Today in Christian History
January 10
236
Fabian, a farmer visiting Rome, is elected pope (tradition says after a dove descends on him). He will serve until 250, when he will become one of the first martyrs under Decius, an emperor hostile to the Christian faith.
681
Death of Pope Agatho, a Sicilian, who had played a decisive part in suppressing the the Monothelite controversy.
1514
The first section of the Complutensian Polyglot (the world’s first multi-language Bible) was printed at Alcala, Spain. (The complete translation was published in 6 volumes in 1517.)
1538
Regarding the doctrine of purgatory, German Reformer Martin Luther reported in a “Table Talk”: ‘God has placed two ways before us in His Word: salvation by faith, damnation by unbelief (Mark 16:16). He does not mention purgatory at all. Nor is purgatory to be admitted, for it obscures the benefits and grace of Christ.’
1604
Death of Juliana of Lazarevo (or Juliana of Murom), considered a saint by the Orthodox Church because as a layperson in Russia she lived a righteous life, helping the poor and needy, amidst her care for her children and others.
1645
Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud is beheaded under a bill of attainder from Parliament. He had been very cruel to Puritans and other dissenters.
1772
Pioneer American Methodist bishop and circuit rider Francis Asbury penned this prayer in his journal: ‘Let me sooner choose to die than sin against thee, in thought, word, or deed.’
1858
English poet Frances Ridley Havergal, 21, while on a visit in Germany, penned the verses which later became her first popular hymn: “I Gave My Life for Thee.”
1863
Death in New York City of Lyman Beecher, famed anti-Unitarian preacher. In addition to pastoral roles in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he had served as president of Lane Theological Seminary in Ohio.
1883
Death of Elling Eielsen, a lay preacher in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the United States. He had migrated to America in 1839 and won many Norwegian emigrants to Christ, traveling the frontier with the gospel message, an axe, compass, coffee pot, and rain gear. At Fox River, Illinois, he organized America’s first Norwegian Lutheran congregation—The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
1947
U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: ‘May we resolve, God helping us, to be part of the answer, and not part of the problem.’
1960
A car filled with seven Christian workers plunges into deep water in the Black Umbluzi River but Pastor Phineas Dlamini and the other six escape, some with injuries. Dlamini was a leading pastor in the Church of the Nazarene in Swaziland.
