Christian History
The material below has been obtained from CT Newsletters | Christianity Today
The material below has been obtained from CT Newsletters | Christianity Today
Your donation will help to maintain Pilgrim People’s sound worship and preaching
2025
April 22, 1418: The Council of Constance finished, having finally ended the Great Western Schism. When the schism began nearly 40 years earlier, three men had reasonable claims to the papacy. The council deposed all three and elected Martin V. Though the council was regarded as a triumph, it also hastily condemned Jan Hus, a Bohemian preacher and forerunner of Protestantism, and sentenced him to execution by burning. And since his teachings were based on those of John Wycliffe (c. 1329-1384), the council had the Bible translator's body dug up, burned, and thrown into the Swift River.
April 23, 1538: John Calvin and William Farel were banished from Geneva. 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 19, 1560: German reformer Philip Melanchthon died. The leader of the German Reformation after the death of Luther, he was more a peacemaker than Luther. He called for Lutherans and Zwinglians to put aside their differences for the sake of the church. In addition, he led extensive efforts to develop the German educational system, for which he has been called "the teacher of Germany”.
April 24, 1581: Vincent de Paul, founder of the Lazarist Fathers and the Sisters of Charity, was born in Pouy, France. The Roman Catholic Church named him patron saint of all works of charity because of his work during the Wars of Religion.
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 20, 1853: Fugitive slave Harriet Tubman, who had escaped from Maryland four years earlier, made a return trip to the South to rescue other slaves. By the time slavery was abolished, she had made 19 such trips, liberating at least 300 fellow African Americans.
April 23, 1968: 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 21, 2025: The first South American Pontiff, Pope Francis died, aged 88, marking the end of a 12 year pontificate. Pope Francis was buried in Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), located in Rome’s most multicultural neighbourhood after a funeral ceremony and procession attended by hundreds of thousands of people and many heads of state.
April 23, 1538: John Calvin and William Farel were banished from Geneva. 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 19, 1560: German reformer Philip Melanchthon died. The leader of the German Reformation after the death of Luther, he was more a peacemaker than Luther. He called for Lutherans and Zwinglians to put aside their differences for the sake of the church. In addition, he led extensive efforts to develop the German educational system, for which he has been called "the teacher of Germany”.
April 24, 1581: Vincent de Paul, founder of the Lazarist Fathers and the Sisters of Charity, was born in Pouy, France. The Roman Catholic Church named him patron saint of all works of charity because of his work during the Wars of Religion.
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 20, 1853: Fugitive slave Harriet Tubman, who had escaped from Maryland four years earlier, made a return trip to the South to rescue other slaves. By the time slavery was abolished, she had made 19 such trips, liberating at least 300 fellow African Americans.
April 23, 1968: 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 21, 2025: The first South American Pontiff, Pope Francis died, aged 88, marking the end of a 12 year pontificate. Pope Francis was buried in Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), located in Rome’s most multicultural neighbourhood after a funeral ceremony and procession attended by hundreds of thousands of people and many heads of state.
April 15, 1452: Italian painter and scholar Leonardo da Vinci was born in Florence, Italy. Among his most famous religious works are 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 the hearing he requested in 1517 to discuss the abuse of indulgences and his 95 Theses but it was not a debate, but a judicial hearing to see if he wished to recant his words. The next day, Luther said he would not recant, because it was neither safe nor wise to act against conscience.
April 15, 1638: The castle of Hara, located on the Shimabara Peninsula, Japan, fell to Tokugawa Shogunate forces. Catholic leader Amakusa Shiro Tokisada defended the fortress with 27,000 Christians. They fought valiantly to the end—even the women and children. After the battle, all of the survivors were subsequently beheaded, save one Judas (Yamada) who had plotted to open the castle gate to the enemy.
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“.
April 13, 1742: Handel's famous oratorio Messiah premiered in Dublin's Fishamble Street Music Hall and was met with critical praise.
April 14, 1759: George Frideric Handel, composer of the oratorio Messiah, died at age 74 in London.
April 13, 1829: In the Emancipation Act, the English Parliament granted freedom of religion to Roman Catholics. Within three weeks, the first Catholic was elected to Parliament.
April 15, 1892: Dutch writer Corrie ten Boom, known for hiding Jewish refugees in her home during World War II 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-worshipping Wallamo tribe were forced to leave the country. "We knew God was faithful," one missionary wrote. "But still we wondered—if we ever went back, what would 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 13, 1986: Pope John Paul II visited a Jewish synagogue in Rome, marking the first such visit by a pope in recorded history.
April 16, 1521: German reformer Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms, convinced he would get the hearing he requested in 1517 to discuss the abuse of indulgences and his 95 Theses but it was not a debate, but a judicial hearing to see if he wished to recant his words. The next day, Luther said he would not recant, because it was neither safe nor wise to act against conscience.
April 15, 1638: The castle of Hara, located on the Shimabara Peninsula, Japan, fell to Tokugawa Shogunate forces. Catholic leader Amakusa Shiro Tokisada defended the fortress with 27,000 Christians. They fought valiantly to the end—even the women and children. After the battle, all of the survivors were subsequently beheaded, save one Judas (Yamada) who had plotted to open the castle gate to the enemy.
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“.
April 13, 1742: Handel's famous oratorio Messiah premiered in Dublin's Fishamble Street Music Hall and was met with critical praise.
April 14, 1759: George Frideric Handel, composer of the oratorio Messiah, died at age 74 in London.
April 13, 1829: In the Emancipation Act, the English Parliament granted freedom of religion to Roman Catholics. Within three weeks, the first Catholic was elected to Parliament.
April 15, 1892: Dutch writer Corrie ten Boom, known for hiding Jewish refugees in her home during World War II 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-worshipping Wallamo tribe were forced to leave the country. "We knew God was faithful," one missionary wrote. "But still we wondered—if we ever went back, what would 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 13, 1986: Pope John Paul II visited a Jewish synagogue in Rome, marking the first such visit by a pope in recorded history.
April 2, 742: Charlemagne (Charles the Great) was born. When Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne announced as a secular leader "Our task is, with God's help, to defend with our arms the holy Church of Christ against attacks by the heathen from any side and against devastation by the infidels.” 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 at Vezelay, 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 the Jews three months to leave the country. An estimated 150,000 Jews fled.
April 4, 1507: Martin Luther was ordained a priest in Erfurt, Germany.
April 5, 1524: Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli married Anna Reinhart for the second time—this time in public. In 1522, Zwingli (and 10 other priests) appealed to the bishop of Constance for permission to marry. When the bishop refused the petition, Zwingli married secretly and, later that year, resigned from the priesthood.
April 3, 1593: George Herbert, one of England's greatest religious poets was born. After shocking the country by quitting his skyrocketing political life he became rector at rural Bremerton. Holy Mr. Herbert died of tuberculosis. But he gained great fame after his death for two posthumous books.
April 5, 1649: John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts Bay, died. Profoundly religious, Winthrop, who left England because of its persecution of Puritans, believed New England to be "a city upon a hill" for the world to see and emulate.
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 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 3, 1897: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms died at age 63. Though not employed in an official ecclesiastic position, the devout Lutheran wrote extensively for the church. His German Requiem (1868) is considered by some to be the greatest major sacred choral work of his century.
April 2, 1914: Three hundred Pentecostals met at the Grand Opera House in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for a ten day conference. Though originally intended merely to organise annual conferences, by its close, the conference had started the Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism's largest denomination.
April 4, 1968: Civil rights leader and Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
March 31, 1146: French monastic reformer and theologian Bernard of Clairvaux preached for the Second Crusade at Vezelay, 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 the Jews three months to leave the country. An estimated 150,000 Jews fled.
April 4, 1507: Martin Luther was ordained a priest in Erfurt, Germany.
April 5, 1524: Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli married Anna Reinhart for the second time—this time in public. In 1522, Zwingli (and 10 other priests) appealed to the bishop of Constance for permission to marry. When the bishop refused the petition, Zwingli married secretly and, later that year, resigned from the priesthood.
April 3, 1593: George Herbert, one of England's greatest religious poets was born. After shocking the country by quitting his skyrocketing political life he became rector at rural Bremerton. Holy Mr. Herbert died of tuberculosis. But he gained great fame after his death for two posthumous books.
April 5, 1649: John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts Bay, died. Profoundly religious, Winthrop, who left England because of its persecution of Puritans, believed New England to be "a city upon a hill" for the world to see and emulate.
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 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 3, 1897: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms died at age 63. Though not employed in an official ecclesiastic position, the devout Lutheran wrote extensively for the church. His German Requiem (1868) is considered by some to be the greatest major sacred choral work of his century.
