The Crucial Battle at Ethandun

I consider Alfred the Great one of the preeminent figures in Christian and western history.  His focus on education, a Christian education that is, and his wisdom and courage in dealing with the Danish invaders makes him a keystone along the map of Christian history.

Ethandun. Dane versus Saxon. Pagan versus Christian. Guthrum versus Alfred. Battle Worm versus Elf Counsel. The battle which took place at Ethandun on this day, May 6, 878 ensured that Christianity would survive in England. As with every major battle, the events preceding and following Ethandun were as important as the battle itself. The battle was merely the nexus, the watershed, the moment of crisis.

Alfred stood to lose everything. Vikings had attacked the British Isles for many years. Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia had fallen. By 877 the kingdom of Wessex alone resisted the invaders. In a surprise winter attack, having sworn a false peace, Guthrum drove Alfred from his throne. It seemed the Danes had triumphed. They thought Alfred, like other nobles and kings, would flee overseas. Christianity would be forced underground. Civilization would take a beating. The Saxons would be slaves.

But Alfred didn't run. He hid on the Isle of Athelney in Somerset. When spring came, he sent out messengers, summoning the Anglo-Saxons to Egbert's Stone. The thanes responded, weeping for joy at seeing their king alive. They marched to confront Guthrum.

The armies met at Ethandun. Guthrum with his professional soldiers was the loser. He fled to his fortress at Reading. A few days later he surrendered. For once Alfred had sufficient arms and men to destroy his enemy. Instead, he baptized Guthrum and thirty of the pirate's earls. For twelve days he catechized these new converts in the peace of Christ then let them go away.

Guthrum kept peace, rising against Alfred only once. Alfred himself became the only English king called "Great." He built a new style ship which proved successful against the Danish long boats. An innovative system of forts allowed Alfred to field a permanent standing army while protecting the populace at home. With consummate diplomacy he tied Mercia to Wessex and brought Wales under Saxon authority. A wise treaty with the Danes reduced feuds. He revised the laws, building on Bible teachings.

Alfred is sometimes called the "father of the English language." War had destroyed Latin learning in England. Alfred saw that he could either preserve learning by utilizing the early English language or he could stick to Latin and watch learning founder. Deeply concerned for his people's souls, he chose to go vernacular. Scholars were in such short supply he had to import them. He himself learned Latin and spearheaded the drive to translate psalms, Gregory's Pastoral Care, Orosius' Geography, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, and several other works.

Because of Alfred, England possessed a native and wholly Christian literature long before other Western countries. He also updated and distributed the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Bibliography:

1. Alfred the Great: papers from the eleventh-centenary conferences. Editor Timothy Reuter. Aldershot, Hants, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003.
2. "Alfred" and "Asser." Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921-1996.
3. Allen, John. One Hundred Great Lives. New York: Journal of Living, 1944.
4. Asser. Life of Alfred. Various editions.
5. Duggan, Alfred. The King of Athelney. London: New English Library, 1961. Novel.
6. Duckett, Eleanor Shipley. Alfred the Great. University of Chicago Press, 1956.
7. Kunitz, Stanley L. British Authors Before 1800; a biographical dictionary. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1952.
8. Mapp, Alf J. The Golden Dragon: Alfred the Great and his times. La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1974.
9. Plummer, Charles. The Life and Times of Alfred the Great; being the Ford lectures for 1901, by Charles Plummer ... With an appendix. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1902.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/601-900/the-crucial-battle-at-ethandun-11629771.html

Hans Egede To Greenland

On the west coast of Greenland, in the tundra zone about one hundred and fifty miles south of the arctic circle, a new colony was being built. Europeans had established a presence in Greenland as early as 980 under Eric the Red. Severe winters and the problems of maintaining trade caused the colony to perish 400 years later. Now, in 1722, the Danes were reestablishing their presence. The leader of the expedition was not a Dane, however. He was a tough-skinned Norwegian. More to the point, he was a Christian missionary.

Protestantism was slow to develop a missionary consciousness and commitment. The little nation of Denmark was among the first Protestant countries which recognized the urgency of spreading the gospel. It's leaders founded a mission school in 1714. Among the missions-minded was their ruler, the good king Frederick IV. Having come under the influence of Pietism, he strongly supported Danish missions, including the Greenland project. On this day, May 3, 1721, Hans Egede sailed with his wife Gertrude for the inhospitable regions of the world's largest island.

Greenland is a harsh land. No settlement is possible except along the coasts, for the interior of the world's largest island is ice-covered year round. In spite of all its ice, Greenland's northern regions are more arid than the driest Sahara, receiving less than five inches of rain a year. The southern coasts receive 30 inches a year. There grasses grow and some trees: alder, birch and willow. Hans Egede found both winter and summer beautiful despite the low average temperatures and pale sun that never rises high in the sky.

In 1722 he founded a colony and named it Godthåb. Known as Nuuk today, it is capital of the nation. From this base he preached to the Eskimos, but saw few indications of success. Superstition ran deep in these hardy Indians and they could not be weaned from the words of their angakut (soothsayers). The problems of teaching Christianity were compounded by Egede's difficulties mastering the Eskimo language. It seemed to have few words with which to express Christian concepts. Despite this, he attempted to produce a translation of the New Testament. Adding to all these barriers was his own temperament, which tended to be harsh and overbearing. He dearly loved the people, but like many Christians, did not know how to express this in human terms.

That changed in 1733 when a smallpox epidemic swept the island. Hans and his wife poured themselves heart and soul into caring for dying Greenlanders. "You have been kinder to us than we have been to one another," exclaimed one. Gertrude so exhausted herself in the effort that she died a short time later. Hans returned to Denmark in 1736.

His son Paul, raised among the Eskimos, took over the work, mastered the language, completed the translation, and witnessed revival. His father rejoiced to see him reap where he had sown.

Bibliography:

1. "Egede, Hans." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
2. Lives of missionaries, Greenland: Hans Egede; Matthew Stach and his associates. London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 186 -.
3. Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. The Pelican History of the Church #6. Hammondsworth, Middlesex, England: Pelican Books, 1964.
4. Fleisher, Eric W. & Jürgen Weibull. Viking Times to Modern; the story of Swedish exploring & settlement in America, and the development of trade & shipping from the Vikings to our time. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1954; p. 143.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/hans-egede-to-greenland-11630202.html

Augustine of Hippo Raised to New Life

And we were baptized and all anxiety for our past life vanished away." With these joyous words Augustine recorded his entrance into the church on this day, April 25, 387, Easter day.

