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ON THIS DAY: MAY
This month we remember, among others, a world explorer
who opened up much of Africa, the founder of the Boys'
Brigade and a 19th century Scottish churchman.
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1
May: David Livingstone
David Livingstone
|
David Livingstone was born in Blantyre
in 1813. As a boy he started work in a cotton factory
then decided to become a missionary and qualified
as a doctor. Though intended originally for China,
he went out under the London Missionary Society
to Africa. He was seen by many for his determination,
courage, endurance, vision and ability. Many believe
he is one of the world’s greatest explorers,
opening up much of central Africa for missionary
influence and for trade. A fierce opponent of the
slave trade, he is regarded by many Africans as
a great liberator. Livingstone died while searching
for the source of the River Nile and was buried
in Westminster Abbey in London. He died on this
day in 1873. |
To find out more about David Livingstone visit Wholesome
Words Christian Biography Resources website here.
Please note this link will take you out of the Church
of Scotland website and open a new browser window.
2 May: Athanasius
Athanasius was born in Alexandria, Egypt, about
296 to Christian parents and became a great and fearless
opponent of Arianism, the belief that Christ was not
equal with God but a subsequent creation by God. His
writings in defence of orthodoxy and the incarnation
of Christ were authoritative and ultimately the issue
split the church. He was one of the drafting committee
at the Council of Nicea in 325 which produced the famous
Nicene Creed. Arianism, however, proved attractive since
and had its staunch supporters, and as a result Athanasius
found himself having to live in exile for 17 of his
46 years as Bishop of Alexandria. He died on this day
in 373.
9 May: Gregory
of Nazianzus
| Gregory of Nazianzus
was born to devout parents circa 329. His father
was Bishop of Nazianzus, Cappadocia, now modern
day Turkey. Though often drawn to the ascetic life
he was influenced by his father and became a priest,
going on to become Bishop of Sasima and Patriarch
of Constantinople. He became a close friend of Basil
the Great with whom he assembled an anthology of
Origen’s works. Often given the title 'The
Theologian', Gregory devoted himself to scholarship
and was one of those who first developed the doctrine
of the Trinity, now embraced as a way of preventing
too narrow an understanding of God. He died circa
390. |
Gregory of Nazianzus
|
Also on this day: Zinzendorf,
who was a German aristocrat and former lawyer who effectively
re-founded the Moravian Church. He established a community,
'Herrenhut', on his estate though his zeal led to troubles
with the Saxon government and exile. Ordained a Lutheran
pastor he became a Moravian bishop and many saw him
as instrumental in founding Moravian settlements not
only in Europe (including Britain) but in America. A
prolific writer and a man who sought an ecumenical Protestant
movement, his emphasis on 'feeling' influenced continental
theology. Zinzendorf died in 1760 at Herrnhut.
10 May: William
Alexander Smith
| William Alexander Smith
was born in Thurso in the North of Scotland in 1854,
the son of an officer in the dragoons. His father
died when he was only 13 and he moved to Glasgow
to be brought up by his uncle and became an apprentice
in the family wholesale business. Having a military
background, Smith joined the Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers
but also became a Free Church member after an evangelistic
rally by Moody and Sankey. He became a Sunday School
teacher at the North Woodside mission and, challenged
by the boys’ behaviour, felt that his own
experience of military discipline would do them
good and founded what became the Boys’ Brigade
in October 1883 with a vision for: "the advancement |
William Alexander Smith
|
of Christ’s kingdom among boys and the promotion
of habits of obedience, reverence, discipline, self respect,
and all that tends to a true Christian manliness."
Though modelled on somewhat military lines, the B.B. is
not militaristic, Smith resisting inducements to incorporate
the movement into the Army Cadet Force. He was knighted
for his work and at his funeral in 1914 over 150,000 lined
the route of his cortege. Sir William Smith died on this
day in 1914 after being suddenly taken ill at a Boys'
Brigade meeting in London. He was buried in Glasgow.
| 
|
Further information about William
Alexander Smith and the Boys Brigade can be found
on the Boys'
Brigade website. Please note this link will
take you out of the Church of Scotland website and
open a new browser window. |
13 May:
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich was born about 1342 and may
have been a Benedictine nun before becoming an anchoress,
a religious recluse living apart from the rest of the
world. She chose to confine herself to a cell attached
to the church in Norwich now called St Julian’s
church. After recovery from a period of illness, she
experienced 16 revelations and these became the basis
for her Revelations of Divine
Love, many see it as a masterpiece of religious
writing notable for its depth of perception and theology
and its beautiful and sincere language. Revelations
of Divine Love is also reputed to be the first
book ever written in English by a woman. She died in
1430.
