A Tale of Two Olivers

I am occasionally asked, when people find out I write about history, why historians spend so much time talking about war. Well, with apologies to Mike Love, the history of war is the history of mankind. By and large human history rotates around moments of great change, and change rarely happens without conflict.

The history of the church, having also been made by humans, is no different. If it hasn't been a case of Christians warring with non-Christians, it's been Christians warring with Christians. And, as in the case of secular conflicts, war tends to bring out the worst in the children of God as well. There are many events for which the church and individuals will have to answer.

One of those events centers around an Irishman named Oliver Plunkett.

Plunkett was born in 1625 near Oldcastle, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome where his record was described as "particularly brilliant." Ordained a priest in 1654, Plunkett was selected by the Irish bishops to be their representative in Rome. On July 9th, 1669, he was appointed to the Archbishop of Armagh, he received the pallium on his arrival in England July 28th, 1670.

While Plunkett was in Rome, the other great Oliver of the day, Oliver Cromwell, invaded Ireland. Cromwell, as Lord protector of England, had enacted anti-Catholic legislation. Catholic priests were outlawed. Those who dared to administer the sacraments were hanged or transported to the West Indies. In Ireland, his usually well-controlled Protestant troops were permitted to inflict terrible atrocities upon Irish Catholics.

During his tenure Plunkett sought to improve the lot of his people. Taking advantage of a brief period in which the Penal Laws were slightly relaxed, he built schools for both the young and clergy and set about reorganizing the ravaged Church. He also tackled drunkenness among the clergy; true Christianity, Plunkett believed, sobers people and makes them more orderly. As an agent of Christ, Plunkett worked toward those ends. Records indicate he confirmed 48,655 people into the faith, and persuaded hundreds of couples who lived together without marriage to marry.

One incident merits special mention. There was a considerable number of displaced Catholics in the province of Ulster, most of whom had their property confiscated, who banded together and, as outlaws, lived by plundering those who lived around them. Anyone who sheltered them faced the death penalty by British law, anyone who refused them such shelter met with death at their hands. Plunkett went in search of them, facing great personal risk, and convinced them to renounce their career of plundering. He also managed to negotiate pardons for them so they could exile themselves to other countries rather than face the death penalty, and thus peace was restored throughout the whole province.

Nearly twenty years after the death of Cromwell, new outbreaks of anti-Catholicism forced Plunkett into hiding in 1673. Catholics were required to register for deportation at any seaport - failure to do so would have grave consequences. Plunkett refused. He continued however, to shepherd his flock. Many followed the example of their Archbishop and the underground Catholic church thrived despite the efforts of one Lord Shaftesbury.

Plunkett was finally arrested in Dublin in 1679. Shaftesbury, falsely accused Plunkett of plotting a French invasion of Ireland. He was tried at Dundalk for conspiring against the state by plotting to bring 20,000 French soldiers into the country, and for levying a tax on his clergy to support 70,000 men for rebellion. While awaiting trial in Dublin Castle, Plunkett showed his Christ-like character when, despite years of rivalry with Peter Talbot, archbishop of Dublin, over the question of who should be primate of Ireland, he forgave his fellow captive and administered to him the Catholic rite of absolution.

When a jury refused to convict Plunkett in Ireland, Shaftesbury, realizing the archbishop would never be convicted in Ireland had him moved to Newgate Prison, London. The first grand jury found no validity to the charges, but he was not released. The second trial was a kangaroo court; with two Franciscans bringing false testimony against him. Plunkett was found guilty of high treason on June, 1681 "for promoting the Catholic faith," and on July 1, 1681 was executed by being hanged, disemboweled, beheaded and quartered. He was the last Catholic executed for his faith in England.

Even at the time many people were appalled at the manner in which Oliver Plunkett had been tried, convicted, and sentenced. Lord Campbell, writing of the judge, Sir Francis Pemberton, called it a disgrace to himself and his country. The bitterness of those days lives on in divided Ireland even today.

