Historical Writings

Death of Pope St. Julius. A staunch defender of Athanasius, he gave him asylum when he was forced into exile by the empire's Arian faction.

Pope Clement VI enumerates the many crimes of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV and orders him to renounce the imperial dignity, which he ultimately does.

Mass is said in Zurich for the last time as an act of the established church.

Death of Jacques-Beniqne Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, orator, philosopher, and historian. A master of style and argument, he supported the divine right of kings, defended the freedom of the French church and monarchy against popes, upheld Catholic doctrines against Protestants, and obtained the church's condemnation of some writings of the Quietist bishop François Fenelon.

The first issue of the Tatler, England's first magazine, goes on sale. It will demonstrate the power of the press to reform manners and morals. Joseph Addison, a Christian, will write many of its numbers.

Death of Acacius the Younger of Mt. Athos. An extreme ascetic and prayer warrior, given to night-long vigils, he was regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church.

The Evangelical Reformed Church in Northwest Germany was created by royal decree when the king of Prussia ordered the 124 "reformed" congregations scattered throughout the area to become incorporated as an independent territorial church.

An 11-day constitutional convention in Hot Springs, Arkansas, ended. During its sessions, the Assemblies of God denomination was founded.

Patriarch Tikhon raises Vladimir Nikolsky to the rank of archbishop of Perm where he takes the name Andronicus. The following year Andronicus will be shot and buried alive (one account will say drowned) by Soviets irate that he stands for the old regime against their atheism and resists their looting of Russian Orthodox churches.

Twentieth anniversary of Watchman Nee's imprisonment, five years more than his maximum sentence. Within weeks the evangelical pastor will be dead.