December 21: Today in Christian History

December 21, 1082

Death of Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims, a man of great energy who had acquired considerable influence over the Frankish kingdom.

December 21, 1406

Martyrdom of Juliana of Viazma. Youri, Duke of Smolensk, had tried to seduce her and when he could not, stabbed her husband during a feast and hacked her to death. She became venerated as a saint by the Orthodox Church because of her virtue.

December 21, 1807

Death in London, England, of John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

December 21, 1856

Death in London of John Harris, a preacher, educator, and author. His most famous book was The Great Teacher: Characteristics of Our Lord's Ministry. He evoked hostile reactions with another book, Mammon, or Covetousness the Sin of the Christian Church. His works were more popular in the United States than in his native Britain.

December 21, 1896

After fighting against spiritual conviction for months, fifteen-year-old Walter Wilson yields to Christ in Kansas City, Missouri, noticing an immediate change in his own attitudes and behavior. The following year, he will begin holding evangelistic street meetings, eventually becoming a medical doctor and lay evangelist.

December 21, 1939

Death of Frederick Barnabas Van Eyk, a notable Pentecostal preacher in Australia. He had recently divorced his wife and married a younger woman. Bitten by a tse-tse fly, he refused medical treatment, trusting to faith healing, and died.

December 21, 1941

The BBC airs the first play in Dorothy Sayers’ cycle The Man Born to Be King. Before it goes on air, some Christian groups call it blasphemous because an actor is to speak Christ’s lines. However, its reception among Christians will prove generally good.

December 21, 2002

Death of Wu Weizun, who had followed Christ faithfully in and out of Chinese prison camps at great personal suffering. He was nicknamed “The Chinese Epaphras.”