January 10
Basil and the
two Gregorys, collectively known as the Cappadocian Fathers,
were leaders of Christian orthodoxy in Asia Minor (modern
Turkey) in the later fourth century. Basil and Gregory of
Nyssa were brothers; Gregory of Nazianzus was their friend.
All three were influential in shaping the theology ratified
by the Council of Constantinople of 381, which is expressed
in the Nicene Creed. Their defense of the doctrines of the
Holy Spirit and Holy Trinity, together with their
contributions to the liturgy of the Eastern Church, make
them among the most influential Christian teachers and
theologians of their time. [From
“Commemorations Biographies,”
Lutheran Service Book, LCMS Commission on Worship]
236
Fabian
was elected bishop of Rome. He served until 20 January 250, when he
became the first martyr under Decius, the emperor who
initiated an Empire-wide persecution of Christians.
681
Agatho, pope from 678
to 681, died (b. ca. 577).
1276
Pope Gregory X died (b. ca. 1210).
1514 The
first section of the
Complutensian Polyglot, the first
multi-language Bible, was printed at Alcala (Complutum in
Latin), Spain, under the direction of Arnold Guillen de
Brocar.
1607
Isaac Jogues, French Jesuit missionary among Native
Americans in North America, was born (d. 18 October 1646).
1645 The controversial archbishop of Canterbury
and leader of the Church of England
William Laud
(b. 7 October 1573, Reading, Berkshire), was beheaded.
1715
Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and
theologian who defended the position of religious orthodoxy,
was born (d. 18 October 1775).
1738 The first Protestant and Lutheran
orphanage in United States was begun by the
Salzburgers of
Georgia in Savannah.
1739
George Whitefield
(1714–1770), the preacher who
sparked America's first Great Awakening, was ordained into
the Anglican ministry.
1831
Karl Brauer, music professor at the
Missouri Synod’s Addison, Illinois, teachers seminary, was
born in Lisaberg, Hesse (d. 12 May 1907, North Tonawanda,
New York).
1834
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first
Baron of Acton, whose hatred of arbitrary power and all
forms of absolutism led him to oppose the syllabus of errors
issued by Pius IX and the promulgation of the dogma of papal
infallibility, was born in Naples (d. 19 June 1902).
1858 “I Gave My Life to
Thee” was written by
Frances Ridley Havergal
(1836–1879), an
English devotional poet and hymn writer, while visiting in
Germany. This was her first popular
hymn.
1864
Samuel Alexander Bill,
Presbyterian missionary to Nigeria, was born in Belfast,
Northern Ireland (d. 24 January 1942).
1867
William P. Merrill,
hymnist, was born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 19 June 1954,
New York City).
1869 [O.S.]
Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk and mystic who influenced
Tsar Nicholas II and his family, was born (d. 16 December
1916 [O.S.])
1883
Elling Eielsen,
lay preacher in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, died (b. 1804).
1888
Peter Parker,
missionary to China, died (b. 18 June 1804, Framingham,
Massachusetts).
1896
Allen W.
Chatfield, hymnist, died (b. 2 October 1808, Chatteris,
Cambridge, England).
1903
Edmund Jacob Wolf,
professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary (Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania) died (b. 8 December 1840).
1906
Samuel Sprecher,
professor and president of Wittenberg College (Springfield,
Ohio), died (b. 28 December 1810).
1910
Carl Johann
Otto Hanser, director of Concordia College (Fort Wayne,
Indiana) and member of the Board for Colored Missions of the
Lutheran Synodical Conference and of the Missouri Synod
Board for Foreign Missions, died in Saint Louis, Missouri (7
September 1832).
1914
Anton Wagner, pioneer of the Missouri
Synod in Chicago, died (b. 20 January 1830, Allendorf, near
Giessen, Hesse, Germany).
1934 P. Y. Bee was ordained as
the Missouri Synod's first native Chinese
pastor.
1939 Zion Chapel, Shasi, China, was bombed
out.
1984 The United States and the
Vatican established full diplomatic relations after 117
years.
2002
W. A. Criswell, American Baptist preacher, died (b. 19
December 1909).