A week of religious history

In 1535, Sir Thomas More was executed. More, once King Henry VIII's chief minister and friend, had refused to take the oath of supremacy accepting the English monarch as head of the church. A Roman Catholic martyr, he was beatified in 1886 and canonized in 1935.

In 1906, Parliament passed the Lord's Day Observance Act to prohibit work, entertainment, sport and almost all commerce on Sundays. The law remained on the books until the Supreme Court of Canada struck it down in 1985.

In 1438, the decrees of Basel were adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. They restricted the authority of the popes and imposed a degree of accountability on the cardinals and bishops of the church.

In 1946, Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint.

In 1654, Jacob Barsimon became the first known Jew to settle in North America when he made his home in New York.

In 1792, Lowell Mason, Presbyterian pioneer of congregational singing, was born. He composed over 1,000 hymn tunes, including Nearer, My God, To Thee and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

In 2003, British Columbia joined Ontario in clearing the way for marriages by gay and lesbian couples after the B.C. Court of Appeal lifted a one-year moratorium on same-sex marriages.

In 2005, David Ahenakew, the former First Nations leader, was convicted and fined for promoting hatred against Jews. Days later he was stripped of his Order of Canada. It was only the second time that the honour had been revoked.

In 1228, Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, died. Langton formulated the division of the Bible into chapters. He is also credited with creating much of the Magna Carta.

In 1793, the Anglican Church appointed Jacob Mountain as its first bishop in Canada.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II denounced a gay-pride festival in Rome as an offence to Christian values and said homosexual acts are "contrary to natural law."

In 2007, Pakistani troops stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad after negotiations to end a standoff with militants holding about 150 hostages failed. At least 108 militants, including the ringleader, and eight soldiers were killed in eight days of fighting.

In 1509, theologian John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. After Martin Luther, Calvin was the guiding spirit of the Protestant Reformation.

In 1992, former school teacher Jim Keegstra was fined $3,000 after being found guilty of wilfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group, Jews.

In 2007, Pope Benedict reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document that said Orthodox churches are defective and that other Christian denominations are not true churches.

In 1656, Ann Austin and Mary Fisher became the first Quakers to arrive in America. They were arrested and deported back to England five weeks later.

In 1191, the armies of the Third Crusade (1189-92), led by England's King Richard I, captured the Syrian seaport of Acre, now located in northern Israel.

In 1690, Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeated the Roman Catholic army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland, ensuring that the Royal House of Stuart would not regain their old dominions in Great Britain.

"In 2007, Pope Benedict reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document that said Orthodox churches are defective and that other Christian denominations are not true churches."

Really?

I never knew this.

2 posted on 07/05/2008 7:43:33 PM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true.)

July 10
In 1509, theologian John Calvin was born in Noyon, France. After Martin Luther, Calvin was the guiding spirit of the Protestant Reformation.

coming right up, and next year is the quincentenary.

3 posted on 07/05/2008 7:48:43 PM PDT by Lee N. Field (You wouldn't want a postmodern to fix your car. Why would you trust him with your theology?)

“In 1690, Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeated the Roman Catholic army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland, ensuring that the Royal House of Stuart would not regain their old dominions in Great Britain.”

...and the fate of the Irish Catholic was sealed...over 400 years of persecution, oppression and death.

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