May 5
Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony from 1486 to
1525, was Martin Luther's sovereign in the early years of the
Reformation. Were it not for Frederick, there might not have
been a Lutheran Reformation. Born in Torgau in 1463, he became
so well known for his skill in political diplomacy and his
sense of justice and fairness that he was called "the Wise" by
his subjects. Though he never met Luther, Frederick repeatedly
protected and provided for him. In all likelihood he saved the
reformer from a martyr's fate. Frederick refused the pope's
demand to extradite Luther to Rome for a heresy trial in 1518.
When Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw in 1521 at
the Diet of Worms, Frederick provided sanctuary for Luther at
the Wartburg castle. On his deathbed, Frederick received the
Lord's Supper in both kinds--a clear confession of the
evangelical faith. [From "Commemorations
Biographies," Lutheran Service Book, LCMS
Commission on Worship]
321 The
Emperor
Constantine (ca. 272–337), unable to subdue the Donatists,
gave them grudging tolerance.
553 The Second
Council of Constantinople convened under the presidency of
Eutychius, the city's new patriarch.
1613 Johann
Steuerlein, German Lutheran pastor, poet and musician,
died in Meiningen (b. 5 July 1546, Schmalkalden).
1626 Sigismund
von Birken (Betulius), tutor and poet, was born at
Wildenstein, near Eger in Bohemia (d. 12 June 1681).
1646 King
Charles I of England (1600–1649)
and Scotland surrendered to the Scottish Presbyterian Army
at Newark.
1766 Jean
Astruc (b. 19 March 1684), French physician and pioneer in
modern Pentateuchal criticism, died.
1808 Ludwig
Harms, founder of the Hermannsburg Mission Society, was
born at Walsrode, Hannover (d. 14 November 1865). [German
Wikipedia article]
1813
Søren Aabye
Kierkegaard, Danish theologian and philosopher, was born
in Copenhagen (d. 11 November 1855).
1813 Charles
William Schaeffer, hymn translator and president of the
General Synod, was born in Hagerstown, Maryland (d. 15 March
1896).
1815 Ithamar
Conkey, New England music artist and composer, was born in Shutesbury,
Maryland (d. 30 April 1867).
1816 The American
Bible Society (ABS) was organized in New York to
distribute Bibles throughout the world.
1837 David
Frederick Schaeffer, president of the General Synod, died
(b. 22 July 1787, Carlisle, Pennsylvania).
1846 Henryk
Sienkiewicz, Polish novelist, was born in Wola Orkrzejska,
Poland (d. 15 November 1916).
1876 The German
Augsburg Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (the
Augsburg Synod), a Lutheran synod in the Mississippi Valley,
was organized.
1886 Hiester
Henry Muhlenberg, treasurer of the General Council, died
(b. 15 January 1812).
1888
Johann
Friedrich Karl Keil (b. 26 February 1807), German Lutheran Old Testament
scholar, died.
1904 Theodore
Gerhardt Tappert, Lutheran author, translator and editor
of the Book of Concord, was born in Meriden, Connecticut (d.
25 December 1973).
1910 Alexander
McLaren, a great non-conformist (non-Anglican) preacher,
died (b. 1826).
1925 Dayton, Tennessee, teacher
John
Scopes (1900–1970) was arrested for teaching evolution in his classroom.
He did so on purpose to test a law prohibiting such teaching.
The resulting trial—the first "trial of
the century"—resulted in public mockery of fundamentalist
Christians, driving them into a more self-contained
subculture.
1929 The first Missouri Synod service was
held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.