January 12: Today in Christian History

January 12, 1167

Death at the Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx (in Lincolnshire) of Aelred, an Anglo-Saxon abbot and writer of devotional works.

January 12, 1525

At Zwingli’s suggestion, Zurich Council passes an ordinance to use the assets of monasteries taken over by the reformers to create a fund to assist the poor and schools.

January 12, 1538

Luther and Agricola meet in their second disputation at Wittenberg on the topic of antinomianism (lawlessness). Luther agrees that the law is not necessary to justification but says it must be kept in the church to reveal sin, maintain discipline, and advise Christians what is pleasing to God.

January 12, 1629

Fifty-three lay Christians are beheaded for their faith at Yonezawa, Japan.

January 12, 1700

Death in Montreal of Marguerite Bourgeoys, who had founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal in the colony of New France (Canada). She had educated young girls in the area now known as Montreal, assisting the poor and American Indians. She will be declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

January 12, 1822

Young George Müller is released after thirty-six days in jail at Wolfenbüttel Castle for theft. He will migrate to England where he will become a leader in British faith ministries.

January 12, 1862

Ashbel Green Simonton holds his first baptism in Rio de Janeiro, considered the date of the birth of the Presbyterian Church in Brazil.

January 12, 1871

Death of Henry Alford, Anglican priest, hymnwriter, and poet, who will be buried in the church yard of St. Martins. His tomb will bear an inscription in Latin that, translated, says, “The Inn of a Traveller on his Way to Jerusalem.”

January 12, 1893

Death of John Horden, a Church of England missionary to Canada, who had learned five First Nation languages and founded many congregations in small towns and cities. In 1872 the Church of England ordained him as the first bishop of Moosonee.

January 12, 1930

Soviets arrest the Orthodox priest Nicholas Mikhailovich Vinokurov in Yakutia. He is accused of conducting counter-revolutionary work to overthrow the Soviets and will be shot in Yakutsk in April.

January 12, 1958

Dr. Charles E. Fuller and associates broadcast the Old Fashioned Revival Hour for the last time from the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, moving afterward to a Hollywood recording studio.