December 13
304: Martyrdom of Lucy, a young Christian virgin, for her faith in Syracuse, Sicily, after having failed to force her into prostitution. She became one of the most popular saints in a short time, and the Scandinavians later became her strongest followers.
1124: Repose of Pope Calixtus II in Rome. The Pope had defeated Emperor Henry V in battle, paving the way for an end to the controversy  between the church and state regarding investiture.
1204: Demise of Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon), a medieval Jewish scholar and author, who had  attempted to harmonize Aristotelian philosophy with rabbinic Judaism through his work “Guide of the Perplexed” (1190).
1294: In an unprecedented act, Pope Celestine V resigns the papacy, having just issued a controversial constitution paving the way for popes to do so. The resignation was a shock for the whole Christian world.
1545: Opening of the first session of the Council of Trent, as a response to the spread of Protestantism. It aimed at moral and administrative reforms within the Roman Catholic Church and met on and off for eighteen years.
1823: Birth of William W. How, an Anglican clergyman, who later renounced higher ecclesiastical positions, to be able to work among the poor in East London. He was the author of 50 hymns, including “We Give Thee But Thine Own” and “For All the Saints”.
1835: Birth of Phillips Brooks, an American Episcopal clergyman, who had produced ten volumes of sermons, but is better remembered as the author of the Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which he wrote for the children of his Sunday School in 1868.
1837: Demise of Father Herman, the leader of the Orthodox mission to the Kadiak of Alaska, who had considered sin of little consequence to the Christian. He said, “A true Christian is made by faith and love of Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Savior Himself…Sin, to one who loves God, is nothing other than an arrow from the enemy in battle.”
1952: Foundation of the Christ Apostolic Mission Church Oke-Igbala in Nigeria by John Ajayi Agbona; Â the denomination soon spread into several other countries.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy:Â https://studylight.org