Church History - One Week at A Time

Religion and Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:17:00 +0000

They say two things you should avoid talking about in polite company are religion and politics. However, when discussing history from any perspective, especially the church's, it is impossible to avoid either. I bring this up because as one explores the various social communities on the Internet (Facebook, My-space, etc.) one invariably gets asked for one's political affiliation. It's always been a hard thing for me to nail down.

Since I would prefer to see governments in general kept as small as possible, and ignoring me as much as possible, I guess from a secular viewpoint I'm a Libertarian. But that's not entirely accurate as I'm not nearly as concerned with the government's ability to ignore me as I am with my capacity to ignore the government. Some would say that this makes me an anarchist, but that too is not an accurate label. I'm not against government, in fact I fully appreciate the need for one and want the best government possible, as long as it is no bigger than needed and leaves me to do my thing while it goes about doing its thing. "Render unto Caesar... " as it were.

I guess of all the terms I've heard to describe my approach, the best would be what Jacques Ellul called "Christian Anarchy"; Christians are not ruled by human governments but rather by Christ alone. This does not mean that we do not obey human authority, but rather that we obey them as far as we are able only because Christ expects it of us.

One aspect of Ellul's stand is that, as a result, Christians have no need to seek public office. Many Christian leaders, especially in the US, are of the opinion that followers of Jesus Christ have a duty to seek public office so as to ensure the laws of the land follow the teachings of the Bible. Ellul suggests this won't work because rather than bringing a Christ-like atmosphere to the halls of power, history has shown that political power is far more likely to twist the Christian politician.

Which brings me to this week's story. It's one of the examples from history that I believe Jacques might have had in mind.

Elizabeth Dirks was raised in a nunnery in East Friesland, where she learned Latin and read the Bible through and through. Convinced that monasticism was not the way for her she escaped with the help of the milkmaids and became a follower of Menno Simons. Simons was the leader of what is known as the peaceful arm of the Anabaptists, a group within the Reformation that opposed state mandated faith. They contended that the state could not force a person into belief, it had to be a personal choice. By the same logic they opposed infant baptism, claiming that an infant could not hope to understand the faith into which they were being baptized. Since no personal choice was involved the baptism was without meaning. This became the bone of contention between the government and the Anabaptists.

As one of the first Reformation women ministers, a deaconess, the civic authorities (read Catholic) arrested Elizabeth in 1549. When they found her Bible, containing notations from Menno's preaching, they believed they had the person they were looking for - the wife of Menno Simons. They were wrong. They were also wrong about Dirks' character. They thought they could intimidate this woman at her interrogation; they couldn't. The official record of her inquisition shows the examiners tried to get her to inform on those to whom she had taught Anabaptist interpretations of scripture. Knowing that this would lead to their arrest, she replied, "No, my Lords, do not press me on this point. Ask me about my faith and I will answer you gladly."

When she would not reveal who had baptized her or whom she had taught, they began to attack her beliefs. The records tell how she insisted church buildings are not the house of God, for our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and how the bread and wine are spoken of in the New Testament not as a sacrament but rather as the Lord's Supper. When asked if she were saved by baptism, she replied, "No, my Lords. All the water in the sea cannot save me. All my salvation is in Christ, who has commanded me love the Lord, my God, and my neighbor as myself."

Still refusing to reveal who had baptized her, she was taken to the torture chamber and a man named Hans applied screws to her thumbs and fingers until blood spurted from under her fingernails. Still refusing to reveal her friends, her agony was so great that she cried aloud to Christ, and her pain was miraculously relieved. So they lifted her skirt to apply torture to her shins. She rebuked Hans stating that she had never allowed anyone to touch her body and was not about to let herself be violated now.

Even so, they crushed her leg bones through her skirts with massive screws until she fainted dead away. In fact, the inquisitors were going to leave her for dead, but she came to and asserted her faith all the more. Finally they came to the realization that Elizabeth Dirks would never compromise herself. The authorities condemned her to die, but rather than burn her, as was customary for a heretic, they chose instead the irony of 'baptizing' her to death. She was tied up in a large cloth bag and drowned. It would become a common method of executing the Anabaptists.

Over the years, the so-called "Christian states", both Catholic and Protestant, hunted down the Anabaptists; declaring open season on anyone who opposed the sacrament of infant baptism or suggested that governments did not have the right to dictate the faith of their subjects. Believing God had placed them in authority, these Christian politicians and officials felt it their duty to protect the faith by whatever means necessary. History has shown it to be a common scenario. In this instance unnumbered thousands of people were slaughtered in the name of preserving the Christian heritage of 16th century Europe. Some of Menno's followers escaped by settling in Moravia where their descendants gave birth to a number of faith communities including the Mennonites (named in honour of Menno), the Hutterites, the Quakers, and the Brethren.

Elizabeth Dirks was executed for holding to her belief in a personal faith on March 27, 1549 - 459 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. "Protestantism." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 26 Mar. 2008 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-41554
2. "Menno Simons." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 26 Mar. 2008 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-4811
3. "Elizabeth Dirks Drowned as an Anabaptist", Christian History Institute, March 27th

Other Events this week in Church History:

March 22, 1638: Religious dissident Anne Hutchinson is expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Questioned about her teachings on grace, she insisted she had received divine revelations. When her examiners asked how she knew these came from God, she replied, "How did Abraham know that it was God that bid him offer his son, being a breach of the Sixth Commandment?" Although Hutchinson repented of her "errors," her questioners decided she was lying and banished her from the colony.

March 23, 332 (traditional date): Gregory the Illuminator, so called because he brought the light of Christ to the people, dies. A missionary to his homeland of Armenia, he was instrumental in the conversion of King Tiridates, and much of the kingdom followed suit. Soon Christianity was established as the national religion, with Gregory as its bishop.

March 24, 1980: Roman Catholic archbishop Oscar Romero, a vocal opponent of the San Salvador military, is assassinated while saying mass in his country. Several men, believed to be part of a death squad, were arrested for the murder but were later released.

March 25, 1625: England's King James I dies. In 1604, at the Hampton Court Conference, James authorized the translation project that produced the 1611 King James (Authorized) Version of the Bible.

March 26, 752: Stephen III assumes the papacy after Stephen II dies. But Stephen III is sometimes called Stephen II, since the real Stephen II hardly counts: he died a mere four days after his election!

March 28, 1661: Scottish Parliament passes the Rescissory Act, repealing all church-state legislation created since 1633 (Charles I's reign). In essence, the act restored the Anglican episcopacy to Scotland and quashed Presbyterianism, which had been the national church since 1638. In 1690 Parliament again established the Church of Scotland as Presbyterian.

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The Cycle Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:50:00 +0000

Among Protestants the word 'reformer' will call to mind one specific group of individuals operating either in close or distant orbit around Martin Luther. But the fact is, Luther was not the first to try to reform the Catholic church. Time and time again the church became corrupt over the centuries and each time God raised up individuals to address the abuses. Two such men were Robert of Molesne and Stephen Harding.

By the end of the church's first millennium monastic orders had become one of the driving forces in church life, and to be fair, the system worked well, most of the time. Contrary to popular belief the monasteries were not places where the religious holed-up and ignored the world. From within the monastery walls they reached out to meet the needs of the surrounding community. They provided education, medical services, emergency relief in times of flood and famine; they served as arbiters negotiating disputes and generally served the needs of the people in the name of Christian charity. The walls of the monastery were intended to protect the religious not from the common man, but from the all too common temptations that ruled the world at large.

There is, of course, one drawback to this plan. The religious communities, like the world around them, were made up of people. And people are easily led astray, even by the best of intentions. The problem was that as the monastic community did what they did so well, people began to reward them with various gifts, money being high on the list. Eventually civil authorities often just let them run things. As more and more responsibility was entrusted to them the religious orders become more influential in governing circles. With influence comes power and power, as they say, corrupts. The orders became wealthy and embroiled in the world's value system.

Robert and Stephen looked at the way things were and determined that the older orders were no longer following the example of Christ. Had not Jesus lived a life of poverty? Had not his disciples left all to follow him? Furthermore, Jesus had called the rich ruler to leave all to follow him and had taught that it was hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.

After unsuccessful attempts to turn the hearts of the corrupt, the two men, along with some like minded fellows, sought to escape the soul-sapping temptations of wealth and power, by organizing a monastery of their own at Citeaux in Burgundy. Their new monastic order, the Cistercians or "white monks" dedicated themselves to silence, austerity and manual work rather than scholarship. Intent on resisting the lure of the world, they refused to accept tithes, gifts, or lay patrons, seeking a plain, simple lifestyle without treasures or personal possessions. Unlike other orders where the bulk of the work was done by hired lay-people, they kept no servants, believing that work itself was a form of prayer. When not engaging in tasks such as farming, cooking, weaving and carpentry, their day was devoted to meditation, reading, and divine service. They allowed themselves seven hours of sleep in winter and six in summer. In summer they ate once a day; in winter, twice.

The order kept pretty much to themselves, as was intended, until, fourteen years after their founding one Bernard of Clairvaux would arrive at Citeaux (see woodcut at right). It was Bernard that realized the potential of what Robert and Stephen had started. He took their simple rules for monastic life and started another Cistercian monastery in his hometown. In the years to follow he would found an additional 65 monasteries throughout Europe laying the foundation for what would eventually prove to be one of the great revolutions in European civilization.

By the year 1300 there would be over 600 Cistercian monasteries and nunneries in existence. Their work ethic and their devotion to improving the lives of the people they served would lead to improved cattle breeds and the developments of several new methods of agriculture, which they eagerly taught to the farmers. The result was the transformation of the wastelands of Europe into highly productive farmland.

The efforts of the Cistercians left Europe far better off than they had found it. Other orders began to follow their example and the life of the common man gradually improved. They still faced hard times, by our standards, but for the 14th century farming life had never been better.

Life was also good for the Cistercians. Their influence grew with their contributions to society and that made them a very wealthy and powerful order. The administration of the order and its activities across the continent soon occupied more and more of the monks time. They withdrew from manual labour, leaving it to the hired lay-brothers that became associated with their monasteries. It was not long before allegations of greed and corruption were made, as they themselves had accused the older orders that had motivated their founding. The cycle continued, even as it does today.

The opening of the first Cistercians monastery at Citeaux by Robert of Molesne and Stephen Harding happened on March 21, 1098 - 910 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. Gildas, F. M. "Cistercians." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
2. Various encyclopedia articles, histories, histories of Christianity and internet articles.

Other Events that Happened this week:

March 15, 1517: Pope Leo X issues the infamous indulgence that would ultimately lead to the Reformation and the Protestant movement. Having drained the papal treasury indulging his love of lavious living and entertainment, Leo needed to raise funds to rebuild St. Peter's basilica. In exchange for donations he offered "to absolve you ...from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they be...and remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account and I restore you...to the innocence and purity which you possessed at baptism; so that when you die the gates of punishment shall be shut... and if you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death."

March 16, 1649 : Jesuit missionaries John of Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant are martyred in Quebec, Canada. When a tribal war broke out between the Iroquois and the Hurons they had been instructing in the Christian faith, the two men refused to leave their charges despite the warnings of the Huron chief. When the Hurons were over whelmed and slaughtered by the Iroquois the Jesuits were tortured to death over a two day period.

March 17, 1780: Thomas Chalmers, pastor and reformer is born. In 1843, angered by the restrictions and controls imposed on the Scottish clergy by the state, Chalmers led a third of the Scottish clergy and a half of the laity out of the church of Scotland and into the Free Church of Scotland (FCS), which he helped to found.

March 18, 1861: London's Metropolitan Tabernacle, the sanctuary of English Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, opens. Spurgeon had insisted that the enormous building employ Greek architecture because the New Testament was written in Greek—a decision that influenced church architecture throughout the world.

March 19, 1229: After negotiating a treaty with Muslims for Christian access to Jerusalem, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (coerced into participating in the sixth crusade by the pope) enters the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and crowns himself king. Unfortunately his peace treaty was denounced by members of both faiths, and Frederick was later excommunicated for making peace instead of war. Go figure!

March 20, 1852: Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of famous Congregational minister Lyman Beecher, publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin (which had been serialized in an antislavery newspaper). The book sold one million copies and was so influential in arousing antislavery sentiment that Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said upon meeting Stowe in 1863: "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"

Simplicius and the Heretics

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:32:00 +0000

In the middle of the 5th century the Roman Empire had all but disintegrated. In the Western part of the empire Vandals, Visigoths, and Franks had replaced Roman power with puppet emperors, controlled by the aforementioned group, collectively referred to as barbarians. And as if that wasn't enough, Odovakar, a Herulian (one of the Teutonic tribes) had seized power in Rome.

It was in the midst of this turmoil that Simplicius, from Tripoli, was elected Bishop of Rome (Pope) to replace the recently deceased Pope Hilarius. (Go ahead, get it out of your system... Finished giggling? Good... let's continue.)

It is easy to understand why Simplicius was not looking forward to dealing with the political upheaval in the west, but as it turned out he need not have worried because, Odovakar treated the church with respect. This is not to say that Simplicius didn't have his headaches, he did, but they came from the Eastern Empire. The usurper, Basiliscus, drove Emperor Zeno from the throne. Needing Monophysite support, Basiliscus placed many heretics in key positions.

Monophysitism began as a response to Nestorianism. Nestorius, who was made Patriarch of Constantinople in 428, refused to call Mary Theotokos (Mother of God), because he believed the child in her womb was thoroughly human, declaring that His Divine Nature existed only before and after his incarnation. In direct opposition to this idea, Eutyches taught that Christ's human nature was dissolved in his divine nature "as a drop of honey dissolves in the ocean" and that this dissolution formed the one and only nature of Christ. This teaching was called Monophysitism (one nature) Each faction was, in their own way, attempting to preserve a part of the truth about Christ's person.

Eventually Pope Leo, called the Council of Chalcedon to resolve the issue, among others. The bishops decided that unless Christ is fully God, he cannot redeem us, and unless he is truly man, he cannot stand in our place. The bishops therefore issued a statement declaring, "We teach . . . one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation."

This declaration however, did Simplicius little good. In the 17 years since the Council of Chalcedon, the Monophystites hadn't gone anywhere. In fact their influence had grown, hence Basilicus' perceived need to placate them to hold power. To further demonstrate his support for the Monophysite position, the usurper ordered the acts of Chalcedon burnt, much to the pleasure of nearly 500 bishops. Simplicius found himself defending Bishop Acacius of Constantinople, the lone bishop who resisted the Monophysite error.

In Alexandria, Egypt, things were even worse. Not content with screaming at each other and making overt accusations about their parentage and sexual habits, (common elements of debate for the time) rivals in Alexandria tortured, murdered and assassinated each other. A Monophysite monk, known only as Timothy the Cat, butchered and roasted the patriarch of Alexandria three days before Easter, and triumphantly seized his office. In the early centuries of theological debate, agreeing to disagree simply wasn't an option.

That doesn't mean some didn't try. Emperor Zeno eventually regained his throne and defrocked the Monophysite bishops. However, Zeno had learned a valuable lesson about the political and even military power the Monophysites. So in an effort to arrange a compromise he issued the Henoticon (Act of Union) a document of faith that was worded vaguely enough to escape the charge of heresy while leaving the Monophysites sufficient latitude to retain their views.

But compromise was not possible. Simplicius' defense of the principles laid down at the Council of Chalcedon ensured that the orthodox view of Christ was retained in the West, and eventually accepted by many other factions of the church, including the Protestants. But the debate has never fully subsided; the Church of Ethiopia remains Monophysite to this day.

Simplicius was elected Pope on March 3, 468 - 1540 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. Pope St. Simplicius. J.P. Kirsch. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIV. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14002a.htm
2. Council of Chalcedon. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03555a.htm

Other events this week in church History.

March 1, 1854: Pioneer missionary Hudson Taylor arrives in Shanghai, China. Taylor would found the China Inland Mission in 1865, other missions criticized his idea that missionaries should live and dress like the people they seek to evangelize, but it would prove to be an important contributor to his success.

March 2, 1938: Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller, one of the founders of Germany's "Confessing Church," is sentenced to seven months in prison for opposing Hitler.

March 4, 1583: Bernard Gilpin, the English clergyman whose ministry in neglected sections of Northumberland and Yorkshire earned him the title "Apostle of the North," dies at age 66.

March 5, 1797: The three-masted ship Duff arrives in Tahiti's Matavai Bay, completing a 207-day voyage from London. The ship, commanded by Captain John Wilson, had aboard 37 artisans and pastors of the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.) and their families, who were to be resettled in the South Pacific on the islands of Tahiti, Tonga and the Marquesas.

March 6, 1475: Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, famous for his paintings (the Sistine Chapel), sculpture ("David"), and architecture (the rebuilding of St. Peter's Cathedral), is born in Caprese.

March 7, 1274: Thomas Aquinas, one of the most significant theologians of all time, dies at age 48. Known for his adaptation of Aristotle's writings to Christianity, he became famous for his massive Summa Theologiae (or "A summation of theological knowledge"). In its early pages, he stated, "In sacred theology, all things are treated from the standpoint of God." Thomas proceeded to distinguish between philosophy and theology and between reason and revelation, though he emphasized that these did not contradict each other. Both are fountains of knowledge; both come from God.

More than "Mere Learned Labour"

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:03:00 +0000

Did you know that the Bible used to contain an Epistle to the Laodiceans? Take a look at Colossians 4:16. "After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea." So.. why doesn't it appear in our canon of scripture? Well, it used to.

Up until the 15th century the epistle appeared in a number of manuscripts (hand written documents) including the oldest known copy, which is in Latin, as part of the Fulda MS created for Victor of Capua in 546. And therein lies the problem. Most scholars are of the opinion that unless we can find an older copy written in the original Greek, there is reason to doubt it's authenticity. You can read an annotated version of the epistle here.

