Love God Love History

November 11, 1793: William Carey lands in Calcutta, India, to begin his missionary career. Available from https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today November 11, 397 (traditional date): Martin of Tours, a bishop responsible for the evangelization of Gaul, dies. He is France's patron saint. Available from https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/

November 10, 1483: German reformer Martin Luther is born in Eisleben, Germany. Available from https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/

November 9, 1895: Amy Carmichael Arrived in India to Save Children. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/dailystory/permalink/amy-carmichael-arrived-in-india-to-save-children

November 8, 1837:   Mary Lyons opens Mount Holyoke Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts, the first US college established especially for women. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today/11/8

November 7, 739: Willibrord, a missionary monk who was trained in Ireland and traveled over northwestern Europe, dies. Called the “Apostle of Frisia,” he was highly instrumental in the conversions of Germany and Scandinavia. Available from https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/

November 6, 1315: Poet Dante Alighieri is sentenced to death, in absentia, by the magistrates of Florence. Dante, who was at the time working on his Comedy in Venice, avoided the penalty by never returning to Florence, from which he had been exiled for political reasons. Available from https://www.christianitytoday.com/1980/11/november-6/

November 5, 1414: The Council of Constance opens to end the Great Western Schism. It deposed all three rival popes, but it also executed Bohemian reformers Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague, and anathematized the teachings of John Wycliffe.  Available from  https://www.christianitytoday.com/1980/11/november-5/

November 4, 1794: London Missionary Society is founded. Available from https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today

November 3, 1631:   John Eliot arrives in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the first Protestant minister to dedicate himself to the conversion of native Americans to Christianity. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today

November 2, 1533: Harried by Catholic authorities, John Calvin flees Paris by lowering himself out a window with a bedsheet rope and disguising himself as a farmer, complete with a hoe over his shoulder. He spent three years as a fugitive before settling in Geneva (see issue 12: John Calvin). Available from  https://www.christianitytoday.com/1980/11/november-2/

November 1, 451: The Council of Chalcedon (in modern Turkey) adjourns. The fourth and largest of all the ancient councils, attended by between 500 and 600 bishops, it repudiated the Eutychian heresy (that Christ has one nature, not two) and drew up a Christological statement of faith now known as the Definition of Chalcedon. Available from  https://www.christianitytoday.com/1980/11/november-1/

October 31, 1517: Martin Luther nails a challenge to a debate on the Wittenberg church door. It consists of ninety-five statements, or theses, against the practice of indulgences—theses which he is willing to defend. The theses will be widely distributed and precipitate the Reformation. Available from https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today/10/31

October 18, 1867: The United States purchases Alaska for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents an acre. Ten years later, after lax military administration had only worsened the territory’s moral condition, an army private stationed in Alaska begged, “Send out a shepherd who may reclaim a mighty flock from the error of their ways, and gather them into the true fold.” Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson answered the call and spent decades raising funds, building schools and churches, and crusading for better laws.  Available from https://www.christianitytoday.com/1980/10/october-18/

October 17, 108: According to tradition, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was martyred on this date. The Apostolic Father closest in thought to the New Testament writers, Ignatius wrote seven letters under armed guard on his way to Rome—some asking that the church not interfere with his “true sacrifice.” Available from https://www.christianitytoday.com/1980/10/october-17/

October 16, 1812:   Henry Martyn, an apostle to Muslims,  died.   He was just thirty-one.   Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/dailystory/permalink/henry-martyn-approached-muslims-with-the-gospel

October 15, 1932:  Gladys Aylward sails from Liverpool bent on bringing the gospel to China despite being told by mission boards she is not fit for the task. Her heroic adventures and rescue of over one hundred orphans will inspire the film Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today/10/15

October 14, 1735: John and Charles Wesley sail for Georgia on the Simmonds. According to John’s journal, their purpose is to save their souls and to live wholly to the glory of God. However, he soon discovers he is spiritually powerless. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today

On this day, 13 October 1652, after fasting and praying all morning, a number of members of the Massachuset tribe gave their testimonies and made confessions so that they might be admitted to a church of their own. However, the confessions took longer than expected and had to be postponed to a later date. War arose, and it was not until 1660 that the converts got a place of worship at Natick, Massachusetts. At the outbreak of King Philip’s War in 1675, there were eleven hundred Christian Indians in Natick and other towns, but their church would face impossible odds. Unconverted Indians attacked the “praying Indians” as traitors, and whites attacked them as “red men.” Caught in the middle, many died....  John Eliot's Concern for Indians Got Him into Trouble. Available from https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/dailystory/permalink/john-eliots-concern-for-indians-got-him-in-trouble

October 12, 1492:  Columbus reaches an island in what will become known as the West Indies. His writings show he intended to bring the gospel as well as pursue his secular ends. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today/10/12

October 11, 1718: Dedication of New Jerusalem Church in Tranquebar, India. Available from  https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/today/10/11