He had been 33 years in coming to this public confession of Christ. Born in North Africa in 354 of a Christian mother and pagan father, Augustine became at twelve years of age a student at Carthage and at sixteen, a teacher of grammar. At this young age, he was already promiscuous. And he tells in his famous autobiography that he boasted of sins he had not had opportunity to commit, rather than seem to have fallen behind his peers in wickedness.

His mother was determined to see him converted and baptized. He was equally determined to have his pleasures. He took a mistress and she bore him a son, Adeodatus, "Gift of God." For a while he resented the lad but soon became inseparable from him. At 29 his restless spirit drove him to Italy. His mother determined to accompany him so that her prayers might be reinforced by her presence. Augustine gave her the slip, sailing while she knelt praying in a chapel.

In Rome he taught rhetoric for a year, but was cheated of his fees. And so he looked for a more fertile field of labor and settled on Milan. His mother caught up with him and prevailed upon him to attend the church of St. Ambrose. Christian singing moved him deeply. In spite of himself he began to drift toward faith. He found the writings of the Apostle Paul deeply stirring and more satisfying than the cool abstractions of philosophy. He wrestled with deep conviction but was unable to yield himself to God, owing to his attachment to the flesh.

Finally he reached a day when his inner vacillations were too great to ignore. He tried reading scripture but abandoned the effort. Unable to act on the truth he knew, he began to weep, and threw himself behind a fig tree. "How long, O Lord," he cried. And his heart answered "Why not now?" A child's sing-song voice came clearly to him, repeating over and over, "Take it and read it." It seemed a message from God. He snatched up the Bible and read Paul's words, ". . .not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Faith flooded in upon him. He immediately thrust aside those sins of the flesh which had held him in thrall for so long.

"But this faith would not let me be at ease about my past sins, since these had not yet been forgiven me by means of your baptism." He entered the water and was relieved. At his mother's death, he returned to Africa where he founded a monastery, became bishop of Hippo and a brilliant and prolific theologian who more than any other stamped his imprint upon the Medieval church.

Bibliography:

1. Aland, Kurt. Saints and Sinners; men and ideas in the early church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1970.
2. Augustine, St. Confessions. Various editions.
3. -----------------. City of God. Various editions.
4. -----------------. On True Religion. Various editions.
5. "Augustine, St." Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Edited by Charles Coulston Gillispie. New York: Scribner's, 1970.
6. Bowie, Walter Russell. Men of Fire. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961.
7. Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy. London: Burn, Oates & Washbourn, 1951 - .
8. D'Souza, Dinesh. The Catholic Classics. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 1986.
9. Dunham, James H. The Religion of Philosophers. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1969, 1947.
10. Portalie, Eugene. "Augustine, Life of Saint." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
11. Runes, Dagobert D. A Treasury of Philosophy. New York: Philosophical Library, 1945. p. 71.
12. Russell, Bertrand. Wisdom of the West. New York: Fawcett, 1964.

Read the rest of this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/augustine-of-hippo-raised-to-new-life-11629683.html

Dead Adalbert Worth His Weight in Gold

The first known missionary to the Prussians was Bishop Adalbert of Prague. His work in Prussia followed years of fruitless labor in his native Bohemia. Paradoxically, it was only by leaving his own people that he won them.

Born a Vojtech, Adalbert was related to the princely Slavniks. He took Adalbert as his name at confirmation in honor of an archbishop who had supervised his education. Prague's first bishop had been German. On the death of the German, the talented and devout Adalbert replaced him. With great energy and austerity, he set out to reform the clergy and eliminate pagan practices. He sought to extend the range of Christianity among his people. Many pagans clung to their old ways which were nationalistic. Among these was Duke Boleslav of Bohemia. These opposed Adalbert's reforms.
In the end Adalbert's opponents drove him into exile. He entered a Benedictine Abbey in Rome. Four years later, he heeded an invitation to return to Prague. He soon wished he hadn't. Resistance again mounted, and he gave up the fight as a lost cause. A sneak attack by Duke Boleslav wiped out the Slavnik family.

If he could not preach at home, Adalbert would go to other fields. He determined to advance the gospel one way or another. Under the protection of Emperor Otto III, he traveled into Germany, intending to extend his work among the Poles and Magyars. Poland's King Boleslav I invited him to bring the gospel to the Prussians of the Northern coast. Adalbert responded favorably.

In such esteem did the good king hold Adalbert, he made him archbishop of Gnesen. Adalbert proceeded to preach the gospel throughout Poland and to the Prussian shores. This labor of love cost him his life. A pagan priest, jealous, no doubt, for his own prerogatives, murdered him on this day April 23, 997.

King Boleslav I determined to have the martyr's body back. The pagans agreed--on one condition. Boleslav must pay them Adalbert's weight in gold. The King did not hesitate and the missionary's body was brought to him.

Bohemia, which had rejected the martyr while he lived, now clamored for his relics which were reputed to possess miraculous powers. Poland agreed, but stipulated that Bohemia must accept the reforms Adalbert had tried so fruitlessly to introduce while he was bishop among them. The Bohemians accepted these terms and the Roman Catholic ordinances were established.

Adalbert's influence was not yet spent. Moved by the account of the old bishop's death, a young man determined to carry on his work. Ten years later the Prussians murdered St. Bruno of Querfort also. Men like Adalbert and Bruno gave the Medieval Roman church its truest greatness.

Bibliography:

1. "Adalbert of Prague." New Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Thomson, Gale, 2002.
2. Baring-Gould, Sabine. Lives of the Saints, Vol 4. Edinburgh: J. Grant, 1914.
3. Peake, Elizabeth. History of the German Emperors and Their Contemporaries. Lippincott, 1874.
4. Various encyclopedia and internet articles.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/901-1200/dead-adalbert-worth-his-weight-in-gold-11629777.html

Dwight L. Moody Was Converted

Dwight L. Moody didn't attend school beyond the fifth grade; he couldn't spell, and his grammar was awful. His manners were often brash and crude, and he never became an ordained minister. Once, before his conversion, he so outraged an Italian shoe salesmen with a prank, that the man chased him with a sharp knife, clearly intending to kill him. Yet, Dwight L. Moody was used by God to lead thousands of people to Christ. Moody's life of Christian service began with his conversion on this day, April 21, 1855.

Dwight came to Boston as a teenager from Northfield, Massachusetts, and he felt all alone in the big city. The boy was desperate for work. An uncle took him on as a shoe salesman--on condition that he be obedient and that he attend Mt. Vernon Congregational Church. The young man had been raised in a Unitarian church which denied the full divinity of Christ and did not emphasize human need for salvation from sins. Now Dwight heard about those things. But he decided that he wanted to enjoy the pleasures of the world and wait to get saved until just before he died.

