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Devotional

God prepares those who will serve him (1914)

Read John 1:35-51. Our Lord does not stumble upon his disciples by accident. His discoveries are not surprises. He knows...

Events

451

Because of clashes between Christian factions, Roman Emperor Marcian issues a law against brawling in churches and against holding meetings in private houses or in the streets.

Authority for the date: Wace, Henry. A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1911.

1213

As a step in his quest to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, king of Germany and of Sicily signs the Golden Bull of Eger, renouncing secular authority over the German clergy.

Authority for the date: Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church.

1429

Death of Jean Charlier Gerson. An educator and bishop, he had been considered a reformer although he joined in condemning Jan Hus at Constance.

Authority for the date: Foutz, Scott David. On the Life and Mystical Theology of Jean Gerson (1363-1429).

1551

Thirteen year old Lady Jane Grey writes a letter to Henry Bullinger asking his advice for her studies.

Authority for the date: Leben 2 (2005).

1570

Death of Arsenius of Novgorod, where he had founded a monastery. He rebuked Ivan the Terrible to his face for destroying the city.

Authority for the date: Walsh, Michael. A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West.

1739

As David Brainerd is walking through a dark grove to his secret place of prayer, God speaks to him and he has a glorious salvation experience. The twenty-one-year-old will live only eight more years but inspire many others through his diary.

Authority for the date: Encyclopedia Americana.

1840

Frederick W. Robertson is ordained in the Anglican Church by the Bishop of Winchester. He will bring evangelical passion to his pulpit and be known for his psychological approach to biblical characters, seeking to understand their motivations.

Authority for the date: Brooke, Stopford A. Life, Letters, Lectures and Addresses of Frederick. W. Robertson, M. A.

1859

Three thousand miners meet for a revival meeting on Frongoch Hill near Aberystwyth, Wales. It is so hot they pray for relief and God sends a mist. This prayer meeting will become an annual event.

Authority for the date: Orr, J. Edwin. The Second Evangelical Awakening. London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1949.

1931

Death of Nathan Söderblom, a Swedish Lutheran clergyman, noted for his ecumenism and the formation of groups that will lead to the formation of the World Council of Churches.

Authority for the date: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html

1936

Death in Plattsburg, New York, from acute appendicitis, of S. Parkes Cadman, a well-known Christian speaker, radio personality, former president of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, and pastor of the Central Congregational Church of Brooklyn.

Authority for the date: Hall, Timothy L. “Cadman, S. Parkes.” American Religious Leaders, American Biographies. New York: Facts

1941

Following a night of prayer, Bakht Singh and his coworkers are prompted to found indigenous churches with the four-fold task of showing Christ’s fulness, unity, wisdom, and glory. The first church, called Jehovah Shammah, is established in Madras on this day. The Lord soon multiplies more churches across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and elsewhere.

Authority for the date: Koshy, T.E. "An Overview of His Life and Ministry." www.brotherbakhtsingh.org

1944

Death in Paris, from throat cancer, of Sergius Bulgakov, an Orthodox priest living in exile. He had helped found the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris where he taught dogmatic theology. 

Authority for the date: orthodoxwiki.org.

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