September 24: Today in Christian History

September 24, 78

The Second Council of Nicea begins under Pope Hadrian I. The council condemned iconoclasm. The Roman Catholic Church considers this as the seventh of the 21 ecumenical councils; the Eastern Orthodox churches consider this the last of the ecumenical councils.

September 24, 366

Death of controversial Pope Liberius who seems to have been restored from exile only after swearing to a heretical Arian creed.

September 24, 656

Maximus the Confessor Faced Down Heretics 

September 24, 673

Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, opens the Synod of Hertford, the first council representing the whole English church. Five bishops are in attendance.

September 24, 1059

Emperor Isaac Comnenus, on a mission against the barbarians along the Danube, has a narrow escape during a terrific storm. He had taken shelter under a giant oak but suddenly felt compelled to move. Moments later the wind tore the tree out by its roots. In gratitude he will rebuild the Church of Thekla upon his return to Constantinople.

September 24, 1734

Pastor George Weiss leads a group of Schwenkfelders in a thanksgiving service for their safe passage from Europe and for their new home in Pennsylvania.

September 24, 1757

Jonathan Edwards, perhaps America's most brilliant theologian and a father of American revivalism, becomes president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton). He served as president until his death in 1758.

September 24, 1794

Ten Orthodox monks arrive at Kodiak, Alaska, to establish a mission among the natives.

September 24, 1794

Russian Orthodox priest-monk Father Juvenaly, his brother Stephen, and eight other monks arrive at Kodiak Island, Alaska. After two years of ministry, the team had led 12,000 Alaskans to embrace the gospel. Juvenaly then extended his mission to the mainland, where he was reportedly martyred in 1796.

September 24, 1827

Catherine McAulay founds New Order of Sisters of Mercy in Ireland, which opens in Dublin to teach poor and homeless mothers.

September 24, 1860

The last of the pioneers to cross the plains by handcarts arrives in Salt Lake City. Ten companies came by handcarts between 1856 and 1860.

September 24, 1868

Death of Henry H. Milman, Anglican clergyman and scholar. He had also been a poet and historian who wrote thirteen hymns, including the Easter song, “Ride On! Ride On in Majesty.”

September 24, 1890

President Wilford Woodruff issues the “Manifesto,” now “Official Declaration 1” in the Doctrine and Covenants.

September 24, 1916

The General Council of the Assemblies of God ordains Francisco Olazábal. Five years later he will form the Latin American Council of Christian Churches, the first independent Latino Pentecostal denomination in the United States.

September 24, 1934

Death of A.T. Robertson, educator, soul-winner, inner-city preacher, and author of a monumental New Testament grammar.

September 24, 1938

Death of Silouan of Athos, an uneducated Russian monk and ascetic who had become famous for his spiritual counsel, prayer, and love of enemies.

September 24, 1939 

Juji Nakada, Japanese evangelist, died. In 1901 he had invited Charles and Lettie Cowman of the U.S. to establish a Bible Institute in Japan. As a result of Nakada's vision, the Oriental Missionary Society (now known as O.M.S. International) was founded in Tokyo, Japan, that same year. This interdenominational mission organization of Wesleyan tradition specializes in evangelism, church planting, radio/TV broadcasting and theological education. Headquartered in Greenwood, Indiana, O.M.S. operates in over a dozen countries, with a total overseas staff of more than 250.

September 24, 1986

Five Muslim professors confront Daniel Scot in Pakistan, demanding he convert to Islam— commencing a persecution that will result in him becoming the first Christian charged under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.

September 24th: Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

The Feast of Our Lady of Ransom/Our Lady of Vallarpadam (Nuestra Señora de la Merced) is a Roman Catholic liturgical Marian feast. In the General Roman Calendar of 1960, it was celebrated on 24 September, commemorating the foundation of the Mercedarians. After Vatican II, the name for the Marian commemoration on September 24 was changed to "Our Lady of Mercy".