1189
The Peace of Strasbourg was signed, resolving the differences between Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany and Pope Clement III.
1253
Death of Bishop Richard of Chichester, who had suffered persecution from hostile King Henry III but was beloved by his people.
1327
Papal bull of John XXII condemns the writings of Marsilus of Padua and John of Jandun.
1528
In Cologne, German reformer Adolf Clarenbach, 28, was arrested for teaching Protestant (some say Anabaptist or Waldensian) doctrines. The following year, Clarenbach was burned at the stake for his faith.
1593
Birth of George Herbert, English clergyman and poet. One of his verses endures today as the hymn, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.”
1685
Bull of Pope Gregory XIII bans reading of Scotus Erigena’s De Divisione Naturae.
1759
Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: ‘I believe that love to God, and to man for God’s sake, is the essence of religion and the fulfilling of the law.’
1769
Death in Mülheim (in the Ruhr) of Pietist preacher and hymnwriter Gerhard Tersteegen. Among his best-known hymns was “Thou hidden love of God.”
1826
Death of Reginald Heber in India. The following year, his hymns will be published posthumously. Among them will be “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains.”
1901
James Chalmers and Oliver Tompkins sail from Daru, Papua, New Guinea, in what will be their last voyage. Within days, cannibals will martyr and eat them.
1950
Death of American hymnwriter Ira B. Wilson, 70. Associated with Lorenz Publishing in Dayton, Ohio for over 40 years, Wilson’s most enduring sacred composition was “Make Me a Blessing” (aka “Out of the Highways and Byways of Life”).
1971
Nazarene evangelists Tómaz Phiri and Nadies Kampione (husband and wife) make a dangerous night escape from Mozambique to Malawi with their children. Although refugees, they will plant four churches that will remain in a flourishing condition years later.
