January 20
250 Emperor Decius
began a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian
was martyred. Afterwards the Donatist
controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffected many in
North Africa.
1150
Henry, Bishop of Uppsala and missionary to Finland, was
martyred.
1518 Johann
Tetzel’s (1465–1519)
theses against Martin Luther were issued at Leipzig.
1541 A town meeting in Geneva
ratified John
Calvin’s (1509–1564)
plan to set up a church court that would meet weekly to judge offenders
and maintain discipline.
1568 Myles
Coverdale (b. ca. 1488), publisher of the first printed
English Bible, died.
1586
Johann Hermann Schein, hymnist, was born at Raudten, Silesia
(d. 19 November 1630).
1637 John
Wheelwright (1592–1679)
of Boston lent his support to Anne Hutchinson and her religious
teachings in a sermon.
1669 Susannah
Annesley (Wesley), mother of John and Charles Wesley, was
born in London. Her father was a nonconformist clergyman, but Susannah
renounced Nonconformity early in life and gave her allegiance to the
Church of England. The 25th child in her family, she married Samuel
Wesley in 1689 and bore him 19 children, the last two being John and
Charles Wesley.
1712
Christoph K. L. von Pfeil, hymnist, was born in Gruenstadt,
near Worms (d. 1784).
1830
Anton Wagner, pioneer pastor of the Missouri Synod in
Chicago, was born in Allendorf an der Lumda, near Giessen, Hessen,
Germany (d. 10 January 1914).
1843
Friedrich Eich, New Guinea missionary, was born in Dierdorf,
Germany (d. 21 October 1919).
1874
Henry Newman Pohlman, General Synod pastor in New York and
president of the New York Ministerium, the New York Synod, the New York
and New Jersey Synod and the General Synod, died (b. 8 March 1800,
Albany, New York).
1879
Albert Simpson Reitz, American Baptist minister and hymnist,
was born in Lyons, Kansas (d. 1 November 1966, Inglewood, California).
1884
Carl O. Björling,
Swedish bishop and theologian, died (b. 1804).
1884
Greville Phillimore, hymnist, died at Ewelme, England (b. 5
February 1821, London).
1895
Johann Adam Ernst, early pioneer pastor of the Missouri Synod
in Canada, died (b. 27 November 1815).
1895
Karl Gustav Theodor Näther
(1866–1904)
arrived in Salem District, India, to begin mission work for the
Missouri Synod.
1904
Johann Heinrich Brockmann, Wisconsin Synod pastor and Indian
Mission Board member, died (b. 8 February 1833, Bergen, near Celle).
1908
Johann Friedrich Köstering,
pioneer St. Louis pastor and author of a history of the Saxon
Immigration, died (or January 21; b. 20 February 1830, Hannover).
1918 In Russia all church
properties were confiscated and all religious instruction in the
schools was abolished following the Bolshevik Revolution.
1941 The Columbus Conference to
coordinate Lutheran efforts for orphans and servicemen opened.