April 2, 1914: Three hundred Pentecostals met at the Grand Opera House in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for a ten day conference. Though originally intended merely to organise annual conferences, by its close, the conference had started the Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism's largest denomination.
April 4, 1968: Civil rights leader and Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
March 24, 1208: After England's irreligious King John opposed Pope Innocent III, the pope placed Britain under an interdict. The Pope cancelled all religious services, churches were 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 that the Church of England shall be free…
March 28, 1592: Czech theologian Jan Comenius, educator of the Bohemian (or Moravian) Brethren, was born in Nivnice, Czechoslovakia. Comenius believed the only way to bring peace was through education. He designed a plan for educating everyone, which he presented in The Great Didactic(1632). Education, he believed, should be more than just learning facts and languages, it should mould Christian character and should be marked by observing the physical world. He is called "the father of modern education".
March 28, 1661: Scottish Parliament passed the Rescissory Act, repealing all church-state legislation created since 1633. 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 27, 1667: English poet John Milton published Paradise Lost, an epic of humankind's creation and fall.
March 23, 1743: George Friedrich Handel's oratorio Messiah played in London and was attended by the king, who stood instantly at the opening notes of the Hallelujah Chorus—a tradition ever since (though some historians have suggested it was because he was partially deaf and mistook it for the national anthem). The oratorio was actually quite controversial, since it used the words of God in the theatre, and the title only made things worse. Handel compromised a bit by dropping the "blasphemous" title from handbills. It was instead called A New Sacred Oratorio.
March 24, 1820: Blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby, author of more than 9,000 hymns, was born. Her works include ‘Blessed assurance’, ‘To God be the glory’, ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus’. From MRUCA
March 23, 1966: The Archbishop of Canterbury met at the Vatican with Pope Paul VI—the first such meeting between Anglican and Catholic leaders since Henry VIII broke with Rome more than 400 years before.
March 24, 1980: Roman Catholic archbishop Oscar Romero, a vocal opponent of the San Salvador military, was assassinated while saying mass in a hospital chapel in El Salvador.
March 28, 1592: Czech theologian Jan Comenius, educator of the Bohemian (or Moravian) Brethren, was born in Nivnice, Czechoslovakia. Comenius believed the only way to bring peace was through education. He designed a plan for educating everyone, which he presented in The Great Didactic(1632). Education, he believed, should be more than just learning facts and languages, it should mould Christian character and should be marked by observing the physical world. He is called "the father of modern education".
March 28, 1661: Scottish Parliament passed the Rescissory Act, repealing all church-state legislation created since 1633. 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 27, 1667: English poet John Milton published Paradise Lost, an epic of humankind's creation and fall.
March 23, 1743: George Friedrich Handel's oratorio Messiah played in London and was attended by the king, who stood instantly at the opening notes of the Hallelujah Chorus—a tradition ever since (though some historians have suggested it was because he was partially deaf and mistook it for the national anthem). The oratorio was actually quite controversial, since it used the words of God in the theatre, and the title only made things worse. Handel compromised a bit by dropping the "blasphemous" title from handbills. It was instead called A New Sacred Oratorio.
March 24, 1820: Blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby, author of more than 9,000 hymns, was born. Her works include ‘Blessed assurance’, ‘To God be the glory’, ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus’. From MRUCA
March 23, 1966: The Archbishop of Canterbury met at the Vatican with Pope Paul VI—the first such meeting between Anglican and Catholic leaders since Henry VIII broke with Rome more than 400 years before.
March 24, 1980: Roman Catholic archbishop Oscar Romero, a vocal opponent of the San Salvador military, was assassinated while saying mass in a hospital chapel in El Salvador.
March 17, 461: Patrick, missionary to Ireland and their patron saint, died. Irish raiders captured Patrick and enslaved him as a youth. He escaped to Gaul (modern France) but returned to Ireland after experiencing a vision calling him back to preach. Patrick enjoyed great success there as a missionary.
March 19, 1229: Having negotiated a treaty with Muslims for Christian access to Jerusalem, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and crowned himself king. But his peace treaty was denounced by members of both faiths and Frederick was later excommunicated for making peace instead of war.
March 15, 1517: Needing money to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, Pope Leo X announced a special sale of indulgences. A Dominican named Johann Tetzel promoted the sale in Germany and erroneously declared that indulgences would cover future sins. This angered monk Martin Luther, who posted his 95 Theses in response.
March 21, 1556: After denying earlier forced recantations, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, a crucial figure in the English Reformation and author of the Book of Common Prayer, was burned at the stake by Queen Mary. He reportedly thrust his arm into the flames, saying the hand that had signed the recantations should be the first to burn.
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 recognized as one of history's unequalled musical masters. Nearly three quarters of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship.
March 17, 1780: Thomas Chalmers, pastor, social reformer, and one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland, was born. By his death in 1847, he had started missions in hundreds of poor urban settings. In 1843 he led a third of the Scottish clergy and half of the laity of the Church of Scotland into the Free Church of Scotland. His chief concern throughout his life was the evangelisation of the urban poor.
March 21, 1788: Charles Wesley, brother of John and author of 8,989 hymns (including ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’, ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing’, ‘Love divine, all loves excelling’, ‘Christ the Lord is risen today’) died at age 81.
March 15, 1953: Billy Graham held his first integrated revival in Chattanooga, TN. Up to this point Graham held segregated revivals in the South.
March 21, 1965: Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., led 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 19, 1229: Having negotiated a treaty with Muslims for Christian access to Jerusalem, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and crowned himself king. But his peace treaty was denounced by members of both faiths and Frederick was later excommunicated for making peace instead of war.
March 15, 1517: Needing money to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, Pope Leo X announced a special sale of indulgences. A Dominican named Johann Tetzel promoted the sale in Germany and erroneously declared that indulgences would cover future sins. This angered monk Martin Luther, who posted his 95 Theses in response.
March 21, 1556: After denying earlier forced recantations, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, a crucial figure in the English Reformation and author of the Book of Common Prayer, was burned at the stake by Queen Mary. He reportedly thrust his arm into the flames, saying the hand that had signed the recantations should be the first to burn.
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 recognized as one of history's unequalled musical masters. Nearly three quarters of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship.
March 17, 1780: Thomas Chalmers, pastor, social reformer, and one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland, was born. By his death in 1847, he had started missions in hundreds of poor urban settings. In 1843 he led a third of the Scottish clergy and half of the laity of the Church of Scotland into the Free Church of Scotland. His chief concern throughout his life was the evangelisation of the urban poor.
March 21, 1788: Charles Wesley, brother of John and author of 8,989 hymns (including ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’, ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing’, ‘Love divine, all loves excelling’, ‘Christ the Lord is risen today’) died at age 81.
March 15, 1953: Billy Graham held his first integrated revival in Chattanooga, TN. Up to this point Graham held segregated revivals in the South.
March 21, 1965: Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., led 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 7, 203: Perpetua, a Christian about 22 years old, her slave, Felicitas, and several others were martyred in the arena in Carthage. They were flogged, attacked by hungry leopards, and finally beheaded. Perpetua remains one of early Christianity's most famous martyrs.
March 9, 320: Roman soldiers left Christian soldiers naked on the ice of a frozen pond in Armenia. They placed baths of hot water around them to tempt them to renounce their faith. When one did, a pagan guard—inspired by the fortitude of the remaining Christians—converted and joined the freezing Christians. They were all killed.
March 7, 1530: Pope Clement VII rejects Henry VIII's request to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry responded by declaring himself supreme head of England's church.
March 8, 1715: France's Louis XIV announced he had finally put an end to all Protestant practices in his country.
March 10, 1748: John Newton, the captain of a slave ship, converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He eventually became an Anglican clergyman, the author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, and a zealous abolitionist.
March 8, 1782: Ninety-six Native Americans, who had converted to Christianity and were living peacefully in the Moravian Brethren town of Gnadenhutten, Ohio, were killed by militiamen in ‘retaliation’ for Indian raids made elsewhere in the Ohio territory.
March 11, 1812: Fire engulfed 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 as travelling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease and certainty than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value . . . We are cast down but not in despair”. News of the fire also catapulted Carey to fame, bringing in abundant funds.
March 14, 1872: Journalist Henry Stanley and explorer-missionary David Livingstone separated, having spent five months in Africa together. Stanley returned to England to write his bestseller, How I Found Livingstone. Within a year and a half, Livingstone died in a mud hut, kneeling beside his bed in prayer.
March 10, 1898: George Mueller, English philanthropist and evangelist, died. In his 93 years, he helped more than 10,000 English orphans.