This has been one of many standards used to authenticate manuscripts over the centuries. It is one of the reasons many epistles were not included in scripture. The main reason the epistle appeared in so many early Bibles, including all 18 German Bibles that preceded Martin Luther's, was because of the reference to it in Colossians, even though it failed one of the standards.

But in the early 15th century another longer epistle was discovered that also claimed to be from the Apostle Paul. It is a highly questionable version, only popular with New Age style cult groups and a few Kabbalah types but it was enough to add to the controversy over the other epistle. (If you care to you can read it here.) So in 1443, after the Council in Florence, the See of Rome issued, for the first time, a categorical opinion of the canon of scripture, listing 27 New Testament books, including 14 Pauline epistles ending with the book of Hebrews. The Epistle to the Laodiceans had been left out, and has been ever since.

This is the reason why the search for early Christian manuscripts continues even today. Every piece of evidence adds to our knowledge of the scriptures and aids in the process of clarifying the meaning of some of the more cryptic passages of scripture. I'd like to tell you the story of the discovery of one such document. It would turn out to be one of the most important finds in the history of how we got our Bible.

Constantin Tischendorf, a Bible scholar of the mid 19th century, was offended by scholars who denied the inspiration of the Bible. He was adamant in his belief that "the history of the early Church, as well as that of the sacred text, contains abundant arguments in reply to those who deny the credibility of the Gospel witness."

And so he began what would become his life's work, the search for old manuscripts so he could produce an edition of the Bible as close to the original text as possible. Operating on a shoestring budget, he set out in early 1844 and searched throughout Egypt, Sinai, Palestine, and the Middle East. Many in his circle failed to understand what drove the young man to undertake such a quest. He once wrote, "To some, all this may seem mere learned labor: but permit me to add that the science touches on life in two important respects; to mention only two--to clear up in this way the history of the sacred text, and to recover if possible the genuine apostolic text which is the foundation of our faith--these cannot be matters of small importance. The whole of Christendom is, in fact, deeply interested in these results."

That May found Constantin at the monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai. While there he saw a large basket filled with tattered parchments, which, it appeared were being used as fire starters, or at least being burned as rubbish. Constantin poked through the basket and was astounded by what he found there - 129 pages of the Old Testament in Greek! This would prove to be the oldest Biblical manuscript he had ever discovered -- dating from the 4th century!

Now it should be mentioned that many scholars find it hard to believe that a monastery preserving over 3,000 manuscripts, many for over a thousand years, would be so careless as to burn such important documents, and so called into question Tischendorf's account. However, it should also be noted that this same monastery allowed over 1100 other manuscripts to lie buried for 200 years under a collapsed building. Not a great testimony to the monks' concern or care of the treasures entrusted to them!

However the actual discovery was made, Constantin was allowed to keep 43 of the leaves which he took with him for others to examine. When he returned in 1853 it would seem that his previous visit had caused the monks to re-examine their manuscript protocols - they were no longer as forthcoming. He returned again in 1859 to much the same reception, but on the last day of his visit, a sympathetic steward showed him a rather bulky volume which contained not only the rest of the 129 leaves from his original visit, but a complete New Testament, including the Epistle of Barnabas and a part of what is called "the Pastor of Hermas."

This time Constantin managed to conceal the excitement that filled his heart and asked, in on off-handed manner, for permission to examine the manuscript in his sleeping quarters. There he spent much of the night copying out the Epistle of Barnabas. It was the only complete copy ever discovered. A few days later he managed to convince the monks to let him take the volume to Cairo where he and his associates managed to copy an astounding 110,000 lines of text in just a few days.

The manuscript never did make it back to the monastery at Sinai. The monks, in good faith, agreed to let the codex (denotes a book of parchment pages as opposed to a scroll) be taken to Russia to be replicated. They even forwarded a few additional pages that were discovered at a later date, never suspecting that Tischendorf would renege on his promise to return it and instead present it to the Tsar as a gift. When the monastery asked for it back, the Russians delayed and were evasive until the monks finally agreed to sell them the ancient text.

When Russia fell to the Communists in 1917 they had little interest in Biblical manuscripts. They realized though that others would pay good money for what had become known as the Codex Sinaiticus, so they sold it to the British Museum for £100,000.

Constantin Tischendorf, whose discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus, and other old manuscripts invaluable for checking the accuracy of current translations was born in Langenfeld, in what is now Germany, on January 18th, 1815 - 193 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. Codex Sinaiticus, British Library Website, Gallery of Asian and African Manuscripts
2. Christian History Institute. Glimpses # 55 "Treasure in a Trash Pile."
3. "Codex Sinaiticus." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus
4. Various Internet articles.

Other Events This Week in Church History:

January 14, 1892: Lutheran pastor and political activist Martin Niemoller, who was imprisoned by Hitler for his leadership role in the Confessing Church, is born.

January 15, 1697: Massachusetts citizens observe a day of fasting and repentance for the Salem witch trials of 1692, in which 19 suspected witches were hanged and more than 150 imprisoned. The day was declared "That so all of God's people may offer up fervent supplications unto him, that all iniquity may be put away, which hath stirred God's holy jealousy against this land; that he would show us what we know not, and help us, wherein we have done amiss, to do so no more."

January 16, 1604: Puritan John Rainolds suggests " . . . that there might bee a newe translation of the Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek." England's King James I granted his approval the following day, leading to the 1611 publication of the Authorized (King James) version of the Bible.

January 17, 356 (traditional date): Antony of Egypt, regarded as the founder of Christian monasticism, dies at age 105. Committed to a life of solitude and absolute poverty, he took two companions with him into the desert when he knew his death was near. They were ordered to bury him without a marker so that his body would never become an object of reverence.

January 19, 1563: The Heidelberg Catechism, soon accepted by nearly all European Reformed churches, is first published in Germany. This catechism, consisting of 129 questions and their answers, also formed the basis for many other catechisms including the Westminister Larger catechism.

January 20, 1918: Following the Bolshevik Revolution, all church property in Russia is confiscated and all religious instruction in schools abolished.

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Opposing the Unified Church

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:14:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! Well, the play is done (a great success - thank you for your support) and Christmas is packed away for another year. I guess it's time to get back to work. Let's see what's in the annals of tomorrow's history... the news!

Ah! It appears that Will Smith is angry that an interviewer from a Scottish newspaper has misinterpreted his comments about Hitler. Now the Jewish Defense League wants Will's head on a platter because they think Will thinks Hitler was "basically a good person."

Okay, even though I'm at a loss as to why he chose that particular example (citing Hitler in any context usually backfires) I do get his point. No one considered evil, throughout history, woke up in the morning and said to themselves, "What's the most evil thing I can do today?" That comic-book, Hollywood image of the evil-mastermind is just that... comic book. Even your garden variety psychopath fails to see the evil in their actions - their capacity to regard issues and events in terms of Good and Evil is impaired. As Smith put it "using a twisted, backwards logic, he (Hitler) set out to do what he thought was 'good'." (italics and bold mine) This doesn't mean Will Smith thinks Hitler was a good person! It means Will Smith thinks that Hitler was of the opinion he was doing what was best for Germany, which he was!

And history tells us that Hitler wasn't alone; many Germans were afraid the Communists would take over their country if not opposed by the Nazis. They hoped that Hitler would bring a spiritual renewal to germany because he talked about their history and traditions. That's right, a spiritual renewal! You see, included in that large number of Germans were many church members; Lutherans, Reformed and United. In fact, one Lutheran minister even said that Hitler's rise to power was a gift of mercy from God's hand.

A movement took fire to nationalize the church under a single bishop. It wasn't a new idea. Many in Europe , while still dedicated to the Reformation's ideals, lamented the fact that the church was divided. They desired to see Protestant churches united under a single banner, and in May of 1933, this was accomplished when the constitution of the Unified National Church was brought down, with delegates to the formation conference electing Ludwig Müller, a stanch member of the Nazi party, to be it's first Reichsbischof (“imperial bishop”). The churches constitution placed two significant restrictions on the clergy: (1) A clergyman must be politically reliable and (2) a clergyman must accept the superiority of the Aryan race. Hundreds of clergy accepted these demands.

A small group of church leaders did not, insisting that the church must obey Christ alone, free from political influence. Under the leadership of one Martin Niemoeller (pictured), they quickly formed the Pastors Emergency League (PEL) and sent out a letter to all German church leaders inviting them to join in their opposition to the Unified National Church. In a number of letters Niemoeller asked the countries Christian leaders to pledge themselves to the supremacy of the Holy Scriptures and to the old confessions of faith. He openly declared the 'cult of Aryan-ism', with its claim of racial superiority, to be in direct violation of Reformed and Christian teaching. Among those who answered Niemoeller's call were two men whose names loom large in the annals of church history and theology - Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Barth was already world famous for a commentary he wrote on the New Testament book of Romans. ('World-famous' for writing a commentary - imagine.) In late 1933 he wrote two significant papers: a refutation of Unified Church doctrines, and 'Fundamentals' which opposed the teachings of the so-called German Christians, an organized collection of Nazi-supporting theologians and scholars who formed the bulk of the delegates to the conference that established the Unified National Church. In these publications Barth demonstrated the errors that existed in Unified theology and pointed out that the basis for most of their wrong-headed thinking was the assertion being Aryan equated with being Christian, and that German history and politics were equal in importance to the weight of Scripture. So complete were Barth's arguments that shortly after they were published many of the pastors that originally signed on to the Unified Church resigned and joined the PEL.

This of course did not sit well with the Reich-bishop. As Barth, Bonhoeffer, and Niemoeller continued to point out the errors of the Nazis on the spiritual level, and the debate between the two sides increased, there was a real fear that people would start to question other Nazi policies as well. So in January of 1934, Müller issued a decree which, on the surface, sounded like reasonable advice. The decree stated that in order to restore order to the German Evangelical Church, clergy were instructed to preach only "the pure gospel" from their pulpits on Sundays, and to avoid discussion of politics and other "matters of controversy." The decree soon became known as "The Muzzling Order." The Unified Church's purpose was revealed, to give the government control of the church in Germany.

Meanwhile, on that very same day, in Barmen, three hundred and twenty elders and ministers were gathered, calling themselves the First Free Reformed Synod. They accepted Karl Barth's "Declaration on the Correct Understanding of the Reformation Confessions in the Evangelical Church" and openly declared that "faithful ministers" could not refuse to preach in the realm of politics "when politics violated the deepest principles of faith." After more meetings, in the spring of 1934, the 'dissidents' formed the Bekennende Kirche, the Confessing Church, a coalition of Lutheran, Reformed and United ministers. Taking their name from the Church's great historical Confessions of Faith, they regarded themselves the "legal Protestant church of Germany" and issued the Barmen Declaration, a copy of which Barth mailed to Hitler directly, rejecting the errors of the Nazi-controlled Unified Church.

The Nazis launched a major campaign of persecution against the Confessing Church. As the wave of enthusiasm for the Aryan Nation swept over Germany, the Confessing Church soon stood all but alone against the Nazi lies during the terrible years of the Third Reich. As is often the case the leaders of the group paid a high price for their boldness. Niemoeller went to prison. Bonhoeffer was hanged. Barth managed to return to his native Switzerland where he drew the world's attention to the spiritual struggle in Germany.

The day on which both "The Muzzling Order" was issued, and the First Free Reformed Synod was held, leading to the formation of the Confessing Church, was January 4th, 1934 - 73 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. "Confessing Church." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9025825>.
2. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer", Christian History and Biography, Issue 32, Electronic Edition CD-ROM
3. Various Internet articles.
4. Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

Other Events this week in Church History:

January 1, 1863: American President Abraham Lincoln frees all slaves in Confederate states by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Churches throughout the North held candlelight vigils commemorating the event.

January 2, 1921: Pittsburgh radio station KDKA broadcasts the first religious program over the airwaves: a vesper service of Calvary Episcopal Church. The senior pastor, unimpressed by the landmark broadcast, didn't even participate in the service, leaving his junior associate to conduct it. (This Blog - article )

January 3, 1840: Joseph de Veuster, who, as Roman Catholic Missionary Father Damien gave his life ministering to lepers in Hawaii, is born in Tremelo, Belgium.

January 5, 1066: Edward the Confessor, the only English king ever canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, dies. Builder of Westminster Abbey, he was buried there January 6.

January 6, 548: The Jerusalem church observes Christmas on this date for the last time as the Western church moves to celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25.

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The Centurion and the Stenographer

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:10:00 +0000

One of my favorite movies over the last few years is Gladiator with Russel Crowe. For those unfamiliar with it, it is the story of a Roman General who finds himself stripped of his rank, his family murdered, sold into slavery as a gladiator in the games all because he stands in opposition to a cruel and unworthy emperor. It calls to mind another member of Rome's military, this one a centurion, who also took a stand against his emperor; and the integrity of a very uncommon man who stood with him.

We're not sure when he was born, but there is good reason to believe that Marcellus was born in Arzas in the province of Galicia in what is now northern Spain. Hoping to gain a large fortune and Roman citizenship, he entered into the military life. He proved able at his chosen career, rising in the ranks to centurion (officer over a hundred men), serving as a captain in the legion of Trajan. He married a young woman named Nona and she bore him twelve children. His rank and income would have allowed him to own a small farm which would have sustained his family while he was off on a campaign - of which there were many.

It was on one such campaign in North Africa that the birthday of Emperor Maximian Herculeus came about in the year 298. It was the tradition in those days for members of the military to celebrate the emperor's birthday with extraordinary feasting and solemn religious rites that included the offering of sacrifices to various gods, particularly those deemed to be favorites of the emperor himself.

This left Marcellus with a decision to make, because a few months earlier he had heard the preaching of a holy bishop from the church of Leon, the region of Mauritania (Spain) where his wife was from and where his family now lived. His heart was stirred and his entire family had converted to Christianity. The teachings of the church, of course, led him to the belief that the emperor was no god, or even a friend of the gods, but rather a mere man. He could not bring himself to enter into the celebrations as he once did. Neither could he stay silent.

Without warning, he stood and in front of all his men, he removed his military Phalerae (belt of honors) and threw it down. "I serve Jesus Christ the Eternal King," he is reported to have said loudly. He then threw down his vine-switch, a short length of polished vine branch, that was the symbol of his authority over his troops, sort of a poor man's scepter.

"Henceforward I cease to serve your Emperors, and I scorn to worship your gods of wood and stone, which are deaf and dumb idols. If such be the terms of service that men are forced to offer sacrifice to gods and Emperors, behold I cast away my vine-switch and phalerae, I renounce the standards, and refuse to serve." The words struck those listening like a fist.

To their ears Marcellus had committed treason, insubordination, treachery and blasphemy. There was no greater insult than to cast down the emblems of his rank and command. (The Phalerae with its medallions depicting the emperor and his heirs is pictured in a period costume at right. The vine-switch is in the actor's left hand.) They seized their now 'former' commander and brought him before the local governor Anastasius Fortunatus. He was ordered thrown into prison until the celebrations were complete.

When that time came Marcellus was brought before the governor again. "What did you mean by removing your military gear in violation of military discipline and throwing away your phalerae and vine-switch?"

Marcellus did not hesitate in his reply, "...I made answer openly and in a loud voice that I was a Christian and that I could not serve under this allegiance, but only under the allegiance of Jesus Christ the Son of God the Father Almighty."

Roman law did not allow Fortunatus the option of ignoring the insubordinate conduct. He was required to report the matter to higher authorities. The judge had hoped to lay his case before Maximian and Constantius, the latter of which was known to be friendly toward Christians. However, Marcellus was taken to the deputy Praetorian prefect Aurelius Agricolan instead. When Agricolan had heard the evidence he asked, "What madness possessed you to cast away the signs of your allegiance, and to speak as you did?"

Marcellus answered, "There is no madness in those who fear the Lord."

After more arguments and a series of threats that seeming fell on Marcellus' deaf ears, Agricolan dictated this verdict: "Marcellus, who held the rank of centurion of the first class, having admitted that he has degraded himself by openly throwing off his allegiance, and having besides put on record, as appears in the official report of the governor, other insane expressions, it is our pleasure that he be put to death by the sword."

You may wonder how it is we know the details of his testimony? Well, even back then there were court stenographers whose job it was to record all that was said, so it could be proven to the families of the condemned that everything was on the up and up. According to an appendix attached to Marcellus' court records, the stenographer at his trial was a man by the name of Cassian. I know, given the title of this article you were hoping for something a little juicier - shame on you. Don't bail on me though; this is where it gets interesting!

You see, to Cassian the verdict seemed criminally unfair. So much so that he threw down his pen, and with an exclamation apparently not suitable to be included in the records, refused to write another word. Agricolan ordered him thrown into prison, too. Marcellus' sentence was carried out later that day, October 30, 298. Cassian was held until he could face his own trial.

The Christian centurion's children followed their father's example; all lost their lives for the defense of the Gospel. Three of the boys were hanged and then decapitated at Leon. Their mother bought back their bodies for money and buried them secretly; they were later transferred to a church built in their honor in the city of Leon.

As for Cassian, his trial came about a month later. He refused to recant his criticism of Marcellus' sentence and openly declared that he too was a Christian. He was also sentenced to death, and was beheaded for his faith on December 3, 298 - 1,709 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. St. Marcellus the Centurion, Internet scared Text Archive, <http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots336.htm>
2. Marcellus and Cassian, Christian History Institute, <http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2002/12/daily-12-03-2002.shtml>
3. Photo credit: Roman Army Reenactment, Centurion page, <http://www.legionxxiv.org/centurionpage/>

Other events this week in church history:

December 4, 1093: Anselm, called "the founder of Scholasticism" and the greatest scholar between Augustine and Aquinas, is consecrated archbishop of Canterbury.