Also on this day: Christian
Aid Week
 |
Christian Aid Week 2008 takes place
from 11 to 17 May. For further information, events
and news visit the Christian Aid website by clicking
on the link on the left. |
Please note this link will take you out of the Church
of Scotland website and open a new browser window.
15 May: General Assembly
of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly, which meets each year in Edinburgh,
has the authority to make laws determining how the Church
of Scotland operates. It also is the highest court of
the Church (the other courts being the kirk session and
the presbytery) in which cases can be heard in matters
of litigation. For more information on this year's General
Assembly click
here.
21 May:
The Marquis of Montrose
The Marquis of Montrose, otherwise James Graham,
was an educated and much travelled aristocratic elder
of the Kirk, poet and leading politician who helped
draw up the National Covenant (1638) and did much to
enforce it. He continued to prove himself an able soldier
in the Bishops’ Wars (1639 and 1640) but, also
very much a royalist, he began to support Charles I
and with much clan and Irish help he conducted campaigns
in Scotland in support of the crown. Though defeated
at Philiphaugh in 1645 by the Covenanting army, he returned
later to Scotland in support of Charles II but was captured
and executed in Edinburgh in 1650. After the Restoration
in 1660, his embalmed heart and bones were buried at
St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh.
22 May:
The Emperor Constantine
The Emperor Constantine was the first Roman emperor
to adopt Christianity as a religion. The story goes
that he had a vision of a flaming cross inscribed: "In
this sign conquer", during a battle against his
rivals at the Milvian Bridge, near Rome in 312. After
the battle had been won he instituted new toleration
to previously persecuted Christians and Christianity
became the state religion in 324. He addressed the great
Council of Nicaea in 325. His mother, Helena, became
the first 'tourist' to the Holy Land. Although attributing
his success to his conversion and going on to establish
Constantinople as a new Christian capital in the East,
building many churches, his later years were somewhat
bloodthirsty. He was baptised only just before his death
in 337.
Also on this day: The
Disruption in 1843 was the cataclysmic event
at which a large portion of the established Church broke
away to form the Free Church. The causes were several
but a main issue was the question of the relationship
of state to Church. Following other reunions, the two
greath ‘halves’ of the Reformed Church in
Scotland came together in 1929 to re-form the Church
of Scotland.
Also on this day: Thomas
Boston of Ettrick was born in 1676 in Duns, in
the Scottish Borders. He was ordained to Ettrick parish
church in 1707 on the day of the union between England
and Scotland. He petitioned the General Assembly of
1721 along with 11 others against an act passed the
previous year condemning The
Marrow of Modern Divinity by Edward Fisher which,
although expressing an earlier orthodox reformed doctrine
had run foul of an increasingly stern version. Many
believe he is best remembered for his sermons which
were later published under the title of Human
Nature in its Fourfold State – for long
a standard exposition of Calvinism to which he gave
warmth and new life. He died on 20 May 1732.
23 May:
Savonarola
Savonarola was a nobleman from Ferrera in Itay.
A Dominican preacher, in morals if not in theology a
precursor of the Reformation, who won great acclaim
and influence in Florence as a radical genius at variance
to the wealth and spirituality of the powerful de Medici
family. For a time, under Savonarola, Florence became
a theocracy with strict acts against frivolity and vice,
his followers urged to give up worldly possessions and
finery and burn them in a ‘bonfire of vanities’.
Though he had earlier received papal support, his Puritanism,
his claim to visions, his apparent sedition ultimately
led to this amazing and able man being burnt at the
stake in 1498.
