This week in religion history

The Peterborough Examiner ^ | June 21, 2008 | THE CANADIAN PRESS

[Alex Murphy]

June 22

In 1559, in England, Queen Elizabeth's Prayer Book was issued. It was the third revision for the Anglican Church, and used for nearly 100 years.

In 1774, the Quebec Act was passed by the British Parliament, establishing French civil law and the British system of criminal law in Quebec. As well, Roman Catholics were to have religious freedom.

In 1870, scholars began translation work on the English Revised Version of the Bible.

In 1980, Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk woman, was the first North American aborigial to become a candidate for sainthood. Known as the Lily of the Mohawks, she was born in what is now New York state in 1656. She was persecuted after being baptized in 1676 and she left home for a Christian native village at what is now Kahnawake. There she became known for her sanctity. She died in 1680 from a illness thought to be the result of her penitent lifestyle. Numerous miracles have been reported at her shrine in Kahnawake.

June 23

In 1967, Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, reaffirming the Roman Catholic Church's requirement of celibacy with the priesthood.

In 2003, the Report magazine, previously known under the mastheads Alberta Report and Western Report, published its final issue after 30 years. Known as the bible of the Prairie right, it was founded by Ted Byfield in the 1970s and focused on issues of importance to Western Canadians from a conservative Christian perspective.

June 24

In 1099, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, parent body of St. John Ambulance, was founded. It is the oldest order of chivalry in the Commonwealth.

In 1615, Fathers Jamany and Le Caron celebrated the first Roman Catholic mass in the province of Quebec.

In 1803, George Webb, American church organist, was born. He compiled several collections of sacred music during his lifetime, and also composed the melody to the hymn, Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.

In 2007, Canada's Anglican bishops narrowly overturned the vote to approve homosexual unions.

June 25

In 1580, the German Book of Concord was published, containing all the official confessions of the Lutheran Church. English translations of the entire work were not available before 1851.

In 1615, two Roman Catholic priests sang the mass in Quebec City. Samuel de Champlain, who founded the city in 1608, reported it was the first instance of sung mass in New France.

In 1744, the first Methodist conference convened in London. This new society within Anglicanism imposed strict disciplines upon its members, formally separating from the main church in 1795.

June 26

In 1892, Pearl S. Buck, American Presbyterian missionary to China and author of the 1931 bestseller, The Good Earth, was born.

In 1978, the Roman Catholic College of Cardinals elected Albino Luciani as the 263rd pope. He took the name John Paul I but died only 34 days after his election. June 27

In 1299, in his encyclical Scimus fili, Pope Boniface VIII claimed that Scotland owed allegiance to the Catholic Church.

In 1844, Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, and his brother Hyrum were lynched by a mob in Carthage, Ill., resulting in part from the community's moral outrage at Smith's authorization of polygamous Mormon marriages.

June 28

In 1577, Peter Paul Rubens, the renowned Flemish painter, was born. His most famous canvasses include Descent from the Cross and Erection of the Cross.

In 1991, Paul McCartney made his debut as a classical composer when his Liverpool Oratorio was performed at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.

In 2005, same-sex marriage legislation passed in the House of Commons by 158-133 votes. Liberal MP Joe Comuzzi resigned his cabinet post because he could not support his government's position on same-sex marriage.