End of the World? The Great Disappointment (1844) It was on this date, October 22, 1844, that the world did not end. What may appear obvious at this late date, was believed by about 100,000 followers of Baptist preacher William Miller. Miller made meticulous calculations from the Bible – something Irish Archbishop James Ussher had […]

Consecration of Chartres Cathedral (1260) It was on this date, October 17, 1260, that one of the finest examples of high Gothic art, Chartres Cathedral in northern France, was consecrated under King (Saint) Louis and Pope Alexander IV. It is known officially as the "Cathedral of Our Lady in Chartres," (French: Cathédrale Nôtre-Dame de Chartres) […]

Sun Myung Moon Released from Prison (1950): Moonies in America It was on this date October 14, 1950, that Sun Myung Moon (문선명) was liberated by UN Forces from Hung Nam prison, Tong Nee Concentration Camp, in Korea, where he had been incarcerated for espionage. He was 30 years old. Four years later, Moon founded […]

The Knights Templars Arrested (1307): Unlucky 13? It was on this date, October 13, 1307 – and presumably on a Friday – that King Philip IV ("the Fair") of France arrested all of the Templar Knights. The religious order had been the subject of rumors of blasphemy and irreligious practices, but in fact the Knights […]

Jesus Christ Superstar opens (1971) It was on this date, October 12, 1971, that the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway in New York's Mark Hellinger Theater. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice were hardly household names at the time – they initially couldn't get backing to put up a show, […]

Henry VIII (1521): Defender of the Faith It was on this date, October 11, 1521,* that Pope Leo X conferred the title Fidei Defensor, which is Latin for "Defender of the Faith," on England's King Henry VIII. That Medici pope, whose profligate spending and perverse pleasures were the outrage of Rome, was a staunch opponent […]

Temple of Apollo Dedicated (28 BCE), Christianity v. Paganism It was on this date, October 9, 28 BCE, that the Temple of Apollo was dedicated on the Palatine Hill in Rome. The "Apollo Palatínus" was built by Emperor Augustus and contained a library. As Platner describes it, This temple was the most magnificent of Augustus' […]

The Council of Chalcedon (451) and the Split Personality of Jesus It was on this date, October 8, 451, that the fourth of the first seven Ecumenical Councils in Christianity, the Council of Chalcedon opened. Convoked by Byzantine Emperor Marcian, at the urging of Pope Leo I, over 24 days of sessions the 500 bishops […]

Anwar Sadat (d. 1981) It was on this date, October 6, 1981, in an act of religious intolerance like that victimizing William Tyndale, that Egyptian president Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat (حمد أنور السادات‎) was killed by Islamic fundamentalist extremists in Egypt. Born on 25 December 1918, Sadat's political activities got him jailed at least twice. There […]

William Tyndale (d. 1536) It was on this date, October 6, 1536, that William Tyndale, the priest and scholar who translated the Bible into English, was strangled and burned to death in Belgium – a victim of religious intolerance during the Reformation. He was born on an unknown date in 1484. Tyndale went to school […]