December 5, 1484: Pope Innocent VIII issues a bull giving two German inquisitors jurisdiction over prosecuting witchcraft. Though the pope didn't intend for it to be anything major, the Germans used it to promote their book, Hammer of Witches. Its publication led to the fervent, but often exaggerated witch hunts of the next two centuries.

December 6, 345 (traditional date): Don't let the little kids find out, they might misunderstand, but St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, one of the most popular saints in the Greek and Latin churches—and believed by many to be the original Santa Claus — dies on this date.

December 7, 521: Irish monk Columba, missionary to Scotland and founder of Iona and many other monastic communities, is born in Donegal.

December 8, 1934: American missionaries John and Betty Stam are beheaded by Chinese communists. The couple had met while attending Moody Bible Institute and married just the year before their deaths. Publication of their biography prompted hundreds to volunteer for missionary service.

December 9, 1843: The first Christmas cards—actually more like postcards—are created and sold for a shilling. (A shilling from the mid 1800s had about the same purchasing power as $8 CDN today. Courtesy Measuring Worth.com )

Shoeless John de Yepes

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:19:00 +0000

Recently, my pastor was preaching about the long dry periods we sometimes experience in our spiritual lives. He, of course, mentioned the 'dark night of the soul", a common reference for this subject and referred to by a few of the more famous in the Christian world who have experienced it, such as Mother Theresa. As he spoke (you can hear what he had to say here ) I could not help but think about the life of John de Yepes, the Christian mystic and poet who coined the phrase. Let me tell you a little about him.

The de Yepes family was not a wealthy Spanish family. They might have been except that John's father Gonzalo had chosen to marry the common woman he loved, Catalina, instead of someone his noble father might have chosen for him. As a result he was disinherited and the young couple found themselves struggling to survive as silk weavers. Gonzalo passed away soon after John was born in 1542, leaving Catalina to struggle even harder to raise her boys. In an effort to find work she moved to Medina de Campo.

Though John studied well at the "poor school" he attended, when he was apprenticed out to a local artisan, it seemed he was incapable of learning anything. Exasperated, his master loaned him out to a Jesuit school where John divided his time between his studies and serving in the hospital for the impoverished. Over the next seven years John felt the call of God grow ever stronger upon him, but not just any call. John was convinced that he was to become a friar in the strictest traditions of the old desert fathers. John felt that 'modern' orders had grown soft allowing themselves far too many of life's pleasures - like shoes.

No... I'm not kidding! John joined the Carmelite order in 1563 taking the name John of St. Mathias. The order had historically been very strict, taking their example from the prophet Elijah. John felt that by embracing poverty and going without food, he would grow closer to God. But he soon decided the Carmelites were not strict enough and made the decision to transfer his allegiance to the Carthusians. Then he met Teresa of Avila.

Like John himself, Teresa felt the order had grown far too soft; however, instead of leaving she was urging Carmelites to return to the original strict poverty of their order. John embraced Teresa's plan, and along with two other men, he moved into a farmhouse which was in such bad shape that even Teresa did not think anyone could live in it. He renamed himself John of the Cross and became the spiritual leader of the new movement.

As a symbol of the strictness of their devotion they adopted the "discalced" discipline (from the Latin for without shoes). This discipline requires it's followers to go unshod, that is barefoot, as a testament to their devotion. The practice was introduced by Francis of Assisi when shoes were considered a luxury item. The followers of the discipline, devoted to a life of poverty either eschewed shoes entirely or limited themselves to simple sandals when conditions warranted - such as in winter.

Sometime later, Teresa invited John to come to Avila and serve as director and confessor to the convent of the Incarnation, of which she had been appointed prioress. During the five years he remained there the reform spread rapidly, and soon those in higher authority began to take a great deal of notice.

Because the movement did not have the official sanction of the powers that be, John was ordered to return to the house of his profession, that is the monastery on Medina. He refused to do so, and soon found himself in prison for resisting commands from a superior. In prison, he was scourged. But after nine months, he managed to escape and reappeared as leader of another community at Ubeda. He spent the rest of his life there, passing away on December 14, 1591.

While in prison, John began writing "Dark Night of the Soul", a commentary on a poem he had written.

On a dark night, kindled in love with yearnings--oh, happy chance!--
I went forth without being observed, my house being now at rest.
In darkness and secure...
Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart.
This light guided me more surely than the light of noonday...
Oh, night that guided me, oh, night more lovely than the dawn...

The poem, called "The Ascent of Mount Carmel" (where Elijah met the priests of Baal) was extensive, originally intended to take up four books; but it breaks off part way through the third. In it and his other writings he sets forth the axiom that the soul must empty itself of self in order to be filled with God, that it must be purified of the last traces of earthly dross before it is fit to become united with God. In the application of this simple maxim he shows the most uncompromising logic. For this reason St. John is often portrayed as a fairly grim character; but personally I've never thought that to be true. He was indeed austere in the extreme, but from his writings I see in him a man overflowing with charity and kindness, a poet deeply influenced by all that is beautiful in God's creation.

John of the Cross moved into that dilapidated farm house, giving birth to the Discalced Carmelite Order on November 28th, 1568 - 439 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. St John of the cross, Benedict Zimmerman. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. Published 1910. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08480a.htm >
2. Carmelite Order Official Website: Our Saints - St. John of the Cross <http://www.carmelite.com/saints/john/index.shtml >
3: Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

Other events that happened this week in Church history:

November 26, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln meets Harriet Beecher Stowe, the abolitionist author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and daughter of prominent minister Lyman Beecher. "So," Lincoln said upon meeting her, "you're the little woman that wrote the book that made this great war!"

November 27, 1095: In an effort to end hostilities between waring factions within the church by giving them a common enemy, Pope Urban II addresses the public to proclaim the First Crusade. The goals were to defend Eastern Christians from Muslim aggression, make pilgrimages to Jerusalem safer, and recapture the Holy Sepulcher. "God wills it! God wills it!" the crowd shouted in response.

November 29, 1847: Missionary physician Marcus Whitman, his wife, and 12 others are killed by Cayuse Indians in Washington's Walla Walla valley. Whitman had recently returned from a 3,000-mile journey to convince the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions not to close down one of his three mission stations. He was successful, and returned with a fresh group of immigrants—and the measles virus. Many Cayuse died of the disease, some of them because Whitman gave them vaccinations. Two years after the massacre, five Cayuse elders voluntarily gave themselves up, in order to end further retribution against their tribe. Their leader, Tiloukaikt, said on the gallows, "Did not your missionaries teach us that Christ died to save his people? So we die to save our people."

November 30, 1554: Recently crowned Queen of England, Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII, restores Roman Catholicism to the country. Nearly 300 Protestants would be burned at the stake by "Bloody Mary," including Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, and Nicholas Ridley. Nearly 400 more died by imprisonment and starvation.

December 1, 1170: Banished earlier by king Henry II because he sided with the church against the crown, archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a Becket returns, electrifying all of England. Henry orders his former friend's execution, and Becket is slain by four knights while at vespers December 29. (T.S. Eliot's play Murder in the Cathedral is a fascinating exploration of the event.)

December 2, 1980: Three American nuns and a lay churchwoman are killed by death squads in El Salvador. Some 70,000 Salvadorans are estimated to have died because of terrorists or civil war during the 1980s, including many Catholic clergy.

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Archbishop of Oregon Came From Quebec

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 04:12:00 +0000

When Francois Norbert Blanchet was growing up on his parents farm in rural 19th century Quebec, I wonder if he ever dreamed he would one day travel to almost every corner of the world!

Born in September of 1795, near Saint-Pierre, Francois attended the village school for only three years before he and his brother Augustin were packed off to the Seminary of Quebec in 1810. He was ordained a priest 9 years later, and after serving in the cathedral for a year was sent to Richibucto, New Brunswick, as pastor of the Micmac Indians and Acadian settlers. The novice priest had to learn both the native languages and English in order to serve his diverse flock - which also included a small community of Irish settlers. He spent the next seven years traveling by canoe, dog sled, horse, and snow-shoe, enduring poverty, isolation, and innumerable hardships. He risked his own health tending the sick when a cholera epidemic struck the region.

In 1837 he was recalled to Montreal by Archbishop Signay and appointed vicar-general for the Oregon mission, a vast territory never before visited by a priest, that embraced over 375,000 square miles ranging from California all the way North to Alaska, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Blanchet set out from Lachine, Quebec on 3 May, 1838, traveling with the annual express of the Hudson's Bay Company, bound for Fort Vancouver. Their journey covered a distance of about 5,000 miles, and employed canoes, portages, barges, horses and mules (with and without wagons), and small boats. In Red River, they were joined by Father Modeste Demers, who would assist Father Blanchet in his duties. They spent nine days crossing the Rocky Mountains, on the summit of which, at three o'clock in the morning of October 16th, Father Blanchet celebrated Mass. They arrived at Fort Vancouver almost 40 days later.

As he had in New Brunswick, Blanchet took to his duties with a zeal and determination that won the respect and admiration of the majority of the locals. Demers was no slouch either. Over the next four years, working virtually on their own, the two men managed a monumental workload, riding from settlement to settlement, winning new converts and calling lapsed Catholics back to the faith. They established their first mission the year they arrived, the second in 1840, just north of the Columbia River in the disputed territory. Unlike New Brunswick, where his efforts had won Blanchet the thanks and gratitude of even the Protestant population, their success in the west led to bitter charges by angry Methodist missionaries. In 1842 the workload eased some as he was finally joined by two other priests from Canada, the great missionary, Father De Smet, with four other Jesuit priests, three lay brothers, and six Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

In August, 1844, he received letters from Rome confirming his appointment as the regions first bishop. To be consecrated he needed to return to Montreal; however, because it would be several months before the Hudson Bay's next trip east, on December 5th Blanchet boarded a steamer on the Columbia River, which docked at Honolulu, doubled* Cape Horn, finally landing at Dover, England. From there he went by rail to Liverpool, booked passage on a vessel to Boston and once again boarded a train which took him to Montreal, a journey of 22,000 miles.

He was consecrated in the same cathedral, where he had served his first year, on July 25th, 1845. He soon began the voyage back to the Oregon mission by way of Europe, visiting Rome, France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria serving the interests of his diocese. On the way he gathered additional workers, including six priests, four Jesuits, three lay brothers, and seven Sisters of Notre Dame. They sailed from Brest, France in February, 1847, and reached the Columbia River in August. The region was elevated to a province on July 1st, 1846 and Bishop Blanchet was made Archbishop of Oregon City; his brother became Bishop of Walla Walla, and Father Demers Bishop of Vancouver Island.

Arch-Bishop Francois Blanchet was no less zealous about his new office than any of his previous incarnations. The list of his activities would take some time to list; numerous councils, consecration of bishops, a book about his adventures in the fledgling Northwest, and a two-year trip to South America and, after the Jubilee Anniversary (50th) of his ordination, a trip back across Canada from Vancouver to Montreal, this time by the luxury of a steam-powered train.

From humble beginnings on a farm in very rural Quebec, this Canadian blazed a trail through largely uncharted territory to become one of the most significant names in the history of North American Christianity. That fateful day, when he and Demers first arrived at Fort Vancouver, was November 24th, 1838 - 169 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. Francois Norbert Blanchet, Written by L.W. Reilley. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume II. Published 1907. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02593a.htm >
2. November 24, 1838 • Blanchet and Demers Arrived in Oregon ©2007, Christian History Institute, <http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2002/11/daily-11-24-2002.shtml >

* Most people think Cape Horn is this jagged peninsula that juts out from the tip of South America. It isn't; it's actually the southern most island in an archipelago off the tip of the continent. Getting a square-rigged sailing ship around the tip of the continent involved finding a way through this group of islands as best one could given the weather and prevailing winds. Thus the goal was not "rounding" the Horn, but "doubling" it—in other words, sailing from 50 degrees south in one ocean to 50 degrees south in the other. Only then, hundreds of miles north of Cape Horn, could a ship be considered safely around.

Other events in Church history this week:

November 19, 1861: At the suggestion of her minister, abolitionist poetess Julia Ward Howe wrote "some good words to that tune" of the popular song "John Brown's Body." In February, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was published in the Atlantic Monthly and soon became exactly that.

November 20, 1541: In Switzerland, French reformer John Calvin, 32, established a theocratic government at Geneva, thereby creating a home base for emergent Protestantism throughout Europe.

November 21, 1638: A General Assembly at Glasgow abolishes the episcopal form of church government and establishes Presbyterianism, creating the Church of Scotland.

November 22, 1963: British scholar and author C.S. Lewis dies. Because of the popularity of his Narnia series of novels the world might have taken more notice of his passing, were it not for the fact that American President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this very same day.

November 23, 1654: French scientist and mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal experiences a mystical vision and converts to Christianity. The creator of the first wristwatch, the first bus route, the first workable calculating machine, and the creator of Pascal's law, which formed the basis for modern hydraulic operations, then turned his life to the examination of theology. In 1657 Pascal published his Provincial Letters which criticized the moral teaching of the Jesuits, the rationalism of Descartes, and Montaigne's skepticism; and which urged a return to Augustine's doctrines of grace. (Additional note: The computer language PASCAL is named in his honour.)

November 25, 2348 BC: According to Anglican Archbishop James Ussher's Old Testament chronology, Noah's flood began on this date.

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Kings Were His Pall Bearers

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 04:48:00 +0000

The legend of Robin Hood shows King Richard the Lion-heart and his brother John struggling over who should rule England. But while the story of the Thief of Sherwood is indeed fiction, the reality is there was a bit of a thorn in the side of these two members of the 12th century royal family. His name was Hugh of Lincoln.

Born to a knightly family in the Burgundy region Hugh Avalon's life changed dramatically due to his mother's death when he was somewhere between 8 and 10 years old (accounts vary). His mother was the shining light of his Father's existence. When she died he was so overcome with grief he abandoned his castle and took up life in a nearby monastery, taking young Hugh with him. When asked why, he responded, "I will have him taught to carry on warfare for God before he learns to live for the world."

After his father's death, he joined a The Carthusian Order, a community of hermits in the Chartreuse Mountains, living in a cave in strict silence on one loaf of bread a week and wearing a hair shirt. Like many hermits he became more enamored of the wildlife that occupied the forests around his cave than his fellow human beings. After ten years of strict devotion he was promoted to the office of procurator of the Great Chartreuse, head monastrey of the order, a post second only to that of the prior of the house (the order has no abbeys, hence no abbots). He likely would have been made prior when the time came, but God had other plans for Hugh.

Across the channel in England, harsh words against Thomas Becket by King Henry II inspired four of his knights to assassinate the Archbishop. Henry, appalled at his own actions, swore to build three abbeys as penance. In true kingly style he confiscated peasant land to build one of the abbeys at Witham, near Somerset. Those set in charge of the abbey however, had difficulty making it work. Since that particular abbey was the first Carthusian abbey, Henry turned to Chartreuse for help. The prior knew just the man to go to England and resolve the situation - Hugh of Avalon.

At first Hugh resisted, but his devotion to the order wouldn't let him do so for long. At his prior's insistence, he left for England. He was astonished to discover that Witham had not been paid for. Holding Christ's example before the king he made it plain that he would have nothing to do with the site until the peasants who had owned the land were fully compensated. Henry, knowing the monk's reputation for unassailable integrity, paid "to the last penny."

Even though Hugh became a trusted advisor to the king, he never lost his humility. In the royal courts he dressed as simply as he had as a monk. He won the love of the poor, of children, and of lepers. Always a friend to the oppressed, he often tended to lepers and even risked his own life to prevent the slaying of a group of Jews during a riot. Never afraid of hard work, no task was beneath him. Lincoln cathedral had been damaged in an earthquake the year before Hugh became bishop. Hugh founded the present building, and worked on it with his own hands.

Hugh lived up to the expectations of his superiors. During the ten years he was prior at Witham numerous difficulties vanished almost as soon as they appeared. In 1186, again with much resistance, he was made Bishop of Lincoln. Any hope of someday retiring to the religious calm of his beloved Carthusian cell disappeared with this appointment. True to his character, he brought all his determination and untiring energy to the duties of his new station. He travelled endlessly: holding synods and visitations, confirming children, consecrating churches and burying the dead. His sense of justice was legendary and three popes, as well as the King, made him judge over some of the most important legal cases of the time. He even excommunicated the king's own forester who had oppressed the poor. At first Henry was angry, but in the end saw justice and had the man flogged.

Hugh also wrestled with Richard Lionheart, refusing to raise money for his wars. Unable to persuade the determined monk, Richard said, "If all bishops were like my lord of Lincoln, not a prince among us could raise his head against them." Hugh also took Richard's brother, King John to task on a number of occasions, but John simply ignored him.

It should be mentioned that Hugh never lost his love of or affinity for nature. On the day of his installation at Lincoln, a swan took to following Hugh around the grounds, it soon became a beloved pet and even today when you see icons or paintings of St. Hugh, he will be accompanied by the swan. It is even said that after his death, in the year following that of King Richard, the bird pined for him the way swans are known to pine for a lost mate.

And the swan wasn't the only one. Though King John rarely followed Hugh's advice it did not mean John had no respect for the Bishop of Lincoln. Both remain royal brothers, King John of England and King William of Scotland, considered it an honor to be numbered among those carrying his coffin. Thus Hugh of Lincoln's pall bearers included two kings, and three archbishops, nine other bishops were also in attendance. St. Hugh was canonized by the Pope Honorius Ill, in 1220; and in 1280 his body was translated, with great ceremony, into the newly-built eastern part of the Lincoln Cathedral - the so-called "Angel Choir."