March 10, 1913: Harriet Tubman, known as ‘Grandma Moses’ for her work rescuing about 300 slaves and guiding them to the north on what was dubbed the ‘Underground Railroad’, died. She said, she did it because God showed her the way. "'Twant me, 'twas the Lord” said the diminutive woman who herself escaped slavery.
March 13, 1925: Austin Peay, governor of Tennessee, signed the ‘Butler Bill’, prohibiting any teaching that contradicted the Genesis creation story.
March 14, 1937: Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical against the Nazi ‘cult’. "Race, nation, state . . . all have an essential and honourable place within the secular order," he wrote. "To abstract them, however, from the earthly scale of values and make them the supreme norm of all values, including religious ones, and divinize them with an idolatrous cult, is to be guilty of perverting and falsifying the order of things created and commanded by God.”
March 8, 1948: The U.S. Supreme Court found religious education in the public schools in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
March 9, 320: Roman soldiers left Christian soldiers naked on the ice of a frozen pond in Armenia. They placed baths of hot water around them to tempt them to renounce their faith. When one did, a pagan guard—inspired by the fortitude of the remaining Christians—converted and joined the freezing Christians. They were all killed.
March 7, 1530: Pope Clement VII rejects Henry VIII's request to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry responded by declaring himself supreme head of England's church.
March 8, 1715: France's Louis XIV announced he had finally put an end to all Protestant practices in his country.
March 10, 1748: John Newton, the captain of a slave ship, converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He eventually became an Anglican clergyman, the author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, and a zealous abolitionist.
March 8, 1782: Ninety-six Native Americans, who had converted to Christianity and were living peacefully in the Moravian Brethren town of Gnadenhutten, Ohio, were killed by militiamen in ‘retaliation’ for Indian raids made elsewhere in the Ohio territory.
March 11, 1812: Fire engulfed 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 as travelling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease and certainty than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value . . . We are cast down but not in despair”. News of the fire also catapulted Carey to fame, bringing in abundant funds.
March 14, 1872: Journalist Henry Stanley and explorer-missionary David Livingstone separated, having spent five months in Africa together. Stanley returned to England to write his bestseller, How I Found Livingstone. Within a year and a half, Livingstone died in a mud hut, kneeling beside his bed in prayer.
March 10, 1898: George Mueller, English philanthropist and evangelist, died. In his 93 years, he helped more than 10,000 English orphans.
March 10, 1913: Harriet Tubman, known as ‘Grandma Moses’ for her work rescuing about 300 slaves and guiding them to the north on what was dubbed the ‘Underground Railroad’, died. She said, she did it because God showed her the way. "'Twant me, 'twas the Lord” said the diminutive woman who herself escaped slavery.
March 13, 1925: Austin Peay, governor of Tennessee, signed the ‘Butler Bill’, prohibiting any teaching that contradicted the Genesis creation story.
March 14, 1937: Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical against the Nazi ‘cult’. "Race, nation, state . . . all have an essential and honourable place within the secular order," he wrote. "To abstract them, however, from the earthly scale of values and make them the supreme norm of all values, including religious ones, and divinize them with an idolatrous cult, is to be guilty of perverting and falsifying the order of things created and commanded by God.”
March 8, 1948: The U.S. Supreme Court found religious education in the public schools in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
February 14, 270: According to tradition, Valentine, a priest in Rome, was beheaded on this day. One explanation for Valentine's subsequent relationship to the romantic day is this: Claudius, seeking to recruit soldiers more easily, forbade marriage. Valentine ignored the order and performed secret marriages—an act that led to his arrest and execution.
February 14, 869: Cyril creator of the Cyrillic alphabet died. Cyrillic is still used in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. He was a bishop and translated the Scriptures into Slavonic.
February 15, 1631: John Donne, the greatest love poet of the English language and dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, preached his last sermon titled Death's Duel. ‘We celebrate our own funeral with cries, even at our birth,’ preached the poet, who was seemingly obsessed with the subject of death his entire life (32 of his 54 songs and sonnets are about death).
February 19, 843: Empress Theodora reinstated icons in the Eastern churches, effectively ending the medieval iconoclastic controversy. A council in 787 had allowed the veneration of icons, but opponents of images still controlled most of the government and much of the church leadership. The controversy continued, however, and was one of the reasons for the Great Schism between Catholics and the Orthodox in 1054.
February 19, 1377: John Wycliffe stood trial in London's St. Paul's Cathedral for his criticism of the church. He argued against the sale of indulgences, the worship of saints, the veneration of relics, the ‘emptiness’ of some church traditions, and the indolence of clerics. In spite of five papal bulls ordering his arrest, he was never convicted as a heretic.
February 19, 1473: Astronomer and cleric Nicolaus Copernicus, whose "heliocentric" concept of the solar system became the foundation of modern astronomy, was born in Poland. Both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic hierarchy condemned the theory (his revolutionary book was banned until 1758), but Copernicus remained a faithful member of the Catholic Church. He was even a member of the clergy at Frauenburg Cathedral, where his uncle was bishop. ‘[It is our] loving duty to seek the truth in all things, in so far as God has granted that to human reason’, he wrote.
February 14, 869: Cyril creator of the Cyrillic alphabet died. Cyrillic is still used in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. He was a bishop and translated the Scriptures into Slavonic.
February 15, 1631: John Donne, the greatest love poet of the English language and dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, preached his last sermon titled Death's Duel. ‘We celebrate our own funeral with cries, even at our birth,’ preached the poet, who was seemingly obsessed with the subject of death his entire life (32 of his 54 songs and sonnets are about death).
February 19, 843: Empress Theodora reinstated icons in the Eastern churches, effectively ending the medieval iconoclastic controversy. A council in 787 had allowed the veneration of icons, but opponents of images still controlled most of the government and much of the church leadership. The controversy continued, however, and was one of the reasons for the Great Schism between Catholics and the Orthodox in 1054.
February 19, 1377: John Wycliffe stood trial in London's St. Paul's Cathedral for his criticism of the church. He argued against the sale of indulgences, the worship of saints, the veneration of relics, the ‘emptiness’ of some church traditions, and the indolence of clerics. In spite of five papal bulls ordering his arrest, he was never convicted as a heretic.
February 19, 1473: Astronomer and cleric Nicolaus Copernicus, whose "heliocentric" concept of the solar system became the foundation of modern astronomy, was born in Poland. Both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic hierarchy condemned the theory (his revolutionary book was banned until 1758), but Copernicus remained a faithful member of the Catholic Church. He was even a member of the clergy at Frauenburg Cathedral, where his uncle was bishop. ‘[It is our] loving duty to seek the truth in all things, in so far as God has granted that to human reason’, he wrote.
February 10, 60: The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked at Malta.
February 7, 1478: Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England during the English Reformation, was born. Though he idealised freedom of religion, 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 and was beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry as head of the church.
February 10, 1535: A dozen Anabaptists ran stark naked through the streets of Amsterdam. Such strange actions, led to the group's ridicule by Protestants and Catholics alike.
February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded. Attempting to restore Catholicism to England, she began persecuting Protestants. But, largely because of the work of John Knox, her attempts failed.
February 13, 1633: Called to trial by the Inquisition, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome ready to explain his belief that the earth revolves around the sun. He was compelled to recant the view, and was placed under house arrest until his death in 1642.
February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffered a fall on 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. This evening she was buried, though I was not informed of it.’
February 11, 1790: The Society of Friends (Quakers) presented a petition to Congress calling for the abolition of slavery.
February 11, 1858: Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant from Lourdes, France, experienced her first vision of the Virgin Mary. By July she’d had 18 similar visions.
February 9, 1881: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky died, a devout Russian Orthodox Christian who was the author of Crime and Punishment (1866) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
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 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. He survived and went on to hold a leadership role in the World Council of Churches from 1948-1968.
February 7, 1478: Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England during the English Reformation, was born. Though he idealised freedom of religion, 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 and was beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry as head of the church.
February 10, 1535: A dozen Anabaptists ran stark naked through the streets of Amsterdam. Such strange actions, led to the group's ridicule by Protestants and Catholics alike.
February 8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded. Attempting to restore Catholicism to England, she began persecuting Protestants. But, largely because of the work of John Knox, her attempts failed.
February 13, 1633: Called to trial by the Inquisition, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome ready to explain his belief that the earth revolves around the sun. He was compelled to recant the view, and was placed under house arrest until his death in 1642.
February 10, 1751: John Wesley suffered a fall on 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. This evening she was buried, though I was not informed of it.’
