What does this mean, “take up a cross”? It means he will bear with whatever is troublesome, and in this very act he will be following me. When he has begun to follow me according to my teaching and precepts, he will find many people contradicting him and standing in his way, many do not only deride but even persecute him. Moreover, this is true, not only of pagans who are outside the church, but also of those who seem to be in it visibly, but are outside of it because of the perversity of their deeds. Although these glory merely in the title of Christian, they continually persecute faithful Christians. Such belong to the body of the church in the same way that bad blood is in the body.

Above:  Grab, Poland

Image Source = Google Earth

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SAINT MAXIM TIMOFEYEVICH SANDOVICH (FEBRUARY 1, 1888-AUGUST 6, 1914)

Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1914

Also known as Saint Maxim of Gorlice

Alternative feast day = September 6

Saint Maxim Sandovich comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Orthodox Church in Poland, the Orthodox Church in America, and the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople).

Being an Eastern Orthodox Christian in the Austro-Hungarian Empire could be hazardous to one’s health.  The Roman Catholic establishment of the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire regarded its Eastern Orthodox subjects as being disloyal to the Hapsburg Dynasty and loyal to the Russian Empire.  Religious persecution in the name of imperial security was par for the course.

St. Caesarius of Arles (468/470-543), writing regarding Christ’s command to take up one’s cross and follow him, commented:

–Quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament II:  Mark (1998), 112

St. Maxim Sandovich came from a Greek Catholic family.  He, born in Zdynia, Poland, Austria-Hungary, on February 1, 1888, was a son of farmers Tymoteusz (Timofej) and Krystina Sandowicz (Sandovich).  The father was a cantor in the local Greek Catholic parish.  After attending local schools, our saint served spent several months as a novice at the Greek Catholic monastery in Krakow.  Yet attempts to Latinize the Greek Catholic Rite dissatsfied him.  Our saint left the Basilian Order and the monasery in 1904.  

St. Maxim left the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the Russian Empire.  There he became a novice at the Pochaev Lavra, a monastery now in the Ukraine.  Our saint went on to study for the Russian Orthodox priesthood at the seminary in Zhitomir (now in the Ukraine).  He graduated in 1911.  That year, St. Maxim also married Pelagia, a Russian Orthodox woman, and became a deacon then a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church.  Then he returned to his homeland as a missionary and the parish priest at Grab (Hrab).

World War I was on the horizon.  The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire were enemies; each one belonged to a different coalition.  St. Maxim became a casualty of international politics and “national security.”

St. Maxim settled in at Grab (Hrab) with his family.  He celebrated his first Divine Liturgy at the parish on December 2, 1911.  Immediately, imperial officials forbade any more Divine Liturgies.  Our saint violated that edict repeatedly; he conducted Divine Liturgies in homes.  Austro-Hungarian officials kept fining and arresting him.  St. Maxim kept breaking the law.  He, arrested shortly before Pascha (Easter) 1912, remained in prison without trial for nearly two years.  The trial, which began on March 9, 1914, ended in an acquittal.  Immediately, our saint resumed his priestly duties in Grab (Hrab).

One may think of Acts 4:1-31 and 5:12-42, in which religious authorities in Jerusalem arrested Apostles and commanded them to cease preaching.  One may also remember the Apostles’ disobedience to that order:

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council.  And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”  But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

–Acts 5:27-29, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)

Postconventional Morality is superior to Conventional Morality.  Obedience to unjust laws and orders is immoral.

Shortly after St. Maxim’s release, World War I started.  He became a political prison again on August 4, 1914.  His parents, brothers, and wife joined him, on a forced, shackled march about 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) to prison in Gorlice.  In prison, each member of the family, unable to see other members of the family, spent time in his or her own cell.  On August 6, 1914, a firing squad executed the 28-year-old priest.

Pelagia, our saint’s wife, gave birth to the couple’s son, Maxim, in prison, in Gorlice.  The younger Maxim (d. 1991) eventually became an Orthodox priest and ministered in Gorlice.

Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras I lifted the mutual excommunications, in effect since 1054.  The official position of the Roman Catholic Church regarding Eastern Orthodox churches is that the Eastern Orthodox have valid Apostolic orders.  Theological differences between the two communions have not ceased, but they have ceased telling each other they will go to Hell, at least.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 26, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONIO VALDIVIESO, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF LEON, AND MARTYR, 1495

THE FEAST OF ANDREW REED, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF EMILY MALBONE, MORGAN, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE HOLY CROSS

THE FEAST OF JAKOB HUTTER, FOUNDER OF THE HUTTERITES, AND ANABAPTIST MARTYR, 1536; AND HIS WIFE, KATHARINE HUTTER, ANABAPTIST MARTYR, 1538

THE FEAST OF PAULA OF SAINT JOSEPH OF CALASANZ, FOUNDRESS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF MARY

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Almighty God, by whose grace and power, your holy martyr Saint Maxim Sandovich

triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death:

Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving,

to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world,

that we may receive with him the crown of life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 51:1-12

Psalm 116 or 116:1-8

Revelation 7:13-17

Luke 12:2-12

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 714

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Above:  Venerable Guglielmo Massaia 

Image in the Public Domain

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VENERABLE GUGLIELMO MASSAIA (JUNE 9, 1809-AUGUST 6, 1889)

Italian Cardinal, Missionary, and Capuchin Friar

Born Lorenzo Massaia

Venerable Guglielmo Massaia was a great missionary.  Lorenzo Massaia, born in Piovà, Piedmont, on June 9, 1809, studied at the Collegio Reale, Asti; his older brother, Guglielmo, canon of the cathedral, directed his studies.  After Guglielmo died, Lorenzo matriculated at the diocesan seminary.  On September 25, 1825, at the age of 16, our saint joined the Capuchin Franciscan Order and took the name Guglielmo.

Massaia, ordained a priest in 1832, became a famous preacher, taught theology, and acquired royal connections.  He became the confessor to Prince (later King) Victor Emmanuel (II) of Sardinia (later Italy).  Our saint could have become a bishop in Sardinia via royal favor, but he declined those offers.  No, Massaia, had discerned a vocation to become a missionary.

So he became a missionary bishop as the Vicar-Apostolic of Abyssinia/Ethiopia in 1846.  Our saint ordained priests and consecrated St. Justin de Jacobis (d. 1860) in 1849.  Massaia had to flee Ethiopia in 1849, but Jacobis carried on the good work there.

Massaia, back in Europe in 1850 to generate support for foreign missions, focused on the Oromo speakers of Cush.  He also founded a school at Marseilles for Oromo boys emancipated from slavery and, in 1867, published a grammar of the Oromo language.  Failing health forced Massaia to retire in 1880.  He, from that year the Titular Archbishop of Stauropolis, became the Cardinal-Priest of Sts. Vitale, Gervasio, and Protasio in 1884.  Our saint died at the Capuchin friary in Cremano, Italy, on August 6, 1889.  He was 80 years old.

Pope Francis declared Massaia a Venerable in 2016.

I look forward to Massaia’s cause going the full distance to canonization.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 14, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, AND ALLEGED HERETIC; AND HIS DAUGHTER, EMILIE GRACE BRIGGS, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND “HERETIC’S DAUGHTER”

THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT JOSEPH THE HYMNOGRAPHER, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND THE “SWEET-VOICED NIGHTINGALE OF THE CHURCH”

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HIRAM FOULKES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant

Venerable Guglielmo Massaia, whom you called to preach the Gospel

to the people of Ethiopia and the Oromo speakers of Cush.