St. Hugh of Lincoln's funeral took place on November 16, 1200 - 807 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. Britannia Biographies: St. Hugh of Lincoln. <http://www.britannia.com/bios/bishops/havalon.html >
2. The Catholic Encyclopedia, St. hugh of Lincoln, Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07519c.htm >
3. Photo Credit: The Grand Chartreuse: Official website of the Carthusian Order <http://www.chartreux.org/maisons/GC/photos.php?langue=en>

Other events this week in Church history:

November 12, 1660: John Bunyan is arrested for unlicensed preaching and sentenced to prison. While incarcerated, he penned Pilgrim's Progess and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, the greatest Puritan spiritual autobiography.

November 13, 1618: The Dutch Reformed Church convenes the Synod of Dort to "discuss" the Arminian controversy. Of course, the synod's condemnation of Arminianism was a forgone conclusion—Arminians weren't even invited for another month. By April, 200 Arminian ministers (known as Remonstrants) were deposed by the Calvinist Synod, 15 were arrested, and one was beheaded for high treason.

November 14, 1976: The Plains (Ga.) Baptist Church, where then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter was a member, votes to permit blacks to attend.

November 15, 1885: Mwanga, ruler of Buganda (now part of Uganda), beheads recent Anglican convert and royal family member Joseph Mukasa. Mukasa opposed the massacring of Anglican missionary bishop James Hannington and his colleagues in October. The bloodbath continued through January 1887 as the ruler killed Mukasa's Christian pages and other Anglican and Catholic leaders. Collectively, the martyrs of Uganda were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

November 17, 270 (traditional date): Gregory Thaumaturgus ("The Wonder Worker"), a well-loved bishop in Pontus and the author of the first Christian biography (on Origen) dies. A legend, from a generation later, about the Virgin Mary visiting him is the first account of an apparition of Mary.

November 18, 1874: The Women's Christian Temperance Union is founded in Cleveland. Claiming the power of the Holy Spirit, Protestant members would march into saloons and demand they be closed. It was the largest temperance organization and the largest women's organization in the U.S. before 1900.

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History of World Religions

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:31:00 +0000

An American Joseph?

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:35:00 +0000

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the story of Joseph, the Hebrew slave who, by his faithfulness to God, rose to become the most powerful man in the kingdom of Egypt. By his obedience, the people of God were preserved setting the stage for the creation of the nation of Israel. I'd like to tell you about another slave, who from humble beginnings, also rose to prominence because of his devotion to the same God that Joseph honoured.

Lott Carey was born into a slave family around 1780 on an estate located about 30 miles south of Richmond, Virginia. We know very little about his childhood, as the lives of slaves were not something their masters recorded, only their value and productivity. We do know that while his parents were illiterate, Lott's father was a respected member of the Baptist Church. And his mother, while not known to frequent any particular denomination, was regarded as a Godly woman.

Lott's recorded history begins about the age of 24, when as was often the custom, he was hired out by his owner, William A. Christian, to the Shockhoe tobacco warehouse in Richmond. Removed from the Christian influence of his father, he was soon given to drunkenness and profanity. However, the Lord obviously was watching over the young man as he came under the influence of one John Courtney, and in 1807 Carey converted and joined the Baptist church in Richmond.

The change in Lott was remarkable. He went from being an unreliable drunk, to a hard worker who could be left to his own devices without supervision. On hearing his pastor preach on the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, Carey became so intrigued by the story he determined to learn to read the passage for himself; it was not long afterward he learned to write and do fundamental arithmetic as well.

As time passed his efficiency, faithfulness and literacy earned him a promotion to shipping clerk in the tobacco warehouse. It became commonplace for merchants to tip him a five dollar note, a substantial amount for the day. In addition the owners of the warehouse allowed him to exercise his entrepreneurial spirit by letting him gather and process what was regarded as "waste" tobacco and sell it to his own customers. In this was Lott was able to amass a sum of $850 which he used to buy the freedom of himself and his two children. (His wife had died from illness a few years earlier.)

Carey continued to work at Shockhoe, only now, he got to keep his $800 annual wages instead of turning them over to his owner. He bought a house and was able to afford to educate his children. His value to the company and the community continued to grow. So much so that when he and a friend, Collin Teage (another free black), decided God was calling them to enter the mission field, the tobacco company offered him a raise of $200 a year to stay. He respectfully declined the offer.

In the early 1800's the U.S. government, in cooperation with the American Colonization Society founded the colony of Liberia. The idea was to provide a place for freed slaves who wished to return to Africa to settle and begin a new life. It was to this place that Carey and Teage wished to take the gospel message. They did so with the help of William Crane from New Jersey who assisted Lott in organizing a society to collect funds for mission work in Africa.

In 1822 Lott moved to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, about the same time as Jehudi Ashmun, a white man, who served as the colony's de facto governor. Ashmun was glad to see the two missionaries arrive and granted them permission to establish Providence Baptist Church--the first church in Liberia. Lott preached several times a week and gave religious instruction to native children, using his own money to maintain a charity school. He also established a school at Big Town in the Cape Mount region despite Muslim protests.

He also helped immigrants, mostly freed slaves from the U.S., to establish small farms where they could raise food for themselves. Determined to use the funds provided by the society back in the States for the mission work they were doing, he learned the coopers trade (barrel making) and used the income from this business to support himself. Things started out quite well.

About a year after the colony was founded the citizens of the colony had complaints about the manner in which land was being distributed. A resistance movement rose up against the colonial agent, Jehudi Ashmun, and instead of promoting calm and negotiation as Ashmun had hoped, Carey sided with the resistance. The U.S. sent an armed vessel to deal with the situation in the summer of 1824. After investigation, Jehudi Ashmun was kept on as the colonial agent; the Colonization Society withdrew Lott's license to preach. I know this sounds a little strange to us, but at this point in history every preacher had to be licensed to preach by a governing body almost everywhere in the world.

You might think that this was the end of Carey's involvement in the colony, but such was not the case. Even though he could no longer occupy the pulpit, he still proved his worth. Letters written by Ashmun to his contacts back in the U.S. indicate that he fully understood why Carey would take the stand he did. They also indicate that the colonial agent considered Lott Carey an invaluable resource. Which is why he and Lott quickly reconciled and got back to the task of making the colony work.

He made Carey his vice-agent, and assigned him the task of readying a local militia to protect the colony from the surrounding tribes and the Spanish slave-traders who objected to the existence of a free black anything. On one occasion, when a slave ship attempted to trade for food and water under the guise of a wheat ship, Carey fired a well placed cannon shot across the ships bow and gave its captain one hour to get out of the range of his guns. The captain did.

Carey proved himself to be something of a polymath, that is a person who succeeds at a number of divergent endeavours. Already proving himself to be an able businessman, preacher and administrator, he now took on the challenge of being a doctor.

When the ship Cyrus arrived from the U.S. with one hundred and five emigrants, seemingly in good health, and within four weeks, all were smitten with an unknown disease, Lott Carey stepped up. The colony did not have a permanent physician of its own. Wrote one observer, "in this deplorable state of things, the only individual who could act the part of a physician, was Lott Cary, whose skill resulted entirely from his good sense, observation, and experience. He had gained much knowledge of the human frame and of medicine, from scientific practitioners, who had, at various times, visited the colony. His attentions were rendered successful in the restoration of almost the whole number."

In 1828 Jehudi Ashmun returned to America, leaving Liberia's management in Lott's hands. Ashmun urged Lott to become the permanent agent for the colony. But before Lott could do so, he was mortally wounded in a munitions explosion, while preparing to undertake an expedition to rescue one of the outlying settlements from raids by hostile Muslims. He died two days later.

On hearing of Lott Carey's death, Jehudi returned to the colony and continued to govern it until his death in 1841. At this point Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the colony's first black governor took over. Liberia declared its independence from the United States in 1847. The American government officially recognized the new African Republic in 1862.

The munitions explosion that ended the life of Lott Carey, a man born a slave who rose to the second highest position in what would become a free and democratic republic, happened on November 10th, 1828 - 179 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. Taylor, James B. Biography of Elder Lott Cary, Late Missionary to Africa. With an Appendix on the Subject of Colonization, by J.H.B. Latrobe, #p92. <http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/taylor/taylor.html >
2. "Liberia." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 7 Nov. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-214453>.
3. Photo credit: <http://www.lottcarey.org/history.html>

Other events this week in Church History:

November 5, 1605: Guy Fawkes who, with a number of others, sought to destroy the government of Britain by planting explosives in the basement of the House of Lords, is discovered and arrested before the plan can be carried out. A Catholic, Fawkes and his co-conspirators felt the Protestant domination of politics spelt the end of a free Britian. They hoped that by destroying parliament on the day of the throne Speech, they would send the nation into sufficient disarray that a Catholic coup might succeed.

November 6, 1935: American revivalist Billy Sunday, a baseball player who became one of America's most famous evangelists before Billy Graham, dies at age 73. More than 100 million people heard him speak at his evangelistic crusades, and about 300,000 of them became Christians.

November 7, 1837: Presbyterian minister and abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy is murdered in Alton, Illinois. A newspaper editor whose press was destroyed by vandals three times, he was accused of inciting slaves to revolt when he defended a black man burned at the stake by a mob. When another mob tried to burn down his warehouse, Lovejoy was shot trying to save it. His death helped to galvanize the abolitionist movement.

November 8, 1308: John Duns Scotus, the hard-to-follow Scottish theologian who first posited Mary's immaculate conception (that she herself was born without original sin), dies in Cologne, Germany. Mary's immaculate conception was declared dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854.

November 9, 1522: Martin Chemnitz, theogian who drafted the Formula of Concord, a document that eased rifts between various factions of the Lutheran movement, thus saving Lutheranism from falling apart, is born.

November 11, 1855: Danish Christian philosopher Síren Kierkegaard, regarded as the founder of existentialism, dies at age 42. Trying to "reintroduce Christianity to Christendom," he believed that Christianity was far more radical and difficult than did his Danish contemporaries.

From Riches to Rags to Nobel Prize

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:31:00 +0000

There's been a lot of ranting on the Internet of late about Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm not going to enter that debate; but it does seem like a good time to tell you about the first person to receive the symbol of Nobel's legacy.

When you take into consideration the fact that Henri Dunant was born in Geneva in 1828, it is no surprise that he grew up to be a committed Calvinist. His father, a wealthy businessman, was also a dedicated humanitarian and Henri followed his father's example when he became a full time representative of the Swiss arm of the Young Men's Christian Association traveling throughout France, Belgium, and Holland.

At the age of twenty-six he began an apprenticeship with a company that had extensive holdings in northern Africa. When he finished his apprenticeship he conceived of a daring plan to develop agricultural operations on a huge tract of African land, but for his plan to succeed he needed a wheat mill and to build and operate a wheat mill he needed the water rights. Those water rights could only be obtained from one person - Napoleon III. Seems simple enough except that Napoleon III was in Northern Italy leading a Franco-Sardinian army in a war against the Austrians. But this did not deter Henri, he sought the audience anyway, and that is how he ended up being at the battle of Solferino, in Lombardy, in June of 1859.

Henri, like most people, had never seen a real battle before. He was stunned by the sight of 38,000 injured, dying and dead soldiers lying about after the battle was over. But what shocked him even more was how little was being done for those individuals. Using his own money he arranged for food and medical supplies, recruited and organized local volunteers, and began to tend to those who could be saved. It was a herculean effort, and one the like of which the world had never seen before.

After the conflict was over, he wrote a short book entitled, Un Souvenir de Solférino [A Memory of Solferino], and paid to have 1900 copies printed. The book had three main sections. The first was an account of the battle itself. The second detailed the battlefield after the fighting - its "chaotic disorder, despair unspeakable, and misery of every kind" and tells the story of caring for the wounded in the small town of Castiglione. The third was a plan; a plan to have the nations of the world form societies, co-ordinating the efforts of trained volunteers to provide care for the victims of war until they recovered. He spent the next two years traveling, at his own expense, to distribute the book to national and civic leaders all over Europe and promote his plan.

In 1863, the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, appointed a committee of five, including Dunant, to examine the practicalities of implementing the plan. Despite numerous conflicts, and attempts by some to derail Dunant and expel him from the committee, they did manage to create the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded. One year later, on August 22, 1864, again despite the efforts of some to keep Dunant out of the process, twelve nations signed an international treaty, commonly known as the Geneva Convention, agreeing among other things, to guarantee during an armed conflict, neutrality to medical and relief personnel, to expedite supplies for their use, and to adopt a special identifying emblem - in virtually all instances a red cross on a field of white. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was born.

For a time Henri served as the organization's secretary, but with most of his energies and resources being directed to the cause, there was little of him or his resources left to run his company. The water rights he needed were never granted, his company was mismanaged by those he left in charge of it in Africa, and in 1867 he was forced to declare bankruptcy. The resulting scandal was too much for the board of directors in Geneva to handle, so he was also forced to resign not only as secretary but as a member of the society he had founded. Within a few years he was literally living at the level of the beggar. There were times, he says in a memoir, when he dined on a crust of bread, blackened his coat with ink, whitened his collar with chalk, and slept out of doors on benches in city parks.

After that, Henri Dunant all but disappeared. Staying briefly in various places, living off the generosity of friends and a few wealthy individuals who respected his humanitarian efforts, he eventually found himself too ill to travel any further and was given space in a hospice in the small Swiss village of Heiden. There, in Room 12, he spent the remaining eighteen years of his life, too ill to leave. It was also there that a journalist, Georg Baumberger, twenty-five years after the scandal in Geneva, discovered Dunant was still alive and wrote an article about him which, within a few days, was reprinted in the press throughout Europe. Messages of sympathy reached Dunant from all over the world, and overnight, the scandal long forgotten, his fame was restored.

In 1901, the very first Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Henri Dunant, and French pacifist Frédéric Passy, founder of the Peace League and active with Dunant in the Alliance for Order and Civilization. The official congratulations which he received from the International Committee was the crowning touch to the restoration of Dunant's honour and reputation:

"There is no man who more deserves this honour, for it was you, forty years ago, who set on foot the international organization for the relief of the wounded on the battlefield. Without you, the Red Cross, the supreme humanitarian achievement of the nineteenth century would probably have never been undertaken."

Henri also received a number of other awards and accolades during those last few years, but he never spent any of the money on himself. He donated funds to make sure a "free bed" would always be available in the Heiden hospice for a poor citizen of the region and deeded some money to friends and charitable organizations in Norway and Switzerland. The remaining funds went to his creditors to partially pay the enormous debt left after his disastrous business venture.

Henri Dunant, Christian humanitarian, who changed forever the way the world responds to those who have suffered as a result of war, died in his sleep on October 30, 1910 - 97 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. Huber, Max, «Henry Dunant», in Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge, 484 (avril, 1959) 167-173. A translation of a brief sketch originally published in German in 1928. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1901/dunant-bio.html
2. "Dunant, Henri." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 30 Oct. 2007 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9031447
3. Henri Dunant biography, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) web site http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/57JNVQ
4. Various Internet articles

Other events that happened this week in history...

October 29, 1837: Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper is born in Rotterdam, Holland. He became so popular and famous that on October 29, 1907, the whole nation celebrated his 70th birthday, declaring, "the history of the Netherlands, in Church, in State, in Society, in Press, in School, and in the Sciences the last forty years, cannot be written without the mention of his name on almost every page."

October 31, 1992: Pope John Paul II formally admits the Roman Catholic Church's error in condemning Galileo Galilei in 1633 for believing the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe, 350 years after the astronomers death. (I know, this was also the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of the church, but I'm willing to bet you already knew that.)

November 1, 1512: After four years of work, Michelangelo Buonarroti unveils his 5,800-square-foot painting on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.

November 2, 1533: Harried by Catholic authorities, John Calvin flees Paris by lowering himself out a window on a bedsheet rope. (Who knew anyone actually did this?) He then left town by disguising himself as a farmer, complete with a hoe over his shoulder. He spent three years as a fugitive before settling in Geneva.

November 3, 753: Pirminius, the first Abbot of Reichenau (Germany) dies. His pastoral instruction book, Scarapsus, contains the earliest evidence for the present form of the Apostles' Creed.

November 4, 1646: The Massachusetts Bay Colony makes it a capital offense to deny that the Bible is the Word of God.

On Picking a Pope...

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:56:00 +0000

With the announcement of the death of Pope John Paul II in April of 2005, the process began to select the 264th successor to St. Peter (in accordance with Catholic tradition).

On Monday, April 18th 2005, after the official 9 days of prayer and mourning, 115 cardinals, from 52 countries and five continents, began the process of deliberation. Later that evening the Cardinals cast their first vote. This single ballot did not result in an election, and therefore the ballots were burned in a small stove at 8:04 p.m. Monday evening (2:04 EST) along with chemicals to colour the smoke black.

On Tuesday morning two additional votes were taken; neither resulted in an election, so once again black smoke rose from the chimney of the Conclave in the Sistine Chapel. Finally, about 4 pm, the fourth ballot of the Conclave, elected Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Dean of the College of Cardinals, and Prefect during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the highest office in the Roman Catholic Church. Since the smoke from the chapel at first burned grey, but never truly black, there was some confusion in the Square below. However, the ever more profuse, and ever more clearly white, smoke was confirmed about 6:04 by the ringing of the great bells of St. Peter's Basilica. At 6:43 p.m. (12:43 p.m. EST) on Tuesday, April 19th 2005, the Proto-Deacon of the College of Cardinals, Jorge Arturo Cardinal Medina Estévez, came onto the Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica and announced:

"Dear brothers and sisters. I announce to you a great joy. We have a Pope. The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, Lord Joseph, Cardinal of Holy Roman Church, Ratzinger, who has taken the name Benedict XVI."

This process of election of the pope by a select group of cardinals has been around in its current form (more or less) for about 1000 years. Before that things were a lot less organized, and the disputes about who was and wasn't pope were numerous and often violent. Let me tell you about one such case.

