2nd August: Today in Christian History

August 2, 1533

On this day, Anne Askew, an English Protestant martyr, was executed by burning at the stake for her religious beliefs. Her steadfastness in her faith made her a significant figure in the Protestant Reformation in England.

August 2, 1535 

Thomas More, a devout Catholic and English lawyer, was executed on this day for refusing to swear the Oath of Supremacy, which declared Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

2nd August, 1555

Martyrdom of James Abbes. The bishop of Norwich had tried to convince him to recant and given him money. When Abbes returns and throws down the money, saying he was wrong to have accepted it, the bishop again reasons with him but finally hands him over to secular authorities to be burned alive at Bury.

2nd August, 1863 

On this day, Robert Wilder was born to missionary parents in India, Wilder became a significant figure in Christian missions. He was instrumental in founding the Student Volunteer Movement, which mobilized thousands of students for missionary work.  

2nd August, 1964 

On this day, Ostis B. Nickle, an American missionary, returned to the United States after visiting Nigeria. Following his visit, he began sending Bible lessons to Nigeria monthly, significantly contributing to Christian education in the country.

2nd August, 1993 

On this day, Isaiah Ghele Sakpo, a prominent Nigerian Christian clergyman and evangelist, passed away on this date. He was instrumental in the growth of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, serving as the Lagos, Western/Northern Areas (LAWNA) Territorial Chairman and Vice-President.

August 2, 2020

• Pastor David Ibiyeomie announces that N36 billion ($72m) has been spent on the carcass of the 'Hand of God'. The Hand of God is the Salvation Ministries 120,000 capacity Cathedral and Headquarters which is set to be one of the largest church auditoria on planet earth.
• Living Faith Church, a.k.a Winners' Chapel International plants 240 new Churches across Nigeria in one day. This is in furtherance to the mandate to plant 10,000 Churches in 2020. 

2nd August, 1564

Pius IV issues the motu proprio (personal edict) Alias nonnullas constitutiones appointing eight cardinals to bring discipline to church music in conformity with a decision of the Council of Trent. Authority for the date: Robertson, Alec. Christian Music, p. 97; also, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/177372/summary

2nd August, 1640

Joseph Chiwatenhwa, a Huron Christian is butchered as he carries a message for the Jesuits. When his murdered body is brought to his cabin his wife says nothing for a few moments, then observes, "I have often heard him say 'He who is the master of us all has so arranged it. What can we do about it?' " So afire for Christ had he been that the other Indians simply called him "the Christian."

2nd August, 1844

Isaac Hecker makes his confession and is received into the church. He found the Paulists to convert Americans to Catholic Christianity.

2nd August, 1861

Death in Versailles of Father Gioacchino Ventura, a controversial Catholic writer and Italian patriot, whose voice was often raised in behalf of liberty, limited government, decentralization, and constitutionalism. He had also written a book The Mother of God, Mother of People (1840) that advocated the priesthood of women, contending that Mary, as mother of Jesus, acted as a priest to sacrifice her son.

August 2, 1881

Sergius Georgievich Golubyatnikov is ordained to the Orthodox priesthood in Russia, taking the name Seraphim. He will rise to become a bishop but will be imprisoned in 1917 for condemning the Bolsheviks' February revolution. He will become the first prisoner at the Novospassky monastery when it is converted to a prison and will be executed (it is thought) in 1921.

2nd August 1908

On this day in Christian History, Death of Frederik Franson, missions pioneer. As a young man, Frederik Franson had collapsed from exhaustion and malaria while working a farm in Nebraska. During his recovery, he had read the Bible and became convinced he needed Christ in his life. Afterward, in 1890, Franson had founded T.E.A.M. (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) in Chicago. In his mission work, he had often encountered persecution and had even been jailed for his faith activities.

2nd August 1916

On this day in Christian History, Death of Samuel David Ferguson, a leading educator and bishop of the Episcopal Church in Liberia, and the first African American elected a bishop of the Episcopal Church, although he served in that capacity only in Liberia.

2nd August, 1942

• Edith Stein is seized at her convent by the S.S. and taken to a concentration camp in the Netherlands. A Jewish-Catholic philosopher, she had rejected an opportunity to escape to Switzerland because she refused to abandon her sister who could not obtain a visa.
• Burial in Tobolsk of the Orthodox bishop Vladyka Hermogenes whom the Bolsheviks had martyred in June for his outspoken censure of their evil behaviour.

2nd August, 1947

On this day in Christian History, Death from tuberculosis of Liu Tingfang, a prominent Presbyterian educator and church leader in China.

2nd August, 2017

Board of Regents of Landmark University appoints Dr Azubuike Ezenwoke as Registrar. At 32, he became the youngest University Registrar in Nigeria. Landmark University Proprietor is the World Mission Agency of Living Faith Church Worldwide