However, the kindness of his Sunday School teacher, Edward Kimball, turned young Moody into his life-long friend, and encouraged him to persist in his church attendance and regular Bible reading. Though Moody did try to read the Bible, he couldn't understand it. Kimball later said he had never seen anyone whose mind was as spiritually dark as Dwight's.

That changed on this day, April 21, 1855. Kimball came to the shoe store to ask Dwight to commit his life to Christ. Dwight listened closely and became a Christian that day. Immediately he began sharing his faith with others, including his own family. They wanted nothing to do with his faith. "I will always be a Unitarian," his mother said. (However, she converted shortly before her death.)
And at first Moody wasn't allowed to become a church member. Asked what Christ had done for him, the nervous boy replied that he wasn't aware of anything particular. Leaders felt that was an unacceptable answer.

When Moody later moved to Chicago he wandered the streets to find young boys to bring to his Sunday School class. He had a passion for saving souls and determined never to let a day pass without telling someone the gospel of Jesus Christ. Often he irritated strangers on the street by asking them if they were Christians -- but his pointed questioning stirred the consciences of many. God used the converted shoe salesman to become the leading evangelist of his day.

Estimates vary, but Dwight is thought to have led as many as a million people to confess faith in Christ. Among his many achievements on either side of the Atlantic was the founding of Moody Bible Institute.

Bibliography:

1. Adapted from an earlier Christian History Institute story.
2. Findlay, James F. "Moody, Dwight Lyman." Encyclopedia of American Biography, edited by John A. Garraty. Harper and Row, 1975.
3. Harvey, Bonnie C. D. L. Moody, the American Evangelist. Barbour Books, 1997.
4. Moody, William D. Life of D. L. Moody by His Son. Revell, 1900. 

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/dwight-l-moody-was-converted-11630499.html

William Bradford and Plymouth Plantation

William Bradford attended two schools: the school of hard knocks, and the school of Christ. He lost his father at sixteen months old. Shortly after that, he was sent to live first with a grandfather and then with other relatives. He became a devout student of the Bible when just twelve, reading it through. When he was seventeen, he joined a group that wanted to pull out of the Church of England.

Betrayed as he attempted to leave England, he was thrown into prison. But when he was twenty, Bradford left England in the company of other Separatists and settled down to hard work as a weaver in the Netherlands. Well-read, he became a leader of the Pilgrims who sailed to Plymouth in 1620.
The voyage to the New World was stormy. Intending to sail to Virginia, the Pilgrims blew off course and found themselves in New England. Their instructions from the Virginia company did not anticipate this changed circumstance, and so William Bradford, with other leaders, drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact.

They had named John Carver their governor. But Carver "came out of the field very sick, it being a hot day. He complained greatly of his head and lay down, and within a few hours his senses failed, so as he never spake more till he died, which was within a few days after (April 5, 1621)." On this day, April 21, 1621, the colonists chose William Bradford as Carver's replacement. He proved to be a gentle but firm ruler and served thirty one-year terms. This was not by his own choice. He rejoiced on the few occasions when someone else could be convinced to take a term.

Thanks to Bradford's high position and his persistent early efforts to educate himself, he was well-equipped to write a history of the plantation. He completed this in 1651, six years before his death. In it he gives the reasons why the Pilgrims felt it necessary to leave Leyden for the New World. One was the Pilgrim's concern for their children, who were not only crushed by hard labor but were drawn away from Christ by the temptations of their adopted city, and "drawn away by evil examples into extravagant and dangerous courses."

But the Pilgrims' paramount reason for transplanting to the New World was "a great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way thereunto, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world--yea, though they should be but even stepping stones unto others for the performing of so great a work."

Bibliography:

1. Avery, Elroy McKendree. History of the United States and its People. Cleveland: Burrows Bros, 1904.
2. Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620 - 1647. [a.k.a History of Plymouth Plantation.] Many editions available.
3. "Bradford, William." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Scribner, 1958-1964.
4. Kunitz, Stanley. "Bradford, William." American authors, 1600-1900: a biographical dictionary of American literature. New York: The H. W. Wilson company, 1938.
5. Ruttman, Darrett B. "Bradford, William." Encyclopedia of American Biography, edited by John A. Garraty and Jerome L. Sternstein. New York, San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1974.
6. Willison, George F. Saints and Strangers. New York: Ballantine, 1965, especially chapter VII.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/william-bradford-and-plymouth-plantation-11630075.html

Columbine Killers Targeted Christians, Too

Sadly, true justice was not done as over 100 witnesses identified a third shooter that day, but only the two boys were officially labeled as suspects by the end of the days events.  Nevertheless, some acts of heroism will never be forgotten...

Christian martyrs in 20th century America? It happened on this day, April 20, 1999. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold began shooting up their school, they did not fire randomly. In their twisted minds, Athletes, minorities and Christians were the enemy.

"Do you believe in God?" they asked Cassie Bernall. They knew full well she did. The girl who had once indulged in the occult (as the killers now did) had moved into a realm of peace when she learned to center her heart on Christ. She became a church-goer and a worker among those who needed Christ. Often she brought her Bible to school.

She was reading it in the library when the killer pointed his gun at her. Did she believe in God? "Yes, I believe in God," she replied.

"Why?" asked the boy in the dark trench coat. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled the trigger.
"My God, my granddaughter was a martyr," said Cassie's grandma when she heard the report.

And not the only one, either. Rachel Scott, a spiritually-minded seventeen-year-old whose ambition was to become a missionary to Africa, died, too. So did John Tomlin, a sixteen-year-old who had recently gone to Mexico to help with a church project for the poor.

The Sunday before her death, Cassie wrote these words after church:

Now I have given up on everything else I have found it to be the only way
To really know Christ and to experience
The mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to find
Out what it means to suffer and to
Die with him.
So, whatever it takes I will be one who lives in the fresh
Newness of life of those who are
Alive from the dead.

Bibliography:

1. Colson, Charles W. "Littleton's Martyrs." BreakPoint Commentary - April 26, 1999. (www.stormloader.com/omegakids/Casiemail.html). [Casie's poem is quoted from this source].
Nimmo, Beth and Darrell Scott with Steve Rabey. Rachel's Tears. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2000.
2. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "The Columbine Massacre." 20th Century History. http://history1900s.about.com/library/weekly/aa041303a.htm
3. Numerous other internet articles, including articles originally printed in the Boston Globe and Washington Post.                                                                                                                       Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/columbine-killers-targeted-christians-too-11630857.html

Martin Luther's Most Noble Words

Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by scripture and plain reason--I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other--my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me. Amen."