Raise up, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom,

that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Isaiah 52:7-10

Psalm 96 or 96:1-7

Acts 1:1-9

Luke 10:1-9

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2016), 716

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Above:  John Scrimger

Source = The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Monday, August 9, 1915, Page 2

Accessed via newspapers.com

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JOHN SCRIMGER (FEBRUARY 10, 1849-AUGUST 6, 1915)

Canadian Presbyterian Minister, Ecumenist, and Liturgist

John Scrimger, a Canadian Presbyterian minister, worked for ecclesiastical union, which he did not live long enough to witness.  He, born at Dumfries Township (near Galt), Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada, on February 10, 1849, was the son of John Scrimger (1813-1890) and Janet McKenzie Scrimger (1826-1906), Scottish immigrants.  Our saint attended Galt Institute, Galt, Ontario.  Then he also studied at and graduated from the University of Toronto (B.A., 1869; M.A., 1871) and Knox College, a seminary attached to the University of Toronto (degree, 1873).  Scrimger, ordained into the former Canada Presbyterian Church (1861-1875) on August 28, 1873, served as the pastor of the St. Joseph Street Presbyterian Church (formed in 1863) for nine years.

Aside:  I traced the history of the congregation through 1940.  In 1887 the St. Joseph Street Presbyterian Church became the Calvin Presbyterian Church.  The congregation became the Calvin Westminster Presbyterian Church via amalgamation in 1916.  The name changed to the Calvin Westminster United Church in 1925, with the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregationalist merger forming The United Church of Canada.  In 1940 the congregation became the Westminster Central United Church via amalgamation.  My Internet searches for “Westminster Central United Church” in Montreal have yielded no current results.  Neither does that congregation appear on current records of the Montreal Presbytery of The United Church of Canada.  Many congregations have closed.  Others have amalgamated.  Still others have changed their names, sometimes after either amalgamation or relocation.  I do not know if the legacy of the Westminster Central United Church of Montreal continues.  If anyone reading this post does know, please inform me.

Scrimger, who received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Wesleyan Theological Seminary, Montreal, in 1892, worked at The Presbyterian College, Montreal, from 1874 until his death in 1915.  He began as a lecturer in Old and New Testament exegesis then became a professor in 1882.  Prior to 1904 our saint served also as college librarian, in addition to his professorial duties.  Scrimger served as the principal of the college and as the chair of systematic theology from 1904 to 1915.  As an academic he spoke and published with regard to the Society of Jesus (the less we ponder these thoughts of his, the better), the Old Testament, and John Knox (1513-1572), among other topics.

With regard to Scrimger’s personal life, he married Catherine Charlotte Gairdner (1851-1921).  The couple had four children:

1. John Tudor Scrimger (1875-1945),
2. Anna Marks Scrimger Lyman (1877-1956),
3. Francis Alexander Carron Scrimger (1880-1937), and
4. Ethel Scrimger (1884-1884).

Our saint was active in denominational and ecumenical affairs.  For example, he served on the committees of The Presbyterian Book of Praise (1897) and The Book of Praise (1918), the second and third official hymnals of The Presbyterian Church in Canada (formed by merger in 1875).  (The first official hymnal was the Hymnal of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, 1880).  Scrimger also served on the committee for The Psalter (1912), for which he wrote “Lord, Who Shall Come to Thee,” a paraphrase of Psalm 15.  He was also active in the planning for Church union in 1925.  Our saint, asked to work on the Basis of Union of The United Church of Canada (1908), favored basing the document primarily on the Articles of Faith of the Presbyterian Church of England (1890) and Donald Fraser’s 1892 commentary upon them.  However, the consensus of the Canadian Joint Committee on Union was to made those documents a secondary basis of the Basis of Union and to found the Basis of Union mainly upon the Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1902).

Source:  The Hymnal (1911), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Scans by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Scrimger and others who labored on the Basis of Union (approved in 1910-1912) sought to create a document which reflected both mild Calvinism and mild Arminianism, and was thereby acceptable to the great majority of Canadian Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists.

Our saint died at Bic, Quebec, on August 6, 1915, while on vacation.  He was 66 years old.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS BOSA OF YORK, JOHN OF BEVERLEY, WILFRID THE YOUNGER, AND ACCA OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY REES, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LLANDAFF

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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,

thank you for those (especially John Scrimger)

who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.