Oliver Plunkett was canonized and became Saint Oliver on October 12, 1975, only 32 years ago this week. But it should be noted that when Pope Paul VI canonized him he was the first Irishman in almost 700 years to receive the honor.


Resources:

1. "Blessed Oliver Plunkett", Written by Patrick Francis Cardinal Moran. Transcribed by Marie Jutras. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII. Published 1911. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
2. Various other Internet articles.

Photo credit: St. Oliver Plunkett - courtesy www.irishpage.com

Other events that happened this week:

October 8, 451: The Council of Chalcedon opens to deal with the questions of Christ's nature. Two groups, the Eutychians and the Apollinarians, believed Jesus could not have two natures. His divinity, they believed, swallowed up his humanity "like a drop of wine in the sea." The council condemned the teaching as heresy and created a confession of faith which affirmed the Nicene Creed.

October 9, 1000: Leif "the Lucky" Eriksson is reported to have been the first European to reach North America on this date. What is not widely reported is that he would later evangelize Greenland also making him the first to bring the gospel to North America. But while he was certainly a member of an early Viking voyage to "Vinland" (probably Nova Scotia), it's doubtful he led the initial expedition.

October 10, 1821: Law student Charles Finney goes off for a walk in the woods near his home to settle in his own mind the question of his standing before God. That night, at the age of 29, he experienced what he would later describe as "waves of liquid love throughout his body." He emerged from the woods fully convinced of the reality of the gospel message and before long became American history's greatest revivalist purportedly responsible for the conversion of as 500,000 people.

October 11, 1521: In responce to his tract "The Assertion of the Seven Sacraments," written against Martin Luther, Pope Leo X conferred the title "Fidei Defensor" (Defender of the Faith) upon England's Henry VIII. Three popes and 13 years later, when Henry couldn't get the church to grant him a divorce or annulment from his first wife, the infamous British monarch severed all ties with Rome, making the Church of England a separate church body.

October 13, 1836: Lutheran pastor Theodor Fliedner opens the first deaconess training centre in Kaiserswerth, Germany. The centre was opened despite the fact he had no curriculum and no teachers. Seven days later Gertrude Reichardt, the 48-year old daughter of a physician, applied for deaconess training. After her interview Theodor saw her as the answer to prayer and put her in charge of the centre.

October 14, 1066: William the Conqueror leads the Normans to victory over the English Saxons in the Battle of Hastings. William is also considered one of England's most important religious reformers; he spent his last days in intense Christian devotion.

A Parliament of Religions

As Ontario finds itself on the final stretch towards electing a new provincial parliament, I thought I'd tell you about a parliament of another kind.

The World's Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the New World. Unlike previous "World's Fair" it was a good deal more than just an international trade show. There were the usual displays of new inventions as well as industrial and agricultural displays, even a few displays promoting what we today would call the tourism trade. But in addition to this there was a conference held, the like of which, had never been seen before.

Charles C. Bonney (pictured) was a lawyer and a follower of Swedish theologian Emmanual Swedenborg. He felt the Chicago exhibition was a perfect opportunity to bring the world's religions together in an effort to generate a greater understanding of each other. His goal was to see a reduction in religious persecution around the world. His cause was taken up by the renowned liberal clergyman John Henry Barrows, who enthusiastically promoted the event. Barrows however, was not quite the liberal many thought him to be. He later admitted that his primary reason for promoting the event was his conviction that other religious leaders would leave convinced of Christianity's superiority over other theologies.

Many evangelical leaders, such as Dwight L. Moody flatly refused to participate. Their reasons generally fell into one of two categories. On one hand there was a general feeling that the event would quickly degenerate into an attack on Christian missionaries and Christian evangelical practices in general. On the other hand, for many to even hold such a conference required the supposition that all religions were of equal value, which for evangelicals was a fundamentally false assumption.

