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JUNE

26, 363 --Turkey. The Emperor Julian, called “The Apostate”, dies from wounds received in a skirmish with the Persians. In an attempt to reinstate paganism in the Roman Empire, he is known to have been baptized in swine’s blood to wash away his Christian baptism, and when he recognized Christian teachers were defeating the pagan philosophers in their own trade, he set out to destroy Christian schools. He confiscated the property of Christians saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and went so far as to throw his dagger into the air and challenge God to fight. But today he dies exclaiming, “Viscisti galilaei, Galilae”—“Man of Galilee, you have won!”
     The Persians maintain a Roman spear has killed the Roman commander, and tomorrow, they will mock the Romans as traitors to their Emperor. When the Romans offer a reward for the Persian who threw the spear to step forward, no one will respond.
      In the sight of the enemy, Jovian is hastily elected Emperor. As a Christian he sought to withstand attempts by Julian to become apostate. Emperor Jovian will place the monogram of Christ upon the army standards and on Rome’s coins. He will renew the privileges of the Church and of the clergy, including widows and virgins.

26, 1637 --Massachusetts. John Davenport and a group from his former London congregation at St. Stephens Church arrive at Boston aboard the “Hector.” They have come from the Netherlands where the pastor fled when William Laud became Archbishop of Canterbury. Included among his former parishioners is Theophilus Eaton. Though cordially welcomed by the leaders of Massachusetts Bay, they travel southward to the present site of New Haven where they will arrive in April next year.
     He will become the first minister of the New Haven colony. In Amsterdam he caused much controversy when he did not approve of the baptism of children whose parents were not church members. He returned to England and at the advice of Mr. John Cotton has come to America. He will accept a call from the First Church in Boston in September 1665, where he will become a leader of the opposition to the Half-Way Covenant, and which will cause a split in the church where he is installed in December 1668. It will result in the formation of the O1d South Church.
       The creed of Mr. John Davenport teaches the basic theology of early New England, and Mr. John Cotton will republish it in full as definitive of “The New England Way.” In it can be read—

       “ ...Touching the eternal state of men, that God hath according to His most wise, free, and unchangeable purpose in Himself, before the foundation of the world, chosen some in Jesus Christ to everlasting life, to the praise and glory of His name, and rejected or reprobated others to the praise of His justice.
        “ ...That all mankind being thus fallen, yet, the elect, and only they, are redeemed, reconciles to God, and saved, --not of themselves, neither by their own works, but by the mighty power of God, of His unsearchable, rich, free grace and mercy, through faith in Jesus Christ, ...in the relation both of a Surety to satisfy God’s justice for us, and of an Head to restore the Image of God that was lost, and repair the nature that was corrupted in us.”

     His eschatology was Amillennial. “In the meantime, besides his absolute rule in the world, Christ hath here on earth, a spiritual Kingdom in His church, which He hath purchased and redeemed to Himself as a peculiar inheritance, into the body whereof He doth by the power of His Word, and Spirit, gather His people calling them through the ministry of the Gospel out of the world, and from idolatry, superstition, and from all works of darkness to fellowship with Jesus Christ, and by Him with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, and with His people, making them a Royal priesthood, an Holy Nation, a People set at liberty, to show forth the virtues of Him that hath called them out of darkness into His marvelous light, and united them together as members of one body in His faith, love, and holy order unto all general and mutual duties ...which He Himself hath prescribed in His Word for the edification of His body, the Church.”

26, 1638 --Turkey. At Constantinople, Cyril Lucar dies. He has been the Patriarch here who has sought to effect the Reformation here by use of spreading Calvinistic doctrine. Sultan Murad is on the eve of launching an expedition against the Persians, but his enemies have convinced the Sultan that Mr. Lucar has conspired with the Cossacks to bring them into the struggle on the side of the Persians. Therefore, Mr. Lucar is first strangled, then thrown into the sea. But Protestantism still survives here.

26, 1650 --England. Oliver Cromwell is appointed Captain-General of all the forces of the Commonwealth. He will march into Scotland and will win successive victories at Dunbar, Edinburgh, and Perth. On September 3, 1651, he will win the battle of Worcester, which ends the war. Mr. Cromwell will return to London to be installed as Lord Protector, at Westminster on December 16, 1653.
 

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