May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 25:1-8

Psalm 145

Revelation 15:1-4

John 4:19-26

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN

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Above:  Girls Receiving an Education Via Television in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1958, After the Closure of Public Schools to Avoid the Racial Integration Thereof

Image Source = Library of Congress

COLBERT “BERT” SCOTT CARTWRIGHT (AUGUST 7, 1924-APRIL 13, 1996)

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Minister, Liturgist, and Witness for Civil Rights

As I add people to my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, I rely heavily on ecclesiastical calendars, feeling free to transfer feasts from one day to another and to merge commemorations.  It is my my calendar, after all.  Yet, as I read, I find references to individuals whom I think ought to be listed on a calendar of saints; more people should know about them.  Colbert S. Cartwright was such a person, so I add him to my calendar today.

Colbert “Bert” S. Cartwright, born in Coffeeville, Kansas, on August 7, 1924, to Lin and Inez Cartwright,  was a “Preacher’s Kid,” his father being the pastor of First Christian Church in town.  Bert earned his Bachelor of Arts from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1946, having joined to honor societies there.  He continued his studies at Yale Divinity School, receiving his Bachelor of Divinity in 1948 and his Master of Sacred Theology two years later.

Cartwright’s ministerial record was as follows:

• First Christian Church, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1950-1953
• Pulaski Heights Christian Church, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1954-1963
• Central Christian Church, Youngstown, Ohio, 1964-1970
• South Hills Christian Church, Fort Worth, Texas, 1971-1979
• Area Minister, Trinity-Brazos Area (with offices in Fort Worth), 1979-1989

Cartwright retired in 1989.  He served on the committee which produced Chalice Hymnal (1995) before, despite his failing health, beginning work on Chalice Worship (1997), helping to bring it to manuscript form before he died.  O. I. Cricket Harrison, Cartwright’s collaborator on Chalice Worship, wrote the following about him:

As Colbert Cartwright and I began this voyage of discovery, seeking to craft a worship resource that would serve the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) well into the twenty-first century, he spoke candidly and often of the fragile nature of his health.  It is a testament to his indomitable spirit and his deep, abiding, and amazingly clear-sighted love for the church that Bert completed his work on Chalice Hymnal and the Chalice Hymnal Worship Leader’s Companion, as well as crafting this present volume into final manuscript form.  I pray that all those who use these resources will thank God for the many gifts of this servant of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was my honor, joy, and pleasure to work with Bert on Chalice Hymnal.

In 1987, when Cartwright was still Area Minister, the denomination published his book, People of the Chalice:  Disciples of Christ in Faith and Practice.  The book helped me understand more about a denomination to which I have never belonged.  It also told me much about him and his progressive and ecumenical priorities, which shine brightly there.  He used the pronoun “I” quite often.  For example, when writing against the death penalty yet admitting to internal satisfaction at the execution of violent criminals, he wrote:

My problem at this point is not that I am schizophrenic or hypocritical (though that is always a possibility) but that I am not my own master.  Whether I always like it or not, I must represent Christ.  I hope I shall ever grow to integrate Christ’s will more fully into my life.  But I feel I shall always represent something beyond my own limiting views and opinions.  Does not every Christian have this same experience?  We are not our own.  We are bought with a price.  A part of that price is subjecting our wills to that of Christ our Master.

–page 99

That commitment to the mind of Christ was evident during Cartwright’s ministry in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1954 to 1963.   During that time the U.S. Supreme Court issued two Brown decisions (1954 and 1955) and the Federal government ordered the integration of Central High School in 1957.  The following school year, the local public schools closed rather than integrate.  This decision devastated many students for years and decades to come.  And I remind you, O reader, of the ferocity of the anger and hatred present in the anti-integration protests.  Pulaski Heights Christian Church, Cartwright’s pastorate, had an admirable history of progressive social justice actions.  (It still does.  He preached a pro-civil rights sermon the Sunday after the first Brown decision in 1954.  The Arkansas Gazette newspaper printed extended excerpts from that sermon.  Cartwright also marched with the students who integrated Central High School in 1957, helped form then led the Arkansas Council of Human Relations from 1955 to 1963, worked with the American Friends Service Committee to build community unity after 1958, and engaged in interfaith pro-civil rights activism.  All of this required much courage.  And Colbert’s stance prompted some people to leave his congregation in protest.  But he did the right thing.  And the stained-glass windows in the new (1959) worship space of Pulaski Heights Church honor his “courage and conviction.”