February 11, 1790: The Society of Friends (Quakers) presented a petition to Congress calling for the abolition of slavery.
February 11, 1858: Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant from Lourdes, France, experienced her first vision of the Virgin Mary. By July she’d had 18 similar visions.
February 9, 1881: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky died, a devout Russian Orthodox Christian who was the author of Crime and Punishment (1866) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
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 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. He survived and went on to hold a leadership role in the World Council of Churches from 1948-1968.
February 2, 767: Alcuin became headmaster of York Cathedral School, where he once studied. Alcuin's curriculum was built on the seven liberal arts: the elementary Trivium (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic) and the more advanced Quadrivium (music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy).
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 5, 1597: Twenty-six Japanese Christians were crucified for their faith in Nagasaki, Japan.
February 1, 1650: French philosopher Rene Descartes died. Though more famous for his saying, ‘Cogito ergo sum’ (I think, therefore I am), he followed that statement with a logical argument for the existence of God.
January 31, 1686: King Louis XIV of France 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.
February 5, 1736: Methodism cofounders and brothers John and Charles Wesley arrived in Savannah, Georgia. They were to be missionaries to the native Americans, and John was to be pastor of the Savannah parish. Their efforts failed.
February 3, 1809: German composer Felix Mendelssohn, a very devout Lutheran, was born in Hamburg. His Elijah oratorio is considered second only to Handel's Messiah, and he is responsible for rediscovering Bach, whose music had been forgotten for 80 years.
February 1, 1862: Ardent abolitionist Julia Ward Howe published ‘Battle hymn of the republic’ in The Atlantic Monthly.
February 5, 1864: Having already established herself as a poet, 44-year-old Fanny Crosby penned her first hymn. She went on to write 8,000 more before her death 50 years later, among them ‘Blessed assurance’ and ‘To God be the glory’.
February 4, 1906: Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany. Author of The Cost of Discipleship (1937) and Letters from Prison (1944), he opposed the Nazis as one of Germany's Confessing Church leaders. Believing that Hitler was like a madman, he was involved in 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 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 5, 1597: Twenty-six Japanese Christians were crucified for their faith in Nagasaki, Japan.
February 1, 1650: French philosopher Rene Descartes died. Though more famous for his saying, ‘Cogito ergo sum’ (I think, therefore I am), he followed that statement with a logical argument for the existence of God.
January 31, 1686: King Louis XIV of France 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.
February 5, 1736: Methodism cofounders and brothers John and Charles Wesley arrived in Savannah, Georgia. They were to be missionaries to the native Americans, and John was to be pastor of the Savannah parish. Their efforts failed.
February 3, 1809: German composer Felix Mendelssohn, a very devout Lutheran, was born in Hamburg. His Elijah oratorio is considered second only to Handel's Messiah, and he is responsible for rediscovering Bach, whose music had been forgotten for 80 years.
February 1, 1862: Ardent abolitionist Julia Ward Howe published ‘Battle hymn of the republic’ in The Atlantic Monthly.
February 5, 1864: Having already established herself as a poet, 44-year-old Fanny Crosby penned her first hymn. She went on to write 8,000 more before her death 50 years later, among them ‘Blessed assurance’ and ‘To God be the glory’.
February 4, 1906: Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany. Author of The Cost of Discipleship (1937) and Letters from Prison (1944), he opposed the Nazis as one of Germany's Confessing Church leaders. Believing that Hitler was like a madman, he was involved in 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.
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 more influential in church matters than the pope. He saw his task as secular ruler ‘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 and corrupt practices, 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 29, 1535: The French royal family, church officials, and many other dignitaries joined in an immense torch-lit procession from the Louvre to Notre Dame—an attempt to purge Paris from the defilement caused by overzealous Protestants and their placards (a man named Feret had nailed one of the most inflammatory placards to the king's bedroom door months before). The day ended with six Protestants being hung from ropes and roasted.
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 with Catholic sympathies who staunchly defended the ‘divine right of kings’ while oppressing the Puritans, was executed after being convicted of treason under a Puritan-influenced Parliament.
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.
January 30, 1877: Responding to Henry Stanley's plea for ‘some pious, practical missionary’ to follow up David Livingstone's missionary work in Uganda, three members of Alexander Mackay's Church Missionary Society arrived at King Mutesa's court. Though the missions saw few immediate results, the Ugandan church quickly strengthened and grew after the missionaries' deaths.
January 27, 1302: On a trumped-up charge of hostility to the church and corrupt practices, 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 29, 1535: The French royal family, church officials, and many other dignitaries joined in an immense torch-lit procession from the Louvre to Notre Dame—an attempt to purge Paris from the defilement caused by overzealous Protestants and their placards (a man named Feret had nailed one of the most inflammatory placards to the king's bedroom door months before). The day ended with six Protestants being hung from ropes and roasted.
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 with Catholic sympathies who staunchly defended the ‘divine right of kings’ while oppressing the Puritans, was executed after being convicted of treason under a Puritan-influenced Parliament.
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.
January 30, 1877: Responding to Henry Stanley's plea for ‘some pious, practical missionary’ to follow up David Livingstone's missionary work in Uganda, three members of Alexander Mackay's Church Missionary Society arrived at King Mutesa's court. Though the missions saw few immediate results, the Ugandan church quickly strengthened and grew after the missionaries' deaths.
January 22, 304: Vincent of Saragossa, one of the most famous martyrs of the early church, was killed. Starved, racked, roasted on a gridiron, thrown into prison, and set in stocks, he refused to repent. According to Augustine, his fame extended everywhere in the Roman Empire and ‘wherever the name of Christ was known’.
January 24, 1076: Germany's Henry IV convened the Synod of Worms to secure the deposition of Pope Gregory VII. The Synod charged the pope with serious crimes, called upon Rome to depose him, and issued other anti-papal statements. The pope quickly excommunicated Henry. One year later, Henry travelled to Canossa, Italy, and stood three days in the snow in an attempt to gain the Pope's forgiveness. Gregory granted it, but the two men soon fought again; Henry set up an antipope in Gregory's place.
January 18, 1830: The baptism of Tauta'ahau Tupou, King of Tonga by a western missionary, marked the beginning of a strongly Christian Kingdom.
January 22, 1899: Pope Leo XIII warned James Cardinal Gibbons, senior hierarch of the Catholic church in America, against the ‘phantom heresy’ of Americanism—the attempt to adapt the traditional doctrines and practices of the church to a more independent modern world.
January 22, 1973: The United States Supreme court legalized abortion in its Roe v. Wade decision.
January 24, 1076: Germany's Henry IV convened the Synod of Worms to secure the deposition of Pope Gregory VII. The Synod charged the pope with serious crimes, called upon Rome to depose him, and issued other anti-papal statements. The pope quickly excommunicated Henry. One year later, Henry travelled to Canossa, Italy, and stood three days in the snow in an attempt to gain the Pope's forgiveness. Gregory granted it, but the two men soon fought again; Henry set up an antipope in Gregory's place.
January 18, 1830: The baptism of Tauta'ahau Tupou, King of Tonga by a western missionary, marked the beginning of a strongly Christian Kingdom.
January 22, 1899: Pope Leo XIII warned James Cardinal Gibbons, senior hierarch of the Catholic church in America, against the ‘phantom heresy’ of Americanism—the attempt to adapt the traditional doctrines and practices of the church to a more independent modern world.
January 22, 1973: The United States Supreme court legalized abortion in its Roe v. Wade decision.
January 6, 548: The Jerusalem church observed Christmas on this date for the last time as the Western church moved to celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25.
January 6, 1412: Joan of Arc, the French peasant mystic Christian who became a national heroine and her country's patron saint, was born.
January 5, 1527: Swiss Anabaptist reformer Felix Manz was drowned in punishment for preaching adult baptism, becoming the first Protestant martyred by other Protestants.
January 4, 1581: James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, was born. Famous for a chronology of the Bible that was reprinted in King James Versions, he was so highly esteemed that Oliver Cromwell gave him a state funeral and had him buried in Westminster Abbey.
January 11, 1759: The first American life insurance company was incorporated in Philadelphia—the ‘Corporation of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers’.
January 6, 1832: French artist Gustave Dore, known for his drawings and lithographs for the Bible, Dante's Inferno, and other works, was born in Strasbourg, France.
January 6, 1850: Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher, converted to Christianity after receiving a vision, ‘not a vision to my eyes, but to my heart. I saw what a Saviour Christ was,’ he wrote, ‘I can never tell you how it was, but I no sooner saw Whom I was to believe than I also understood what it was to believe, and I did believe in one moment’.