Perhaps the most notable words spoken in the Reformation, this according to early printed reports, was Luther's reply at Worms when urged to recant. He uttered the memorable lines in German on this day, April 18, 1521, and then, upon request, repeated their gist in Latin for those who did not understand his native tongue. He was sweating, said witnesses. With a victory gesture he slipped out of the room.

Frederick the Wise, Luther's supporter was uneasy. Did the scriptures condemn Luther or not? "He is too daring for me," the elector admitted. Nonetheless, on the next day, when asked to stand against Luther with the emperor, he did not sign the condemnation although the other four electors did so.
As for the Emperor, he reasoned that a single friar who went contrary to the whole church could not possibly be right. Descended from a long line of Christian emperors, he felt that to accept Luther's view was to betray the faith of his fathers. He would take prompt action against Luther, he vowed. But since Luther had been given safe conduct to Worms, he allowed him to depart in safety.
Luther did not leave Worms at once. For several days a committee reasoned with him, begging him not to rend the church in two. They pointed out that war would surely come to Germany. Melanchthon, his beloved associate, might be killed. Luther could not help but be moved, but his determination held. God's word must be followed whatever the cost. To this confrontation his stand against indulgences had finally brought him.

There are grounds to doubt that Luther said "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise." Although the earliest printed versions contain these lines, the official transcripts do not. Whether spoken or not, the words convey the brave monk's attitude. When Luther left Worms, the Reformation was irrevocable.
Martin Luther was at his noblest at Worms. His bold words have stirred men's imagination through subsequent centuries, for they have the same ring to them as Peter's famous defiance of the Sanhedrin. "Judge for yourselves whether we ought to obey God or men."

Bibliography:

1. Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand; A life of Martin Luther. New York: mentor, 1950.
2. Durant, Will. The Reformation. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1957.
3. Ganns, H. G. "Luther, Martin." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
4. George, Timothy. "Luther, Martin." Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. Timothy Larsen, editor. Downers-Grove, Illinois: Intevarsity Press, 2003.
5. "Luther, Martin." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997. 

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/martin-luthers-most-noble-words-11629925.html

Cyprian baptized in Carthage

I am a Christian and cannot sacrifice to the gods. I heartily thank Almighty God who is pleased to set me free from the chains of this body." With these bold words, spoken in front of hundreds of onlookers, Bishop Cyprian of Carthage faced death under Emperor Valerian. Many of the pagans standing by were deeply moved.

Cyprian was well-known to them. As Bishop of Carthage, he was an eminent figure in North Africa. But even before becoming a church leader he had been a notable man.

Born into wealth around 200, Cyprian inherited a large estate. He trained in rhetoric. Curiously it was this training which brought him to Christ. Genuinely gifted as a speaker, he opened his own school. As part of the course, he debated philosophers and Christians. Convinced by the arguments of a Christian elder, he became a convert when he was about 45 years old. "A second birth created me a new man by means of the Spirit breathed from heaven," he wrote. Immediately he applied for admission to the church. With zeal, he gave away his wealth and devoted himself to poverty, celibacy, and Bible studies.

In those days it was popular for Christians to receive baptism at Easter. This has led scholars to argue that Cyprian received baptism on this day, April 18, 246, the Eve of Easter.

Upon the death of Bishop Donatus in 248, less than two years after Cyprian's conversion, and over his protests, the people elected him Bishop of Carthage. Pontius, one of his clergy, wrote an admiring biography telling how Cyprian handled himself. His countenance was joyous, he wrote, and he was a man to be both revered and loved.

But well might Cyprian protest his election! His task was never easy. Many older men felt slighted by his swift ascendancy and envied him his office. Among the clergy were others who neglected their duties. Cyprian disciplined them, and this increased resentment against him. In 250, a persecution by Emperor Decian broke out. The pagans shouted, "Cyprian to the lions!" But the bishop escaped into hiding. His presence in Carthage would intensify persecution, he explained. Writing letters, he tried to hold the church together in his absence. This was not easy, for the Christians who stayed and endured suffering looked down on Cyprian. In 251 Gallus became emperor and Cyprian returned to his church.

Those who had stood firm under suffering called themselves "the confessors." They gained great prestige from this. Others had renounced their faith. These were called the "lapsed." The church split over how to allow the lapsed back in. Cyprian's disagreement with the Bishop of Rome over the issue of the lapsed caused him to write an influential book, Unity of the Church. In it he argued that the church is not the community of those who are already saved. Instead, it is an ark of salvation for all men, a school for sinners. Today many Protestants accept this teaching but refuse to accept Cyprian's other claim that the bishops of the church, as the heirs of the apostles, are the agents through whom God dispenses grace. "He who has not the church for his mother, has not God for his Father," Cyprian wrote. His view is also opposed to that which makes the pope pre-eminent. Protestants argue that where two or three are gathered in Christ's name, Christ is with them and quote Peter to show that every Christian is a priest (1 Peter 2:9).

When a fearsome plague erupted in Carthage in 252-254, the pagans abandoned the sick in the streets. People rushed about in terror. Cyprian told his Christians to care for the sick, including dying pagans. The people obeyed, despite the fact the pagans blamed them for the disease and persecuted them. Soon afterward, Bishop Cyprian was brought before the pro-consul Aspasius Paternus. Aspasius banished him to a town by the sea. When Aspasius died, Cyprian returned to Carthage. He was seized by the new governor and condemned to death. At the place of execution, he knelt in prayer and tied the bandage over his eyes with his own hand. To the executioner he gave a piece of gold. Thus he was beheaded on September 14, 258, retaining his bold confession to the end.

Bibliography:

1. Adapted from Christian History Institute's Glimpses #162.
2. Aland, Kurt. Saints and Sinners; men and ideas in the early church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1970.
3. Ante-Nicene fathers: translations of the writings of the fathers down to A.D. 325. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American reprint of the Edinburgh edition. Revised and chronologically arranged, with brief prefaces and occasional notes, by A. Cleveland Coxe. New York: Scribner's, 1926.
4. Benson, Edward White. Cyprian: his life, his times, his work. London, New York, Macmillan, 1897.
5. Chapman, John. "St. Cyprian of Carthage." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1908.
6. "Cyprian, St." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
7. The Library of Christian Classics. Westminster Press, 1956.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1-300/cyprian-baptized-in-carthage-11629618.html

While Titanic Sank, John Harper Preached

The clear April night sky was filled with sparkling stars as the largest and finest steamship in the world sped through the calm seas of the icy North Atlantic. Many of the passengers had gone to bed, but some still could be found in the lounges, enjoying the Titanic's luxury. No one was alarmed by the slight jar felt around 11:15, but many noticed when they no longer felt the vibrations of the engines.

