a stupendous piece of wickedness.

Above:  A Former Flag of Minnesota

Image in the Public Domain

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HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE (FEBRUARY 15, 1822-SEPTEMBER 16, 1901)

Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota

Bishop Henry B. Whipple comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006).

Whipple was simultaneously a man of his time and ahead of it.  His paternalistic attitude toward Native Americans was indefensible.  However, our saint was a vocal critic of abuses indigenous people suffered at the hands of civilians and the federal government.  This made him politically unpopular and out of step with many of his fellow whites, especially in Minnesota.

Whipple was a priest and missionary prior to becoming a bishop.  He, born in Adams, New York, on February 15, 1822, was a child of John Hall Whipple (1795-1859) and Elizabeth Wager (1798-1870).  Our saint married Cornelia Wright (1816-1870) on October 5, 1842.  The couple had six children.  Whipple, raised a Presbyterian, became an Episcopal priest in 1848.  He served as the Rector of Zion Episcopal Church, Rome, New York, before transferring to the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, Chicago, Illinois, in 1857.  Then, in 1859, at the age of 37 years, Whipple became the first Bishop of Minnesota and the youngest member of the House of Bishops.

During his long episcopate (1859-1901), Whipple accomplished much.  He transformed the fledgling Diocese of Minnesota into a stable see.  Our saint also worked to improve the lives of indigenous people, who suffered from poverty and whom the federal government exploited.  Federal management of Indian Affairs was, in the bishop’s words,

Whipple, while presiding over missionary outreach to tribes, stuck his neck out to speak out on their behalf.  In August 1862, white-Native tensions erupted into the U.S.-Dakota War.  The United States Army, having tried and convicted 303 Dakota men, prepared to hang them.  Whipple argued publicly on the condemned men’s behalf and interceded on their behalf with President Abraham Lincoln.  The bishop cast blame onto the federal government for violating treaties and treating indigenous people badly.  He also questioned the legality of the trials and condemned the lack of a proper defense in court.  His appeal to Lincoln was mostly successful; 38 Dakota men hanged and 265 received pardons.

Whipple, simultaneously praised and condemned for his relatively liberal attitude toward Natives, served on various commissions and boards.  These included the Sioux Commission (1876), the Northwest Indian Commission (1887), and the U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners (1895-1901).

Whipple, a widower, remarried on October 22, 1896.  His second wife was Evangeline Marrs (d. 1830).

Whipple, aged 79 years, died in Faribault, Minnesota, his home since 1860, on September 16, 1901.  “Straight Tongue,” as Natives had called him because of his honesty and outspokenness, fell into the silence of death.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 22, 2019 COMMON ERA

PROPER 20:  THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF PHILANDER CHASE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF OHIO, AND OF ILLINOIS; AND PRESIDING BISHOP

THE FEAST OF C. H. DODD, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF CHARLOTTE WEBB, JULIA ANNE ELLIOTT, AND EMILY ELLIOTT, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF JUSTUS FAULKNER, LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER

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Heavenly Father, Shepherd of your people, we thank you for your servant Henry B. Whipple,

who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock:

and we pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life,

we may by your grace grow into the stature of fullness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;

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

Ezekiel 34:11-16

Psalm 23

1 Peter 5:1-4

John 21:15-17

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 718

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Jesus makes all the difference in how we see God and God’s relation to us, what we do with our lives, and what we can expect God to do for us.

Above:  Logo of Christ Seminary-Seminex

Fair Use

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JOHN TIETJEN (JUNE 18, 1928-FEBRUARY 15, 2004)

U.S. Lutheran Minister, Ecumenist, and Bishop

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–John Tietjen; quoted in G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006), 139-140

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John Tietjen, a child of German immigrants, served as a minister in three denominations, two of whom he helped to form.  He, an ecumenist, had to commit schism in order to participate in a merger.

Our saint was originally a member of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS).  He, born in New York, New York, on June 18, 1928, graduated from Concordia Collegiate Institute, Bronxville, New York.  After earning a Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, Tietjen earned a Master of Sacred Theology and a doctorate from Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York.  He, ordained in Teaneck, New Jersey, in September 1953, served as the assistant pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Teaneck, until 1956.  Then, from 1956 to 1966, our saint served as pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church, Leonia, New Jersey.  Tietjen married Ernestine Catherine Damits (1925-2015) in 1953.  The couple had four children.

