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Christian History

Today in Christian History

August 20

August 20, 1153: Bernard of Clairvaux, French theologian, monastic reformer, and hymn writer (“O Sacred Head Now Wounded”), dies. His motto was “To Know Jesus and Jesus Crucified” (see issue 24: Bernard of Clairvaux).

August 20, 1745: Francis Asbury, one of the two first Methodist bishops in America (the other was Thomas Coke), is born in Birmingham, England (see issue 45: Camp Meetings and Circuit Riders).

August 20, 1912: William Booth, founder and first General of the Salvation Army, dies (see issue 26: William and Catherine Booth).

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April 20, 1139: The Second Lateran Council, led by Pope Innocent II and attended by 1,000 church leaders, opens in Rome. The council focused on reforming the church in the wake of the East-West schism (1054) and preserving the temporal possessions of the clergy.

April 20, 1233 (some say 1232): Pope Gregory IX appoints full-time papal inquisitors and gives the Dominican order authority to carry out the Inquisition. For their vigilant and persistant work, the order won the moniker "Domini canes" or ...

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