Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, May 28th, 2023
Pentacost
Pentacost
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Historical Writings
Today in Christian History
Sunday, August 24
410
The Visigoths sacked Rome, disillusioning Christians who were trusting in God's protection of this ecclesiastical center of early Christianity. St. Augustine (354-430) later tacked this religious problem in his monumental work, "City of God" (ca.413-27).
552
Death of Menas, patriarch of Constantinople. He had been actively engaged in the issues of his day as an opponent of monophysitism and of Origen's teachings, but was largely subservient to the Roman pope. Authority for the date: Betz, Hans Dieter, et al. Religion Past and Present.
1456
In Mainz, Germany, volume two of the famed Gutenberg Bible was bound, completing a two-year publishing project, and making it the first full-length book to be printed using movable type.
1562
St. Teresa of Avila founds the Discalced (shoeless) Carmelite nuns. Authority for the date: www.byzantinediscalcedcarmelites.com/page10.html
1572
The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre took place all across France, where thousands of French Protestants (Huguenots) were slaughtered. depleted the intellectual, educational and financial reserves of the French nation.
1662
The deadline arrives for all British ministers to publicly assent to the Book of Common Prayer. Two thousand Puritans who do not accept this have to vacate their pulpits, becoming known as non-conformists. Authority for the date: Vincent, Benjamin. Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. Putnam, 1911.
1741
After much misery because of his spiritually-lost state, Isaac Backus experiences personal salvation in Christ at the age of eighteen while plowing alone in his fields. In his diary, he records, “I was enabled by divine light to see the perfect righteousness of Christ and the freeness and richness of His grace with such clearness that my soul was drawn forth to trust in Him for salvation. The Word of God and the promises of His grace appeared firmer than a rock, and I was astonished at my previous unbelief.” He will go on to become a Baptist pastor and successful evangelist in New England. Authority for the date: http://www.fbcnm.org/about-us#!__about-us/history
1748
William Grimshaw and John Wesley are fiercely attacked at Colne while preaching. Authority for the date: Ryle, J.C. Five Christian Leaders. London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1960.
1779
Greek monk Cosmas of Aetolia is martyred by Muslims. He had preached throughout Greece to revive the church and founded over two-hundred schools. Authority for the date: Cavarnos, Constantine. "St. Cosmas." Modern Orthodox Saints I. Belmont, MA: Institute for Byzantine and Mo
1795
Death of Samuel Stennett. One of the outstanding dissenter (non-Anglican) preachers of his day, he had been a personal friend of England's King George III. He wrote the hymns "Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned" and "On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand." Authority for the date: Wells, Amos R. A Treasury of Hymn Stories. Baker, 1992.
1854
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa was organized by German Lutherans. In 1930 this synod merged with the synods of Ohio and Buffalo to form the American Lutheran Church.
1894
Alois Majonga Mncadi is sent to Rome to study. He will become only the second black African to become a Catholic priest in South Africa. Authority for the date: Dictionary of African Christian Biography.
1906
Five Baptist congregations met at Jellico Creek, Whitley County, Kentucky, and formed the Church of God of the Mountain Assembly. The CGMA both pentecostal and holiness in doctrine reports a world membership today of 7,000.
1917
Death of Ernest W. Shurtleff, while doing relief work in World War I with his wife. An American Congregational clergyman, he had authored the hymn, "Lead On, O King Eternal." Authority for the date: www.cyberhymnal.com.
1968
Beginning of the Second General Council of the Latin American Episcopate. The meeting is held in Medellín, Columbia. It will emphasize elements of newly-developing liberation theology and give special emphasis to the poor. Authority for the date: History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
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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