Christian History Almanac

On this day, we remember the Benedictine abbess and mystic Hildegard von Bingen, and congregationalist Samuel Hopkins, born in 1721. The reading is from Hildegard von Bingen, "O spectabiles viri." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

We remember the third council of Constantinople which ended on this day in 681. We also remember the birthday of J.B. Phillips—Bible translator and author. The reading is "The Gift" by William Carlos Williams. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the 16th St. Baptist Church Bombings in 1963 and the birthday of notorious Anglican turned Baptist, Titus Oates, in 1649. The reading is "Be Still My Soul" by Kathrina von Schlegel. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

We remember theologian, bishop, and martyr, Cyprian of Carthage, who died on this day in 258. It is also the feast of Holy Cross Day. The reading is from "the Stations of the Cross" by Malcolm Guite, sonnet 12. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we celebrate the feast of St. John Chrysostom, notable Christian preacher. And we recognize the birthday of English translator of German hymnody, Catherine Winkworth. The reading is an excerpt from Chrysostom's Easter Sermon. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember early Reformation figure, Clement Marot, died 1544, and also the extraordinary Methodist figure, Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, born 1739. The reading is "Colossians 3:3" by George Herbert. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember Scottish poet Joanna Baillie, born 1762, and author William X. Kienzle, born 1928. The reading is "Death Shall Have No Dominion" by Dylan Thomas. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember Wolfgang Musculus, born 1497, and Jean Vanier, born 1928. The reading is from Wilfred Owen, "At A calvary Near the Ancre." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember two Russians, Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk, d. 1515, and Alexander Men, d. 1990. The reading is from "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the founding of Harvard in 1636, and the birthday of Peter Martyr Vermigli, who began teaching in Strassbourg and ended in Zurich. The reading is from "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

Today we celebrate the birthday of Jacobus Acontius, author of Satanae Stratagemata, and Thomas Erastus, author of Explicatio gravissimae quaestionis. The reading is a bit better known, a poem from Chad Bird, "Were You There?" We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, the "Pilgrims" set sail on Mayflower in 1620. The notable patriarch of American Lutheranism, Henry Melchior Muehlenberg, was born on this day in 1711. The reading is from "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the birthday of Tommasso Campanella, utopian and astrologer, and Gottfried Arnold, theologian and historian. The reading is the hymn, "Thou Who Breakest Every Chain," by Gottfried Arnold. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember Roman Catholic cardinal and archbishop František Tomášek, who helped the demise of the Czechoslovak communist regime. We also the radical Calvinist Jan van Hembyze, whose betrayal resulted in his beheading in 1584. The reading is by J.R.R. Tolkien, "Song of Aragorn." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember two ecclesiastical figures, Pope Gregory, who was born in 540, and Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Oliver Cromwell, who died in 1658. The reading is from C.S. Lewis, "As the Ruin Falls." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the most impressive Symeon the Stylite, who died in 459 on his pedestal. We also remember Danish pastor N.F.S. Grundtvig, d. 1872. The reading is "Abide Among Us, We Implore Thee" from Grundtvig. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 Bartimaeus." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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, "And Did Those Feet." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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" by Maurice Baring. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 reading is an excerpt from "The Meaning of the City" by Jacques Ellul. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 Saint Augustine" by Eleanor Donnelly. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 predecessor to the Revised and New Revised Standard Versions. The reading is from Scott Cairns, "Another Idiot Psalm." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 MacDonald, "Obedience." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 1905. The reading is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer on forgiveness from "Letters and Papers from Prison." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 Transfiguration. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 is "For All the Saints" by William How. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 Consolations" by Johann Gerhard. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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 fit of fainting" from Anne Bradstreet. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

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." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the incorporation of the Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1942. Also, William Blake, a critic of the Church of England, died on this day in 1872. The reading is William Blake's, "The Divine Image" from 1789. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember two medieval figures whose respective movements out-sized their own lives: Clare of Assisi d. 1253 and Nicholas of Cusa d. 1564. The reading is the St. Francis Prayer, of unknown authorship but attributed to St. Francis. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember two Reformation figures, Kaspar Olevianus b. 1536 and Phillip Nicolai b. 1556. The reading is a poem turned hymn by Nicolai, "How Bright the Morning Star." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember two martyrs under Nazi Germany, Edith Stein and Franz Jagerstetter. Our reading is about another martyr, "St. Stephen" by Malcolm Guite. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the "Robber" Ecumenical council at Ephesus in 449 and the banishment of Roger Williams in 1635. Our reading is a poem by Mary Bowley Peters, "All Must Be Well." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, Pope John XXII of Avignon was elected in 1366, and Frank Buchman, a founder of the Oxford Group, died in 1961. Our reading is by Cliff Ashby, "A Stranger in this Land." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

In 1801, on this day, was arguably the most significant Christian event in US history, the Cane Ridge Revival. But also on this day, five years later, the Holy Roman Empire was disbanded. Our reading is "The Contrite Heart" by William Cowper. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the northern renaissance 16th-century artists Dürer, Cranach, and Grunewald. Today is also the 85th birthday of poet Wendell Berry, born in 1934. Our reading is his poem, "Enemies." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

In just over five minutes, we learn of the Papal encyclical Aeterni Patris from 1879, we remember missionary James Chalmers, born on this day in 1841, and we hear our reading "A Word Made Flesh is Seldom" by Emily Dickinson. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember Rochester native Augustus Strong, born 1836, and we remember the death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 2008. Our reading is from James Macualey, "In the Twentieth Century." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the treaty at Nuremberg of 1532 and also the 16th century St. Basil, fool for Christ. Our reading is from Mustapha by Fulke Grenville. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember the death of Queen Anne in 1714, known as the Protestant Passover. We also remember Andrew Melville, born in 1545. Our reading is "His Metrical Prayer" by James Graham. We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day in 1541, the failed conference in Regensburg seeking reconciliation between Rome and the Lutherans ended. And on this day 1970, the New American Standard Bible translation was released. Our reading is from Martin Luther from his "Sermons on the Gospel of St. John." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.

On this day, we remember Robert Barnes, the English reformer who also studied in Wittenberg. We also remember the endorsement of "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the US in 1956. Our reading is by AE Housman, "Easter Hymn." We're proud to be part of 1517 Podcasts, a network of shows dedicated to delivering Christ-centered content. Our podcasts cover a multitude of content, from Christian doctrine, apologetics, cultural engagement, and powerful preaching. Support the work of 1517 today.