September 17: Today in Christian History

September 17, 1179

Hildegaard of Bingen, a German abbess, mystic, author, and preacher who received visions of God from the age of 5, dies at age 82. She was a German religious teacher, prophetess, and abbess. At a time when women were often not recognized in the public and religious sphere, she was also an author, counselor, artist, physician, healer, dramatist, linguist, naturalist, philosopher, poet, political consultant, visionary, and composer of music. She wrote theological, naturalistic, botanical, medicinal, and dietary texts as well as letters, liturgical songs, poems, and the first surviving morality play. She also supervised the production of many brilliant miniature illuminations.

 

September 17th 1989

Popular Nigerian Gospel Movie Producer, Evangelist Damilola Mike-Bamiloye was born to the family of Evangelist Mike and Gloria Bamiloye on this day. You can read his full biography here

September 17, 1575

Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger dies. Next to John Calvin, Bullinger exerted the most influence over the second-generation Reformers. He was a theologian and a Reformer who supported the Reform Movement in Zurich after Zwingli's death in 1531. He also played a key role in spreading the Protestant Reform Movement around Europe.

September 17, 1630

English settlers change the name of Trimountain, Massachusetts, to Boston in honor of pastor John Cotton, formerly of St. Botolph's Church in Boston, England.

September 17, 1597

In an uprising against Spanish rule, Guale Indian leader Juanillo went to St. Catherine's island off the Georgia coast and clubbed to death Spanish missionaries Miguel de Aunon and Antonio de Badajoz. The two missionaries had ignored warnings from friendly Indians of Juanillo's insurrection.

September 17th: Holiday of the city of Sofia

On this day, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the three sisters Faith, Hope, and Love, and their mother Sophia, who died for their faith in the year 126 during the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Sophia means Wisdom, that is, the Wisdom of God, after which the holy martyr was named. That is why her daughters bear the names of the main fruits of the Spirit - faith, hope, and love. September 17th was designated to be the holiday of the city of Sofia by a decision of the Sofia Municipal Council of March 25, 1992. According to the municipal ordinance on symbols and decorations, adopted in 2007, a solemn session of the city parliament is held on Sofia Day at which awards are presented to public figures who have contributed to the spirituality and culture of the capital city.

Every year on September 17th near the Basilica of St. Sophia in central Sofia, a solemn ceremony is held and a festive liturgy is served.

September 17, 1846

The remaining Saints in Nauvoo are driven out in the Battle of Nauvoo. Between February and September 1846, thousands of Latter-day Saints departed Nauvoo, Illinois. The previous fall, Church leaders had developed plans for a large exodus, intending to organize 25 companies of 100 wagons each that would leave in the spring of 1846. 

After the death of Joseph Smith, the mobs thought the Church would go away. But it remained strong under the leadership of the Apostles, and Nauvoo continued to grow. This caused the mobs to try even harder to destroy the Church and drive out the Saints.

September 16, 1926

On this day in 1926, Robert Harold Schuller was born. He was an American Christian televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author. In his five decades of television, Schuller was principally known for the weekly Hour of Power television program, which he began hosting in 1970 until his retirement in 2006. 

During his time as a minister, Schuller oversaw the construction of two churches in Garden Grove, CA. The first church built under his tenure was the Garden Grove Community Church chapel, which seated 500, and the second that he oversaw was the building of the much larger Crystal Cathedral, which has a seating capacity of 2,200.

September 16, 1972

Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin, wife of Pastor Paul Adefarasin, was born this day, to the family of Prof. Victor N. Mordi and Mrs Mordi, a family blessed with six children. The institutions she attended are unknown to the public. She is the Co-Pastor of The House on the Rock Church, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. She is also the Founder of Woman to Woman Ministry, which is committed to social reformation, education, provision of healthcare, and relief work amongst the downtrodden and underprivileged in Nigeria and West Africa.

In June 1995, Ifeanyi Adefarasin married Pastor Paul Adefarasin.