When Bishop Liberius of Rome died in September of 366, there was no prescribed system for selecting a new pope, in fact they weren't even called popes at that time. Liberius had grown in popularity largely because of his stand resisting the heresy known as Arianism, a theology that denied the divinity of Christ. He was even exiled for a time when Rome came under the control of Felix II (regarded as an anti-pope ) who was sympathetic to the Arian cause.

However, Liberius had many supporters, commoner and senator alike, who agitated for his return, and eventually Emperor Constantinius restored Liberius to his position after he agreed to be lenient with the Arians. This caused Bishop Hilary of Poiters to declare "A curse on you, Liberius." Shortly after that, Liberius died!

Though there was no formal process for selecting a new Bishop of Rome, there was a election of sorts. All the citizens of Rome, laity and clergy, were able to make their voice heard, and by a large majority, Rome chose Damasus, a sixty-year-old deacon, to be their next bishop. He was consecrated by three other bishops, including the Bishop of Ostia, as was declared the official ordainer of the Bishop of Rome by Bishop St. Mark thirty years earlier. So by all accounts Damasus was the properly chosen successor to Liberius.

There was a problem however; remember Felix II, sympathetic supporter of the Arian Heresy? Well, Damasus was one of his bishops, and some followers of Liberius were unhappy to see a man who once worked for Felix sitting in Liberius' chair, so to speak. They chose their own bishop, a fellow by the name of Ursinus and had an old Bishop from Tibur consecrate him as the new Bishop of Rome.

Well, Damasus, and those who endorsed him, appealed to Juventius, then Prefect of Rome (chief city official), to deal with what they viewed as an usurper. The Prefect ordered Ursinus to leave Rome, which he did; but his followers did not give up that easily. They took up arms and proceeded to try and force Damasus to give up the bishop's pallium (emblem of authority). Damasus gathered a number of his own men, armed them and launched a counter-attack on his rival's forces, who had taken refuge in the Liberian Basilica (a Roman church later renamed St. Mary Major). A three-day battle followed. The supporters of Damasus eventually assaulted the building by climbing onto the roof, where they tore aside the heavy roof tiles, and having made an opening, then dropped the heavy tiles onto the men trapped below.

When the smoke cleared, (pun intended) Damasus had won the day, but with a heavy price - one hundred and thirty seven followers of Ursinus lay dead on the floor of the church. And yet, the battle was not over; in the days that followed Damasus would hire a number of gladiators to be his bodyguards due to repeated attacks in the streets.

When violence proved unsuccessful, his opponents attempted to overthrow him by making accusations of serious sin. What they were is not entirely clear, but eventually the emperor felt compelled to intervene and cleared Damasus of the charges. But the arguments and opposition continued. A full 11 years later, in 378, and again 3 years after that in 381, councils held in Rome and Aquileia both declared that Damasus was the true bishop.

The irony is, Damasus was never a true supporter of Felix II. He worked for him, but did not share his views regarding the Arian Heresy, as was borne out when the trouble eventually did simmer down and he was able to finally get around to the duties of being Bishop of Rome. He proved himself an enemy of the Arian heresy, putting a number of Arian bishops out of the church. He also issued twenty-four anathemas (curses) against false teachings about the Trinity and Jesus Christ.

Despite the violence associated with his election, Damasus was to become highly regarded by other Christian leaders of his day. A large part of the reason for this is Damasus proved to be a great promoter of martyrs. He restored many of their tombs, rebuilt their churches, and wrote poems about saints who had died because of their testimony for Christ.

You may be wondering why have I chosen to write about Damasus? There were plenty of popes who ascended to the papal see by unusual and violent means. Why choose him?

Well, one of the most fascinating things for me about Christian history is the story of how we got our Bible. And Damasus plays an important role in that process. Damasus was the first pope to issue an official list of the books which should be included in the Bible. He also persuaded his friend and secretary, Jerome, to make a new Latin translation of the Bible, using this list. Jerome did so, and his translation would become known as the Vulgate, the Bible of the Middle Ages. It was the Bible that priests, teachers, bishops, monks, and other scholars would use for much of the next one thousand years.

The three day battle, that would end with a victorious Damasus, without which the Vulgate might never have come into being, was won on October 26, 366 - one thousand, six hundred forty one years ago this week.

Photo: Page 2 of the Lindisfarne Gospels, Letter from Jerome to Pope Damasus I dedicating the translation of the Vulgate.

Resources:

1. Thomas J. Shahan. "Pope St. Damasus I", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV. Published 1908. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
2. "Damasus I Saint." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Oct. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9028639>.
3. "Ursinus." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Oct. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074497>.
4. Various Internet articles.

Other events that happened this week in church history:

October 22, 1844: Somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 followers of Baptist lay preacher William Miller gathered in makeshift temples and on hillsides to "meet the bridegroom' on the "The Day of Atonement"—the day Jesus would return. Jesus didn't, and though Miller retained his faith in Christ's imminent return until his death, he blamed human mistakes in Bible chronologies for "The Great Disappointment." Several groups arose from Miller's following, including the Seventh-Day Adventists.

October 24, 1648: The Peace of Westphalia, after being delayed by Richelieu for 13 years, is finally signed and ends central Europe's Thirty Years War. The documents extended equal political rights to Catholics and Protestants (including religious minorities), and marked the first use of the term "secularization" in regard to church property that was to be distributed among the warring parties.

October 25, 1890: Emma Whittemore, New York socialite and her husband Sydney, millionaire businessman, open the first 'Door of Hope' home for young women in New York City. The Whittemores encountered the emptiness of their lives on a visit to a street mission run by an ex-convict. they came away "with a holy determination, born of God himself, to henceforth live for his glory and praise. Within four years the home help 325 girls, by Emma's death in 1931 there were 97 homes in seven countries.

October 27, 1978: After 13 years work by over one hundred scholars from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the complete New International Version (NIV) of the Bible is published for the first time.

October 28, 312: According to tradition, on this date the 32-year-old Roman emperor Constantine defeated Maxentius at Milvian Bridge. Before the battle, Constantine had seen the symbol of Jesus, chi-rho, in a vision, accompanied with the words "By this sign conquer." He considered this a sign and emblazoned the symbol on his shield and banners before the battle. Regarded as Rome's first Christian emperor he honured Christian bishops and meddled in church affairs the rest of his life. He received his baptism on his deathbed in 337.

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Don't Beat Yourself Up Over It.

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:38:00 +0000

Let's start with a little visual aid...

Monty Python & The Holy Grail: The Monks' Chant

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As the title said, this is a scene from the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." For those of you not versed in Latin or the 'Requiem', what the monks are chanting is 'pie jesu domine....donna eis requiem'. It is a prayer for the dead that roughly translates into "Merciful Lord Jesus....grant them rest." * But what's with the planks of wood?

It's called flagellation (from the Latin for 'to whip') and while most religious orders in the 13th century used it to one degree or another as punishment (who didn't), for a time self-flagellation (with a whip of some sort not a plank of wood) was considered a valid means of expressing repentance. The question is - why?

It began with Peter Damien. Peter was prior (2nd in command to the abbot) to Fonte-Avellana (an order of hermits) during the 11th century. Around 1042 he introduced the practice of penitential exercise as part of a monks self-discipline schedule. The idea was to 'lightly' scourge oneself with a small whip containing small bits of metal so as to identify with the flagellation of Jesus Christ on the night before his Crucifixion. Damien's notion was that this practice would increase the devotion of the religious community because they would have a better understanding of how much Christ suffered on our behalf.

Damien also believed the practice would serve to curb the lusts of the flesh, the avoidance of which was why many became hermits in the first place. The practice quickly spread throughout the monastic community. The zeal of some led to the introduction of a daily siesta so that it's practitioners could recover from their evening's 'exercise'. By 1045 that zeal had increased to the point that Damien had to moderate the custom due to the negative affect it was having on the number of monks available for other duties. (Yes, they were maiming themselves beyond the capacity to serve and a few had even died as a result of their injuries.) For a short time the practice abated in all but the most remote monasteries.

During a dreadful plague in 1259, many preachers declared that God was angry at the world. Something had to be done to demonstrate to God how penitent they were and turn away his wrath. This was the motivation behind a resurgence in flagellation. Large groups of monks started gathering in public to flog themselves for their own sins and the sins of the world. Soon they were joined by laymen who stripped to the waist and marched in processions, sometimes numbering ten thousand penitents, whipping themselves until they bled. At first the practice was tolerated but by 1261 religious authorities realized they had to do something, so they publicly opposed the movement. It died out, but it refused to die completely.

When the Black Plague swept across Europe the call went out once again that people needed to demonstrate to God their fervent repentance. Bands of hysterical flagellants sprang up; this time not just men were involved. Along with the questionable penitent exercise other strange teachings began to rise among the practitioners such as uncontrollable dancing and the open hunting of Jews. But the most prevalent of these was the idea that the plague was the first step in the destruction of the world by Jesus Christ himself. However, the Virgin Mary had interceded and this great destruction could be avoided if enough people would join them for 33 days. As their blood flowed, they claimed it was mingling with Christ's blood to save the world.

Though the mania ended with the plague, the practice flourished among the religious into the fourteenth century. Following an outbreak of the whippings in France, the University of Paris appealed to the pope to suppress the exercise calling it heresy. Pope Clement VI sent letters to the bishops in Western Europe condemning the practice and teachings of the flagellants.

But even this measure did not fully succeed. Various groups of flagellants have appeared again and again over the centuries and in some areas of the world public flagellation occurs even today as part of specific religious rituals, particularly during the Easter season. Though the practice is still officially condemned by the Vatican, it is tolerated as long as it is restricted to specific feasts and celebrations.

That letter, condemning the practice of flagellation, was sent by Pope Clement VI on October 20th, 1349 - 658 years ago this week.

* The chant in the movie is a shortened version. The common chant goes like this...

Latin: Pie Jesu / Qui tollis peccata mundi / Donna eis requiem / Angus Dei / Donna eis requiem sempiternam /

English: Merciful Jesus / Who takest away the sins of the world / Grant them rest / Oh Lamb of God / Grant them eternal rest

Resources:
1. "flagellation." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Oct. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9034461>.
2. "Flagellation", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VI. Published 1909. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, September 1, 1909.
3. Various other Internet articles.

Video credit: myspacetv.com (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=12415049)

Other events that happened this week in church history:

October 15, 1949: Billy Graham skyrockets to national prominence with an evangelistic crusade in Los Angeles

October 16, 1978: The Roman Catholic College of Cardinals chooses Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to be the new pope. Taking the name John Paul II, he became the first non-Italian pope in 456 years. By the time of his death in April 2005 he would be recognized as the most popular pope in modern history.

October 17, 108: According to tradition, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was martyred on this date. A disciple of the Apostle John, Ignatius wrote seven letters under armed guard on his way to Rome—some asking that the church not interfere with his "true sacrifice".

October 18, 1867: The United States purchases Alaska for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents an acre. Ten years later, after lax military administration had only worsened the territory's moral condition, an army private stationed in Alaska begged, "Send out a shepherd who may reclaim a mighty flock from the error of their ways, and gather them into the true fold." Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson answered the call and spent decades raising funds, building schools and churches, and crusading for better laws.

October 19, 1856: A Sunday evening service led by Charles Haddon Spurgeon turns tragic when someone shouts "Fire!" in London's enormous Surrey Hall. There was no fire, but the stampede left 7 people dead and 28 more hospitalized. Though the episode plunged Spurgeon into weeks of depression, it also catapulted him to overnight fame.

October 21, 1555: Finding that the recent martyrdom of bishops Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer had intensified Protestant zeal, Catholic monarch Queen Mary (daughter of Henry VIII, who separated the church of England from Roman) launches a series of fierce persecutions in which more than 200 men, women, and children were executed.

A Tale of Two Olivers

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:07:00 +0000

I am occasionally asked, when people find out I write about history, why historians spend so much time talking about war. Well, with apologies to Mike Love, the history of war is the history of mankind. By and large human history rotates around moments of great change, and change rarely happens without conflict.

The history of the church, having also been made by humans, is no different. If it hasn't been a case of Christians warring with non-Christians, it's been Christians warring with Christians. And, as in the case of secular conflicts, war tends to bring out the worst in the children of God as well. There are many events for which the church and individuals will have to answer.

One of those events centers around an Irishman named Oliver Plunkett.

Plunkett was born in 1625 near Oldcastle, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome where his record was described as "particularly brilliant." Ordained a priest in 1654, Plunkett was selected by the Irish bishops to be their representative in Rome. On July 9th, 1669, he was appointed to the Archbishop of Armagh, he received the pallium on his arrival in England July 28th, 1670.

While Plunkett was in Rome, the other great Oliver of the day, Oliver Cromwell, invaded Ireland. Cromwell, as Lord protector of England, had enacted anti-Catholic legislation. Catholic priests were outlawed. Those who dared to administer the sacraments were hanged or transported to the West Indies. In Ireland, his usually well-controlled Protestant troops were permitted to inflict terrible atrocities upon Irish Catholics.

During his tenure Plunkett sought to improve the lot of his people. Taking advantage of a brief period in which the Penal Laws were slightly relaxed, he built schools for both the young and clergy and set about reorganizing the ravaged Church. He also tackled drunkenness among the clergy; true Christianity, Plunkett believed, sobers people and makes them more orderly. As an agent of Christ, Plunkett worked toward those ends. Records indicate he confirmed 48,655 people into the faith, and persuaded hundreds of couples who lived together without marriage to marry.

One incident merits special mention. There was a considerable number of displaced Catholics in the province of Ulster, most of whom had their property confiscated, who banded together and, as outlaws, lived by plundering those who lived around them. Anyone who sheltered them faced the death penalty by British law, anyone who refused them such shelter met with death at their hands. Plunkett went in search of them, facing great personal risk, and convinced them to renounce their career of plundering. He also managed to negotiate pardons for them so they could exile themselves to other countries rather than face the death penalty, and thus peace was restored throughout the whole province.

Nearly twenty years after the death of Cromwell, new outbreaks of anti-Catholicism forced Plunkett into hiding in 1673. Catholics were required to register for deportation at any seaport - failure to do so would have grave consequences. Plunkett refused. He continued however, to shepherd his flock. Many followed the example of their Archbishop and the underground Catholic church thrived despite the efforts of one Lord Shaftesbury.

Plunkett was finally arrested in Dublin in 1679. Shaftesbury, falsely accused Plunkett of plotting a French invasion of Ireland. He was tried at Dundalk for conspiring against the state by plotting to bring 20,000 French soldiers into the country, and for levying a tax on his clergy to support 70,000 men for rebellion. While awaiting trial in Dublin Castle, Plunkett showed his Christ-like character when, despite years of rivalry with Peter Talbot, archbishop of Dublin, over the question of who should be primate of Ireland, he forgave his fellow captive and administered to him the Catholic rite of absolution.

When a jury refused to convict Plunkett in Ireland, Shaftesbury, realizing the archbishop would never be convicted in Ireland had him moved to Newgate Prison, London. The first grand jury found no validity to the charges, but he was not released. The second trial was a kangaroo court; with two Franciscans bringing false testimony against him. Plunkett was found guilty of high treason on June, 1681 "for promoting the Catholic faith," and on July 1, 1681 was executed by being hanged, disemboweled, beheaded and quartered. He was the last Catholic executed for his faith in England.

Even at the time many people were appalled at the manner in which Oliver Plunkett had been tried, convicted, and sentenced. Lord Campbell, writing of the judge, Sir Francis Pemberton, called it a disgrace to himself and his country. The bitterness of those days lives on in divided Ireland even today.

Oliver Plunkett was canonized and became Saint Oliver on October 12, 1975, only 32 years ago this week. But it should be noted that when Pope Paul VI canonized him he was the first Irishman in almost 700 years to receive the honor.

Resources:

1. "Blessed Oliver Plunkett", Written by Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran. Transcribed by Marie Jutras. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII. Published 1911. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
2. Various other Internet articles.

Photo credit: St. Oliver Plunkett - courtesy www.irishpage.com

Other events that happened this week:

October 8, 451: The Council of Chalcedon opens to deal with the questions of Christ's nature. Two groups, the Eutychians and the Apollinarians, believed Jesus could not have two natures. His divinity, they believed, swallowed up his humanity "like a drop of wine in the sea." The council condemned the teaching as heresy and created a confession of faith which affirmed the Nicene Creed.

October 9, 1000: Leif "the Lucky" Eriksson is reported to have been the first European to reach North America on this date. What is not widely reported is that he would later evangelize Greenland also making him the first to bring the gospel to North America. But while he was certainly a member of an early Viking voyage to "Vinland" (probably Nova Scotia), it's doubtful he led the initial expedition.

October 10, 1821: Law student Charles Finney goes off for a walk in the woods near his home to settle in his own mind the question of his standing before God. That night, at the age of 29, he experienced what he would later describe as "waves of liquid love throughout his body." He emerged from the woods fully convinced of the reality of the gospel message and before long became American history's greatest revivalist purportedly responsible for the conversion of as 500,000 people.

October 11, 1521: In responce to his tract "The Assertion of the Seven Sacraments," written against Martin Luther, Pope Leo X conferred the title "Fidei Defensor" (Defender of the Faith) upon England's Henry VIII. Three popes and 13 years later, when Henry couldn't get the church to grant him a divorce or annulment from his first wife, the infamous British monarch severed all ties with Rome, making the Church of England a separate church body.

October 13, 1836: Lutheran pastor Theodor Fliedner opens the first deaconess training centre in Kaiserswerth, Germany. The centre was opened despite the fact he had no curriculum and no teachers. Seven days later Gertrude Reichardt, the 48-year old daughter of a physician, applied for deaconess training. After her interview Theodor saw her as the answer to prayer and put her in charge of the centre.

October 14, 1066: William the Conqueror leads the Normans to victory over the English Saxons in the Battle of Hastings. William is also considered one of England's most important religious reformers; he spent his last days in intense Christian devotion.

