Historical Writings

Death of Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia. He had moved his see from Vladimir to Moscow the year before. Later he will be proclaimed a patron saint of Moscow.

Death of Katherine von Bora, 53, a former nun and the widow of German reformer Martin Luther. They married in 1525, when Luther was 42 and Katie was 26, and bore six children. Luther died in 1546; Katie, six years later.

The First General Assembly of the Church of Scotland meets in Edinburgh. Its purpose is, "To consult upon those things which are to forward God's glory and the well-being of His Kirk."

A revival broke out among the Shakers of New Lebanon, Indiana, soon igniting a religious fervor among other denominations, especially in Kentucky and other colonial frontier regions.

Death at Newport, Rhode Island, of theologian Samuel Hopkins who had modified Calvinism. He had also been one of the first clergymen in America to free his slaves and denounce the system of slavery.

Baldwin Institute was chartered in Berea, Ohio, by the Methodists. Changing its name in 1854 to Baldwin University, the college merged in 1914 with German Wallace College and adopted its present name: Baldwin Wallace University.

William Walsham Howe is ordained a deacon in the Church of England. He will go on to become a notable bishop and hymn writer.

Newberry College was chartered in Newberry, SC, under Lutheran auspices. The campus moved to Walhalla, SC, in 1868, but returned to Newberry in 1877.

As Ahmed Fahmi, a recent convert from Islam to Christianity, leaves the Presbyterian mission compound in Cairo, Egypt, where he has been teaching Arabic to missionaries, he is kidnapped by his family. He will be held for five weeks. Afterward he studies in Scotland and becomes a missionary to China.

Death of Father John of Kronstadt (John Sergiev), a Russian Orthodox priest greatly beloved for his charity and wisdom. "The enemy of our salvation especially strives to draw our heart and mind away from God when we are about to serve Him, and endeavours to adulterously attach our heart to something irrelevant."

William Temple, who will become Archbishop of Canterbury, is made deacon of Canterbury Cathedral. He is an advocate of the common man and active in social issues but still unsure of the doctrine of the resurrection.

Death in New York City of Sarah “Adelaide” Addison Pollard, an evangelistic worker and missionary to Africa, noted for her hymn “Have Thine Own Way Lord,” written when her missionary plans were stymied. She dies of a ruptured appendix.

Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'What God chooses for us children of men is always the best.'