1521 - Leo X conferred the title "Fidei Defensor" (Defender of the Faith) upon England's Henry VIII. Three popes and 13 years later, Henry severed all ties with Rome to establish the Church of England.
1551 - The 13th Session of the Council of Trent opened, during which major decisions were reached regarding the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist.
1895 - Birth of Avis B. Christiansen, devotional author. One of the most prolific hymnwriters of the 20th century, two of her most enduring hymns today are "Up Calvary's Mountain" and "Precious Hiding Place."
1914 - During World War I, the Cathedral of Notre Dame suffered minor damage during an air raid on Paris. (Notre Dame, the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages, is distinguished for both its size and antiquity.)
1954 - Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'Doctrinal rightness and rightness of ecclesiastical position are important, but only as a starting point to go on into a living relationship - and not as ends in themselves.
© 1987-2011, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from
Almanac of the Christian Church