Also on this day: William
of Perth, a baker to trade in his native city,
was said to have laid aside every 10th loaf he made
for the poor. He took a vow to visit the Holy Land and
set off on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his adopted
son. On his way to Cantebury he was robbed and murdered
near Rochester, Kent. With miracles recorded at his
tomb, he was in 1256 declared a saint and a martyr.
He has a shrine in Rochester Cathedral. He died about
1201.
24 May: David
I
Image of David I
|
David I was the son of Malcolm Canmore
(King of Scotland) and Margaret Atheling (later
canonised as a saint). David, like his mother, was
a pious man and very generous to the Church, reforming
the religious orders and founding over 20 monasteries,
including Melrose and Dryburgh. He founded or reconstituted
several bishoprics with lavish endowments, Aberdeen,
Dunblane, Brechin being among them, and built a
new cathedral at Glasgow. David also established
a new parish system which |
brought Christianity in a practical way within reach of
ordinary people. A wealthy and powerful king, he also
established the feudal system in Scotland, bringing his
country into line with what was then the current practice
in continental Europe. He died in 1153, heartbroken by
the death of his son the previous year.
25 May:
Bede
Bede described himself as 'Servant of Christ and Priest
of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul which is at
Wearmouth and Jarrow.' He was born in 673 and given
into the care of Benedictine monks at the age of seven.
He became a deacon at just 19 and was ordained as a
priest at the age of 30. He soon became a scholar and
according to many is best known for his Ecclesiastical
History of the English People written at Jarrow,
Northumberland, where he was a monk. This is a history
source book that throws invaluable light on the Christianity
of medieval England. He died at the monastery where
he lived most of his life in 735.
27 May: John
Calvin
| John Calvin was a giant
figure, intellectually brilliant, with profound
faith, unyielding will, an incisive logical mind,
and great organisational skills. Born Jean Cauvin
in Picardy in France, he is most associated with
the city of Geneva: "the most perfect school
of Christ since the days of the apostles",
where a theocracy was established. A preacher of
note and of a stern but not petty nature, he was
a commentator on much of the Old Testament and all
of the New. His most famous work is The
Institutes, a systematic and comprehensive
defence for the reformed position, still much appealed
to and studied. Many believe his influence on the
way Christianity was practised throughout the world,
not |
John Calvin
|
least in Scotland, cannot be underestimated. He died in
1564.
Also on this day: The
Marquis of Argyll, Archibald Campbell, was a
supporter of the Covenanting cause and a devout Presbyterian.
An ambitious national leader, he crowned Charles II
at Scone, but after Cromwell’s victories at Dunbar
and Worcester, had to co-operate with the Protector
and led the Covenanters’ army against his old
adversary the Marquis of Montrose. Charles II did not
forgive his betrayal and at the restoration he was executed,
dying with dignity on this day in 1661.
31 May: Thomas
Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers
|
According to many, Thomas Chalmers
is commonly hailed as Scotland’s greatest
19th century churchman. Born in Anstruther in Fife,
he was educated at the University of St Andrews,
becoming minister of Kilmany in Fife and then of
the Tron in Glasgow. Moving to St John’s,
he developed innovative approaches to social need
in the city and pioneered new patterns of mission
and outreach on the part of the Church. An academic,
he held more than one university chairmanship alongside
his parish work, and ended his life as principal
and professor of theology at New College, Edinburgh.
He was a leader at the Disruption in 1843 when a
large proportion of ministers left the established
church to found the Free Church. A great preacher,
he moved from a more |
moderate position to an evangelical one, and his social
concern was partnered by a strong belief in the place
belief in Christ played in renewing both society and the
individual, preferring this over more ‘modern’
approaches which emphasised changing the environment which
caused poverty. He died in 1847.
Image courtesy of the Free Church of Scotland, to visit
the website click
here. Please note this link will take you out of the
Church of Scotland website and open a new browser window.
Also this month
Thursday 1 May is Ascension
Day. Click here
to find out more about Ascension Day and links to suggested
prayer and worship material, from the Panel of Worship.
Sunday 11 May is
Day of Pentecost. Click
here to find out more about Pentecost.
Sunday 18 May is Trinity Sunday,
the first Sunday after Pentecost. Click
here to find out more about Pentecost.
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