February 26: Today in Christian History

February 26: Today in Christian History

February 26, 398

John Chrysostom (golden mouth) becomes bishop of Constantinople.

February 26, 554

Pope Vigilius, a virtual prisoner to Emperor Justinian in Constantinople, announces to the Western bishops his adhesion to the decisions of the Second Council of Constantinople that he had formerly rejected regarding the errors of the Three Chapters. This is widely seen as a concession to monophysitism.

February 26, 1607

Robert Drury, a Catholic priest, is hanged, drawn, and quartered in England for refusing to condemn his faith.

February 26, 1802

Death in Paddington of Roman Catholic theologian Dr. Alexander Geddes who had advanced many of the arguments later used in German higher [biblical] criticism. For his opinions he had been suspended from priestly duties.

February 26, 1835

Ranavalona I, Queen of Madagascar, forbids the newly-established Christian faith. In spite of severe persecution that she unleashes, the church will grow tremendously.

February 26, 1861

Francois Colliard and Christina Macintosh marry in Cape Town. They were supposed to meet in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, but through miscommunication she landed at Cape Town. He rode the five-hundred miles pellmell to join her. Both were highly refined people for whom working in the bush of Africa was a deep sacrifice. “Our prayers for the evangelization of the world are but a bitter irony so long as we give only of our abundance, and draw back before the sacrifice of ourselves,” he wrote.

February 26, 1891

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay, a Bengali Brahman attracted to the uniqueness of Christ, receives Christian baptism in Calcutta and will later issue a series of articles attempting to demonstrate Christian theology is compatible with indigenous thought in India.

February 26, 1895

Thérèse of Lisieux writes down from memory her poetic masterpiece “To Live by Love” which she had composed during Eucharistic meditation.

February 26, 1933

Arrest of Russian Orthodox theologian and scientist Pavel Aleksandrovich Florensky. Held in concentration camps, he will die a martyr in 1937, shot by agents of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD).

February 26, 1949

Death in Danvers, Massachusetts, of Lucy Peabody who had devoted most of her life to the practice and support of mission work. Her second husband left her a fortune that she applied toward mission endeavors.

February 26, 1995

Murder of Mahfouz Rashid Bacilious, one of several Christians targeted for killing over a period of a few months in the Egyptian city of Malawy.

 

0/Post a Comment/Comments

Please drop a comment and use the Social Media Buttons below to share to friends and family.