Ignoring iceberg warnings, the Titanic had been steaming full speed ahead. Suddenly she struck a large iceberg which ripped her side. Within fifteen minutes the captain realized the danger of the situation, and the wireless operator put out a call for assistance. Sailors made lifeboats ready and ordered women and children to get into them first (Christian culture had stamped the ideas of chivalry into men, making them willing to give up their lives for women and children as their protectors, something rarely seen in other cultures). There were 12 honeymooning couples on board the ship. Though all of the brides were saved, only one of the grooms survived.

The captain ordered the band to play to keep up the spirits of the passengers. It began playing a rag-time tune, but soon was playing hymns.

There were only twenty lifeboats on the huge ocean liner-- barely enough for 1/3 of the passengers and crew. Not all of them could be lowered. All 85 engineers continued to work to keep the ship afloat as long as possible. At the end many people knelt together in prayer until the waters covered them.

Throughout the mournful, evacuation, with loved ones being tearfully separated, the band continued to play. There is some dispute about what was played that night. Several people in the life boats heard "Nearer My God to Thee."

One of the passengers traveling on the ship was evangelist John Harper. He put his six-year old daughter into a life boat and then ran through the ship warning others of the danger and talking to them about the eternal destiny of their souls. When he was finally forced to jump into the icy water, he clung to a piece of wreckage and asked another man "Are you saved?" When the man answered no, John said to him, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

When the Titanic sank early in the morning on this day, April 15, 1912, John Harper was among the 1,522 people who died. The band went down with the ship. The last hymn they played was "Autumn," which concludes with the prayer

Hold me up in mighty waters
Keep my eyes on things above,
Righteousness, divine Atonement,
Peace, and everlasting Love.

Bibliography:

1. Adapted from an earlier Christian History Institute Story.
2. Adams, Moody. The Titanic's Last Hero. Moody Press, 1997. 
3.  Read this article at - http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/while-titanic-sank-john-harper-preached-11630699.html

The Flame of Avvakum's Genius

Archpriest Avvakum was appalled. The Russian Orthodox church had an overbearing new Patriarch, Nikon. This zealot wanted to incorporate into the liturgy changes borrowed from the Roman church. As Avvakum and many others saw it, these changes threatened the purity of the old faith. Their protests were met with appalling cruelty. Tsarevna Sof'ya decreed that Old Believers were to be tortured. Any who remained "obstinate" were to be burnt to death.

Avvakum became spokesman for the Old Believers. Fortunately for Russia, he was not immediately sentenced to death, but instead chained, imprisoned, beaten, spat upon and exiled to Siberia. He and his family survived by eating offal that wolves had rejected. Two of his sons died under these wretched conditions. Forced to join an expedition to Amur under a brutal leader, Avvakum spoke out against the cruelty. For this, he was flogged and chained to a barge overnight in a cold, autumn downpour. Then the faithful witness was thrown naked into a cell, "but God kept me warm without clothes!" he reported.

What use was his protest against the liturgical changes? he wondered. The new formulas spread no matter what he said. He asked his wife if he should continue to speak or hold his peace. "You have tied me down," he said, thinking of her sufferings and those of his children.

"Lord have mercy, what are you saying Petrovich?" the good woman replied. "I and the children bless you: dare to preach God's word as heretofore and do not feel anxious about us; so long as God wills it, we shall live together, and if we are parted, remember us in your prayers. Christ will not abandon us!" Shaking off his temporary "blindness of discouragement," Avvakum renewed his preaching.
For all her faith, his wife could not help asking her husband once, "How long will this suffering last, Archpriest ?" Till death, he answered. Sighing she said, "So be it, Petrovich; let us trudge on."

Trudge on Avvakum did. Imprisoned, he wrote hundreds of pages of doctrine. He also produced an autobiography. Written in a zestful, contemporary Russian, it is considered a milestone of the language much as Pascal's Provincial Letters are for French and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for English. Its concise immediacy was unsurpassed until Tolstoy. Friendly jailers winked as Avvakum's well-wishers smuggled out his tracts and the text of the autobiography.

Thousands of the Old Believers were executed. Avvakum's turn came on this day April 14, 1682. At Tsar Theodore's order, he and his fellow prisoners were locked in a log cabin and burned alive. Thus perished in flame a spiritual hero and literary genius whose remembrance endures to this day.

Bibliography:

1. Avvakum, Petrovich. The Life of the Archpriest Avvakum, by himself. Translated from the seventeenth century Russian by Jane Harrison and Hope Mirrlees with a preface by Prince D.S. Mirsky. London, Hogarth Press, 1963.
2. Dowley, Tim, ed. Eerdman's Handbook to the History of Christianity. Berkhamsted, Herts, England: Lion Publishing, 1977.
3. Various internet articles

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/the-flame-of-avvakums-genius-11630168.html

The Armenian Journey - A Story Of An Armenian Genocide 1915 GenocidalTurks

This finally hit mainstream news today after the Pope declared the Armenian Genocide the first of the 20th century.  This was largely due to the fact that Armenia was a Christian nation living in the confines of a dying Ottoman (Turkish) empire.  These days between the 12th and 15th of April are generally recognized as the beginning of the slaughter, and I shall do my best to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who perished at the hands of the Turks while the world watched and did nothing 100 years ago.

Perhaps what is more shocking is that Turkey still denies it to this day, and because the U.S. needs Turkey to continue to supply ISIS and their attempted overthrow of Syria in the Middle East, the U.S.also refuses to acknowledge what an entire nation of Christians suffered.  

The Armenian Journey - A Story Of an Armenian Genocide /Documentary Film /"The Armenian Journey: From Despair to Hope in Rhode Island," a film by The Genocide Education Project (GenEd), tells the story of Armenian Genocide survivor Margaret Garabedian Der Manuelian, told through the narrative voice of her great-granddaughter, 21 year old Dalita Getzoyan. The film was funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and designed to support educators in the region and beyond.

For teaching resources on the Armenian Genocide: www.TeachGenocide.com

For More Information About The Armenian Genocide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamidian...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian...

20th Prison Anniversary for Watchman Nee

A personal historical hero for me, I never ceased to be amazed at the amazing things the Lord did through this faithful servant in pre-Communist China, then his incredible patience and grace in the many years of his unjust imprisonment.  One of the great Bible teachers of the 20th century.

Among China's millions of Christians, none has been as well known to the West as Watchman Nee. Many of his books, such as The Normal Christian Life and Sit, Walk, Stand, reached Western shores and were printed in English where they were well-received.

