Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, June 3rd, 2023
the Week of Proper 3 / Ordinary 8
the Week of Proper 3 / Ordinary 8
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Historical Writings
Today in Christian History
Saturday, May 9
1590
Death in a French prison of Cardinal de Bourbon, whom the Catholic League and the Paris parliament had considered the rightful king of France following the death of Henry III (the king who had imprisoned him) in 1589. The cardinal had renounced the throne, however, in favor of his nephew Henry of Navarre, who abjured Protestantism to become King Henry IV Authority for the date: www.cgbfr.com
1619
In Holland, the six month long Synod of Dort ended. Confirming the authority of the "Heidelberg Catechism," the decisions of the Synod led to some 200 Arminian clergy being afterward deprived of their offices.
1707
Death in Lübeck of church organist Dietrich Buxtehude, whose composition and playing were so good that Johann Sebastian Bach had once walked two-hundred-and-fifty miles one way to hear him and to watch him play. Authority for the date: Standard encyclopedias.
1760
Death of Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in Herrnhut. He had founded the Moravian Brethren and was a pioneer in ecumenism and Protestant mission work. Authority for the date: Standard encyclopedias.
1828
Birth of Andrew Murray, South African Dutch Reformed clergyman and devotional writer. His most famous writing was "Abide in Christ" (1864).
1844
Pran Krishna, a zealous evangelist in India, shows symptoms of cholera and will die the following morning. Authority for the date: Oriental Christian Biography.
1848
Andrew Murray is ordained on his 20th birthday. He will become a notable educator of Christians in South Africa and the author of beloved books on Christian living such as The True Vine and Abide in Me. Authority for the date: Davies, Horton. Great South African Christians. Cape Town, New York, Oxford University Press, 1951.
1859
Orthodox mystic and author Theophan the Recluse is consecrated Bishop of Tambov, where he will demonstrate his forward thinking by establishing a school for girls. Authority for the date: http://oca.org
1905
Birth of Merrill Dunlop, American sacred chorister and hymnwriter. He directed the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle for many years, and is author of the hymn, "My Sins Are Blotted Out, I Know."
1911
Death in London of Arabella Katherine Hankey, author of the hymns "I Love to Tell the Story" and "Tell Me the Old, Old Story." Authority for the date: Cyberhymnal.
1961
English apologist C.S. Lewis, offering an evaluation of English Bible translations, wrote in a letter: 'A modern translation is for most purposes far more useful than the Authorized [i.e., King James] Version.'
1983
John Paul II announced the reversal of the Catholic Church's 1633 condemnation of Galileo Galilei, the scientist who first espoused the Copernican (i.e., heliocentric) view of our solar system.
Copyright Statement
© 1987-2020, William D. Blake. Portions used by permission of the author, from "Almanac of the Christian Church"
© 1987-2020, William D. Blake. Portions used by permission of the author, from "Almanac of the Christian Church"
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