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Christian History

Today in Christian History

November 26

November 26, 1827: Ellen Gould White, American Christian spiritual author and pioneer, is born. Along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she helped form what became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church (see Issue 61: A History of the Second Coming)

November 26, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln meets Harriet Beecher Stowe, the abolitionist author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and daughter of prominent minister Lyman Beecher. "So," Lincoln said upon meeting her, "you're the little woman that wrote the book that made this great war!" (see issue 33: Christianity and the Civil War).

November 26, 1883: Evangelist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth (whose real name was Isabella Van Wagener), dies in Battle Creek, Michigan. Born a slave, Truth experienced visions and voices, which she attributed to God, and was one of the most charismatic abolitionists and suffragists of her day (see issue 62: Bound for Canaan).

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May 2, 373: Church father Athanasius, "the father of Orthodoxy," dies. He attended the Council of Nicea, and after becoming bishop of Alexandria, he fought Arianism and won. He was also the first to list the New Testament canonical books as we know them today (see issue 51: Heresy in the Early Church).

May 2, 1507: Martin Luther celebrates his first mass (delayed by a month so his father could attend) as an ordained priest. Luther was so nervous that he nearly dropped the bread and cup. ...

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