JANUARY 30
Beautiful 17-Year-Old Bathilde Went from Slave to Queen of France (680)
“I have long made the language of Psalm 51 my own Have mercy upon me, O God according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressio...”
“William Carey, the Cobbler Who Turned Discoverer.” http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/giants/biocarey2.html
Grant me confidence in God
All-seeing Light and Eternal Life of all things, look upon my misery with Thine eye of mercy, and let Thine infinite pow...
Events
1536
Menno Simons, a Roman Catholic priest in the Netherlands, publicly renounces Catholicism. Baptized by the moderate Anabaptist leader Obbe Philips, he will become the successful leader of the Mennonites.
Authority for the date: Simons, Menno. Complete Writings of Menno Simons.1607
Philip III, King of Spain, issues a Cedula Real (Royal Ordinance) that says Indians who are converted and become Christians cannot be made serfs, and are to be exempt from taxation for a period of ten years. Under this and other decrees, Jesuits will attempt to protect and train Indians, especially in Paraguay.
Authority for the date: Huonder, Anthony. “Reductions of Paraguay.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Compan1630
John Brebeuf pronounces his final vows as a Jesuit. He will go on to labor in Canada where he will be tortured to death by the Iroquois.
Authority for the date: O'Brien, John A. The American Martyrs. New York: Aplleton, Century, Crofts, 1953.1669
(probable date) Death in Tiflis, Georgia, of Paul of Aleppo, an Archdeacon in the Syrian Melkite Church. He had written a chronicle The Travels of Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch, an important source of information for events of his time. He had also written a History of the Patriarchs of Antioch.
Authority for the date: Wikipedia.1814
John Williams is converted while listening to a sermon by Timothy East. This Englishman will become a famous missionary to the New Hebrides islands.
Authority for the date: Kirk, Robert W. Paradise Past: The Transformation of the South Pacific, 1520-1920.</1867
Members of the newly organized Evangelical Alliance elect William E. Dodge, a leading merchant, industrialist, and philanthropist to be their president. In their charter they affirm their belief in “the divine-human person and atoning work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the only and sufficient source of salvation, as the heart and soul of Christianity, and as the center of all true Christian union and fellowship.” The alliance will organize prayer gatherings and conferences, and issue appeals in behalf of persecuted Christians.
Authority for the date: McClintock, John and James Strong. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.1878
The Church of God (Winebrennarian) expels Daniel Warner for preaching holiness. He becomes a founder of the Church of God (Anderson) and will also be known for hymns such as “His Yoke Is Easy.”
Authority for the date: Ferm, Vergilius. The American Church of the Protestant Heritage.1891
Death in Highland Park, New Jersey, of Methodist evangelist James Caughey, who converted large numbers to Christianity in Canada, preaching revival and holiness.
Authority for the date: Dictionary of Canadian Biography.1956
Chinese authorities in Shanghai force more than twenty-two thousand members of the “Little Flock” to attend a mass denunciation because of their faith.
Authority for the date: Lyall, Leslie T. Three of China’s Mighty Men. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980, 1973.1977
Festo Kivengere, an Anglican Bishop in Uganda, challenges Idi Amin’s mass killings in a sermon titled “The Preciousness of Life.” Afterward he and his family will have to flee for their lives to Kenya.
Authority for the date: justus.anglican.org.