August 8
1471: Passing away of Thomas Kempis, Dutch mystic and devotional author, at the age of 91. His spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ is in print even today.
1694: Demise of Antonie Arnauld, a Jansenist leader, who had promoted an Augustinian version of grace, which was similar to Calvinism.
1805: The First African Baptist Church of Boston is founded by twenty members.
1845: Birth of Thomas Koschat, an Austrian sacred composer.
1852: Baptist General Conference begins with the baptism of three converts by the Swedish immigrant pastor Gustaf Palmquist in the Mississippi River at Rock Island, Illinois. The denomination has about 140,000 members at present.
1900: Repose of Cyrus Hamlin in Portland, Maine, who had been a missionary to Turkey and who founded Roberts College.
1909: Passing away of Mary MacKillop, an Australian nun and the co-founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She was later canonized by the Roman Catholic church, making her the first saint from Australia.
1910: The Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments in the Vatican issues the decree Quam singulari, permitting children to receive the Holy Communion as soon as they become 7.
1920: Orthodox priest Alexander Zaitsev is convicted by the communists for anti-Soviet agitation and handing over Soviet sympathizers to a resistance movement. He was sentenced to death and was shot dead.
1929: Demise of Catholic lay worker and evangelist Martha Gallison Moore Avery in Medford, Massachusetts.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS