October 17
1483: Pope Sixtus IV launches the Spanish Inquisition, placing it under joint direction of the Church and state and appointing Tomas de Torquemada...
October 16
1009: (or October 18th)Â Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the ruler of Egypt, destroys the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holy Steps) in Jerusalem.
1311: Pope...
October 15
1385: Passing away  of Dionysius, the Orthodox archbishop of Suzdal, while in prison. Apart from encouraging his people in their struggle against the...
October 14
1566: Passing away of Ignatius of Methymna, a Metropolitan of the Greek Church, and the founder of the monasteries of Panagia Myrtidiotissa and...
October 13
-539 (BC): The Persian armies of Cyrus the Great capture Babylon, a military stronghold which had taken Judah into exile in 586 BC under...
October 11
1424: Demise of John Ziska, a clever military officer, in Bohemia. He defeated several armies that had tried to suppress the Bohemian reformation...
October 8
451 Opening of the Council of Chalcedon, which dealt with the view of the Eutychians, who taught that Christ's divinity swallowed up his humanity...
