Council of Trent
On December 13, 1545, the first session of the Council of Trent opened. This signaled the beginning of the Counter Reformation.
More on this story...
Billy Graham
On November 7, 1918, William ("Billy") Franklin Graham, Jr., was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.
More on this story...
Martin Luther at Wittenberg
On October 31, 1517, a little-known Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 statements on the church door in Wittenberg.
More on this story...
William Miller
On October 22, 1844, nearly 100,000 followers of Baptist lay preacher William Miller prepared for the predicted return of Christ.
More on this story...
The Battle of Hastings
On October 14, 1066, William of Normandy defeated the English King Harold near the city of Hastings in southeast England.
More on this story...
Jacob Arminius
On October 10, 1560, the Dutch theologian Jacob Arminius was born in Oudewater, Netherlands. He would later challenge the establish doctrines of Calvinism.
More on this story...
Aimee Semple McPherson and Angelus Temple
On September 27, 1944, Aimee Semple McPherson died. She was one of the most remarkable and influential women of the early twentieth century.
More on this story...
Tomas de Torquemada
On September 16, 1498, Tomas de Torquemada the first Spanish Inquisitor General died.
More on this story...
The Day Nothing Happened
On September 3, 1752, nothing happened in England or America. Nothing happened for the next ten days either as the two nations instituted a major calendar reform.
More on this story...
Columba and the Loch Ness monster
On August 22, 565, Columba, the Irish missionary and “Apostle to Scotland,” became the first recorded observer of the Loch Ness monster.
More on this story...
Francis Xavier
On August 15, 1549, Francis Xavier and his band of Spanish Jesuits landed in Japan, the first known missionaries to visit that nation.
More on this story...
Destruction of the Temple
On August 10, 70AD, Roman troops broke through the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.
More on this story...
Bartolome de las Casas
On July 31, 1566, Bartolome de las Casas, the first Spaniard ordained in the New World died in Spain.
More on this story...
Susannah Wesley
On July 23, 1742, Susannah Wesley, mother of John and Charles, died. She was one of the most influential women in church history.
More on this story...
John Calvin
On July 10, 1509, the Protestant reformer John Calvin was born in Nyon, France.
More on this story...
Martin Luther and the Thunderstorm
On July 2, 1505, Martin Luther had an experience with God that helped spark the Protestant Reformation.
More on this story...
Raymond Lull
On June 30, 1315 missionary, mystic, and philosopher Raymond Lull was stoned to death in Bougie, North Africa.
More on this story...
Roman Persecution
On June 24, 64 AD, the Roman emperor Nero began persecuting Christians.
More on this story...
Pope Pius IX
On June 16, 1846, Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti was named Pope Pius IX. He reigned for 31 years, the longest reign of any pope in history.
More on this story...
The Crusades
On June 7, 1099, the First Crusade reached Jerusalem.
More on this story...
Augustine of Canterbury
On June 2, 597, the Roman Catholic missionary Augustine baptized the Saxon King Ethelbert in Canterbury, England.
More on this story...
John Wesley
On May 24, 1738, John Wesley was converted while listening to a reading of Luther’s Epistle to the Romans.
More on this story...
Julius Wellhausen
On May 17, 1844, German biblical scholar and major proponent of Liberal Theology Julius Wellhausen was born.
More on this story...
Nicholaus von Zinzendorf
On May 9, 1760, Count Nicholaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, founder of the Moravian Brethren and a pioneer of missions, died in Herrnhut, Germany.
More on this story...
Diocletian
On April 30, 304, the Emperor Diocletian published an edict aimed at the complete destruction of Christianity.
More on this story...
Immanuel Kant
On April 22, 1724: German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a pivotal figure in the history of modern philosophy and theology, was born in Konigsberg, Prussia.
More on this story...
Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
On April 16, 1521, Martin Luther arrived at the Diet of Worms to discuss his 95 Theses with the Emperor Charles V.
More on this story...
Azusa Street Revival
On April 9, 1906, William Seymour and several of his associates received what they referred to as the “Baptism in the Holy Spirit.”
More on this story...
Thomas Cranmer
On March 30, 1533, Thomas Cranmer was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. He figured prominently in the English Reformation and eventually paid for it with his life.
More on this story...
Knights Templar
On March 18, 1314, the last thirty-nine Knights Templar were burned at the stake in Paris. This effectively ended the Order.
More on this story...
Gregory I
On March 12, 604, Gregory I, pope from 590 to 604, died. He set a high mark for the medieval papacy and defended the primacy of the chair of Peter against the smallest attack.
More on this story...
The Great Schism
On March 5, 1409, the College of Cardinals called the Council of Pisa to end the Great Schism, which had divided Western Christendom for over seventy years.