Despite these objections however, a few Catholics and a smattering of liberal Protestant churches did send representatives. In addition representatives of other religions included a dozen Buddhists, eight Hindus, two Shintoists, a Jain, a Taoist, a couple Muslims, some Confucians, and Zoroastrians.

As the Parliament continued it soon became clear that the evangelicals fears were well founded. The majority of the speeches made by the non-Christian delegates focused on their opposition to Christian missions. Their biggest complaint being the decidedly unchristian manner in which all too many Christian missionaries behaved. Some even pointed out that their own religions had a better track record of living out Christian values day-to-day than did many day-to-day Christians.

One thing happened however that the evangelicals did not predict. Many of the delegates to the conference, notably the Hindus and the Buddhists decided that since they were in America for a time anyway, they may as well stay a while and tour the country. Realizing that there was a great spiritual hunger in America that mainstream Christianity was not meeting, both religions decided to set up shop and soon both a Buddhist Society and a Hindu society were formed. As a result many people began to view Christianity as just one option among many. They also began to seriously look at the other options and made the switch.

Seeing that the fields of North America were "ripe for harvest" many other disciplines began sending teams to the U.S. as well. Famed Zen Buddhist D. T. Suzuki, soon set up America's first Zen monasteries. Americans warmed quickly to the appeal of religious pluralism and leaders such as John Henry Barrows were appalled by the fact the conference had exactly the opposite effect than the one they had been hoping for.

The great 'Parliament of Religions', at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, regarded by many as the birth of religious pluralism in North America, began on September 11th, 1893 - 114 years ago this week.

Resources:
1. With Absolute Respect: The Swedenborgian Theology of Charles Carrol Bonney, Rev. Dr. George F. Dole, link
2. Swedenborg Foundation - link
3. Articles provided by the Christian History Institute - link
4. Photo Credit: www.payer.de - link

Other events this week in Church History:

September 8, 1636 - Only six years after arriving from England, Massachusetts Puritans found Harvard College, America's first higher learning institution. The college was founded to train future ministers.

September 9, 1087 - William I, Norman "Conqueror" of England in 1066 and the founder of several monasteries, dies.

September 10, 422 - Elevation of Celestine to the office of pope. Among other things Pope St. Celestine I is known for sending St. Patrick to Ireland and for defending the church against the Nestorian "heresy" at the Council of Ephesus.

September 12, 1922 - The American Episcopal church decides to remove the words "to obey" from its wedding service marriage vows.

September 13, 1541 - Three years after city authorities banish him, John Calvin returns to Geneva. While there he spent the rest of his life trying to establish a theocratic society at the request of those same authorities.

September 14, 258 - Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, is beheaded during the persecution under Roman Emperor Valerian.

Save your Enemy - Get Burned.

Week 20 - May 13-19

Every once in a while the subject comes up about people who have been baptized as infants being re-baptized as adults when they come to faith for themselves. Some denominations allow it, others do not. What has always amazed me however, is just how contentious an issue it can be. Consider the story of Dirk Willem.

Dirk was captured and imprisoned in his home town of Asperen in the Netherlands for the crime of being an Anabaptist. These were basically peaceful citizens who did not believe in war and who became the forerunners of today's Mennonites and Amish. The main complaint of the authorities against them was that they did not believe infant baptism had any value. They chose to be re-baptized as willing adults. Dirk knew his fate would be death if he remained in prison, so he made a rope of strips of cloth and slid down it over the prison wall (yeah people actually escaped using the bed-sheet trick). One of the guards gave chase.

A late spring frost had covered a nearby pond with a thin layer of ice. Dirk decided to take his chances and dashed across the flimsy surface. He made it, but the guard that was chasing him didn’t. Falling into the cold icy water the man cried out for help. Dirk could not ignore his cries.

