1545 - Death of Georg Spalatin, 61, German reformer and friend of Martin Luther. Spalatin's court life allowed him to give secular government a better understanding of Luther's ideas.
1604 - At the Hampton Court Conference in England, John Rainolds presented to King James I the motion '...that there might bee a newe translation of the Bible.' Approved the next day, Rainolds' motion led to the 1611 publication of the Authorized (King James) version of the Bible.
1740 - English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in a letter: 'If I see a man who loves the Lord Jesus in sincerity, I am not very solicitous to what...communion he belongs. The Kingdom of God, I think, does not consist in any such thing.'
1786 - The Virginia Legislature adopted the Ordinance of Religious Freedom, which guaranteed that no man would be forced to attend or support any church. This mandate later became the model for the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
1982 - Great Britain established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
© 1987-2010, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from
Almanac of the Christian Church
