Today in Christian History
John Berridge, "the Old Devil," Preached the Neglected Gospel (1793)
“The Eastern Church fallen from the faith, and attacked by the infidels from without. In the West, South, or North, scarcely any bishops who have obtai...”
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church, Volume V: The Middle Ages. A.D. 1049-1294.
Rejecting the savior
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. W...
Events
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(probable date) Martyrdom of Vincent of Saragossa, Spain’s first famous martyr, who had been starved, racked, exposed in the stocks, and partially roasted.
Authority for the date: Standard martyrologies.1623
Burial of St Macarius at Zhabyn, opposite the Orthodox monastery he had founded. This Russian ascetic had allegedly performed great miracles.
Authority for the date: http://oca.org.1867
Ambatonakanga Memorial Church opens in Madagascar in honor of Christians marytered under the cruel queen Ranavalona.
Authority for the date: Mears, John W. The Story of Madagascar. Philadelphia, 1873.1876
Death at Ticehurst, Sussex, UK, of John Dykes, who had written some well-known hymn tunes, two of which we sing to this day: “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee.”
Authority for the date: Standard encyclopedias.1915
Death at Highland Falls, New York, of hymnwriter Anna Bartlett Warner, most famous for the chidren’s hymn “Jesus Loves Me.”
Authority for the date: Cyberhymnal.1918
Death in Jewett City, Connecticut, of Mary Haughton Brown, a Baptist teacher and hymnwriter. Most famous of her hymns had been “I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go.” Her death was caused by the infamous influenza pandemic that killed millions world-wide that winter.
Authority for the date: Cyberhymnal.1936
Death of Liang Xiaochu, one of the most influential Chinese Christian leaders in the early part of the twentieth century. He had greatly increased YMCA membership but watered down its Christian component and stressed character and education instead.
Authority for the date: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity.1949
Death in Wyoming of John Roberts, Episcopal priest and missionary to the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians of Wyoming. He had been notable for his efforts to preserve the culture and languages of the tribes, translating the Bible into two Indian languages.
Authority for the date: http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/reverend-john-roberts1973
To the extreme disappointment of many Christian groups, the United States Supreme Court hands down the Roe v. Wade decision that allows abortion even in cases where it is not necessary to save a mother’s life.
Authority for the date: 410 U.S. 113 (1973).