Jun 14 in Christian History

Jun 14, 2012 01:58 PM EDT

1715 - Robert Norden became licensed pastor of the Baptist congregation in Prince George County - the first Baptist church organized within the American colony of Virginia.


1940 - Auschwitz, largest of the Nazi concentration camps, was first opened near Krakow, Poland. Before its liberation by the Allies in 1945, over 3 million Jews would be exterminated there.


1956 - President Eisenhower signed a congressional resolution which added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. The last phrase now reads: '...one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'


1966 - The Vatican announced that its 'Index of Prohibited Books' (created by Pope Paul IV in 1557) had been abolished.


1984 - The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution opposing the ordination of women for ministry in the Baptist Church.


© 1987-2012, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from

Almanac of the Christian Church