You see, the Anabaptist aversion to infant baptism was based on their determination to do all things in accordance with scripture. This devotion to the Word also meant Dirk believed in Jesus’ teaching that a man should help his enemies. He immediately turned back and pulled the floundering guard from the frigid water. The event was reported in The Martyrs Mirror, first published in 1660 by Thieleman J. van Braght. A woodcut depicting the rescue (pictured) accompanied the account.

Grateful for his life the guard was of a mind to let Dirk escape, but a Burgomaster (chief magistrate) who had been standing on the shore sternly ordered him to arrest Dirk and bring him back, reminding him of the oath he had sworn as an officer of the courts. Reluctantly, the guard escorted Dirk back to prison; Dirk offered no resistance.

As expected he was condemned to death for being re-baptized, allowing secret church services in his home and letting others be baptized there. The record of his sentencing concludes: "all of which is contrary to our holy Christian faith, and to the decrees of his royal majesty, and ought not to be tolerated, but severely punished, for an example to others; therefore, we the aforesaid judges, having, with mature deliberation of council, examined and considered all that was to be considered in this matter, have condemned and do condemn by these presents in the name; and in the behalf, of his royal majesty, as Count of Holland, the aforesaid Dirk Willems, prisoner, persisting obstinately in his opinion, that he shall be executed with fire, until death ensues; and declare all his property confiscated, for the benefit of his royal majesty."

As was the custom Dirk was burned to death for his crime (women were executed by drowning). They also placed a cumbersome clamp on Willem’s tongue. This was because many Anabaptists proved to be so bold in their final testimony for Christ that authorities began to clamp their tongues before leading them out to their execution so that they could not speak up and win more converts.

The wind blew the flames away from him resulting in his death taking much longer and being far more painful than was usually the case. Time and again Dirk cried out to God for release. Finally one of the judges could not bear to see him suffer any longer and ordered one of the guards to end his torment with a quick death.

How many Anabaptists died during the sixteenth century persecution in Europe? No one knows for sure. What is certain is that at least 1,500 were cruelly tortured and killed, for the crime of wanting to decide for themselves when they should be baptized.

Dirk William paid the ultimate price for his dedication to Scripture on May 16, 1569 - 438 years ago this week.

Other events that happened this week.

May 13, 1963 - Death of A.W. Tozer, Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor and author of The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy.

May 14, 1572 - Gregory XIII, who reformed the Julian calendar bringing into usage the calendar used today and was subsequently named for him, is raised to the papacy.

May 15, 1984 - Presbyterian evangelical Francis A. Schaeffer passes away in Rochester, Minnesota. Schaeffer was the author of many books, and founder of the L'Abri (the Shelter) community in Switzerland.

May 17, 1844 - German biblical scholar Julius Wellhausen is born. His controversial theory about the Pentateuch—that it is a compilation of four literary sources (J, Jahwist; E, Elohist; D, Deuteronomist; and P, Priestly Editor), laid the foundation for most subsequent Old Testament criticism.

May 18, 1920 - Karol Wojtyla (who would take the name John Paul II when elected pope) is born in Wadowice, Poland.

May 19, 1971 - The musical Godspell, based on Matthew's gospel, opens at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York.

Something's Been Eating at Caesar

Week 18: April 29- May 4

Sometimes it's hard to decide which event in a week to write about. Other times the subject justs jumps out at you and says, "Here I am! Write about me!" This week it's the latter, and it's a double-header.

Galerius was born about AD 250 in a little village near Florentiana in Upper Moesia. His father was a simple peasant and his mother came from beyond the Danube. At first it appears he worked as a herdsman, a man of violent character, fond of pleasure and politically insignificant; but then he joined the army and proved to be an efficient soldier, then a loyal officer devoted to Emperor Diocletian.

In 293 Diocletian divided the empire into a tetrarchy, that is he created four lesser empires and assigned his best and most trusted confidants to serve a junior Caesars. Galerius, together with Constantius Chlorus, was chosen from the senior military leaders. He took the name Gaius Valerius Maximianus and was entrusted with rule of the powerful Balkan provinces, Pannonia, Moesia and Thraciae and the Diocese of Asiana in Asia Minor (Turkey).