So do I.  And I hope that you, O reader, will join me in doing so.  And perhaps his example will inspire you do to something daring for the glory of God and the benefit of your fellow discriminated-against human beings, whether individually or as a congregation.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 29, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS

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Almighty God, we praise you for your servant

Colbert “Bert” Scott Cartwright,

through whom you have called the church to its tasks and renewed its life.

Raise up in our own day teachers and prophets, inspired by your Spirit,

whose voices will give strength to your church and proclaim the reality of your reign,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.  

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 46

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Mark 10:35-45

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

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A Review of Chalice Worship:

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/chalice-worship-1997/

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Above:  Gaul in the Roman Empire

SAINT VICTRICIUS OF ROUEN (CIRCA 330-CIRCA 407)

Roman Conscientious Objector and Roman Catholic Bishop

St. Victricius was born near the Schedlt River in Roman Gaul (now the border region of France and Belgium).  His father was a soldier, and the saint also pursued a military career.  Then, one day, he converted to Christianity.  Taking up arms ceased to be a possibility for him.  Flogged and sentenced to death for turning into a conscientious objector, the saint escaped death somehow and obtained a discharge from the army.

The saint preached for a time before becoming Bishop of Rouen circa 386.  He encouraged monasticism, fostered missionary work in what is now Belgium, and founded parishes.  In 396 he traveled to England to settle a dispute (the subject of which I cannot find a record) among several bishops.  Late in his life the saint also faced an allegation of heresy (undefined in the sources I consulted), but Pope Innocent I (reigned 401-417) cleared him of the charge.  The Bishop of Rouen also wrote The Praise of Saints, which survives.

I have noticed that governments disapprove of violence not their own.  So to engage in violence of which the state disapproves is a crime but so is to refuse to commit violence which the same state sanctions, depending on where and when one lives.  Although I am not a thorough-going pacifist, I respect those who are.  May no government or person harass them.

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Dear Jesus, whom agents of the Roman Empire, which made a desert and called it peace, crucified,

we praise you and rejoice for the witness for nonviolence which was the life of your servant

Saint Victricius of Rouen.

Inspired by his example, may we live nonviolently,

seeking peace with each other.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Lamentations 3:25-36

Psalm 11

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Matthew 5:38-42

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 28, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PLUTARCH, MARCELLA, POTANOMINAENA, AND BASILIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAINT IRANAEUS OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF RANDOLPH ROYALL CLAIBORNE, JR., EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA

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Poppies

Image Source = Santosh Namby Chandran

1 (JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

2 (Georg Weissel, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer)

• Anna Bernadine Dorothy Hoppe, U.S. Lutheran Hymn Writer and Translator
• Carroll O’Connor, U.S. Roman Catholic Actor and Screen Writer
• Christian Gottfried Gebhard, German Moravian Composer and Music Educator
• Frederick William Foster, English Moravian Bishop, Liturgist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Peter Julian Eymard, Founder of the Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Priests’ Eucharistic League; and Organizer of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament

3 (JOANNA, MARY, AND SALOME, WITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION)

4 (John Brownlie, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns)

• Frédéric Janssoone, French Roman Catholic Priest and Friar
• Lambert Beauduin, Belgian Roman Catholic Priest and Pioneer of Liturgical Renewal
• Sarah Platt Doremus, Founder of the Women’s Union Missionary Society

5 (Alfred Tennyson, English Poet)

• Adam of Saint Victor, Roman Catholic Monk and Hymn Writer
• Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, Renaissance Artists
• Francisco Zanfredini and Michelina of Pesaro, Co-Founders of the Confraternity of the Annunciation
• George Frederick Root, Poet and Composer

6 (TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)

7 (Colbert S. Cartwright, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Liturgist, and Witness for Civil Rights)

