Historical Writings

The Bishop of Paris condemns Averroism through the efforts of Thomas Aquinas and other theologians. Averroism taught the eternality of the world, denied providence and free will, and set philosophy above faith and Scripture.

German reformer Martin Luther publicly burned Pope Leo X's bull, "Exsurge Domine," which had demanded that Luther recant his "protestant" heresies, including that of justification by faith alone rather than through purchased indulgences or other papal favors.

Henry van Zutphen, an Augustinian monk who had become a Lutheran minister, is burned to death in Holstein by a drunken mob incited by religious and secular authorities.

Death of Polish-German reformer Kaspar Schwenkfeld, who rejected infant baptism, said that conversion must produce a regenerated character to be real, and taught that Christ had two natures but became progressively more divine. He also held that true believers eat the spiritual body of Christ in Communion.

Death in Wittenberg of Lutheran hymnwriter Paul Eber. Some of his hymns were written for his own children.

Italian archaeologist Antonio Bosio first descended into the subterranean Christian burial chambers, located under the streets of Rome. Bosio was dubbed the "Columbus of the Catacombs," and his books long remained the standard work on the underground tombs of the early Roman Church.

Two hundred and fifty seven defeated Scottish Covenanters are shipwrecked in the Crown of London off the coast of Scotland, their captors having earlier battened the hatches to prevent their escape. After the ship breaks up, only a few survivors reach shore.

The second construction of the structure known as St Paul's Outside the Walls was consecrated. The church is one of four major basilicas in Rome. The original edifice was erected by Roman emperor Constantine in 324, and rebuilt as a larger basilica in the late fourth century by the Emperor Honorius (395).

Peru promulgates a constitution that makes Roman Catholicism the national religion and obligates the State to protect it, while denying the public exercise of any other religion.

"The Gift of the Magi," a short story by William Sydney Porter, 43, was first published. Known by his pen name, O. Henry, Porter's writings were characterized by trick endings, making him a master of short story telling.

English Christian apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'In so far as the things unseen are manifested by the things seen, one might from one point of view call the whole material universe an allegory.'

Marriage of Ruth Magongo to Enoch Litswele. The two will serve as Nazarene missionaries and educators in various African countries, learning several languages in order to communicate with the tribes among whom they work and translating hymns into local tongues.

Death of Thomas Merton in Bangkok, Thailand. The Trappist monk was famed for writings such as The Seven Storey Mountain and had been an outspoken critic of American involvement in the Vietnam War.