More on this story...
Salem Witch Trials
On February 29, 1692, the Salem witch trials began in colonial Massachusetts.
More on this story...
Polycarp
On February 23, 153, Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of the apostle John was burned at the stake.
More on this story...
Anabaptists
On February 10, 1535, a dozen Anabaptists ran naked through the streets of Amsterdam.
More on this story...
Roger Williams
On February 5, 1631, the Puritan minister Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, arrived in America.
More on this story...
Katharina Von Bora
On January 29, 1499, Katharina von Bora was born. At 26, she married the Protestant reformer Martin Luther.
More on this story...
Pilgrims Landing
On January 21, 1621, the Pilgrims left the Mayflower to gather on shore at Plymouth, Massachusetts, for their first religious service in America.
More on this story...
Elizabeth I
On January 15, 1559, Elizabeth I was crowned the queen of England after the death of Mary, and Protestantism was restored in England.
More on this story...
Athanasius
On January 7, 367, the Church Father Athanasius wrote a letter documenting the twenty-seven books that the churches considered canonical.
More on this story...
Ulrich Zwingli
On January 1, 1484, the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli was born at Wildhaus, Switzerland.
More on this story...
Charlemagne
On December 25, 800, while celebrating Mass at St. Peter’s, Pope Leo III placed a golden crown on Charlemagne’s head and crowned him the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
More on this story...
George Whitefield
On December 16, 1714, George Whitefield, known as the apostle of the British Empire, was born in Gloucester, England.
More on this story...
Nero
On December 13, 37 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero was born. He was the first of many Roman emperors to persecute Christians.
More on this story...
John Cotton
On December 4, 1584, John Cotton, colonial Massachusetts's most eminent minister, was born in Derby, England.
More on this story...
John Knox
On November 24, 1572, the Scottish reformer John Knox died in Edinburgh. Knox was the key figure in the Reformation in Scotland.
More on this story...
Friedrich Schleiermacher
On November 21, 1768, Friedrich Schleiermacher was born in Breslau (modern-day Wroclaw, Poland). He was an influential, German theologian...
More on this story...
Charles H. Mason
On November 17, 1961, Charles H. Mason, founder of the Church of God in Christ, died. His was the first major denomination to emerge from the Azusa Street Revival.
More on this story...
Anne Hutchinson
On November 7, 1637, Anne Hutchinson was convicted of heresy by the Puritan leadership of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
More on this story...
Henry VIII
On November 3, 1534, the British Parliament passed the Supremacy Act, officially making England Protestant and putting the English monarch at the head of the nation's church.
More on this story...
Constantine
On October 28, 312, the Roman emperor Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. It was one of the most significant battles in history.
More on this story...
Bishop Ignatius of Antioch
On October 17, 108, Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, was sentenced by the Emperor Trajan and thrown to the lions in the Roman Coliseum.
More on this story...
Christopher Columbus
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus embarked from his ship the Santa Maria, swam a short distance to land, and knelt on the shore. He had discovered America...
More on this story...
William Tyndale
On October 6, 1536, William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake. His crime: translating the Bible into the English language.
More on this story...
Peter Cartwright
On September 25, 1872, the Methodist circuit rider, Peter Cartwright died at age 97. He preached 15,000 sermons during his 71 years as a circuit rider.
More on this story...
Jeremiah Lanphier
On September 23, 1857, concerned businessman Jeremiah Lanphier started a prayer meeting in downtown New York. The first day six men attended.
More on this story...
Cyprian
On September 14, 258, Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage in North Africa, was beheaded during the persecution under the Roman Emperor Valerian. Cyprian was born...
More on this story...
Gregory the Great
On September 3, 590, Gregory the Great was consecrated pope. Gregory was the son of a Roman senator, and in 570 he became the prefect of Rome. However, after deciding...
More on this story...
Charles Finney
On August 29, 1792, Charles Grandison Finney, the father of modern revivalism, was born in Warren, Connecticut. He was dramatically converted...
More on this story...
John Eliot
On August 22, 1670, the English missionary John Eliot founded a church for Native Americans at Martha's Vineyard. Eliot came to America in 1631...
More on this story...
William Carey
On August 17, 1761, William Carey, the father of modern missions, was born. As a young man, Carey was burdened by the desire to take the Gospel to the world.
More on this story...
Francis Asbury
On August 7, 1771, the 26 year old Francis Asbury responded to a sermon by John Wesley to go as a missionary to America. Wesley said,
More on this story...
Cane Ridge
On Friday, August 6, 1801, an outdoor camp meeting started at Cane Ridge, Kentucky. Nearly 25,000 people attended the meeting and 3,000 were converted over the next week.
More on this story...