The Elusive Marcus of Rome

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:04:00 +0000

There is a dynamic that arises in researching church history that does not arise in the history of other cultures. During periods of fervor and persecution an 'end-time mindset' comes into play that keeps history from being recorded. The attitude that develops is simple, since Jesus is going to return at any moment, there is no sense recording these events as once He does return, history will be over and no one will care what happened previously. That may or may not have been the case shortly after the rise of Constantine, but it is one possible explanation. Whatever the reason, hardly anyone was writing anything down.

In the early 4th century Constantine the Great was ruler of the Roman Empire and the persecution of the Christian church had ceased. And yet despite this new peace there is little recorded of the churches activities during this period. It is no stretch to imagine that the church's coming out from under the reign of persecution would yield some interesting sequences of events. But we'll never know, since few records of the church's activities at this time were made.

One of the big unknowns from this period is the life of the bishop of Rome, St. Mark (no, not the gospel writer). I should note here that 'pope' is a title that was not applied to the bishop of Rome at this time, that would come later; however, the term is now applied to all who have held the office .

We have no idea where or when he was born, though we are fairly certain Mark (Marcus?) was a Roman. The identity of his mother remains a mystery, but we know that his Father's name was Priscus. And that, gentle reader, is the sum total of all we know about his personal life. It's almost as if his life didn't begin until he was consecrated Bishop of Rome (pope) on January 18, 336. St. Mark only served as pope for 10 months, and while that isn't a lot of time I found myself intrigued by three undertakings that he did manage to get done in this short period.

First of all, it seems that St. Mark realized nobody was recording much history and so he undertook to correct the situation. He sought to compile stories of the lives of martyrs and bishops before his time. If someone had thought to follow his example we might know a little more about him. History is full of many things and one of the most abundant is irony.

Secondly, there are two churches in the area of Rome with pretty good arguments for having been founded by him, both built on land gifted by Emperor Constantine. One of them is named for him, the Church of San Marco. Renaming a church founded by a bishop after the bishop is a fairly common habit. The other church was located at the Catacomb of Balbina, the cemetery where St. Mark would eventually be buried.

The third task is one over which there is some debate. According to some sources it was St. Mark who decreed that the Bishop of Ostia (a port near Rome) should be the one to consecrate the Bishops of Rome. Mark is also said to be the one who declared that the Bishop of Ostia would do so by bestowing a pallium upon the new Bishop of Rome. The pallium is a white wool sash that symbolizes the authority of the Pope, and anyone upon whom a pallium is bestowed shares in that authority. According to the Roman Church tradition, that authority comes in a direct line from the apostles themselves. However, some argue that since it will be almost two centuries later before there is a reliable record of a pope bestowing the pallium on someone else, it is unlikely St. Mark started the ceremony. Others argue that given the aforementioned spotty record keeping, the anecdotal evidence is as good a reason as any to give him credit.

Why was Mark Bishop of Rome declared a saint? Like so much else about the man, we just don't know, although the use of the term appears on the list quite early. The character of a bishop elevated to saint can usually be found in the descriptions of him found in the writings of his peers, but again so few of these exist.

A person named Mark associated with the church in Rome is mentioned in one of Constantine's letters from the time before he became pope, but there is nothing to confirm that the bishop is the man. There is also little evidence to suggest that a fragment of an old poem refers to Mark despite some scholars belief that it is. The poem reads, "filled with the love of God, despised the world . . . the guardian of justice, a true friend of Christ." If that is our man Mark, it is one of the greatest compliments that can be paid a servant of God, but again, there is no real evidence. Even the one piece of evidence we thought we could be sure of, a letter St. Mark was alleged to have written to Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria who battled for the proper understanding of Christ's nature, has been shown to be a forgery.

These days, the chance of having a dearth of information regarding modern church events is highly unlikely. With all the various media tracking everything just about everybody does, not to mention the vast number of amateur historians recording their perspective on the Internet, the challenge facing future students of history will be sorting out the real from the imaginary from the downright deceptive. Personally, I'd rather be searching for the needle in a desert than in the haystack.

As stated earlier, we are certain of the date that St. Mark was consecrated Bishop of Rome. The other event we are absolutely certain of is the day of his death. Pope St. Mark died of natural causes, at an uncertain age, on October 7th, 336 - 1,671 years ago this week.

Resources:

1. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX 1910. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. &lt <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09674a.htm>

Photo credit: Pope Benedict XVI receives the pallium from Archbishop Piero Marini - CNN.

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Other Events that Happened This Week:

October 1, 1529: The Colloquy of Marburg convenes. The gathering was intended to find common ground on which to unite the two main Reformation movements, those of Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli. There were 15 items of contention between the two groups; 14 would be resolved. The 15th, the Lutheran doctrine of the Eucharist (consubstantiation) was a point neither side was willing to compromise. The colloquy ended on the 4th in failure. As a result Switzerland stayed Reformed, Germany stayed Lutheran, and all hopes of a united Protestant front against Roman Catholicism died.

October 2, 1792: A dozen young ministers from the district of Kettering, England, form the Baptist Missionary Society "for the propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen, according to the recommendations of [William] Carey's Enquiry." It would be the first foreign missionary society created by the Evangelical Revival of the last half of the eighteenth century. In short order other missionary societies were established, and a new era in missions began.

October 3, 1789: George Washington names November 26 as a day of national thanksgiving for the ratification of the Constitution. On the same date in 1863, Abraham Lincoln designates the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

October 4, 1890: The "mother of the Salvation Army," Catherine Booth, dies of cancer. Besides preaching as a Salvation Army minister, she persuaded her husband, William, to include in the Orders and Regulations of the Salvation Army that "women must be treated as equal with men in all intellectual and social relationships of life" and "have the right to equal share with men in the work of publishing salvation."

October 5, 1744: David Brainerd, kicked out of Yale for criticizing a tutor and attending a forbidden revival meeting, begins missionary work with Native Americans along New Jersey's Susquehannah River. Jonathan Edwards's biography of Brainerd was key in promoting Christian missions and was counted by William Carey (see Oct. 2nd above) as one of his most influential reads.

October 6, 1536: English reformer William Tyndale is strangled to death and then his body is burned at the stake for the crime of translating and publishing the New Testament into the English language. It is of some smaller significance that Tyndale's translation was the first to be mechanically-printed in England.
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Patron Saint of Charities

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:27:00 +0000

In many cities and towns across North America people from all walks of life shop in stores bearing the name of St. Vincent de Paul, but how many of them know anything of the man in whose name these shops are maintained? Let me tell you a little about him.

Born of a peasant family at Pouy, Gascony, France, in 1580, Vincent was drawn to the religious early in life and found himself studying at both Dax with the Cordeliers, and Toulouse where he graduated in theology. Ordained in 1600 he remained at Toulouse serving as tutor while continuing his own studies. He spent a brief time at Marseilles and was returning from there in 1605 when Turkish pirates captured him and took him to Tunis in Africa. Vincent de Paul's Muslim captors hustled him ashore where, along with a number of other Christian-born captives, he was marched through the streets for all to see, then they were brought back to the wharf and auctioned off to the highest bidder.

The hand of God must have been with Vincent as he was purchased into the household of a kindly Muslim. Impressed with the French priest, the elderly man offered to make Vincent his heir, if Vincent would only convert to Islam. Vincent refused. When the old man died the steadfast priest was sold to a Muslim who was a convert from Christianity. Vincent's life and songs so impressed one of this man's wives that she rebuked her husband for abandoning his faith. Once again it would seem God’s hand was with Vincent as the man returned to the beliefs of his childhood, and subsequently fleeing Africa, took Vincent with him. He was forced to leave his three wives behind, including the one who had sparked his return to faith.

Back in France, Vincent impressed the Countess of Joigny, whose husband was general of the prison galleys of France. Before being convoyed aboard the galleys, or when illness compelled them to disembark, the condemned convicts were crowded with leg chains into damp dungeons, their only food being black bread and water; all the while,they were covered with vermin and ulcers.

Remembering his own experience as a slave Vincent determined in his heart to reach out to these unfortunates. Assisted by a priest, he began visiting the galley convicts of Paris, speaking kind words to them, doing them every manner of service however repulsive. He thus won their hearts, and converted many of them. A house was purchased where Vincent established a hospital. Soon after this, in 1625, he was appointed by Louis XIII as royal almoner (an officer responsible for distributing alms to the poor) and because of this title gained access to the galleys of Marseilles and Bordeaux, where he met with similar success.

At the same time this was happening St.Vincent found himself frequently at the residence of the aforementioned Countess of Joigny, where she persuaded Vincent to preach to her tenants. The result was that so many people came seeking repentance, Vincent had to enlist other priests to assist him in hearing their confessions. This pattern repeated itself a number of times in various locations. In Chatillon-les-Dombes he repaired a ruined church and led another revival among the local aristocrats.

With sizable sums of money from these various aristocratic families, who found themselves inspired to good works, various groups and charities sprang up all over France. Vincent himself, founded the Lazarists, a group of priests dedicated to teaching the catechism, peacemaking, charitable works and preaching, especially in France’s rural regions.

The Daughters of Charity was established in 1629, when Vincent thought it a good idea to enlist the aid of good young women in the service of the poor. Not long after, the Ladies of Charity, a similar group, was founded, comprised largely of women of nobility. Through Vincent’s teachings and examples, they found themselves working side by side with their own servants in aiding those who were farthest removed from their own positions in French society.

A man of seemingly endless energy, Vincent soon found himself in favour in every court in the land, including those of Richelieu and Louis XIII. In fact, on his deathbed Louis would allow no one else to hear his confession and declared to Vincent, “Oh, Monsieur Vincent, if I am restored to health I shall appoint no bishops unless they have spent three years with you.”

Still, Vincent refused to allow himself to be puffed up by his fame and favour. He continued to dress humbly, though appropriately, when attending to the Royal Court. He used his influence among France’s nobility only to improve the condition of prisoners and the poor, establishing hospices, hospitals, kitchens, and refuges wherever he perceived a need. His experience in Tunis never far from his consciousness, he even raised sufficient funds to ransom 1,200 Christians who lived as slaves in North Africa.

Less than one hundred years after his death Pope Clement XII named Vincent de Paul a saint. In 1885, 225 years after his passing, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him the patron saint of all charitable societies. This is why you see charity thrift shops named for him throughout Canada and the United States.

This master of charity passed away peacefully, sitting in his chair, September 27,1660 - 347 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. "St. Vincent de Paul", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV. Published 1912. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15434c.htm>
2. "Vincent De Paul, Saint." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 25 Sept. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9075411>.
3. Various other internet articles derived by searching "Vincent de Paul"
Photo credit: From and e-card distributed by www.catholicgreetings.com
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Other Events that Happened this Week:

September 22, 1692: The last 8 of 19 condemned witches are hanged by Puritan magistrates in Salem, Massachusetts. The trails began in May of the same year when three young women, their imaginations stimulated by voodoo tales told them by a slave, claimed to have been possessed by the devil at the behest of other women in the village. By the time these last executions were carried out, public opinion on the trails had begun to reverse, and in October authorities would annul the witch trials' convictions and grant indemnities to the families of those who had been executed.

September 23, 1857: Layman-turned-evangelist Jeremiah C. Lanphier holds a lunchtime prayer meeting for businessmen on Fulton Street in New York City. At first, no one shows up, but by the program's third week, the 40 participants requested daily meetings. The meeting continued to grow in size until several locations in New York were required to hold everyone. Other cities began similar programs, and a revival—sometimes called "The Third Great Awakening"—catches fire across America.

September 24, 1794: Russian Orthodox priest-monk Father Juvenaly, his brother Stephen, and eight other monks after several months trekking 8,000 miles across Russia, Siberia, and the Pacific Ocean arrive at Kodiak Island, Alaska. After two years of ministry, the team had led 12,000 Alaskans to embrace the gospel. Juvenaly then extended his mission to the mainland, where he was martyred in 1796, making him the Orthodox Church's protomartyr (first martyr) of the Americas.

September 25, 1534: Pope Clement VII dies. During his tenure Clement was unable to halt Luther's reformation movement or even to implement his own reforms in the Catholic church. When Henry VIII asked Clement VII to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, he refused (albeit rightly in the light of church doctrine) leading to England's break from Catholicism. For these reasons, and others, he is regarded by some as something of a failure as pope, responsible for the destruction of the Catholic (universal) church.

September 26, 1861: In the midst of the American Civil War, in accordance with a proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln earlier that year, the Northern states observe a day of public humiliation, prayer and fasting "to be observed by the people of the United States with religious solemnities. ... It is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation and as individuals to humble ourselves before Him, and to pray for His mercy... "

September 28, 929: King Wenceslas, ruler and patron saint of Czechoslovakia is assassinated by his brother and his followers while attending mass. During his brief reign as king Wenceslas sought peace with surrounding nations, reformed the judicial system, and showed particular concern for his country's poor. His example of charity and concern for the less fortunate is heralded in the popular Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas."

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The Most Remarkable Woman of the 12th Century

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:54:00 +0000

Throughout the 20 centuries since Jesus Life on this earth, there have been many practices within the church that today seem not only strange but downright bizarre. One of the more unusual ways in which an individual demonstrated their devotion to the holy life is the life of the anchor.

The life of an anchor (or anchoress in the case of women, which make up the vast majority of the these religious) was an ascetic life, shut off from the world inside a small room, usually built onto a church so that they could follow the services. Most often there was only a small window acting as their link to the outside world, through which food would be passed in and refuse taken out. Most of the anchor's life would be spent in prayer, contemplation, or solitary handworking activities, like stitching and embroidering, or the copying of manuscripts. As a symbol of the fact they considered themselves dead to the world, they would actually be given the last rites from the bishop before their confinement in the anchorage. This was done in a complete burial ceremony with the anchor laid out on a bier.

One of the most famous of these, was a 12th century anchoress named Jutta, attached to the church of a Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg in Germany. Jutta's fame was such that she was often consulted by many people, religious and non-religious alike, because of her wisdom and understanding. For this reason too, local nobles would send their children to her for religious instruction. One such child was Hildegard.

Born in 1098, the 10th child of a noble family, Hildegard was tithed to the Lord according to the custom of the day, and dedicated by her parents to the religious life. Her education under Jutta, starting at the age of 8, would have been very rudimentary. She would have learned to read Latin so that she would be able to read the scriptures and her daily prayers, but not to write it. There would have been no math, no science and only the history of the saints would have been deemed necessary for the life she was destined to live. Her proximity to the church as astudent of the anchoress, would also have given her exposure to the musical aspects of the worship services held there, but it is unlikely she received any formal training.

When she reached the age of maturity, likely 14 or 15, she formally became a nun and entered into the religious life for herself. Hildegard applied herself to her duties diligently, and for all outward appearances was no different from any other nun in convent. But she was not like all the other nuns, for Hildegard had a secret.

From the age of three Hildegard had been seeing visions. Visions of Jesus, and of heaven, and of things she would have no names for until she was much older. She learned quickly that others did not see the things she saw, and fearing this difference in her, she kept them a secret; from everyone except Jutta. Jutta thought the bishop should know of Hildegard's gift, but kept young nun's secret until her death in 1136. By this time Hildegard was approaching her 40s and had been appointed Superior of the Benedictine convent to which she had been assigned. It was also at this time that the inner voice that accompanied her visions told her to reveal what she had seen to the world. After resisting for some time, (until the headaches that resulted from resistance became too much to bear) she eventually told all to her spiritual director, the abbot of the monastery.

Immediately an investigation was launched into the alleged visions; but after extensive interviews with representatives of the bishop, her visions were declared to be genuine, and a monk was instructed to aid Hildegard in the publishing of her revelations. The result was three books, containing visions of heaven and the future, along with admonitions to the church and the world for straying from the path of righteousness.

Hildegard was always plagued by feelings of inadequacy and sought time and time again permission from her superiors to continue her work, fearing that one day the decision would be made that her visions were, in fact, invalid. Finally, when she wrote to Saint Bernard seeking permission once again, he brought the matter to the attention of Pope Eugenius, who exhorted Hildegard to complete the recording of her visions, that all the world might benefit. With papal imprimatur (a scared imperative, not to be denied) in hand, Hildegard finished her visionary work called Scivias ("Know the Ways of the Lord") and her fame began to spread throughout Germany and beyond.

Pictured at right is an illustration of Hildegard from a work honoring her after her death. The lines above her head represent rays of light that Hildegard credited as the source of her visions, which she described as, "a fiery light of exceeding brilliance came and permeated my whole brain, and inflamed my whole heart and my whole breast, not like a burning but a warming flame, as the sun warms anything its rays touch." It has been suggested that this description also resembles those given by sufferers of migraines.

Once the gates were open, there was no stopping this remarkable woman. In addition to the books of her visions she also wrote major works of theology, natural history and the curative powers of natural objects for healing, focusing on the medicinal uses of plants, animals, trees and stones. She also composed sacred music for vespers and the feasts of the saints; the first composer in the history of the world for which a biography is known. It was not long before she was being consulted by and advising bishops, popes, and kings. (It is regarded by some to be a mixed blessing that her musical works experienced something of a revival in the 1990s when the New Age movement, especially the Mother Earth movement, latched onto her works as an example of the power of the feminine spirit in the natural world. )

It was in the last year of her life that Hildegard faced what some consider to be her greatest trial. The local ecclesiastical authorities demanded that she have the body of a young man, who had once been under excommunication, removed from the cemetery attached to her convent. She argued that since the man had received the last sacraments and was therefore reconciled to the church, she was under no obligation to obey. So great was the respect for this woman that, after some correspondence, her decision was supported and the interdict against her convent was removed.

Later that year she died peacefully and was buried in the church of Rupertsberg.

