May 26
451: Armenians fight a desperate battle against the Persians (who owned a much larger army) at Avarayr, in order to preserve and defend their Christian culture, the first ever known battle in history with the aim of preserving a nation’s Christian faith. Both the sides suffer heavy losses and the Persians sign a treaty that Armenia can practice its faith.
605: (probable date) Demise of Augustine of Canterbury, the missionary who had brought the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex and Kent to Christian faith.
1232: Pope Gregory IX sends the first Inquisition team to Aragon in Spain, after clearing up its details with the Dominicans in the previous year.
1328: William of Occam, a Franciscan friar and a notable scholar, flees from Avignon to escape Pope John XXII, whom he had criticized severely, and joins Emperor Louis of Bavaria. He supported the emperor in his struggles against the pope.
1521: Diet of Worms approves an edict declaring Luther a criminal, who has committed high treason, and calls for his capture and death.
1595: Passing away of Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorians, in Rome.
1811: Birth of William Hunter, American Methodist clergyman and the author of three collections of hymns. He is best remembered for the hymn, “The Great Physician Now is Near.”
1858: Formation of the United Presbyterian Church in North America through the merger of the Associate Presbyterian and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian churches, in Pittsburgh.
1862: Thomas Barnardo converts to evangelical Christianity and opens up orphanages for the homeless boys and girls in London.
1899: William McKinley, who later became the 25th President of America, wrote in his notebook, “My belief embraces the Divinity of Christ and a recognition of Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world’s civilization.”
1910: Pope Pius X issues the encyclical Editae saepe known as the “Borromeo Encyclical” on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Charles Borromeo’s canonization, in which he showcases the saint’s example and teachings as relevant in the modern times.
1927: Demise of Francis Edward Clark, the founder of the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor.
1936: Repose of Willis Collins Hoover, a Methodist missionary who founded Chile’s Pentecostal movement.
1957: The last airing of the religious program “The Fourth R,” produced by different religious organizations and aired on Sunday mornings over NBC television.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy: www.studylight.org