Jan. 26 in Christian History

Jan 26, 2011 03:08 PM EST

1564 - Following the closing of the Council of Trent, Pius IV ratified its enactments by the bull "Benedictus Deus." Included among the Tridentine decisions were decrees concerning the creation of an Index of Prohibited Books (a list of condemned authors and their works).


1779 - Pioneer American Methodist bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'We should so work as if we were to be saved by our works; and so rely on Jesus Christ, as if we did no works.'


1906 - The first General Assembly of the Church of God convened. Headquartered today in Cleveland, TN, the Church of God is the oldest Pentecostal Church denomination in the U.S., with roots going back to 1886.


1951 - The Temple Beth Israel of Meridian, Miss. became the first Jewish congregation to allow women to perform the functions of a rabbi.


1967 - Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'What God has done is well done.'


© 1987-2011, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from

Almanac of the Christian Church