Today in Christian History: June 22

June 22

304: (traditional date) Alban becomes the first Christian to be martyred in the British Isles. He was converted by a fleeing priest, and gave his life for the priest.

1535: Beheading of John Fisher by King Henry VIII of England for publicly criticizing Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and for rejecting Henry as head of the Church of England.

1559: Queen Elizabeth’s Prayer Book is issued in England.

1622: Pope Gregory XV calls upon the Catholics to evangelize the newly discovered native populations in the Americas through his bull Inscrutabili Divinae.

1633: Galileo signs a repudiation of some of his scientific views under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church.

1680: Publication of the Declaration of Sanquhar by the Scottish Covenanters, denying allegiance to King Charles II and to the government of Scotland, due to governmental interference in religious affairs.

1714: Demise of Matthew Henry, famous as a Bible commentator.

1854: Ordination of Baron Nikolai Pavlovich Zass as a deacon in the Orthodox Church; later he became Bishop Nestor of San Francisco and Alaska.

1865: Establishment of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), with the purpose of providing information about the archaeology, the history and the people of the Holy Land.

1870: Beginning of the translation work of the English Revised Version of the Bible by scholars. The ERV was released in 1881 and became the textual basis for the American Standard Version (ASV), first published in 1901.

1891: Baptism of Lim Ang in Formosa, Taiwan, previously a blind person who sought treatment  at a mission hospital where he came to know Christ. He learnt reading Braille and taught at the Presbyterian mission’s blind school. After regaining sight, he  became a popular preacher.

1909: The Diocese of Munster goes on a two week celebration to commemorate the eleventh centenary of St. Ludiger.

1981: Beatification of Kateri Takakwitha, the first American Indian to be raised to this status in the Roman Catholic Church. After having taken the vow of perpetual virginity at the age of 19, he spent her life at a Jesuit mission in Montreal. She is hailed as the Lily of the Mohawks.

Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS

Courtesy: www.studylight.org