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Christian History

Today in Christian History

April 3

April 3, 1593: George Herbert, one of England's greatest religious poets, is born in Montgomery Castle. After shocking the country by quitting his skyrocketing political life to become rector of rural Bremerton (a post he held for three years), "Holy Mr. Herbert" died of tuberculosis. But he gained great fame after his death for two posthumous books: The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, and A Priest to the Temple, or the Country Parson.

April 3, 1897: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms dies at age 63. Though not employed in a official ecclesiastic position, the devout Lutheran wrote extensively for the church. His German Requiem (1868) is considered by some to be the greatest major sacred choral work of his century.

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March 29, 1139: In the bull "Omne Datum Optimum," Pope Innocent II grants the Templars "every best gift" and makes them an independent unit within the church. Created to protect pilgrims from bandits in the Holy Land, the Templars rose in influence and wealth and eventually earned the jealousy of other Christians (see issue 40: The Crusades).

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