• Guglielmo Massaia, Italian Cardinal, Missionary, and Capuchin Friar
• John Scrimger, Canadian Presbyterian Minister, Ecumenist, and Liturgist
• Maxim Sandovich, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1914
• Victricius of Rouen, Roman Conscientious Objector and Roman Catholic Bishop

8 (Mary MacKillop, Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart)

• Altman, Roman Catholic Bishop of Passau
• Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro, Co-Founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Saint Joseph
• Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers
• Raymond E. Brown, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar

9 (Edith Stein, Roman Catholic Nun and Philosopher)

• Florence Spearing Randolph, First Female Ordained Minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Herman of Alaska, Russian Orthodox Monk and Missionary to the Aleut
• John Dryden, English Puritan then Anglican then Roman Catholic Poet, Playwright, and Translator
• Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers’ Union

10 (William Walsham How, Anglican Bishop of Wakefield and Hymn Writer; and his sister, Frances Jane Douglas(s), Hymn Writer)

• Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Founder of the Madonna House Apostolate
• Cyriaca, Roman Catholic Martyr at Rome, 249; and Sixtus II, His Companions, and Laurence of Rome, Roman Catholic Martyrs at Rome, 258
• Edward Grzymala and Franciszek Drzewiecki, Polish Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1942
• John Athelstan Laurie Riley, Anglican Ecumenist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

11 (Gregory Thaumaturgus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Neocaesarea; and Alexander of Comana “the Charcoal Burner,” Roman Catholic Martyr, 252, and Bishop of Comana, Pontus)

• Equitius of Valeria, Benedictine Abbot and Founder of Monasteries
• Matthias Loy, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Educator, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator; and Conrad Hermann Louis Schuette, German-American Lutheran Minister, Educator, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Maurice Tornay, Swiss Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary to Tibet, and Martyr, 1949
• Stephen Rowsham, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1587

12 (Thaddeus Stevens, U.S. Abolitionist, Congressman, and Witness for Civil Rights)

• Charles Inglis, Anglican Bishop of Nova Scotia
• Jane Frances de Chantal, Co-Founder of the Congregation of the Visitation
• Józef Stepniak and Józef Straszewski, Polish Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1942
• Karl Leisner, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945

13 (Jeremy Taylor, Anglican Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore)

• Elizabeth Payson Prentiss, U.S. Presbyterian Hymn Writer
• Irene of Hungary, Hungarian Princess and Byzantine Empress
• Octavia Hill, English Social Reformer

14 (William Croft, Anglican Organist and Composer)

• G. Bromley Oxnam, U.S. Methodist Bishop
• John Bajus, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• John Henry Hopkins, Jr., Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist; and his nephew, John Henry Hopkins, III, Episcopal Priest and Musician

• Maximilian Kolbe, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941; and Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Episcopal Seminarian and Martyr, 1965
• Sarah Flower Adams, English Unitarian Hymn Writer; and her sister, Eliza Flower, English Unitarian Composer

15 (MARY OF NAZARETH, MOTHER OF GOD)

16 (John Diefenbaker and Lester Pearson, Prime Ministers of Canada; and Tommy Douglas, Federal Leader of the New Democratic Party)

• Alipius, Roman Catholic Bishop of Tagaste, and Friend of Saint Augustine of Hippo
• John Courtney Murray, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian
• John Jones of Talysarn, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Minister and Hymn Tune Composer
• Matthias Claudius, German Lutheran Writer

17 (Samuel Johnson, Congregationalist Minister, Anglican Priest, President of King’s College, “Father of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut,” and “Father of American Library Classification;” Timothy Cutler, Congregationalist Minister, Anglican Priest, and Rector of Yale College; Daniel Browne, Educator, Congregationalist Minister, and Anglican Priest; and James Wetmore, Congregationalist Minister and Anglican Priest)

• Baptisms of Manteo and Virginia Dare, 1587
• Eusebius of Rome, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 310
• George Croly, Anglican Priest, Poet, Historian, Novelist, Dramatist, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• William James Early Bennett, Anglican Priest

