Nov. 5 in Christian History

Nov 05, 2008 12:53 PM EST

1917 - In Moscow, following abdication of Russian Czar Nicholas II, the historic Orthodox Church Council of 1917-1918 restored the office of patriarch, suppressed by Peter the Great in 1700.


1935 - The Cooperative General Association of Free Will Baptists (northern U.S.) and the General Conference of Free Will Baptists (southern U.S.) merged in Nashville, TN, to form the National Association of Free Will Baptists.


1950 - Billy Graham's "Hour of Decision" program was first broadcast over television.


1959 - English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'All joy (as distinct from mere pleasure, still more amusement) emphasises our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are wantings.'


1970 - American Presbyterian missionary Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'The Bible does not minimize sexual sin, but neither does it make it different from any other sin.'


© 1987-2008, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from

Almanac of the Christian Church