December 12
1199: Pope Innocent III lays the whole of France under an interdict, because King Philip Augustus had taken a second wife without properly divorcing his first. The interdict came into effect on 12th January 1200 and lasted until 7 September, till Philip finally distanced himself from the unlawful second wife.
1562: Demise of Peter Martyr Vermigli, an Italian theologian with reformation tendencies, who had fled to England from Italy and, as Mary Tudor restored Catholicism, he had fled again to Switzerland.
1666: Russian Orthodox Patriarch Nikon deposed by the Moscow Council, which had sought to bring an end to the struggle between Czar Alexis and Patriarch Nikon. Unfortunately, the rivalry, which began with a liturgical reform, grew into a lasting struggle between church and state.
1712: The South Carolina colony passes a “Sunday Law” requiring “all…persons whatsoever” to attend church every Sunday. The rule also prescribed the citizens to refrain from skilled labour on Sunday, and not to travel by horse or wagon beyond the necessary distance on the Day of the Lord. The violation of the law would bring one a 10-shilling fine and/or a two-hour lock-up in the village stocks.
1733: Stephen Parker, Ebenezer Hinsdell, and Joseph Seccombe ordained at Old South Church in Boston as missionaries to the American Indians.
1739: Demise of Anna Schindler Dober, who, with the support of Anna Nitschmann, had formed the band of unmarried sisters at Herrnhut (the Moravian center). Following her marriage to Bishop Dober, Anna Schindler worked with him to convert Jews.
1808: Foundation of the Bible Society of Philadelphia, the first organization in America, for the promotion and distribution of the Scripture.
1931: Priestly ordination of Raphael Mohasi in Basutoland as its first Black African Roman Catholic priest.
1971: Ordination of Ezekiel Ogunniran Oyatumo in the Nigerian Baptist Convention. He later became one of the most notable pastors in Nigeria, a prayer warrior, and a defender of conservative values. He wrote several books, including a history of the Nigerian Baptists.
1974: Pope Paul VI announces the plans for the canonization of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, who had founded the first free Catholic school in the U.S. as well as the religious order the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy: https://studylight.org