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APRIL

6, 1252 --Italy. While returning from Como, Peter "Martyr" of Verona is assassinated by the Cathari. Though his parents were probably Cathari, he became a Roman Catholic, and entering the Dominican order, he has gained infamy as an Inquisitor and "Converter" of Italian "heretics." For twenty years he has distinguished himself in his work. He is often depicted as having a sword in his back or a knife in his neck.

6, 1415 --Germany. The Council of Constance formally declares its authority to be derived directly from Christ and to be sovereign over any pope and ecclesiastical judicatory.

6, 1485 --Italy. Raffaele Sanzio Raphael is born at Urbino. At the age of thirty-seven, on his birthday, in the year 1580, he will die in Rome, but not before he becomes the most celebrated of the Italian Renaissance artists. He is called by his countrymen, "II Divine" --"The Divine." His painting "The Transfiguration" will be carried at the head of the bier and his body will be buried in the Pantheon in Rome. It appears from his art that he has been influenced by the preaching of Savonarola.

6, 1528 --Germany. Albrecht Durer dies and Martin Luther eulogizes him. He will be buried in the churchyard of Johanniskirchhof in Nuremberg. He is noted for his paintings, engravings, and woodcuts. Perhaps his most popular work is his sculpture he has entitled, '"The Praying Hands."

6, 1552 --England. A Second Act of Uniformity is passed which establishes the second
Prayer Book. Queen Mary will repeal this act in October 1553.

6, 1555 – England. At Tyburn, Henry Barrowe is hanged. A Separatist, he has visited John Greenwood in prison following his arrest. Mr. Barrowe was at that time illegally detained until his execution today.

6, 1652 --South Africa. The Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Colony is founded when the Dutch East India Company forms its first settlement at Capetown, under Commander J. A. Van Riebeek. The first regular minister will arrive in 1665, and in 1688, two hundred Huguenots sent by the Netherlands authorities will strengthen the church.

6, 1691 --England. The "Happy Union" as it is called, is effected, and Presbyterians and Independents are united. But within six years, the "Happy Union" among; the Presbyterians and Independents in London will break down because of tension between the authority of synods and the authority of the local church. Increase Mather, in London acting as agent for Massachusetts, has played a major role in its achievement.

6, 1774 --Massachusetts. At Gardner, Mr. Abner Kneeland is born. He will become a Baptist, but will later renounce it in favor of Deism. He will found a paper called The Investigator, in 1831, and in 1836 for views he will express in the paper, he will be tried for blasphemy before the Supreme Court at Boston. He will be sentenced to prison for a short time.

6, 1776 --Pennsylvania. The First Continental Congress, which has taken the powers of legislation, gives a legal expression to the well-formed opinion of the country by resolving, "that no slaves be imported into any of the thirteen united colonies.

6, 1856 --France. At Paris, Adolphe Monod dies. The greatest pulpiteer of the French Reformed Church in the 1800's, his main passion has been to rescue immortal souls from destruction. He coupled indisputable logic and intense sincerity. Sick upon his deathbed, he continued to preach to his friends as they visited him. These addresses are known as his Farewell Addresses. His brother, Frederic, has founded the Free Church here in France.


 

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