January 11, 1875: The ‘Scandal of the Century’ goes public as journalist Theodore Tilton suesd prominent liberal pastor Henry Ward Beecher for alienating his wife's affections (i.e. having an affair with her). The trial, which became a national sensation, finally ended with a hung jury.
January 6, 1884: Augustinian monk Gregor Mendel, founder of the science of genetics, died.
January 4, 1965: TS Eliot died. He was an influential English writer in the twentieth century and a devout Christian who wove his religious convictions into his work.
January 6, 1412: Joan of Arc, the French peasant mystic Christian who became a national heroine and her country's patron saint, was born.
January 5, 1527: Swiss Anabaptist reformer Felix Manz was drowned in punishment for preaching adult baptism, becoming the first Protestant martyred by other Protestants.
January 4, 1581: James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, was born. Famous for a chronology of the Bible that was reprinted in King James Versions, he was so highly esteemed that Oliver Cromwell gave him a state funeral and had him buried in Westminster Abbey.
January 11, 1759: The first American life insurance company was incorporated in Philadelphia—the ‘Corporation of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers’.
January 6, 1832: French artist Gustave Dore, known for his drawings and lithographs for the Bible, Dante's Inferno, and other works, was born in Strasbourg, France.
January 6, 1850: Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher, converted to Christianity after receiving a vision, ‘not a vision to my eyes, but to my heart. I saw what a Saviour Christ was,’ he wrote, ‘I can never tell you how it was, but I no sooner saw Whom I was to believe than I also understood what it was to believe, and I did believe in one moment’.
January 11, 1875: The ‘Scandal of the Century’ goes public as journalist Theodore Tilton suesd prominent liberal pastor Henry Ward Beecher for alienating his wife's affections (i.e. having an affair with her). The trial, which became a national sensation, finally ended with a hung jury.
January 6, 1884: Augustinian monk Gregor Mendel, founder of the science of genetics, died.
January 4, 1965: TS Eliot died. He was an influential English writer in the twentieth century and a devout Christian who wove his religious convictions into his work.
December 31, 1384: John Wycliffe, pre-Reformer who initiated the first complete translation of the Bible into English and influenced Hus, Luther and Calvin, died at about 64. He was condemned at the council of Constance (1415), and his body was disinterred and burned.
January 1, 1622: The Roman Catholic church adopted January 1 as the beginning of the year, rather than March 25.
January 1, 1643: English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton was baptised at St John's Church in Colsterworth, England. Deeply interested in religion throughout his life, Newton (known especially for formulating the laws of gravitation) acknowledged Jesus as Saviour of the world, but not God incarnate.
December 29, 1809: William Gladstone, four-time British prime minister, was born in Liverpool, England. One scholar has called him "the epitome of all that the evangelicals and the English public asked for in their politicians“.
December 29, 1849: The carol ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’, by pastor Edmund H Sears, appeared for the first time in The Christian Register.
December 30, 1852: Future U.S. President Rutherford B Hayes married "Lemonade Lucy," so called because, as first lady, she forbade alcohol in the Executive Mansion. The Hayes were devout Methodists who began each day with prayer and organised Sunday evening worship services at the White House.
December 29, 1876: Hymn writer Philip P Bliss and his wife fell to their deaths when a bridge collapsed under the train they were in in Pennsylvania. Bliss's compositions included ‘Man of Sorrows’ and the music to ‘It Is Well with My Soul’.
January 3, 1892: Literature professor JRR Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a devout Catholic, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
January 1, 1622: The Roman Catholic church adopted January 1 as the beginning of the year, rather than March 25.
January 1, 1643: English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton was baptised at St John's Church in Colsterworth, England. Deeply interested in religion throughout his life, Newton (known especially for formulating the laws of gravitation) acknowledged Jesus as Saviour of the world, but not God incarnate.
December 29, 1809: William Gladstone, four-time British prime minister, was born in Liverpool, England. One scholar has called him "the epitome of all that the evangelicals and the English public asked for in their politicians“.
December 29, 1849: The carol ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’, by pastor Edmund H Sears, appeared for the first time in The Christian Register.
December 30, 1852: Future U.S. President Rutherford B Hayes married "Lemonade Lucy," so called because, as first lady, she forbade alcohol in the Executive Mansion. The Hayes were devout Methodists who began each day with prayer and organised Sunday evening worship services at the White House.
December 29, 1876: Hymn writer Philip P Bliss and his wife fell to their deaths when a bridge collapsed under the train they were in in Pennsylvania. Bliss's compositions included ‘Man of Sorrows’ and the music to ‘It Is Well with My Soul’.
January 3, 1892: Literature professor JRR Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and a devout Catholic, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
2024
December
December 13, 304: Lucy, one of the earliest popular Christian saints, died. According to legend, she renounced marriage out of devotion to Christ, but a spurned suitor convinced Roman authorities to force her into a life of prostitution. When this was unsuccessful, they tried to burn her to death, but she wouldn't catch fire. Finally, she was killed by the sword.
December 11, 1475: Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici, who became Pope Leo X, was born in Florence, Italy. He was best known for his sale of indulgences to help rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica, a practice opposed by Martin Luther in his famous 95 Theses. The dispute between Leo and Luther over indulgences would culminate in Luther’s excommunication by papal bull in 1521, ushering in the Protestant Reformation. Leo died later that same year.
December 12, 1582: Spanish General Fernando Alvarez de Toledo died. The duke had been sent, along with 10,000 troops, by King Philip II of Spain to quell the Reformation in Holland. The duke's "Council of Blood" was responsible for some 18,000 deaths.
December 9, 1608: English poet John Milton was born in London. Though most famous for his epic Paradise Lost, he also wrote an exposition of Christian doctrine, a plan for Christian education, and various political writings.
December 11, 1640: English Puritans introduced a petition with 15,000 signatures to Parliament, seeking to abolish the church episcopacy, "with all its dependencies, roots and branches." The House of Commons accepted what has become known as the Roots and Branch Petition but the House of Lords (many of whom were bishops) rejected it, and the episcopal organisation of the Church of England remained.
December 12, 1712: The colony of South Carolina required "all persons whatsoever" to attend church each Sunday and refrain from skilled labour and travel. Violators of the Sunday Law could be fined 10 shillings or locked in the stocks for two hours.
December 11, 1792: Joseph Mohr, a Catholic priest and author of the poem ‘Silent Night’ was born.
December 13, 1835: Phillips Brooks, Episcopal prelate and author of ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ was born in Boston.
December 9, 1843: The first Christmas cards—actually more like postcards—were created and sold for a shilling.
December 11, 1918: Russian author Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, an Orthodox believer whose works include The Gulag Archipelago, was born.
December 11, 1475: Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici, who became Pope Leo X, was born in Florence, Italy. He was best known for his sale of indulgences to help rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica, a practice opposed by Martin Luther in his famous 95 Theses. The dispute between Leo and Luther over indulgences would culminate in Luther’s excommunication by papal bull in 1521, ushering in the Protestant Reformation. Leo died later that same year.
December 12, 1582: Spanish General Fernando Alvarez de Toledo died. The duke had been sent, along with 10,000 troops, by King Philip II of Spain to quell the Reformation in Holland. The duke's "Council of Blood" was responsible for some 18,000 deaths.
December 9, 1608: English poet John Milton was born in London. Though most famous for his epic Paradise Lost, he also wrote an exposition of Christian doctrine, a plan for Christian education, and various political writings.
December 11, 1640: English Puritans introduced a petition with 15,000 signatures to Parliament, seeking to abolish the church episcopacy, "with all its dependencies, roots and branches." The House of Commons accepted what has become known as the Roots and Branch Petition but the House of Lords (many of whom were bishops) rejected it, and the episcopal organisation of the Church of England remained.
December 12, 1712: The colony of South Carolina required "all persons whatsoever" to attend church each Sunday and refrain from skilled labour and travel. Violators of the Sunday Law could be fined 10 shillings or locked in the stocks for two hours.
December 11, 1792: Joseph Mohr, a Catholic priest and author of the poem ‘Silent Night’ was born.
December 13, 1835: Phillips Brooks, Episcopal prelate and author of ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ was born in Boston.
December 9, 1843: The first Christmas cards—actually more like postcards—were created and sold for a shilling.
December 11, 1918: Russian author Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, an Orthodox believer whose works include The Gulag Archipelago, was born.
October
October 20, 1349: Pope Clement VI condemns self-flagellation, speaking out against a flagellation frenzy. The practice, first taught by the Benedictine monk Peter Damian in the mid-eleventh century, gained popularity during the thirteenth-century Black Death scare and continues today in isolated incidences.