Though never formally canonized, Hildegard of Bingen, is universally referred to as St. Hildegard and is celebrated throughout Europe. She died at the age of 82, in the convent she founded, on September 17th, 1179 - 828 years ago this week.

Resources:
1: "Saint Hildegard", New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07351a.htm>.
2. "Hildegard, Saint." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9040445>.
3: various other internet articles.

Photo Credit: The image is in the public domain.

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Other events this week in Church History:

September 15, 1648: - The Larger and the Shorter Catechisms of Westminster, now used by Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Baptist congregations to define the basic tenants of the Christian faith, are approved by the British Parliament.

September 16, 1498: - Tomas de Torquemada, a converted Jew who becomes the dominant force behind the Spanish Inquisition and its first Inquisitor General, dies at the age of 78. During his tenure he burned over 2,000 victims and tortured thousands more. It is reported that as many as 40 percent of those accused had no idea what they we being accused of or why. Many confessed to crimes of which they had no knowledge, just to end the torture.
September 18, 1924: - James Moffatt, a Scottish Presbyterian issued A New Translation of the Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments which he had produced on his own. It was to be the first of many translations that would be made for general readers in the twentieth century; however, by today's standard's it would be regarded more as a paraphrase edition due to many passages that Moffat 'interpreted' based on his own understanding of Christian doctrine.

September 19, 1955: - Mission Aviation pilot Nate Saint spots the Auca villages in the Amazon jungle. The Auca would later massacre him and his companions on January 6, 1956.

September 20, 1224: - On or about this date, on Italy's secluded Mount Alvernia, Francis of Assisi is reported to have prayed, "O Lord, I beg of you two graces before I die—to experience in myself in all possible fullness the pains of your cruel passion, and to feel for you the same love that made you sacrifice yourself for us." St. Francis recounted that not long thereafter his "heart was filled with both joy and pity", and wounds appeared on his hands, feet, and side (called stigmata) which witnesses testified he carried until his death in 1226.

September 21, 1522: - The first edition of Martin Luther's German translation of the New Testament is published. It would be on this same that date, 36 years later, in 1558 that Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who called the Diet of Worms which condemned Martin Luther, would die.

A Parliament of Religions

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 01:47:00 +0000

As Ontario finds itself on the final stretch towards electing a new provincial parliament, I thought I'd tell you about a parliament of another kind.

The World's Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the New World. Unlike previous "World's Fair" it was a good deal more than just an international trade show. There were the usual displays of new inventions as well as industrial and agricultural displays, even a few displays promoting what we today would call the tourism trade. But in addition to this there was a conference held, the like of which, had never been seen before.

Charles C. Bonney (pictured) was a lawyer and a follower of Swedish theologian Emmanual Swedenborg. He felt the Chicago exhibition was a perfect opportunity to bring the world's religions together in an effort to generate a greater understanding of each other. His goal was to see a reduction in religious persecution around the world. His cause was taken up by the renowned liberal clergyman John Henry Barrows, who enthusiastically promoted the event. Barrows however, was not quite the liberal many thought him to be. He later admitted that his primary reason for promoting the event was his conviction that other religious leaders would leave convinced of Christianity's superiority over other theologies.

Many evangelical leaders, such as Dwight L. Moody flatly refused to participate. Their reasons generally fell into one of two categories. On one hand there was a general feeling that the event would quickly degenerate into an attack on Christian missionaries and Christian evangelical practices in general. On the other hand, for many to even hold such a conference required the supposition that all religions were of equal value, which for evangelicals was a fundamentally false assumption.

Despite these objections however, a few Catholics and a smattering of liberal Protestant churches did send representatives. In addition representatives of other religions included a dozen Buddhists, eight Hindus, two Shintoists, a Jain, a Taoist, a couple Muslims, some Confucians, and Zoroastrians.

As the Parliament continued it soon became clear that the evangelicals fears were well founded. The majority of the speeches made by the non-Christian delegates focused on their opposition to Christian missions. Their biggest complaint being the decidedly unchristian manner in which all too many Christian missionaries behaved. Some even pointed out that their own religions had a better track record of living out Christian values day-to-day than did many day-to-day Christians.

One thing happened however that the evangelicals did not predict. Many of the delegates to the conference, notably the Hindus and the Buddhists decided that since they were in America for a time anyway, they may as well stay a while and tour the country. Realizing that there was a great spiritual hunger in America that mainstream Christianity was not meeting, both religions decided to set up shop and soon both a Buddhist Society and a Hindu society were formed. As a result many people began to view Christianity as just one option among many. They also began to seriously look at the other options and made the switch.

Seeing that the fields of North America were "ripe for harvest" many other disciplines began sending teams to the U.S. as well. Famed Zen Buddhist D. T. Suzuki, soon set up America's first Zen monasteries. Americans warmed quickly to the appeal of religious pluralism and leaders such as John Henry Barrows were appalled by the fact the conference had exactly the opposite effect than the one they had been hoping for.

The great 'Parliament of Religions', at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, regarded by many as the birth of religious pluralism in North America, began on September 11th, 1893 - 114 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. With Absolute Respect: The Swedenborgian Theology of Charles Carrol Bonney, Rev. Dr. George F. Dole, link
2. Swedenborg Foundation - link
3. Articles provided by the Christian History Institute - link
4. Photo Credit: www.payer.de - link

Other events this week in Church History:

September 8, 1636 - Only six years after arriving from England, Massachusetts Puritans found Harvard College, America's first higher learning institution. The college was founded to train future ministers.

September 9, 1087 - William I, Norman "Conqueror" of England in 1066 and the founder of several monasteries, dies.

September 10, 422 - Elevation of Celestine to the office of pope. Among other things Pope St. Celestine I is known for sending St. Patrick to Ireland and for defending the church against the Nestorian "heresy" at the Council of Ephesus.

September 12, 1922 - The American Episcopal church decides to remove the words "to obey" from its wedding service marriage vows.

September 13, 1541 - Three years after city authorities banish him, John Calvin returns to Geneva. While there he spent the rest of his life trying to establish a theocratic society at the request of those same authorities.

September 14, 258 - Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, is beheaded during the persecution under Roman Emperor Valerian.

That was the Week That Wasn't !

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:28:00 +0000

Absolutely nothing happened this week in church history!

Well, not exactly... actually nothing happened this week in 1752. In fact, in 1752 this week didn't happen. If you're a computer geek using Unix or Mac OS X go into terminal and at the prompt type either "cal 9 1752" or "cal 1752" to confirm this phenomenon. If you're either not a geek or don't have access to one of these systems, click here for a screen shot of the results. What happened to the missing 11 days? I'll explain, but we have to go back a ways.

As with most things in Europe the calendar has its roots in ancient Rome. The first formal Roman calendar consisted of a 304 day year divided into ten months starting with March. The first six were named after various gods, while the last four they simply called Month 7 (September), Month 8 (October), Month 9 (November), and Month 10 (December). January and February were added later. The calendar worked, but required frequent adjustments when the day of the year strayed too far away from the seasons with which they were associated.

In an effort to correct things, Julius Caesar, following the advice of an Alexandrian astronomer, added an additional 67 days to the calendar for a total of 445 days. This one time adjustment (known as the Year of Confusion) moved the first day of the year from March to January. The next year was 365 days long with 12 months and leap year. It became known as the Julian calendar.

As good as it was, there were however, some small inaccuracies and by 1545 astronomers had determined that a few minor adjustments were needed to sort out things like the date of Easter, which was calculated based on the spring equinox. So after some debate and a committee or two, a new calendar was developed that had 365 days to the year, and a leap year every fourth year, unless it was a century year (1700, 1800 etc) in which case it would only be a leap year if it were evenly divisible by 400 (1600, 2000, etc.). Pope Gregory XIII issued a Papal Bull (decree) that Thursday, October 4th, 1582 would be the last day of the Julian Calendar. The next day would be October 15th and the Gregorian Calendar was born.

Well, except in Protestant countries. The Protestants, being Protestants, did what Protestants do - they protested! They refused to adopt the calendar proposed by the Pope for the plain and simple reason that it was proposed by the Pope! And as every good Protestant knows the Pope was the anti-Christ and was trying to steal 11 days from the people's lives!! Well, in some Protestant minds anyway.

Eventually the Protestant governments began to realize they needed to be in line with their trading partners. Germany and the Netherlands came around in 1698, but it would be another 54 years before the British Parliament declared that Sept 3rd, 1752 would become Sept 14th. There was much protesting, and even rioting in the streets with the people accusing the government of trying to steal 11 days of their lives. Sound familiar?

Some countries made a valiant attempt at using both systems and continued to do so right up until the 20th century. The accompanying picture is an example of the Old Style/New Style (OS/NS) system in use. The date of the certificate (circled) reads "November/December 23/6 1907." In this system you were free to celebrate your anniversary on whichever of the two days you chose, depending on your viewpoint.

Russia did not fully adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1919, and China waited until 1949. Even today Greek and Orthodox churches continue to use the Julian Calendar to determine the dates for Holy Days such as Easter And Christmas.

The week that wasn't started on Sept 3rd, 1752 - 255 years ago this week... or not!

Resources:
1. "calendar." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 4 Sept. 2007 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-59347.
2. "Sept. 1752 - The Month that Wasn't" - Internet article - http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/08/12008/
3. "Absolutely nothing happened between 3 and 13 September 1752" - Internet article, http://didyouknow.org/calendar.htm
4. Various other internet articles derived from searching "sept 1752"

Other Events that happened this week (in years other than 1752):

September 1, 256: North African bishops decide that Christians who had recanted their faith under persecution must be re-baptized upon reentering the church. Stephen, bishop of Rome, disagreed with the vote and engaged in a heated debate with Cyprian, spokesman for the bishops. Eventually Cyprian yielded adding to the arguments for the Roman bishop's supremacy in the early church.

September 2, 1192: The Third Crusade ends with the signing of a treaty. The purpose of this crusade was to take back Jerusalem which had fallen to Saladin (a renowned Muslim general) in 1187. Though they failed in taking back the Holy City, Richard I (who would later be crowned king of England) negotiated access to the city for Christian pilgrims.

September 4, 1842: After a taking a 284-year hiatus (they started building it in 1248), construction of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany was resumed. Now a World Heritage Site, the cathedral was not completed until 1880. And you thought highway construction seemed to take forever!

September 5, 1997: Mother Teresa of Calcutta, winner of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Missionaries of Charity dies. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia this simple woman's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world, and she has been an inspiration to millions.

September 6, 1620: With 102 Puritan colonists (including three pregnant women) and approx. 30 crew members aboard, the Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England bound for the New World. After numerous hardships both at sea and upon their arrival in North America, the settlers would become known as The Pilgrims.

September 7, 1823: Samuel Marsden, a missionary-pastor in Australia, is shipwrecked during one of seven voyages to New Zealand to share the Gospel with the Maori people.

This Train is Bound for Glory

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:13:00 +0000

Week 21 - May 20-26

For many years I have been a huge fan of the railroads that helped to build this country and many others around the world. I especially love to travel to areas where the railroad is the only way in or out of town, such as the Agawa Canyon run on the Algoma Central railway here in Ontario. I try to imagine what it would be like to live in such a place.

Well - the fact is as the west began to open up there were many towns that sprang up along the railroads where that was exactly the case. Not only that, but many of these towns were temporary, picking up and moving with the railhead as the line was being built. In cases like these putting up a church was largely regarded as a waste of time as by the time the church was finished the town had moved on. As a result the spiritual needs of the folks in these towns went largely unmet.

One man, an Episcopalian - Bishop Walker, had an idea. Why not outfit railroad cars as chapels? These could be pulled to where they were needed and would cost just two or three thousand dollars each to buy. He couldn’t see why it wouldn’t be successful, all he needed was some like-minded people to help to finance the project.

Walker was good at selling his idea. Cornelius Vanderbilt, one of America's richest men at the time, gave the first donation to the new ministry and Walker's first chapel car was delivered in 1890.

For the next ten years "The Cathedral Car," as it was called (pictured), traveled over seventy thousand miles throughout many remote areas of America, especially areas where the railroads had just opened the way. As with any church anywhere, many who attended the services held in the rolling sanctuary accepted the Christian message and saw their lives changed for the good; others had the faith they already had strengthened by the experience of worshiping with others.

Before long other denominations followed the Episcopalian lead also sending chapel cars to the west. The Roman Catholic church built three cars named for St. Anthony, St. Peter, and St. Paul.

Seven Baptist chapel cars were constructed and commissioned. The first of these, called "Evangel" seated one hundred worshipers and was dedicated in Cincinnati Ohio. The ten foot wide by sixty foot long car was hooked up to the engines of the Northern Pacific Railroad free of charge. This was because one of the supporters of Reverend Boston W. Smith, who spearheaded the project was the brother of the NPR’s General Manager. They also organized the syndicate that raised the funds to build more of "Uncle" Boston's cars. The syndicate included such prominent men as business tycoon, John D. Rockefeller, and Thomas Edison, who provided the rail chapels with his new invention - the phonograph. The novelty of the recordings became a drawing card for the Baptist services.

The other six Baptist cars were named Emmanuel, Glad Tidings, Good Will, Messenger of Peace, Herald of Hope, and Grace. Along with two other Episcopal chapel cars named only Diocese Car of Northern Michigan #1 and #2, a total of thirteen chapels cars spent a total of five decades traveling the ribbons of steel laid across America. The last of the chapel cars was retired in the 1940s.

Not everyone appreciated the rail bound churches. In Oregon, one car was pelted with eggs, marked with graffiti and set afire. However, by the grace of God and the actions of nobler individuals in the local population, it survived the ordceal.

The idea was borrowed by other countries, too. The Orthodox used them in Russia, Presbyterians in South Africa and missionaries in China. There were even a few in Great Britain that actually pre-dated the American projects.

I don’t know exactly when Walker’s “Cathedral Car” hit the rails for the first time (if anyone does I’d appreciate the date), but Reverend Smith’s first Baptist chapel car “The Evangel” was dedicated to its ministry on May 23, 1891 — 116 years ago, this week.

Other events that happened this week - May 20-26

May 20, 1690 - John Eliot, English missionary to the Native Americans of New England and publisher of the first Bible printed in America, dies at the age of 86. Eliot arrived in America from England in 1631 and within two years had translated the entire Bible into the Algonquin Indian language.

May 21, 1382 - The "Earthquake Synod" in London condemns as heretical 24 theses from the writings of John Wycliffe. The synod gained this name because a brief tremor struck London interrupting the proceedings. Wycliffe later claimed that God sent the earthquake "because the friars had put heresy upon Christ. The earth trembled as it did when Christ was damned to bodily death".

May 22,1967 - The General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS) adopted the Confession of 1967. It was the first major declaration of faith adopted by this branch of Protestantism since the Westminster Confession of 1647.

May 24, 1543 - Polish astronomer and cleric Nicolas Copernicus dies in Poland. His heliocentric (sun-centered) concept of the solar system was considered radical and some theologians strongly criticized the theory because of its apparent contradiction of scripture.

May 25, 1535 - After holding the city of Munster (which had been taken o0ver by radical Anabaptists) under siege for over a year, the army of the city's Roman Catholic bishop finally retakes the city. The Anabaptists, led by Jan Matthys, had acted on the prophecy of Melchoir Hoffman that Christ would soon return, and only Christians in Munster would survive. During the occupation, Matthys and his followers became increasingly despotic and maniacal, enjoying excesses while the people starved and introducing wild practices like polygamy.

May 26, 1521 - The Edict of Worms formally condemns Martin Luther's teachings , and he is put under the ban of the Holy Roman Emperor. Those who fear for his life then kidnap Luther and hide him in Fredericks Wartbury castle.

Save your Enemy - Get Burned.

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Sun, 27 May 2007 03:17:00 +0000

Week 20 - May 13-19

Every once in a while the subject comes up about people who have been baptized as infants being re-baptized as adults when they come to faith for themselves. Some denominations allow it, others do not. What has always amazed me however, is just how contentious an issue it can be. Consider the story of Dirk Willem.

Dirk was captured and imprisoned in his home town of Asperen in the Netherlands for the crime of being an Anabaptist. These were basically peaceful citizens who did not believe in war and who became the forerunners of today's Mennonites and Amish. The main complaint of the authorities against them was that they did not believe infant baptism had any value. They chose to be re-baptized as willing adults. Dirk knew his fate would be death if he remained in prison, so he made a rope of strips of cloth and slid down it over the prison wall (yeah people actually escaped using the bed-sheet trick). One of the guards gave chase.

A late spring frost had covered a nearby pond with a thin layer of ice. Dirk decided to take his chances and dashed across the flimsy surface. He made it, but the guard that was chasing him didn’t. Falling into the cold icy water the man cried out for help. Dirk could not ignore his cries.

You see, the Anabaptist aversion to infant baptism was based on their determination to do all things in accordance with scripture. This devotion to the Word also meant Dirk believed in Jesus’ teaching that a man should help his enemies. He immediately turned back and pulled the floundering guard from the frigid water. The event was reported in The Martyrs Mirror, first published in 1660 by Thieleman J. van Braght. A woodcut depicting the rescue (pictured) accompanied the account.

Grateful for his life the guard was of a mind to let Dirk escape, but a Burgomaster (chief magistrate) who had been standing on the shore sternly ordered him to arrest Dirk and bring him back, reminding him of the oath he had sworn as an officer of the courts. Reluctantly, the guard escorted Dirk back to prison; Dirk offered no resistance.

As expected he was condemned to death for being re-baptized, allowing secret church services in his home and letting others be baptized there. The record of his sentencing concludes: "all of which is contrary to our holy Christian faith, and to the decrees of his royal majesty, and ought not to be tolerated, but severely punished, for an example to others; therefore, we the aforesaid judges, having, with mature deliberation of council, examined and considered all that was to be considered in this matter, have condemned and do condemn by these presents in the name; and in the behalf, of his royal majesty, as Count of Holland, the aforesaid Dirk Willems, prisoner, persisting obstinately in his opinion, that he shall be executed with fire, until death ensues; and declare all his property confiscated, for the benefit of his royal majesty."

