November 27: Today in Christian History

November 27, 399

Anastasius becomes bishop (pope) of Rome. He will condemn the writings of Origen.

November 27, 639

Death of Bishop Acarius (Achaire) of Noyon-Tournai, an event remembered chiefly because his replacement will be the beloved medieval saint Elegius, also known as Eloy.

November 27, 1474

Death of composer William Dufay in Cambrai. He had pioneered developments in the singing of masses and had often been consulted on canon law in which he was expert.

November 27, 1542

Death of Margaretha Blaurer, one of the first Lutheran deaconess to work among women.

November 27, 1627

Birth in the Hague, Netherlands, of Luise Henriette von Oranien, Electress of Brandenburg. She will become mother of Friedrich I, King of Prussia, founder of an orphanage near Berlin, and author of hymns, among which will be “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense.”

November 27, 1731

Death of Innocent, first bishop of the Diocese of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk. He established schools and evangelized the Siberians and Mongols with few resources from St. Petersburg. The church added the regions of Selingin, Yakutsk, and Ilimsk to his duties.

November 27, 1759

James Ramsay goes aboard the slave ship Swift and sees appalling sights that make him the champion of abolition. He breaks his thigh the same day and has to leave the navy. Consequently he will take holy orders and begin work in the islands where he will learn more about slavery and become a champion of slaves.

November 27, 1826

Christian explorer Jedidiah Strong Smith enters California’s San Bernardino Valley, becoming the first citizen of the United States to cross the southwestern part of the American continent.

November 27, 1910

Baron Paul Nicolay writes that the director of the police in Odessa, Ukraine, has refused to let him hold an evangelistic meeting without permission of the Orthodox bishop, who will not grant it.

November 27, 1970

Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores, dressed in a black clerical outfit, attempts to stab Pope Paul VI in the chest during the pontiff’s visit to Manila, and manages to nick his chest. The pope proceeds to read some prepared remarks as if nothing has happened.