0354 - Birth of St. Augustine of Hippo, greatest of the Early Latin Church Fathers. Of his many writings, two have endured: "Confessions" describes the circumstances leading to his conversion to the Christian faith, and "The City of God" was written as a Christian view of the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in the year 410.
1564 - Pius IV ordered his bishops and scholars to subscribe to "Professio Fidei," the Profession of the Tridentine Faith recently formulated at the Council of Trent (1545-63) as the new and final definition of the Roman Catholic faith.
1618 - In the Dutch commune of Dordrecht, the Synod of Dort convened to discuss the Arminian controversy vexing the Reformed faith. In the end, about 200 Arminian (Remonstrant) ministers were deposed and fifteen were placed under arrest and later expelled from the country.
1804 - Anglican missionary to Persia, Henry Martyn wrote in his journal: 'God and eternal things are my only pleasure.'
1962 - The name of St. Joseph was added to the canon of the Roman Catholic mass. It constituted the first alteration made to this canon since the seventh century.
© 1987-2009, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from
Almanac of the Christian Church