Galerius' tenure as junior Caesar had its ups and downs (he suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Persians but managed to exact his revenge a few years later) but over all his power and influence grew. So much in fact, that most historians ascribe the four edicts against the Christians published after 303 by Diocletian, who was himself a strong believer in the heathen superstitions.

Much points toward Galerius in this respect. His mother Romula was said to have been a fanatical paganist. Having grown up under the influence of such religious zealotry, it is well possible that Galerius's feelings should have been very hostile toward other religions.

The Christians had been gaining converts at ever increasing rates, both among the soldiers and the civil officials. Magnificent churches were being erected in the large cities, and the time seemed not far distant when the new religion would become more popular than the old. Christianity therefore, had to go; believers needed to be rooted out, the Holy Scriptures must be abolished, the churches destroyed, and the cemeteries confiscated.

The edicts, ever increasing in severity, were enforced much more strictly in the East where Galerius was in command than in the West. It was in the East that the decisive struggle between paganism and Christianity was fought out. When Diocletian voluntarily abandoned the imperial throne at Nicomedia in May, 305, he named Galerius his successor. The latter thenceforth passed most of his time in Illyricum.

Galerius himself is believed to have issued an edict in 304 requiring everyone in the empire to sacrifice to the gods of the empire on pain of death or forced labor; hundreds of Christians executed. When Diocletian abdicated, Galerius became senior emperor in 305. He didn't let up, in fact his persecution became even more widespread. However, Christianity simply would not go away. Eventually even Galerius began to suspect it would be impossible to snuff out the illegal religion.

Then in the year 311 he became ill. A Christian writer named Lactantius said that Galerius' flesh began to rot away and was eaten by maggots while he writhed in agony. Some members of Galerius' household claimed the emperor connected his illness with the persecution of the Christians. He seems to have seen his illness as a judgment from the Christian God. Whether or not this is true we will likely never know for sure. At any rate, he issued an edict which mentioned only Christians.

The edict began by justifying his previous edits. "Amongst our other measures for the advantage of the Empire, we have hitherto endeavored to bring all things into conformity with the ancient laws and public order of the Romans. We have been especially anxious that even the Christians, who have abandoned the religion of their ancestors, should return to reason."

Noting that some of the Christians had betrayed their faith out of fear while others endured torture, Galerius for some inexplicable reason also declared, "we, with our wonted clemency, have judged it wise to extend a pardon even to these men and permit them once more to become Christians and reestablish their places of meeting..."

In a final attempt to hedge his chances Galerius added, "...it should be the duty of the Christians, in view of our clemency [mercy], to pray to their god for our welfare, for that of the Empire, and for their own, so that the Empire may remain intact in all its parts, and that they themselves may live safely in their habitations."

Galerius wanted the Christian's to intercede on his behalf. Reminds me of Pharoah aand Moses (Exodus 8:28) Did he hope for a miracle? If so, he was disappointed. He died a week after issuing the edict.

His successor, Emperor Maximinus, tried to counteract the edict but did not succeed to any great extent in his short rule. The Great Persecution of Christians had ended.

Now... why do I call this a double-header? Because both the fourth and final edit ordering the persecution of the Christians in 304, and the issuing of the edit that ended the persecution in 311 went out from Galerius on April 30 exactly seven years apart; 1,703 and 1696 years ago this week.


Other events that happened this week.

April 29, 1429 - Joan of Arc, who had experienced mystical visions and voices since childhood, enters the besieged French city of Orleans to lead a victory over the English. The next day, the English retreated, but, because it was a Sunday, Joan refused to allow any pursuit. On a sortie the next year, The English captured Joan and put her on trial for heresy.

May 1, 1873 - Missionary-explorer David Livingstone dies. Responsible for "opening up" central Africa and for popularizing missions to that continent, Livingstone himself only made one convert—who later backslid. Still, he is widely considered one of Christianity's missionary heroes.