18 (Artemisia Bowden, African-American Educator and Civil Rights Activist)

• Erdmann Neumeister, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Francis John McConnell, U.S. Methodist Bishop and Social Reformer
• Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Petter Dass, Norwegian Lutheran Minister, Poet, and Hymn Writer

19 (Sixtus III, Bishop of Rome)

• Blaise Pascal, French Roman Catholic Scientist, Mathematician, and Theologian
• Geert Groote, Founder of the Brethren of the Common Life
• Ignaz Franz, German Roman Catholic Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• Magnus and Agricola of Avignon, Roman Catholic Bishops of Avignon
• William Hammond, English Moravian Hymn Writer

20 (ZACCHAEUS, PENITENT TAX COLLECTOR AND ROMAN COLLABORATOR)

21 (Bruno Zembol, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942)

• Camerius, Cisellus, and Luxorius of Sardinia, Martyrs, 303
• Martyrs of Edessa, Circa 304
• Maximilian of Antioch, Martyr, Circa 353; and Bonosus and Maximianus the Soldier, Martyrs, 362
• Victoire Rasoamanarivo, Malagasy Roman Catholic Laywoman

22 (Jack Layton, Canadian Activist and Federal Leader of the New Democratic Party)

• John David Chambers, Anglican Hymn Writer and Translator
• Hryhorii Khomyshyn, Symeon Lukach, and Ivan Slezyuk, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishops and Martyrs, 1947, 1964, and 1973
• John Kemble and John Wall, English Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1679
• Thomas Percy, Richard Kirkman, and William Lacey, English Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1572 and 1582

23 (Martin de Porres and Juan Macias, Humanitarians and Dominican Lay Brothers; Rose of Lima, Humanitarian and Dominican Sister; and Turibius of Mogrovejo, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lima)

• Franciszek Dachtera, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944
• Theodore O. Wedel, Episcopal Priest and Biblical Scholar; and his wife, Cynthia Clark Wedel, U.S. Psychologist and Episcopal Ecumenist
• Thomas Augustine Judge, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest; Founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, and the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate

24 (BARTHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

25 (Michael Faraday, English Scientist)

• Andrea Bordino, Italian Roman Catholic Lay Brother
• María del Tránsito de Jesús Sacramentado, Founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Missionaries of Argentina
• Maria Troncatti, Italian Roman Catholic Nun
• William John Copeland, Anglican Priest and Hymn Translator

26 (John Paul I, Bishop of Rome)

• Frederick William Herzberger, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Translator
• Levkadia Harasymiv, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Nun, and Martyr, 1952
• Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini Beltrame Quattrocchi, Italian Roman Catholic Humanitarians
• Teresa of Jesus, Jornet y Ibars, Catalan Roman Catholic Nun and Co-Founder of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly

27 (Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle, Episcopal Priests and Educators of the Deaf)

• Amadeus of Clermont, French Roman Catholic Monk; and his son, Amadeus of Lausanne, French-Swiss Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop
• Dominic Barberi, Roman Catholic Apostle to England
• Henriette Luise von Hayn, German Moravian Hymn Writer

28 (Ambrose of Milan, Roman Catholic Bishop; Monica of Hippo, Mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo; and Augustine of Hippo, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo Regius)

• Denis Wortman, U.S. Dutch Reformed Minister and Hymn Writer
• George Thomas Coster, English Congregationalist Minister, Hymn Writer, and Humanitarian
• Laura S. Coperhaver, U.S. Lutheran Hymn Writer and Missionary Leader
• Moses the Black, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Martyr

29 (BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST)

30 (Jeanne Jugan, Founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor)

• Carlton C. Buck, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer
• Edmond L. Budry, Swiss Reformed Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Gerald Kennedy, U.S. Methodist Bishop and Hymn Writer
• John Leary, U.S. Roman Catholic Social Activist and Advocate for the Poor and Marginalized
• Karl Otto Eberhardt, German Moravian Organist, Music Educator, and Composer

31 (NICODEMUS, DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.