Communist China has been hostile to Christian believers. Efforts are made to herd all Christians into a few state-controlled churches. Watchman Nee's fearless witness angered the party, which denounced him and his church. He was accused of exercising "a dark, mysterious control" over 470 supposedly independent churches. Nee could see the writing on the wall.

Rather than bemoan the fate he saw approaching, he worked night and day to dictate to assistants all that Christ had taught him. For days on end, he went with only two hours of sleep. The words they wrote down described the glory of God, the power of Christ's resurrection, the proofs of God's existence, and Christ's righteousness for believers.

He was arrested in 1952. With fierce brainwashing and honeyed promises, the Communists tried to break his fidelity to Christ. His captors promised him that if he would lead the faithful into the Three Self Patriotic Movement (the Communist-controlled church) he would be freed. Nee refused.
For four years believers did not know where he was. Then in 1956 he was given a hearing in Shanghai and accused of numerous severe crimes. To each charge he was allowed to answer only Yes or No. He stood silent for all but two: sabotage and spying. Those he denied. The Court of Public Security recommended severity. A few days later he was publicly accused and "proofs" presented. Among the allegations was that, at a time when Mao was bringing in a bright new socialist future, Nee had demoralized people by preaching that mankind is in the last days.

At the end of the hearing, Nee was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment with reform by labor. He was placed in the First Municipal Prison, where he had to labor in a factory eight hours a day, attend re-education another eight, and was allowed to rest the final eight. Loud speakers blared continuous propaganda. The prisoners were fed so little, their ribs protruded. He was permitted to send only one heavily-censored letter a month. Later he was employed translating English articles into Chinese for the government. Released convicts reported that he refused to buckle to the Communists, but instead sang hymns in his cell. Apparently he also refused an opportunity to be ransomed to the West.

On this day, April 12, 1972 Nee completed twenty years in prison, five years more than his maximum sentence. Ten days later he wrote in good spirits to his sister, possibly from a country prison. Within weeks he was dead.

Bibliography:

1. Kinnear, Angus I. Against the Tide; the story of Watchman Nee. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: Christian Literature Crusade, 1973.
2. Lyall, Leslie T. Three of China's Mighty Men. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980, 1973.
3. Nee, Watchman. A Better Covenant.
4. -----------------. The Normal Christian Life. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale, 1956.
5. -----------------. Sit, Walk, Stand. (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: Christian Literature Crusade, 1974, 1962).
6. "Nee, To-Sheng." Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. Edited by Timothy Larsen. Downers-Grove, Illinois: Intevarsity Press, 2003.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/20th-prison-anniversary-for-watchman-nee-11630830.html

Chalmers and Co. Clubbed to Death on the Fly

In 1900, after the death of his second wife, James Chalmers was urged to return from Papua to England for a rest. "I cannot rest and so many thousands of savages without a knowledge of Christ near us," he replied. On April 4, 1901, the veteran missionary sailed to Goaribari Island in a steam launch. With him was a newcomer, Oliver Tompkins. The two British men and native evangelists who accompanied them were never seen alive by their fellow workers again.

Chalmers first vowed to become a missionary in 1856 when he was fifteen. This was a boyish impulse after hearing his pastor read a letter from Fiji. At the time, although a bold lad, Chalmers had not given his heart to God. He was the kind of boy who is more comfortable with action than books. To save a friend from drowning or risk his life in a makeshift boat were fun. He became the ringleader of a group of rowdies, and was in the thick of every fight with neighboring villages. Chalmers' gang determined to break up an evangelistic meeting. A friend pleaded with him to attend the meeting in a right spirit instead, and Chalmers did. He became convinced that he needed to follow Christ. Once he made that decision, the eighteen-year old immediately started preaching to others.
He remembered his vow to become a missionary and strove to obtain the education he needed. Somehow he muddled through his courses, but fellow students remembered him better for terrifying them with pranks than for feats of scholarship. Once he frightened everyone by appearing in the dining hall dressed in a bear skin!

Eventually Chalmers made it to the South Seas with his wife Jane. On their way to Rarotonga, they were shipwrecked and completed the journey aboard a pirate vessel. Bully Hayes was so impressed with Chalmers, he allowed him to hold religious services and even told his men to attend! The islanders could not pronounce his name and called him Tamate. Tamate would prove bold to the point of audacity wherever he went--and stubborn, too.

After his transfer to Papua, Chalmers needed all the boldness he could muster. Conditions were horrifying. Cruelty, continual warfare, and cannibalism were the norm. Chalmers ducked death time after time as he took the gospel along the steamy coasts of the large island, he literally plucked clubs and swords out of enemy hands to save his life and the lives in his party. In one region, he so influenced the natives that peace prevailed and cannibalism ceased within five years of his coming.
Author Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island) spent several weeks aboard ship with Chalmers. "He took me fairly by storm for the most attractive, simple, brave and interesting man in the whole Pacific," he wrote. Had he known the missionary earlier, it would have redirected his own life, he thought. Later he wrote in a letter, "I hope I shall meet Tamate once more before he disappears up the Fly River, perhaps to be one of 'the unreturning brave.'"

Chalmers was one of the unreturning brave. On this day, April 8, 1901, Tamate, Tompkins and several native evangelists were surrounded by armed savages. Promised a banquet, the men (who always traveled unarmed) were clubbed from behind and killed. Their bodies were cooked with sago and served as the main course of the promised feast.

Bibliography:

1. Chalmers, James. Pioneering in New Guinea, 1877-1894. New York, Revell, 1895.
2. "Chalmers, James." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
3. Harrison, Eugene Myers. "James Chalmers 1841 - 1901; The Greatheart of New Guinea." Giants of the Missionary Trail. http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/giants/biochalmers.html
4. Langmore, Diane. Tamate, a king : James Chalmers in New Guinea, 1877-1901. Carleton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1974.
5. Lovett, Richard. James Chalmers ; his autobiography and letters. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1903.
6. Various articles in mission encyclopedias and on the internet.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/chalmers-and-co-clubbed-to-death-on-the-fly-11630669.html

Thomas of Tolentino Martyred by Muslims

Words Deemed Blasphemous

Introduction

On this day, April 7, 1321 Brother Thomas of Tolentino and three other Franciscans witnessed for Christ. On either the 8^th or 9^th of April, after torture, they were beheaded. Traveling toward China the party had been detained near Bombay. A local Cadi summoned them to discuss religion. Thomas and his associates upheld the divinity of Christ. The Cadi then demanded to know what they thought of Mohammed. Thomas replied that since Mohammed’s claims did not square with Christ’s, the Cadi, if he were wise, should be able to determine what to think of him. The Cadi and his attendants would not accept this evasive reply but demanded a direct response. The answer below, when it came, caused the Muslims to shout that Thomas had blasphemed the prophet and to call for his death.