As was the custom Dirk was burned to death for his crime (women were executed by drowning). They also placed a cumbersome clamp on Willem’s tongue. This was because many Anabaptists proved to be so bold in their final testimony for Christ that authorities began to clamp their tongues before leading them out to their execution so that they could not speak up and win more converts.

The wind blew the flames away from him resulting in his death taking much longer and being far more painful than was usually the case. Time and again Dirk cried out to God for release. Finally one of the judges could not bear to see him suffer any longer and ordered one of the guards to end his torment with a quick death.

How many Anabaptists died during the sixteenth century persecution in Europe? No one knows for sure. What is certain is that at least 1,500 were cruelly tortured and killed, for the crime of wanting to decide for themselves when they should be baptized.

Dirk William paid the ultimate price for his dedication to Scripture on May 16, 1569 - 438 years ago this week.

Other events that happened this week.

May 13, 1963 - Death of A.W. Tozer, Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor and author of The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy.

May 14, 1572 - Gregory XIII, who reformed the Julian calendar bringing into usage the calendar used today and was subsequently named for him, is raised to the papacy.

May 15, 1984 - Presbyterian evangelical Francis A. Schaeffer passes away in Rochester, Minnesota. Schaeffer was the author of many books, and founder of the L'Abri (the Shelter) community in Switzerland.

May 17, 1844 - German biblical scholar Julius Wellhausen is born. His controversial theory about the Pentateuch—that it is a compilation of four literary sources (J, Jahwist; E, Elohist; D, Deuteronomist; and P, Priestly Editor), laid the foundation for most subsequent Old Testament criticism.

May 18, 1920 - Karol Wojtyla (who would take the name John Paul II when elected pope) is born in Wadowice, Poland.

May 19, 1971 - The musical Godspell, based on Matthew's gospel, opens at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York.

One Spring day on the Salisbury Plain

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 18 May 2007 01:06:00 +0000

Week 19 - May 6-12

- The Battle of the Bulge
- Vimy Ridge
- Defeat of the Spanish Armada
- Waterloo
- Gettysburg

The history of war and the history of mankind are inseparable. The battles listed above are turning points not just in the wars of which they are a part, but also in the course of human events. I’d like to tell you about another such pivotal battle. One you probably haven’t heard of. I’d like to tell you about... Ethandun.

Danes (Vikings) had been attacking the British Isles for many years. One by one the individual kingdoms that would one day be united under the same flag fell to Danish control; Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia. By 877 only the kingdom of Wessex resisted the invaders. The Viking king, Guthrum, had sworn on oath of peace the year before, but in a surprise attack that winter drove the king of Wessex, Alfred, from his throne. The other Saxon nobles and kings had fled overseas, and Guthrum assumed that Alfred would follow the same course.

Alfred however, was not like other nobles. He was not about to give up his kingdom so easily. He went into hiding on the Isle of Athelney in Somerset until the spring of 878. At that point he sent out messengers, summoning the Anglo-Saxons to a place known as Egbert's Stone. The thanes responded, rejoicing to learn that their king had not abandoned them. The army then spent a night at Iley Oak, deep in wooded country, a spot now called Robin Hood's Bower. (Sorry! I haven't the foggiest idea why it's named after Robin Hood, though the name certainly has some implications).

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle about 4,000 men marched from Egbert’s stone. Only a small minority of the army would have been professional soldiers. The majority would have been made up of land owners, those that owed money to the land owners, and those who rented land from the land owners.

Guthum found out about the approaching force, and mobilized his army to meet them. When Alfred found the Viking army, it was occupying the high ground at Ethandun (Edington). Alfred would have approached from the south east across Salisbury Plain. What Alfred’s troops lacked in experience they made up in numbers. Guthrum and his professional soldiers were driven off the field of battle. He fled to his fortress at Reading. A few days later he surrendered. Alfred had sufficient arms and men to destroy his enemy once and for all.

But he didn’t. Instead, he negotiated another peace. Once again we turn to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, “Then the raiding army granted him (Alfred) hostages and great oaths that they would leave his kingdom and also promised him that their king (Guthrum) would receive baptism; and they fulfilled it. And three weeks later the king Guthrum came to him, one of thirty of the most honourable men who were in the raiding army, at Aller- and that is near Athelney- and the king received him at baptism; and his chrism losing was at Wedmore.”

Guthrum was baptized with the name Aethelstan and spent the next twelve days being taught by Alfred what it meant to be a Christian. His catechism completed he was allowed to return home with the remainder of his men. Except for one brief (and unsuccessful) raid prompted by Danish nobles back home, Guthrum kept the new peace.

Alfred himself became the only English king called "Great." In order to ensure the security of his expanding kingdom, he built a navy featuring a new ship design, created a system of forts allowing a permanent standing army while protecting the populace at home, brought the previously mentioned kingdoms and Wales under Saxon authority, and revised a number of laws, building on Biblical teachings.

Alfred the Great is sometimes called the "father of the English language." Constant war had disrupted learning in England. Alfred reformed learning among his subjects by changing from Latin to the early English language. Scholars were in such short supply so he imported them. He himself spearheaded the drive to translate psalms, Gregory's Pastoral Care, Orosius' Geography, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, and several other works into the language of England.

The Battle of Ethandun, which turned the tide of history preserving Christianity and promoting its values as part of Alfred’s sweeping reforms happened on May 6, 878 — 1,129 years ago this week.

Other events that happened this week.

May 7, 1274 - The Second Council of Lyons convenes with the goal of reunifying the Roman and Greek churches. Orthodox delegates agreed to recognize the papal claims and recite the Creed with the"from the son" clause added, but the union was fiercely rejected by the majority of Orthodox clergy and laity fiercely rejected the union.

May 8, 1559 - The Act of Uniformity receives Queen Elizabeth I's royal assent, reinstating the forms of worship Henry VIII had ordered and mandating the use of the Book of Common Prayer (1552).

May 9, 1983 - Pope John Paul II reverses the Catholic Church's 1633 condemnation of Galileo Galilei's Copernican heliocentric (sun-centered) theory of the universe.

May 10, 1310 - In Paris, 54 Knights Templar are burned alive. The catholic church created the Templars to protect Holy Land pilgrims from bandits, but the knights' quick rise in power and wealth made them unpopular. Philip the Fair (?) of France trumped up charges of blasphemy and homosexuality against them to convince Pope Clement to disband the order and persecute its members.

May 11, 1610 - Death of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, the first Catholic missionary to China. Entering the country as a clockmaker, Ricci was criticized for embracing the teachings of Confucius scholar and allowing ancestor "worship." Ricci did not gain many converts but among the few were a number of influential Chinese families.

May 12, 1792 - Father of Modern Missions William Carey publishes his highly influential book on the importance of evangelism. Carey was a innovative missionary but could have used an assist on the title of the book - " An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens in which the Religious State of the Different Nations of the World, the Success of Former Undertakings, and the practicability of Further Undertakings, are Considered."

Something's Been Eating at Caesar

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:48:00 +0000

Week 18: April 29- May 4

Sometimes it's hard to decide which event in a week to write about. Other times the subject justs jumps out at you and says, "Here I am! Write about me!" This week it's the latter, and it's a double-header.

Galerius was born about AD 250 in a little village near Florentiana in Upper Moesia. His father was a simple peasant and his mother came from beyond the Danube. At first it appears he worked as a herdsman, a man of violent character, fond of pleasure and politically insignificant; but then he joined the army and proved to be an efficient soldier, then a loyal officer devoted to Emperor Diocletian.

In 293 Diocletian divided the empire into a tetrarchy, that is he created four lesser empires and assigned his best and most trusted confidants to serve a junior Caesars. Galerius, together with Constantius Chlorus, was chosen from the senior military leaders. He took the name Gaius Valerius Maximianus and was entrusted with rule of the powerful Balkan provinces, Pannonia, Moesia and Thraciae and the Diocese of Asiana in Asia Minor (Turkey).

Galerius' tenure as junior Caesar had its ups and downs (he suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Persians but managed to exact his revenge a few years later) but over all his power and influence grew. So much in fact, that most historians ascribe the four edicts against the Christians published after 303 by Diocletian, who was himself a strong believer in the heathen superstitions.

Much points toward Galerius in this respect. His mother Romula was said to have been a fanatical paganist. Having grown up under the influence of such religious zealotry, it is well possible that Galerius's feelings should have been very hostile toward other religions.

The Christians had been gaining converts at ever increasing rates, both among the soldiers and the civil officials. Magnificent churches were being erected in the large cities, and the time seemed not far distant when the new religion would become more popular than the old. Christianity therefore, had to go; believers needed to be rooted out, the Holy Scriptures must be abolished, the churches destroyed, and the cemeteries confiscated.

The edicts, ever increasing in severity, were enforced much more strictly in the East where Galerius was in command than in the West. It was in the East that the decisive struggle between paganism and Christianity was fought out. When Diocletian voluntarily abandoned the imperial throne at Nicomedia in May, 305, he named Galerius his successor. The latter thenceforth passed most of his time in Illyricum.

Galerius himself is believed to have issued an edict in 304 requiring everyone in the empire to sacrifice to the gods of the empire on pain of death or forced labor; hundreds of Christians executed. When Diocletian abdicated, Galerius became senior emperor in 305. He didn't let up, in fact his persecution became even more widespread. However, Christianity simply would not go away. Eventually even Galerius began to suspect it would be impossible to snuff out the illegal religion.

Then in the year 311 he became ill. A Christian writer named Lactantius said that Galerius' flesh began to rot away and was eaten by maggots while he writhed in agony. Some members of Galerius' household claimed the emperor connected his illness with the persecution of the Christians. He seems to have seen his illness as a judgment from the Christian God. Whether or not this is true we will likely never know for sure. At any rate, he issued an edict which mentioned only Christians.

The edict began by justifying his previous edits. "Amongst our other measures for the advantage of the Empire, we have hitherto endeavored to bring all things into conformity with the ancient laws and public order of the Romans. We have been especially anxious that even the Christians, who have abandoned the religion of their ancestors, should return to reason."

Noting that some of the Christians had betrayed their faith out of fear while others endured torture, Galerius for some inexplicable reason also declared, "we, with our wonted clemency, have judged it wise to extend a pardon even to these men and permit them once more to become Christians and reestablish their places of meeting..."

In a final attempt to hedge his chances Galerius added, "...it should be the duty of the Christians, in view of our clemency [mercy], to pray to their god for our welfare, for that of the Empire, and for their own, so that the Empire may remain intact in all its parts, and that they themselves may live safely in their habitations."

Galerius wanted the Christian's to intercede on his behalf. Reminds me of Pharoah aand Moses (Exodus 8:28) Did he hope for a miracle? If so, he was disappointed. He died a week after issuing the edict.

His successor, Emperor Maximinus, tried to counteract the edict but did not succeed to any great extent in his short rule. The Great Persecution of Christians had ended.

Now... why do I call this a double-header? Because both the fourth and final edit ordering the persecution of the Christians in 304, and the issuing of the edit that ended the persecution in 311 went out from Galerius on April 30 exactly seven years apart; 1,703 and 1696 years ago this week.

Other events that happened this week.

April 29, 1429 - Joan of Arc, who had experienced mystical visions and voices since childhood, enters the besieged French city of Orleans to lead a victory over the English. The next day, the English retreated, but, because it was a Sunday, Joan refused to allow any pursuit. On a sortie the next year, The English captured Joan and put her on trial for heresy.

May 1, 1873 - Missionary-explorer David Livingstone dies. Responsible for "opening up" central Africa and for popularizing missions to that continent, Livingstone himself only made one convert—who later backslid. Still, he is widely considered one of Christianity's missionary heroes.

May 2, 373 - Church father Athanasius, "the father of Orthodoxy," dies. He attended the Council of Nicea, and after becoming bishop of Alexandria, he fought Arianism and won. He was also the first to list the New Testament canonical books as we know them today.

May 3, 1675 - A Massachusetts law goes into effect requiring church doors to be locked during services. Officials enacted the law because too many people were leaving before sermons were over.

May 4, 1873 - Father Damien enters the Leper Colony on Molokai Island, Hawaii to minister to the population there. Ignored by everyone, the residents of the colony lived what Damien described as "the most retched existence imaginable." For the next twelve years he devoted himself to reforming conditions on the island and bringing the souls of the residents to salvation. His mission ended when he contracted the disease himself. He died four years later. His unselfish devotion inspired many others around the world who continue his work to this day.

A German Christian Defends the Talmud

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis Alan Gray) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:17:00 +0000

Week 17: April 22-28

In the usual course of the study of history people hear a great deal about the movers and shakers who bring about momentous change. What we seldom hear about however, are the people who work in the background, helping to make the movers and shakers. The people without whose contribution, great events might have unfolded differently.

In the midst of a wave of anti-Semitism, a converted Jew named Johann Pfefferkorn and the Dominican inquisitors managed to extract from Emperor Maximilian an order to burn all Hebrew works except the Old Testament, particularity the Talmud and the Kabbala. The accusation was that because the Jews denied Christ their works and writings were contrary to the truth, full of errors and blasphemies. Fortunately, before the edict could be carried out, the Emperor had second thoughts and consulted the greatest Hebrew scholar of the age - Reuchlin.

In February of 1455 Johann Reuchlin was born into a working class family, but his talent for singing brought him to the attention of the Margrave of Baden who brought him into his household as a companion for his son. It was in this new environment that Johann discovered another talent - languages. An avid learner, once given the chance, he achieved his Masters at the age of 22 and began to teach both Latin and Greek. He wrote the first Latin dictionary published in Germany and a Greek grammar in 1479. Hebrew however, was his dearest love. He ferreted out the rules of Israel's ancient language by study of Hebrew texts and conversing with every rabbi who appeared within his range. His authority became widely recognized.

Reuchlin urged the Emperor to preserve Jewish writings as an aid to study, and as examples of errors against which champions of faith might defend. To destroy the books would give ammunition to the church's enemies, he said. Convinced the emperor revoked the order.

Furious, the Dominicans tried to prove Reuchlin was a heretic. In truth, he might well have been one, for his ecclesiastical writings appear to espouse salvation through cabalistic practices rather than relying totally on Christ's atoning blood. But since the Dominicans main target was anything written by Jewish teachers that wasn't scripture, for focused their attack on his supporting of writings written by the "killers of Christ.". Reuchlin was ordered to appear before the Inquisition, tried and convicted in one breath, and his writings were ordered to be burnt.

Scholars sympathetic to Johann and his ideals appealed to Leo X. The Pope referred the matter to the Bishop of Spires, whose tribunal heard the issue. The tribunal declared Reuchlin not guilty. It was a great victory for freedom of learning.

The Dominicans however, were not known for giving up easily. They persuaded the monestaries at Cologne, Erfurt, Louvain, Mainz and Paris to condemn Reuchlin's writings. With their new-found scholastic support, they once again made their case before Leo X. As is often the case, Leo found himself in the middle of a dilemma. Should he win the applause of the scholars by protecting the Jewish books, or placate the clerics by destroying them?

In the tradition of politicians everywhere he appointed a commission. The commission backed Reuchlin. Still reluctant to create enemies Leo decided to suspend judgment which, in itself, was a victory for Reuchlin. As a result not only were the Talmud and Kabal saved from destruction throughout realm, but Reuchlin's Greek and Hebrew dictionaries survived as well; the same dictionaries that Luther would later use to create his German translation of the New testament and selected Old Testament passages.

In 1517 Luther posted his 95 theses. "Thanks be to God," said the weary Reuchlin. "At last they have found a man who will give them so much to do that they will be compelled to let my old age end in peace."

As trying as his experience might have been, it is important to note that Johann did not suffer to no purpose. Reuchlin's ordeal preserved not just the Talmud and Kabbala but many other Jewish writings that have helped us to understand the world and culture in which Jesus walked and taught. His victory was also a victory for academic freedom and scholarly investigation.

Johann Reuchlin was found innocent of all charges by the tribunal of the Bishop of Spires on April 24, 1514 — 493 years ago this week.

Other events that happened this week - April 22-28

April 22, 1864 - The motto "In God We Trust," conceived during the Civil War, first appears on American coinage.

April 23, 1538 - John Calvin and William Farel are banished from Geneva. The day before, Easter Sunday, both had refused to administer communion, saying the city was too full of vice to partake. Three years later, Calvin returned to the city to stay.

April 25, 1214 - Louis IX, king of France, is born. Leader of the Seventh and Eighth Crusades (he died on the latter), he was known for his humility; he wore hair shirts and visited hospitals—where he emptied the bedpans. So great was his devotion to his Christian duty he was made a saint in 1297, twenty-seven years after his death.

April 26, 1992 - Worshipers celebrate the first Russian Orthodox Easter in Moscow in 74 years.

April 27, 1667 - Blind, bitter, and poor, Puritan poet John Milton sells for ten pounds the copyright for Paradise Lost—a book that would influence English thought and language nearly as much as the King James Version and the plays of Shakespeare. Paradise Lost is about Adam and Eve--the same story you find in the first pages of Genesis, expanded by Milton into a long, detailed, narrative poem.

April 28, 1789 - In the South Pacific, a band of hedonistic sailors stage the famous mutiny on the Bounty. The mutineers then sailed to uninhabited Pitcairn Island, where they soon fell into drinking and fighting. Only one man and several women (taken earlier as slaves) and children survived. The man, Alexander Smith, discovered the ship's neglected Bible, repented, and transformed the community. The Bible is still on display in a Pitcairn church.