February 28: Today in Christian History

February 28, 468

Death of Pope St. Hilary who had aggressively upheld Roman supremacy.

February 28, 1546

George Wishart, a Scottish reformer, is arrested by Roman Catholic authorities, and will be burned to death as a heretic the next day by order of Cardinal David Beaton.

February 28, 1638

Scotland’s national covenant is signed at Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, giving rise to the Covenanter movement among Scottish Presbyterians, insisting that Christ, not the king of England, is head of the church. Eighteen thousand will be martyred for this belief.

February 28, 1751

Death of Kyranna of Thessalonica, a beautiful Christian woman, after seven days of torture, having refused to convert to Islam and marry an Islamic suitor.

February 28, 1763

Date on which God’s judgment would end the world, according to George Bell. Bell had been a Methodist until Wesley expelled him because of his (Bell's) extravagant claims.

February 28, 1944

Nazi soldiers arrest Corrie Ten Boom and her family in Harlaam for harboring Jews. Her father and a sister will die in concentration camps, but Corrie will be released because of a clerical error and become an international speaker for Christianity, author of The Hiding Place, and subject of a movie by the same name.

February 28, 1994

Joel Gamonal gives his life to Christ in Peru two weeks after hearing a sermon on Proverbs 6, “These six things the Lord hates." The sermon had left him miserable. He will become a church planter with Heart Cry mission.

February 28, 2006

Death in Kampala of Yustus Ruhindi, a bishop in the Anglican Church in Uganda. He had left a successful career as a public school teacher to devote himself to full-time church work. He had made significant improvements at Bishop Tucker Theological College before becoming a bishop whose emphasis was on teaching people to live godly lives and make the most of their resources, greatly increasing the prosperity of the regions where he taught.

February 28, 2007

Members of the violent Hindu group Bajrang Dal attack The Gospel for Asia Bible School in Kutabaga, India, hospitalizing five Christians.