May 2, 373 - Church father Athanasius, "the father of Orthodoxy," dies. He attended the Council of Nicea, and after becoming bishop of Alexandria, he fought Arianism and won. He was also the first to list the New Testament canonical books as we know them today.

May 3, 1675 - A Massachusetts law goes into effect requiring church doors to be locked during services. Officials enacted the law because too many people were leaving before sermons were over.

May 4, 1873 - Father Damien enters the Leper Colony on Molokai Island, Hawaii to minister to the population there. Ignored by everyone, the residents of the colony lived what Damien described as "the most retched existence imaginable." For the next twelve years he devoted himself to reforming conditions on the island and bringing the souls of the residents to salvation. His mission ended when he contracted the disease himself. He died four years later. His unselfish devotion inspired many others around the world who continue his work to this day.

The Cost of Discipleship

I’ve been reading a book called The Early Christians in Their Own Words edited by Eberhard Arnold. It’s a collection of letters, book excerpts, and other writings from the first three centuries of the church’s history. Included as well, are the words of their detractors; governors, prefects and prosecutors who, at best, could not understand the new religion, at worst, sought the total destruction of every believer.

It is books like this that fuel my passion for history. In it we find the personal thoughts, feelings, and meditations of people who lived and breathed nearly 2000 years ago. They, like myself, held to the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Son of God. But while for me the decision to become a Christian sometimes seems like some kind of lifestyle choice, for them it was in a very real sense a decision to die.

We often lose contact with the fact that for the first generation of Christians being a believer was a death sentence. The prevailing opinion of the Romans was that these Christians were a threat to the stability of the empire. Patriotism in the empire was expressed in the worship of Caesar, the worship other gods was allowed, after all, Rome was polytheistic, but the worship of the emperor took precedence over all others. The Christians however, refused to submit to the worship of any deity but their own. This, by Roman definition, was treason, punishable by death. What frustrated and amazed the Roman authorities was the Christian capacity to ignore torture, imprisonment, and execution. They actually reveled in their situation.

I’d like to tell you about one such person. His name was Vincent, from the Spanish region of Saragossa, the son of one Eutricius and his wife Enola. Raised in the church the young man impresses the local bishop, Valerius, who eventually ordained him as a deacon. Despite his young age, Valerius entrusted him with religious instruction and with most of the diocesan preaching, for the bishop himself suffered from a speech impediment.

Though Christianity was technically illegal, the church was enjoying a period of being largely ignored by Rome, until the year 303. That year, the then co-emperors Diocletian and Maximian issued decrees designed to wipe out all Christian clergy. Early the next year, another decree extended the persecution to all Christians. Tens of thousands of Christians were slaughtered as a result of this renewed persecution. In Spain the anti-Christian campaign was entrusted to the Roman governor, Dacian. He proved an efficient and even sadistic executioner.

Dacian decided to inspire fear in the Spanish church by first arresting Valerius and Vincent. They were imprisoned for quite some time without sufficient food and water thinking the deprivation would break them, but when they finally appeared before Dacian’s tribunal they were still so strong in body and spirit, that the governor punished his guards for failing in their duties. As was their custom, the Bishop remained silent, allowing his young deacon to speak for him. Vincent made it clear that they had been sustained by the Holy Spirit and there was nothing Dacian could do that would cause them to abandon their faith.

Dacian’s anger was levelled squarely on the young man; in fact, so focussed was his anger at Vincent, he dismissed the bishop with the relatively minor sentence of exile. Vincent however, received a brutal scourging and was then stretched on the rack, in the presence of many witnesses, because Dacian wanted it to be an example for others. But neither torture nor blandishments nor threats could undermine the strength and courage of the deacon’s faith. Dacian offered to set Vincent free if he would burn a copy of his precious scriptures. The deacon responded by condemning Dacian to hell if he failed to respect the Word of God. Infuriated, Dacian ordered that Vincent be flayed alive; with much of his flesh exposed and raw, he was then roasted upon a gridiron.