Quote

“Since ye can only repeat What do I say of him, I should blush to refuse the reply ye seek. I reply then, and tell you that Muhammad is the son of perdition and has his place in hell with the devil his father, and not he only but all such as follow and keep his law, false as it is, and pestilent and accursed, hostile to God and the salvation of souls.”

Source

The quote is from Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China. The date is from Internet encyclopedias and saints’ sites.

Asa Mahan Went Home

In his Autobiography, Asa Mahan wrote, "...I have no occasion to be ashamed to have it universally known that I am the first man in the history of the race who conducted women through a full course of liberal education..." He did this as the first president of Oberlin Collegiate Institute (Oberlin College), in Ohio.

His life and Christian faith are to be credited with far more than that, however. Born in New York in 1800, he graduated from Andover Theological Seminary, after which he pastored Congregational and Presbyterian churches, promoted missions, published influential books and magazines, and served as an educator. When Lane Theological Seminary refused to allow students to discuss the subject of slavery, Mahan resigned as trustee in protest. That is when he was offered the headship of newly-formed Oberlin.

As a college educator he was ahead of his time, urging the use of electives, the teaching of practical skills and replacement of some Latin requirements with English literature. It would be many years before he could convince other educators to accept such changes. He also insisted that black students be trained alongside white. Even at Oberlin, he met stiff opposition on all these points.

Mahan was far from stiff. He rejected the undue formality and unreasonable insistence that students show respect by bowing when they approached a faculty member, a practice common to colleges of the time. He himself would pitch in to help with whatever needed doing, whether laying a sidewalk or preaching a sermon. When some Oberlin students shocked the nation by publicly burning worn copies of their Latin textbooks, Mahan turned it into a joke, saying never before had the classics given off so much light.

Asa longed for spiritual perfection. He became convinced that this was possible, experiencing mystical moments in which God's holy presence moved upon him. He wrote the Scripture Doctrine of Perfection a book which was highly influential in the holiness movement, and insisted that the same gifts of the spirit which accompanied the apostles could be ours today.

The fruit of his faith was marked. For example, seeing a fire at the South end of town, he started out in a storm to investigate. He met someone who told him it was his own barn, filled with grain after harvest. "Oh, is that all!" he is supposed to have said, and gone home. The firemen had given the barn up as hopeless; it and all its contents were a total loss.

In old age, Asa Mahan became an English citizen. He experienced hard times, having been swindled out of his money. Yet those who knew him described him as calm and serene, with a talk that turned easily into spiritual conversation. He was convinced that "To be truly blessed, we must fervently love." He died late in the evening on this day April 4, 1889, of pneumonia. One of the last things he said was to his wife Mary, "Let us praise God, my dear, for all his goodness today before you go."

Bibliography:

1. "Asa Mahan." Virtual American Biographies. http://www.famousamericans.net/asamahan/
2. Fairchild John. Oberlin: the colony and the college. Oberlin, Ohio: Goodrich, 1883.
3. Madden, Edward H. and Hamilton, James E. Freedom and Grace; the life of Asa Mahan. Methuen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1982.
4. "Mahan, Asa." National Cyclopedia of American Biography. New York: J.T. White, 1898-
5. Various inernet articles.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/asa-mahan-went-home-11630623.html

Pietist Preacher Gerhard Tersteegen

If you check the index of your hymnbook, you will likely find a hymn titled "Thou hidden love of God" by Gerhard Tersteegen. Can God's love be hidden? There were five terrible years after Tersteegen became a Christian when he had no sense of God whatever. He came close to despair.
Born in 1697, at Moers, Germany, Gerhard Tersteegen completed a few grades of school, after which he was apprenticed to an older brother, a shopkeeper. Gerhard was conscientious and thoughtful, subdued by frequent illnesses. A godly tradesman taught him that he could know Christ in daily life, and Tersteegen vowed to devote his life to God. Unable to find time for devotions during the day, he spent entire nights fasting and praying. As soon as his apprenticeship was up, he rented an isolated cottage and worked alone like a hermit, knitting ribbons to support himself. He thought much about God and read theology. His diet was as simple as could be--meal, milk and water--and he gave whatever money he saved to the poor.

His lifestyle embarrassed his well-to-do family, who came to the point they would not even mention his name. When he fell gravely ill, they left him unattended.

It was after this that darkness closed around him. For five years he had no impression of God and even began to doubt his existence. Yet he wrote hymns of faith. But mere words were not able to ease his troubled mind.

Yet one day God drew so close to Tersteegen that the sorrowing man knew absolute peace. From then until his death, on this day, April 3, 1769, Tersteegen taught others. Anyone could see that the spiritual world was real to him. Hundreds of the poor and farmers gathered daily at his home to hear him speak. He also traveled throughout the region, preaching. While at peace inwardly, he seldom had a moment's peace outwardly, for there were always people clamoring for his spiritual advice.
Tersteegen wrote books and hymns. "Thine wholly, Thine alone I am! Thrice happy he who views with scorn earth's toys, for Thee his constant flame; O help that I may never move from the blest footsteps of Thy love!" He even wrote a dedication of himself to Christ in his own blood.

When he was sixty-one, his constant speaking so wore him out that it almost proved the death of him. He lived nine more years, counseling, revising books and writing letters, but he was no longer able to preach or travel.

Bibliography:

1. Cook, Faith."Discovering Love." http://www.evangelical-times.org/articles/dec03/dec03a23.htm
2. "Gerhard Tersteegen." http://www.cyberhymnal.org.
3. Harvey, Edwin & Lillian and Hey, Elizabeth. They Knew Their God, Volume 2. Kingsley Press, ca. 2005.
4. "Tersteegen, Gerhard (Gerrit Ter Steegen)" New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1954.
5. Fremantle, Anne, editor. The Protestant Mystics. New York: New American Library, 1964.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/pietist-preacher-gerhard-tersteegen-11630279.html

Adolf Clarenbach Arrested

When Luther sparked church reformation in Germany, there was bound to be a backlash. In those intolerant days, when church and state acted together, there was no choice in matters of faith. Someone had to be the first to die for the new ideas. One of the first two martyrs was Adolf Clarenbach.

Around 1520, Adolf Clarenbach became a teacher in a cathedral Latin school. Evidently he was a better than ordinary teacher, for in 1523 he was made principle of the city school in Wesel. But storm clouds loomed. Through reading Erasmus and Martin Luther and studying the Bible, he became a follower of the Reformation.

When his views became known, he was forced to leave Wesel. Adolf then preached in Cologne and the Rhine country, forming communities of evangelical believers.

