Jump directly to the Content

Christian History

Today in Christian History

December 20

December 20, 1552: Former nun Katherine von Bora, Martin Luther's wife from 1525 to Luther's death in 1546, dies (see issue 39: Luther's Later Years).

December 20, 1560: The Scottish Reformed Church, organized with the help of John Knox, holds its first assembly (see issue 46: John Knox).

December 20, 1576: Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury, sends a letter to Queen Elizabeth protesting her order that he tell preachers throughout England to stop speaking so often. She felt three or four sermons per year were sufficient. Grindal's refusal to enforce her wishes earned him house arrest.

December 20, 1787: The Shakers, a millenarian communal society in New Lebanon, New York, experience a revival. The religious fervor continued throughout the frontier, crossing denominational barriers.

Read These Next

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).

More from March 29
close