October 21, 1663: Virginia colonist John Harlow was fined 50 pounds of tobacco for missing church.
October 22, 4004 BC: According to James Ussher, a seventeenth century, well-respected, scholarly Anglican primate of the Irish Church, God created the universe on this date at 9:00 a.m. GMT.
October 22, 1811: Pianist Franz Liszt, the author of more than 60 religious works (including ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’), was born in Raiding, Hungary (present-day Austria).
October 22, 1844: Between 50,000 and 100,000 followers of Baptist lay preacher William Miller prepared for "The Day of Atonement"—the day Jesus would return. Jesus didn't. Miller blamed human mistakes in Bible chronologies.
October 24, 1260: France's Chartres Cathedral was consecrated. It is the purest example of Gothic architecture.
October 14, 1066: William the Conqueror led the Normans to victory over the English Saxons in the Battle of Hastings. The Norman invasion also had great religious impact. William spent significant effort combating paganism and bringing English Christianity into stricter conformity with Rome (in part by outlawing English Bibles and liturgy). He spent his last days in intense Christian devotion.
October 14, 1656: Massachusetts enacts a law prohibiting "Quakerism" or harbouring Quakers.
October 15, 1932: A small party of supporters gathered in Liverpool, England, to send Gladys Aylward, a 28-year-old parlourmaid, off on a dangerous missionary journey to China. Though she'd been turned down by the missions agency she applied to, she went on to become one of the most amazing single woman missionaries of modern history. Her dramatic rescue of a hundred orphans is told in the movie The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman.
October 18, 1405: Enea Silvio Piccolomini ( Pope Pius II) was born in Italy. He was considered one of the best popes of his age: he wrote an important study of geography and ethnography, a popular love story, and an autobiography. He died in 1464 while planning a battle against the Turks.
October 18, 1867: The United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents an acre. Ten years later, after lax military administration had only worsened the territory's moral condition, an army private stationed in Alaska begged for a missionary to come.
October 21, 1663: Virginia colonist John Harlow was fined 50 pounds of tobacco for missing church.
October 22, 4004 BC: According to James Ussher, a seventeenth century, well-respected, scholarly Anglican primate of the Irish Church, God created the universe on this date at 9:00 a.m. GMT.
October 22, 1811: Pianist Franz Liszt, the author of more than 60 religious works (including ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’), was born in Raiding, Hungary (present-day Austria).
October 22, 1844: Between 50,000 and 100,000 followers of Baptist lay preacher William Miller prepared for "The Day of Atonement"—the day Jesus would return. Jesus didn't. Miller blamed human mistakes in Bible chronologies.
October 24, 1260: France's Chartres Cathedral was consecrated. It is the purest example of Gothic architecture.
October 14, 1066: William the Conqueror led the Normans to victory over the English Saxons in the Battle of Hastings. The Norman invasion also had great religious impact. William spent significant effort combating paganism and bringing English Christianity into stricter conformity with Rome (in part by outlawing English Bibles and liturgy). He spent his last days in intense Christian devotion.
October 14, 1656: Massachusetts enacts a law prohibiting "Quakerism" or harbouring Quakers.
October 15, 1932: A small party of supporters gathered in Liverpool, England, to send Gladys Aylward, a 28-year-old parlourmaid, off on a dangerous missionary journey to China. Though she'd been turned down by the missions agency she applied to, she went on to become one of the most amazing single woman missionaries of modern history. Her dramatic rescue of a hundred orphans is told in the movie The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman.
October 18, 1405: Enea Silvio Piccolomini ( Pope Pius II) was born in Italy. He was considered one of the best popes of his age: he wrote an important study of geography and ethnography, a popular love story, and an autobiography. He died in 1464 while planning a battle against the Turks.
October 18, 1867: The United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents an acre. Ten years later, after lax military administration had only worsened the territory's moral condition, an army private stationed in Alaska begged for a missionary to come.
October 6, 1536: English reformer William Tyndale, who translated and published the first mechanically-printed New Testament in the English language (against the law at the time) was strangled to death. His body was then burned at the stake.
October 6, 1552: Matteo Ricci, the first Roman Catholic missionary to China, was born in Macareta, Italy. Other missionaries criticised his complete adoption of Confucianism which he believed merely a civil cult, unlike Buddhism and Taoism.
October 9, 1000: Leif "the Lucky" Eriksson, who later evangelised Greenland, is said to have been the first European to reach North America on this date. But while he was certainly a member of an early Viking voyage to "Vinland" (probably Nova Scotia), it's doubtful he led the initial expedition. October 9, 1776: 247 Spanish colonists consecrated their California mission of San Francisco.
October 6, 1552: Matteo Ricci, the first Roman Catholic missionary to China, was born in Macareta, Italy. Other missionaries criticised his complete adoption of Confucianism which he believed merely a civil cult, unlike Buddhism and Taoism.
October 9, 1000: Leif "the Lucky" Eriksson, who later evangelised Greenland, is said to have been the first European to reach North America on this date. But while he was certainly a member of an early Viking voyage to "Vinland" (probably Nova Scotia), it's doubtful he led the initial expedition. October 9, 1776: 247 Spanish colonists consecrated their California mission of San Francisco.
October 2, 1187: Muslim general Saladin captured Jerusalem from the crusaders.
October 2, 1800: Slave and lay preacher Nat Turner was born in Virginia. Inspired by biblical texts, the deeply religious and ascetic Turner had visions of liberating his people. On August 22, 1831, he led a major revolt with 60 other slaves, killing 57 white Virginians.
October 3, 1226: Francis of Assisi died. He is remembered as a preacher and mystic who created monastic communities for men and women devoted to poverty and serving the poor.
October 3, 1692: Puritan clergy in Salem, Massachusetts agreed there would be no more executions resulting from the witch trials. More than 150 suspected witches had been put on trial in the previous year, and 19 had been hanged.
October 4, 1669: Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn died. He was known as the "painter of the soul" for his unsurpassed Christian art.
October 4, 1890: Catherine Booth, English "mother of the Salvation Army," died. Besides preaching as a Salvation Army minister, she persuaded her husband, William, to make women an integral part of Salvation Army leadership and work.
October 4, 1965: Paul VI becomes the first pope to visit the United States and to address the United Nations.
October 2, 1800: Slave and lay preacher Nat Turner was born in Virginia. Inspired by biblical texts, the deeply religious and ascetic Turner had visions of liberating his people. On August 22, 1831, he led a major revolt with 60 other slaves, killing 57 white Virginians.
October 3, 1226: Francis of Assisi died. He is remembered as a preacher and mystic who created monastic communities for men and women devoted to poverty and serving the poor.
October 3, 1692: Puritan clergy in Salem, Massachusetts agreed there would be no more executions resulting from the witch trials. More than 150 suspected witches had been put on trial in the previous year, and 19 had been hanged.
October 4, 1669: Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn died. He was known as the "painter of the soul" for his unsurpassed Christian art.
October 4, 1890: Catherine Booth, English "mother of the Salvation Army," died. Besides preaching as a Salvation Army minister, she persuaded her husband, William, to make women an integral part of Salvation Army leadership and work.
October 4, 1965: Paul VI becomes the first pope to visit the United States and to address the United Nations.
September
September 24, 1794:
Russian Orthodox priest-monk Father Juvenaly, his brother Stephen, and eight other monks arrived at Kodiak Island, Alaska. After two years of ministry, the team had led 12,000 Alaskans to embrace the gospel. Juvenaly then extended his mission to the mainland, where he was reportedly martyred in 1796.
September 28, 929 (or 935):
King Wenceslas, ruler and patron saint of Czechoslovakia died. During his brief reign as king (before his brother murdered him) Wenceslas sought peace with surrounding nations, reformed the judicial system, and showed particular concern for his country's poor. Good King Wenceslas looked out On the Feast of Stephen When the snow lay round about Deep and crisp and even.
September 29, 1413:
Sir John Oldcastle was a follower of John Wycliffe, translator of the scriptures into English. Archbishop Arundel accused Oldcastle of heresy. Refusing to recant, he hid in Wales for a year until betrayed. Oldcastle was captured and roasted to death.
Russian Orthodox priest-monk Father Juvenaly, his brother Stephen, and eight other monks arrived at Kodiak Island, Alaska. After two years of ministry, the team had led 12,000 Alaskans to embrace the gospel. Juvenaly then extended his mission to the mainland, where he was reportedly martyred in 1796.
September 28, 929 (or 935):
King Wenceslas, ruler and patron saint of Czechoslovakia died. During his brief reign as king (before his brother murdered him) Wenceslas sought peace with surrounding nations, reformed the judicial system, and showed particular concern for his country's poor. Good King Wenceslas looked out On the Feast of Stephen When the snow lay round about Deep and crisp and even.
