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Christian History

Today in Christian History

August 12

August 12, 304: Euplius, a Christian deacon from Sicily, is martyred for owning the Scriptures and proclaiming himself a Christian (loudly and repeatedly). Martyrdom was so common under Emperor Diocletian that many Christians expected it and some, like Euplius, actively sought it out (see issue 27: Persecution in the Early Church).

August 12, 1553: Pope Julius III orders all copies of the Talmud to be confiscated and burned.

August 12, 1942: William Cameron Townsend and Rev. L.L. Legters incorporate the Wycliffe Bible Translators in California.

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May 6, 1527: An army of barbarians who had been sent—but were no longer controlled—by Emperor Charles V sacks Rome. Many Protestants interpreted the attack as a divine rebuke, and some Catholics agreed: "We who should have been the salt of the earth decayed until we were good for nothing," wrote Cardinal Cajetan, Luther's adversary. "Everyone is convinced that all this has happened as a judgment of God on the great tyranny and disorders of the papal court.

May 6, 1638: Dutch theologian ...

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