Christian History Almanac

We remember French polymath Marin Mersenne, who died on this day in 1648. We also commemorate the founding of the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 1831. The reading is from H.W. Longfellow, "Blind B…

On this day, we remember two Biblical figures, Nicodemus & Joseph of Arimethea. On this day in 1688 John Bunyan died, the Puritan author of "Pilgrim's Progress." The reading is from William Blake, "A…

On this day, we remember the siege and sack of Jerusalem in AD 70. Also on this day in 1637, Anne Hutchinson was banished from the Massachusetts Bay colony. The reading is "My Body Is a Broken Toy" b…

On this day, we remember the beheading of St. John the Baptist, one of the oldest feast days in the church. We also remember German humanist Ulrich von Hutten, who later joined the Reformation. The r…

It is the feast day of St. Augustine, who died on this day 430. And we remember Hugo Grotius, Dutch theologian, who also died on this day in 1645. The reading is an excerpt from "The conversion of Sa…

On this day, we remember St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, and the order to burn Puritan John Milton's works in 1660. The reading is from John Milton, "On Blindness."

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On this day, we remember Petrus Ramus, a French reformer who died in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. We also remember the American Standard Version translation of the Bible from 1901, the predece…

On this day, we remember a few different men named Genesius and 18th-century German theologian Karl Barhdt. The reading is from Madame Guyon, "I Love My God."

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Today is St. Bartholomew's day, not a feast for the squeamish. We remember the birthday in 1759 of William Wilberforce. The reading is "Agony" by George Herbert.

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On this day, we remember Francois Hotman, born 1524, and the St. Bartholomew's Eve Massacre of 1572. The reading is from Sir Phillip Sydney, "Leave me, O Love."

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On this day, the Alcasian contemporary of the first Reformers, Beatus Rhenanus, was born in 1485. We also remember one of the most unlikely to beatified, St. Guinefort. The reading is from George Mac…

On this day in 1741, Handel began composing his most famous work, the oratorio "Messiah." Today, we also remember Alexander Konstantin von Oettingen, Lutheran pastor and statistician, who died in 190…

On this day, we remember two European-born theologians who changed the face of the church in America: Francis Asbury and Paul Tillich. The reading is "The Good Shepherd" by Richard Baxter.

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On this day, we celebrate the Feast of Apples, also known as the Transfiguration. It is also the birthday of C.I. Scofield, born on this day in 1843. The reading is from St. Augustine on the Transfig…

On this day, we remember the patron saints of masons and horse, Florus and Laurus, and we remember the work of Jean Bolland, whose work collected and preserved the stories of the saints. The reading …

On this day, we remember J.V. Andreae, born in 1586, mystic and alchemist. Today is also the commemoration of Johann Gerhard, scholastic and pietist Lutheran. The reading is From "A Handbook of Conso…

On this day, we remember Wyatt Tee Walker, African American pastor during the Civil Rights Movement, and Anne Bradsteet, a poet and theologian in the Colonial era. The reading is "Deliverance from a …

On this day, we remember the first Christians in Japan and the Assumption/Feast of St. Mary. The reading is by William Butler Yeats, "The Mother of God."

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On this day, we remember the cable access preacher Gene Scott and founder of the Knights of Columbus, Michael J. McGivney. The reading is from "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene.

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Servetus arrested in Geneva on this day in 1553 and we commemorate two women: Florence Nightingale and Clara Maass. The reading is by R.S. Thomas, "Praise."

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