September 29, 1413:
Sir John Oldcastle was a follower of John Wycliffe, translator of the scriptures into English. Archbishop Arundel accused Oldcastle of heresy. Refusing to recant, he hid in Wales for a year until betrayed. Oldcastle was captured and roasted to death.
September 19, 821:
Theodulf, poet, scholar, secretary of education, and bishop of Orleans during Charlemagne's reign was buried. He wrote hymns, among which his best remembered is "Gloria Laus et Honor" or "All Glory, Laud and Honour / To you Redeemer King.”
September 19, 1853:
At the age of 21, Baptist missionary pioneer J. Hudson Taylor set sail from England for China.
September 19, 1888:
Missionary Jonathan Goforth began a tour of the Henan region of China, where he would spend the rest of his life preaching, establishing churches, and ministering to the needy.
September 19, 1955:
Mission Aviation pilot Nate Saint saw Auca villages in the Amazon jungle. The Auca massacred him and his companions on January 8, 1956.
September 20, 1224:
On or about this date, on Italy's secluded Mount Alvernia, Francis of Assisi reportedly prayed, "O Lord, I beg of you two graces before I die—to experience in myself in all possible fullness the pains of your cruel passion, and to feel for you the same love that made you sacrifice yourself for us." Soon his heart was filled with both joy and pity, and wounds appeared on his hands, feet, and side. He reportedly carried these scars (called stigmata) until his death in 1226.
September 20, 1565:
Spanish sea captain Pedro Menendez de Aviles reportedly wiped out French Huguenots in Florida.
Theodulf, poet, scholar, secretary of education, and bishop of Orleans during Charlemagne's reign was buried. He wrote hymns, among which his best remembered is "Gloria Laus et Honor" or "All Glory, Laud and Honour / To you Redeemer King.”
September 19, 1853:
At the age of 21, Baptist missionary pioneer J. Hudson Taylor set sail from England for China.
September 19, 1888:
Missionary Jonathan Goforth began a tour of the Henan region of China, where he would spend the rest of his life preaching, establishing churches, and ministering to the needy.
September 19, 1955:
Mission Aviation pilot Nate Saint saw Auca villages in the Amazon jungle. The Auca massacred him and his companions on January 8, 1956.
September 20, 1224:
On or about this date, on Italy's secluded Mount Alvernia, Francis of Assisi reportedly prayed, "O Lord, I beg of you two graces before I die—to experience in myself in all possible fullness the pains of your cruel passion, and to feel for you the same love that made you sacrifice yourself for us." Soon his heart was filled with both joy and pity, and wounds appeared on his hands, feet, and side. He reportedly carried these scars (called stigmata) until his death in 1226.
September 20, 1565:
Spanish sea captain Pedro Menendez de Aviles reportedly wiped out French Huguenots in Florida.
August
August 22, 565:
Celtic missionary and abbot Columba reportedly confronted the Loch Ness Monster and became the first recorded observer of the creature. “At the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified,” wrote his biographer, “and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes.”
August 22, 1741:
George Frideric Handel shut himself up in his home to begin writing Messiah. He finished the composition 24 days later. "Whether I was in the body or out of the body when I wrote it, I know not," he later said.
August 24, 410:
Alaric and the Goths sacked Rome. Pagans blamed pacifist Christians and the Christian God for the defeat. Augustine, in his City of God, repudiated this claim and blamed Rome's corruption.
August 24, 1662:
The deadline arrived for all British ministers to publicly agree to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The Act of Uniformity, passed on May 19, 1662, required the BCP to be used exclusively from this date forward. The act remains on Britain's Statute Book, though it has been modified over the years.
Celtic missionary and abbot Columba reportedly confronted the Loch Ness Monster and became the first recorded observer of the creature. “At the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified,” wrote his biographer, “and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes.”
August 22, 1741:
George Frideric Handel shut himself up in his home to begin writing Messiah. He finished the composition 24 days later. "Whether I was in the body or out of the body when I wrote it, I know not," he later said.
August 24, 410:
Alaric and the Goths sacked Rome. Pagans blamed pacifist Christians and the Christian God for the defeat. Augustine, in his City of God, repudiated this claim and blamed Rome's corruption.
August 24, 1662:
The deadline arrived for all British ministers to publicly agree to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The Act of Uniformity, passed on May 19, 1662, required the BCP to be used exclusively from this date forward. The act remains on Britain's Statute Book, though it has been modified over the years.
June
June 19, 325:
Bishop Hosius, a delegate at the Council of Nicea, announced the newly written Nicene Creed. Arius taught that "there was a time when the Son was not," but the Nicene creed describes Christ as "God from very God, begotten not made."
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.
Bishop Hosius, a delegate at the Council of Nicea, announced the newly written Nicene Creed. Arius taught that "there was a time when the Son was not," but the Nicene creed describes Christ as "God from very God, begotten not made."
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.
April
April 5, 1811:
Robert Raikes, founder of English Sunday schools in 1780, died. Raikes built his Sunday schools not for the respectable children of believers, but for "the multitudes of wretches who, released on that day from employment, spent their day in noise and riot." In 4 years, 250,000 students were attending the schools and by 1831, 1.25 million.
April 6, 1528:
Albrecht Durer, German painter, engraver, and designer of woodcuts, died. Famous for his religious scenes, he may have been so influenced by Luther that he converted to Protestantism. His most popular work is Praying Hands.
April 6, 1801:
The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church recognised the new African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Blacks who were denied membership and/or recognition within white Methodist churches, particularly in Philadelphia and New York, formed the original AME
Robert Raikes, founder of English Sunday schools in 1780, died. Raikes built his Sunday schools not for the respectable children of believers, but for "the multitudes of wretches who, released on that day from employment, spent their day in noise and riot." In 4 years, 250,000 students were attending the schools and by 1831, 1.25 million.
April 6, 1528:
Albrecht Durer, German painter, engraver, and designer of woodcuts, died. Famous for his religious scenes, he may have been so influenced by Luther that he converted to Protestantism. His most popular work is Praying Hands.
April 6, 1801:
The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church recognised the new African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Blacks who were denied membership and/or recognition within white Methodist churches, particularly in Philadelphia and New York, formed the original AME
March
March 20, 1852:
Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of Congregational minister Lyman Beecher, published Uncle Tom's Cabin (which had been serialised in an antislavery newspaper). The book sold one million copies and was so influential in arousing antislavery sentiment that Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said upon meeting Stowe in 1863: "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!"
March 21, 1685:
German organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. Though largely unrecognised in his day and forgotten for years after his death, he has since become recognised as one of history's unequalled musical masters. But music was never just music to Bach. Nearly three-quarters of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship.
March 21, 1788:
Charles Wesley, brother of John and author of 8,989 hymns (including ‘Hark! The herald angels sing,’ ‘And can it be,’ ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing,’ ‘Love divine, all loves excelling,’ ‘Jesus, lover of my soul,’ ‘Christ the Lord is risen today,’ and "Rejoice! the Lord is King!"), died at age 81. March 21, 1844:
William Miller's first proposed date of Christ's return between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844 ended with little fanfare. Miller soon changed the date to October 22, 1844, but when that passed his followers became disillusioned and premillennialism experienced a massive setback. The Adventist churches grew from the Millerite movement.
March 21, 1871:
Journalist Henry M Stanley, on assignment for the New York Herald, began his search for David Livingstone in Africa. After he found him (and uttered the famous words ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’), the Scottish missionary converted him. Stanley was persuaded to return to Africa years later to continue missionary work and exploration.
March 21, 1965:
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 24, 1816:
Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury, age 71, preached his last sermon. The sermon, delivered at the Old Methodist Church in Richmond, Virginia, lasted an hour—even though Asbury, weakened, spoke while lying on a table.
Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of Congregational minister Lyman Beecher, published Uncle Tom's Cabin (which had been serialised in an antislavery newspaper). The book sold one million copies and was so influential in arousing antislavery sentiment that Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said upon meeting Stowe in 1863: "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!"
March 21, 1685:
German organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany. Though largely unrecognised in his day and forgotten for years after his death, he has since become recognised as one of history's unequalled musical masters. But music was never just music to Bach. Nearly three-quarters of his 1,000 compositions were written for use in worship.
