March 7
1080: Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV for not keeping his word and bans all Henry’s adherents, deprives Henry IV of his kingdoms of Germany and Italy, forbids the faithful to obey him, and bestows the crown of Germany on Rudolf.
1274: Passing away of Thomas Aquinas at the monastery of Fossanova. He was the most famous Dominican theologian, author of the Summa Theologica and Summa contra Gentiles.
1526: Zurich council sentences all Anabaptists to death by drowning.
1755: Death of Bishop Thomas Wilson on the Isle of Man. The bishop was beloved for his purity of life, kindness towards the poor, and tolerance toward sects such as the Quakers. He rebuilt his diocese and established libraries that included works in the Manx language spoken there. His charitable efforts included improvement of farming, cancellation of harsh laws, and support of English missions.
1782: Militants of Ohio Territory begin a two-day massacre of the Moravian Indian town of Gnadenhutten (modern New Philadelphia, Ohio). 96 Christian Indians of the Delaware tribe were slaughtered, in retaliation for Indian raids made elsewhere in the Ohio Territory.
1802: The first Baptist church was organized in Washington, D.C., with six charter members.
1825: Birth of Alfred Edersheim, English biblical scholar, a jewish convert to Christianity in his youth. Edersheim’s work The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (1883A90), is a Christian classic still in print!
1867: Birth of Peter Cameron Scott, founder of the Africa Inland Mission. Scott led the first band of missionaries to Kenya in 1895. He succumbed to blackwater fever next year, at the age of 29. Over 700 AIM missionaries have followed Scott’s footsteps.
2007: Death of Zhao Maijia, who had to suffer greatly while working and preaching among Muslims on China’s western border and establishing the first church in the southern Xinjiang region.
Edited by: T. Chempilayil MCBS
Courtesy: www.studylight.org