July 27
432: Passing away of Pope St Celestine I, a strong defender of the orthodox faith against several heresies and a supporter of St. Augustine of Hippo. He is supposed to have sent St. Patrick to evangelize Ireland.
1099: Demise of Pope Urban II, who had called upon the Christians during the Council of Clermont in 1095 to regain the holy Land which the Muslim rulers had invaded; he is held to have preached the first crusade.
1649: The English House of Commons passes an Act for Promoting and Propagating the Gospel in New England.
1656: Eight Quakers from England arrive at Boston and are immediately arrested and imprisoned by the Puritan authorities, who were suspicious of Quakerism and held it theologically apostate and politically subversive.
1681: Donald Cargill, Scottish Covenanter preacher, is hanged in Edinburgh for his faith.
1741: Birth of Francois H. Barth‚ the French Swedenborgian composer, known for the hymn tunes, AUTUMN (Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus) and BALERMA (Oh, fora Closer Walk with God).
1749: Repose of John Sergeant, a missionary to New England’s Indians, who enlisted David Brainerd as a fellow-missionary to the Indians.
1814: Demise of Isabella Graham, a philanthropist inspired by her Christian faith, in New York City, who had trained poor women to learn life skills and habits of thrift, and authored the book, The Power of Faith, a best-seller.
1901: Passing of B.F. Westcott, an English N.T. scholar, who published the most precise critical text of the Greek New Testament with his colleague F.J.A.Hort in In 1881; it is still in use today.
1903: Repose of Caroline (Lina) V. Sandell Berg, known as the ‘Fanny Crosby of Sweden,’ known for her hymns (in their English translation) “Day by Day” and “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
1913: The first Victorious Life Conference, founded by Robert C.McQuilkin, comes to a close at Oxford, PA. He was inspired by England’s Keswick Movement, and emphasized the attainment of spiritual freedom from the power of every known sin.
1914: Felix Manalo incorporates the non-Trinitarian movement Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in the Philippines. It is said to have been influenced by Seventh-day Adventist teachings.
1926: Ordination of William Sangster at the Wesley Chapel. Being one of the most influential leaders of the British Methodists in the twentieth century, he constantly appealed to the Methodists to return to their roots and seek deeper faith. He also resisted anti-Semitism.
1936 : Repose of Ding Shujing, the first woman who led the Chinese branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association.
1945: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s parents learn of the execution of their son by Nazis at Buchenwald concentration camp through a broadcast from London.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy: www.studylight.org