March 21, 1788:
Charles Wesley, brother of John and author of 8,989 hymns (including ‘Hark! The herald angels sing,’ ‘And can it be,’ ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing,’ ‘Love divine, all loves excelling,’ ‘Jesus, lover of my soul,’ ‘Christ the Lord is risen today,’ and "Rejoice! the Lord is King!"), died at age 81. March 21, 1844:
William Miller's first proposed date of Christ's return between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844 ended with little fanfare. Miller soon changed the date to October 22, 1844, but when that passed his followers became disillusioned and premillennialism experienced a massive setback. The Adventist churches grew from the Millerite movement.
March 21, 1871:
Journalist Henry M Stanley, on assignment for the New York Herald, began his search for David Livingstone in Africa. After he found him (and uttered the famous words ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’), the Scottish missionary converted him. Stanley was persuaded to return to Africa years later to continue missionary work and exploration.
March 21, 1965:
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 24, 1816:
Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury, age 71, preached his last sermon. The sermon, delivered at the Old Methodist Church in Richmond, Virginia, lasted an hour—even though Asbury, weakened, spoke while lying on a table.
March 15, 1517:
Needing money to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, Pope Leo X announced a special sale of indulgences. A Dominican named Johann Tetzel led the way by promoting the sale in Germany and erroneously declared that indulgences would cover future sins (Leo's forgave all past sins). The teaching angered monk Martin Luther, who soon posted his 95 Theses in response.
March 17, 461 (traditional date):
Patrick, missionary to Ireland and that country's patron saint, died. Irish raiders captured Patrick, a Romanised Briton, and enslaved him as a youth. He escaped to Gaul (modern France) but returned to Ireland after experiencing a vision calling him back to preach. Patrick enjoyed great success there as a missionary, and only the far south remained predominantly pagan when he died.
March 17, 1780:
Thomas Chalmers, pastor, social reformer, and one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland (FCS), was born. By his death in 1847, he had started missions in hundreds of poor urban settings, and he led a third of the Scottish clergy and a half of the laity of the church of Scotland into FCS in 1843. His chief concern throughout his life was the evangelisation of the urban poor.
March 18, 1861:
London's Metropolitan Tabernacle, the sanctuary of English Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 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.
Needing money to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, Pope Leo X announced a special sale of indulgences. A Dominican named Johann Tetzel led the way by promoting the sale in Germany and erroneously declared that indulgences would cover future sins (Leo's forgave all past sins). The teaching angered monk Martin Luther, who soon posted his 95 Theses in response.
March 17, 461 (traditional date):
Patrick, missionary to Ireland and that country's patron saint, died. Irish raiders captured Patrick, a Romanised Briton, and enslaved him as a youth. He escaped to Gaul (modern France) but returned to Ireland after experiencing a vision calling him back to preach. Patrick enjoyed great success there as a missionary, and only the far south remained predominantly pagan when he died.
March 17, 1780:
Thomas Chalmers, pastor, social reformer, and one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland (FCS), was born. By his death in 1847, he had started missions in hundreds of poor urban settings, and he led a third of the Scottish clergy and a half of the laity of the church of Scotland into FCS in 1843. His chief concern throughout his life was the evangelisation of the urban poor.
March 18, 1861:
London's Metropolitan Tabernacle, the sanctuary of English Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 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 7, 203:
Perpetua, a Christian about 22 years old, with her slave, Felicitas, and several others were martyred at the arena in Carthage. They were flogged, attacked by hungry leopards, and finally beheaded.
March 7, 1530:
Pope Clement VII rejected Henry VIII's request to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry eventually responded by declaring himself supreme head of England's church.
March 7, 1964:
At a Roman parish church, Pope Paul VI celebrated mass in Italian instead of Latin, a significant change of the Second Vatican Council—worship in the vernacular.
March 8, 1782:
Ninety-six Native Americans, who had converted to Christianity and were living peacefully in the Moravian Brethren town of Gnadenhutten (near New Philadelphia), Ohio, were killed by militiamen in "retaliation" for Indian raids made elsewhere in the Ohio territory.
March 8, 1948:
The US Supreme Court found religious education in public schools was in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
March 9, 320 (traditional date):
Roman soldiers left Christian soldiers naked on the ice of a frozen pond in Sebaste, Armenia. They placed baths of hot water around them to tempt them to renounce their faith. When one did so, a pagan guard—inspired by the fortitude of the remaining Christians—converted and joined the freezing Christians. They were all killed.
March 9, 395 (traditional date):
Gregory of Nyssa died. An outstanding thinker, theologian, and orator, he was very influential in developing the theology of the Trinity.
March 9, 1831:
Evangelist Charles Finney ended a six-month series of meetings in Rochester, New York. The meetings, which have been called "the world's greatest single revival campaign," led to the closing of the town's theatre and taverns, a two-thirds drop in crime, and a reported 100,000 conversions.
March 10, 1748:
John Newton was the captain of a slave ship. He converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He became an Anglican clergyman, the author of the famous hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, and a zealous abolitionist.
March 10, 1898:
George Mueller, English philanthropist and evangelist, died. In his 93 years he helped more than 10,000 English orphans.
March 10, 1913:
Harriet Tubman, known as ‘Grandma Moses’ for her work rescuing slaves and guiding them to the north on what was dubbed the Underground Railroad, died. Her 19 rescues (of about 300 slaves) were successful, she said, because God showed her the way.
Perpetua, a Christian about 22 years old, with her slave, Felicitas, and several others were martyred at the arena in Carthage. They were flogged, attacked by hungry leopards, and finally beheaded.
March 7, 1530:
Pope Clement VII rejected Henry VIII's request to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry eventually responded by declaring himself supreme head of England's church.
March 7, 1964:
At a Roman parish church, Pope Paul VI celebrated mass in Italian instead of Latin, a significant change of the Second Vatican Council—worship in the vernacular.
March 8, 1782:
Ninety-six Native Americans, who had converted to Christianity and were living peacefully in the Moravian Brethren town of Gnadenhutten (near New Philadelphia), Ohio, were killed by militiamen in "retaliation" for Indian raids made elsewhere in the Ohio territory.
March 8, 1948:
The US Supreme Court found religious education in public schools was in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
March 9, 320 (traditional date):
Roman soldiers left Christian soldiers naked on the ice of a frozen pond in Sebaste, Armenia. They placed baths of hot water around them to tempt them to renounce their faith. When one did so, a pagan guard—inspired by the fortitude of the remaining Christians—converted and joined the freezing Christians. They were all killed.
March 9, 395 (traditional date):
Gregory of Nyssa died. An outstanding thinker, theologian, and orator, he was very influential in developing the theology of the Trinity.
March 9, 1831:
Evangelist Charles Finney ended a six-month series of meetings in Rochester, New York. The meetings, which have been called "the world's greatest single revival campaign," led to the closing of the town's theatre and taverns, a two-thirds drop in crime, and a reported 100,000 conversions.
March 10, 1748:
John Newton was the captain of a slave ship. He converted to Christianity during a huge storm at sea. He became an Anglican clergyman, the author of the famous hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, and a zealous abolitionist.
March 10, 1898:
George Mueller, English philanthropist and evangelist, died. In his 93 years he helped more than 10,000 English orphans.
March 10, 1913:
Harriet Tubman, known as ‘Grandma Moses’ for her work rescuing slaves and guiding them to the north on what was dubbed the Underground Railroad, died. Her 19 rescues (of about 300 slaves) were successful, she said, because God showed her the way.
February
February 27, 280:
Constantine, the first Roman emperor converted to Christianity, was born on this day, although some scholars question the authenticity of Constantine's conversion.
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 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 29, 1528:
Patrick Hamilton, a follower of Martin Luther who had returned to his native Scotland to preach the Reformation, was burned at the stake on orders from Cardinal David Beaton. In retaliation, Protestant nobles assassinated the cardinal. This event effectively began the Scottish Reformation.
February 29, 1692:
The Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts began when Tituba, the female Indian servant of Reverend Samuel Parris, and Sarah Good were accused of witchcraft. Parris initiated the hysteria. By the time calm was restored, 19 suspected witches had been hanged and 150 imprisoned.
Constantine, the first Roman emperor converted to Christianity, was born on this day, although some scholars question the authenticity of Constantine's conversion.
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 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 29, 1528:
Patrick Hamilton, a follower of Martin Luther who had returned to his native Scotland to preach the Reformation, was burned at the stake on orders from Cardinal David Beaton. In retaliation, Protestant nobles assassinated the cardinal. This event effectively began the Scottish Reformation.
February 29, 1692:
The Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts began when Tituba, the female Indian servant of Reverend Samuel Parris, and Sarah Good were accused of witchcraft. Parris initiated the hysteria. By the time calm was restored, 19 suspected witches had been hanged and 150 imprisoned.
Your donation will help to maintain Pilgrim People’s sound worship and preaching