sir Alan Edgar Walker OBE, Australian theologian, evangelist, social reformer, broadcaster and activist, and Superintendent of Wesley Mission (formerly Central Methodist Mission), died at an aged care centre on Sydney's North Shore, aged 91.
February 1, 2005: Rev Gordon Powell AM KCSJ*, Presbyterian and Congregational Church minister, broadcaster and writer died. He preached to large congregations at Collins Street Independent Church and Scots Presbyterian Church in Melbourne and St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Sydney. (*KCSJ Knight Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem).
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