Returning home in 1528, Adolf returned to his death. At the urging of Catholic leaders, he was arrested at Cologne on this day, April 3, 1528. He was charged with teaching Protestant ideas. Also arrested was Adolf's friend John Klopreis. About that same time authorities arrested yet another Reformation preacher, Peter Fliesteden. Klopreis managed to escape, but Adolf and Peter remained in custody.

The two were held in prison for several months and tortured. When questioned, Adolf insisted that "there is no satisfaction for sin except the death of Christ alone." However, good works witness that we have the faith we claim.

On September 28, 1529, Adolf and Peter were handed over to secular authorities at the gates of Cologne to be burned to death. The long delay between Clarenbach's arrest and death is owing to the fact that three jurisdictions had a stake in his trial. Furthermore, the local citizens were upset with the sentence and had to be pacified. When plague visited the city, the superstitious people took it as a sign that they were being too kind to the heretics and public opinion swung against the prisoners.
Adolf and Peter have been called the first martyrs of the Reformation. However, it is not clear if they were Lutherans or not. But three hundred years after their deaths, Lutheran Germans of the lower Rhine honored them with a special celebration and erected a monument in their honor.

Bibliography:

1. Clarenbach, Adolf. Kirchenlexikon. http://www.kirchen-lexikon.de
2. Schaff, Phillip. New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1951.
3. Various other internet articles. 

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/adolf-clarenbach-arrested-11629944.html

Cranmer Got the Top Job but Didn't Want it

When Thomas Cranmer learned he had been named Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry VIII, he balked. Visiting Germany at the time to promote the King's interest in a divorce, he dawdled seven weeks getting back to England. Although the King's word was law, Cranmer hesitated to accept the position.

The English church was in a turmoil over the question of Henry's desired divorce from Catherine. Having presented him with no male heir, the queen, once so charming to Henry, was now repugnant. Yet he could not get the Pope to agree to an annulment.

Cranmer had come to the King's attention when, in conversation with two of Henry's men, he had suggested that the universities could just as well settle the question as the Pope. Henry swore Cranmer had "the right sow by the ear." He earmarked the priest to become Archbishop of Canterbury, England's highest religious post. Cranmer was consecrated on this date, March 30, 1533.
Believing himself subject to the King, Cranmer promptly granted Henry the annulment. Throughout his tenure as archbishop, he would do pretty much whatever the King commanded. Henry's continual shifts of policy often made Cranmer appear wishy-washy. For example, he ruled Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleve lawful and six months later annulled it as unlawful.

Already leaning toward Protestantism, Cranmer became the chief architect of the English Reformation. He urged the King to place Bibles in England's churches and it was done. He wrote the first Book of Common Prayer. In only a few things did he resist Henry. At some jeopardy to himself, he pleaded for the lives of Thomas More and Bishop Fisher and testified for three days against Henry's Six Articles which went back to Roman Catholic forms. However, he sat with the persecutors of John Frith and Joan of Kent, both of whom were executed by fire.

By his twisting and turning, Cranmer escaped execution under Henry. Henry trusted him above all his other prelates and on his deathbed clung to Cranmer's hand. Under Edward, Cranmer advanced Protestantism, helping draft doctrines which became the basis for the Church of England's Thirty Nine Articles.

Under pressure, Cranmer supported Lady Jane Gray to succeed Edward. It was not to be. Mary took the throne and charged him with treason and heresy. In face of death he recanted his Protestant opinions. When he learned he was to die anyway, he publicly renounced his recantation. "As for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy and Antichrist, with all his false doctrine." When the fire was lit, he held the hand that had signed the recantation into the flame, burning it off before the fire touched his body, saying, "This unworthy right hand." As death approached he repeated several times, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Bibliography:

1. "Cranmer, Thomas." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
2. Foxe, John. Book of Martyrs.
3. Hook, Walter Farquhar, 1798-1875. Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. London, R. Bentley, 1865-1884.
4. McKilliam, Annie E. A Chronicle of the Archbishops of Canterbury. London: J. Clarke, 1913.
5. Pollard, Albert Frederick. Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation. London: Putnam's, 1905.
6. "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation." Christian History & Biography # 48.

Read the rest of this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/cranmer-got-the-top-job-but-didnt-want-it-11629953.html

Elizabeth Dirks Drowned as Anabaptist

Elizabeth Dirks was a trailblazer and a woman of great courage. Raised in a nunnery in East Friesland, she learned to read Latin and read the Bible through and through. She became certain that monasticism was not the way taught in Scripture. With the help of milkmaids she escaped and became a follower of peaceful Menno Simons. She was one of the first Reformation women ministers, probably a deaconness.

In 1549, Catholic authorities arrested her. When they found her Bible they knew they had the person they were looking for. Mistakenly, they thought she was the wife of Menno Simons. When they tried to get her to take an oath at her interrogation, she refused, saying Christ had taught that our yes should mean yes and our no mean no.

The record of her inquisition shows that the examiners asked her to inform on those whom she had taught. Knowing that this would lead to their arrest, she refused.

"No, my Lords, do not press me on this point. Ask me about my faith and I will answer you gladly."
"We will make it so tough that you will tell us," they threatened.

When she would not reveal who had baptized her or whom she had taught, they questioned her beliefs. She insisted that church buildings were not the house of God, for our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. She denied that the New Testament spoke of the bread and wine as a sacrament but rather as the Lord's Supper. Asked if she were saved by baptism, she replied, "No, my Lords. All the water in the sea cannot save me. All my salvation is in Christ, who has commanded me love the Lord, my God, and my neighbor as myself." She denied that priests have authority to forgive sins--only Christ.

Still refusing to reveal who had baptized her, she was taken to the torture chamber and said, "So far we have treated you gently. Since you won't confess, we will put you to the torture."

A man named Mr. Hans applied screws to a thumb and fingers until blood spurted from under her fingernails. Still she wouldn't give away her friends, but her agony was so great that she cried aloud to Christ and received relief. So they lifted her skirt to apply torture to her shins. She pleaded that she had never allowed anyone to touch her body and they promised to respect her.

Then they crushed her leg bones with screws until she fainted. The men thought she was dead, but she came to and assured them she was not. Realizing that they could get nothing out of her, the authorities condemned her to die. Rather than burn her, as was customary, they tied her in a bag and drowned her on this day, March 27, 1549.

Bibliography:

1. Bainton, Roland H. Women of the Reformation in Germany and Italy. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg, 1971.
2. Williams, George Huntston. The Radical Reformation. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1962.

Read this article at -  http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/elizabeth-dirks-drowned-as-anabaptist-11629978.html