Of all the tortures regularly faced by the early Christians, this is the one that shakes me to the core. There is account, after account, after account of people being scourged to within an inch of their lives and then placed upon one or another iron construct suspended over hot coals and heated high enough to sear flesh – human slabs of meat literally tossed into the frying pan. And in virtually every account the victims, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, refuse to yield, in many cases continuing to praise and worship God even in the midst of pain that we can’t even begin to imagine.

Vincent is no exception. According to early accounts he not only refused to abandon his faith, it is said he taunted his torturers for their inability to do get the job done. Vincent was removed from the torture chamber and thrown into a dungeon the floor of which was littered with broken pottery shards. Vincent continued to praise God and his Lord Jesus. Some reported the cell glowed as the spirit of God filled the room.

Eventually, Dacian allowed friends and supporters of Vincent to move him to a proper bed and tend to his wounds. He wanted the deacon to recover enough that he would be able to face another round of torture. But God in his mercy took Vincent to be with Himself during this time, but not before he had led his jailer to faith by his courage and testimony. Surrounded by friends the valient young deacon gave up his spirit with the praise of God on his lips.

It is hard for us in this day and age to fully appreciate what it meant to “come to Christ” at this time in history. For the first three centuries of the church’s history people knew even before they became Christians that to do so would likely mean a death sentence at the hands of the state. Martyrdom was not a remote possibility, it was a very great likelihood; it was part of the what it meant to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. I’ve thought about this a great deal and it puts the paltry sacrifices we make into perspective. The cost of our faith is small.

Vincent’s story is well known throughout churches in Europe, not so much in North America. He is depicted at right in a 15th century altar-piece from Lisbon (click for larger image). Every year, on the date regarded as the anniversary of his death, special services are held in remembrance of the example he set for us all. According to that tradition, Vincent of Saragossa gave his life in the service of the Kingdom of God on January 22, 304 – 1,703 years ago this week.


Other events that took place this week: Jan.21-27

January 21, 1525: In a secret, illegal meeting of six men in Zurich, Conrad Grebel (Ulrich Zwingli's former protege) re-baptizes George Blaurock, a former monk. This was done in defiance of the law that required all citizens, including new-born babies, to be baptized into the Reformed Church. Grebel and his associates were of the belief that the state could not legislate religious adherence, and that baptism required a conscious decision babies were not capable of making. This meeting is considered by many to be the birth of the Anabaptist movement.

January 23, 1893: Episcopal minister Phillips Brooks dies. As bishop of Massachusetts, a fervent abolitionist, frequent substitute evangelist for D.L. Moody, and the author of "O Little Town of Bethlehem," he was considered by many to be one of America's the most important preachers.

January 24, 1573: John Donne is born. Who is he? The English preacher and poet who would become dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. He was one of the most prominent preachers of his day and one of the greatest English poets. It was he who authored such oft quoted lines as "No man is an island," "For whom does the bell toll? It tolls for thee," and "Death be not proud."

January 25, 98: Upon the sudden death of Emperor Nerva, Trajan takes the throne. It is Trajan who will, two years later, ask Pliny the Younger to investigate a new superstition known as "Christianity." Even though Pliny's report considers the “cult” to be relatively harmless, it will lead to moderate persecution. It will also mark the first time Christians are recognized as being distinct from Jews.

January 26, 1564: The decrees of the Council of Trent are accepted and confirmed by Pope Pius IV . A product of the Counter Reformation, the decrees improved church organization, strengthened the powers of the papacy, and blocked any chance of reconciliation with the Protestants.

January 27, 1302: Dante Alighieri, after facing false charges of corruption, is heavily fined and excluded from political office permanently. He would eventually be driven out of Florence in April, after which Dante began writing The Divine Comedy, the epic poem in which he travels through hell, purgatory, and heaven.