Tietjen was prominent in the LCMS until he left during the denominational controversy (1969-1976).  He served as the Executive Secretary of the Division of Public Relations, Lutheran Council in the U.S.A., from 1966 to 1969.  Then our saint became the President of Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1969.  He was allegedly too liberal, to the point of heresy (as in higher Biblical scholarship), hence his suspension in early 1974.  The following year, Tietjen became the President of Christ Seminary-Seminex (Seminary in Exile), which merged into the Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, Illinois, in 1987.  Our saint helped to form the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), which broke away from the LCMS in 1976,

The LCMS earned its reputation for not being on the vanguard of ecumenism.  That portion of the left wing of the LCMS that broke away almost immediately engaged with other Lutheran denominations, though.  By the late 1970s, the process of negotiating the merger of the AELC, The American Lutheran Church (TALC), and the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was underway.  Tietjen, as a member of the Commission for a New Lutheran Church, helped to create the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which became operational on January 1, 1988.

Tietjen continued as a leader in the merged denomination.  He served as the first Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod in 1988 and 1989.  Then our saint became the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1989.  He retired in 2000, but continued in ministry afterward, as long as he was able.

Tietjen wrote three books:

1. Which Way to Lutheran Unity:  A History of Efforts to Unite the Lutherans of America (1966),
2. Memories in Exile:  Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict (1990), and
3. The Gospel According to Jesus (2006), his final project, published posthumously.

Tietjen, aged 77 years, died at home, in Fort Worth, on February 15, 2004.  He had suffered from cancer and a brain tumor.  His wife, children, and grandchildren survived him.

Tietjen lived in the hope of resurrection.  Preaching on the Confession of St. Peter, our saint said:

I have placed my life in God’s hands.  Therefore I know all will be well, including what happens at death.  No, death is not the end of it all.  Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  God raised Jesus from the dead.  God raised Jesus from the dead.  Because He lives, I too will live.  The Messiah said so.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 COMMON ERA

PROPER 19:  THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, SEPTEMBER 15, 1963

THE FEAST OF CHARLES EDWARD OAKLEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JAMES CHISHOLM, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIBERT AND AICARDUS OF JUMIEGES, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS

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Heavenly Father, shepherd of your people, we thank you for your servant John Tietjen,

who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock.

We pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life,

we may by your grace attain our full maturity in Christ,

through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

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

Ezekiel 34:11-16 or Acts 20:17-35

Psalm 84

1 Peter 5:1-4 or Ephesians 3:14-21

John 21:15-17 or Matthew 24:42-47

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 60

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Above:  Icon of Ben Salmon

Image in the Public Domain

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BENJAMIN JOSEPH SALMON (OCTOBER 15, 1889-FEBRUARY 15, 1932)

Roman Catholic Pacifist and Conscientious Objector

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War is the health of the state.

–Randolph Bourne (1886-1918), 1918

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It is dangerous to be right in matters about which the established authorities are wrong.

–Francois-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire (1694-1778)

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I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

–Evelyn Beatrice Hall (1868-1956); frequently attributed to Voltaire erroneously

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To refuse to commit or be complicit in violence when one’s government encourages violences can be dangerous and fraught with legal difficulty.

Consider, O reader, the case of Ben Salmon, born in Denver, Colorado, on October 15, 1889.  He grew up in a desert and working-class Roman Catholic family.  Our saint became involved in leftist social justice movements, in particular, with labor unionism.  According to some, he was even an agitator.  Salmon, who attended Mass frequently, married his longtime sweetheart in 1917.  Shortly thereafter, due to U.S. involvement in World War I and official intolerance of antiwar activism, his life changed for the worse.

President Woodrow Wilson, about whom I harbor mixed and mostly negative opinions, had predicted prior to April 1917 that, if the U.S.A. were to enter World War I, many Americans would forget that there was no such thing as tolerance.  He was correct.  He also led the charge of intolerance.  In 1917 and 1918 state and federal laws incarcerated peaceful opponents of that war.  The U.S. Government even treated Amish (yes, Amish!) conscientious objectors harshly.  Authorities, suspecting Amish and Mennonites of being pro-German, kept them under surveillance.  (For details, O reader, consult Steven M. Nolt, A History of the Amish, Revised and Updated Edition, 2003, pages 266-273.)  Laws in some states targeted those who worshiped in a language other than English, so populations ranging from Dutch-psalm-singing members of the Christian Reformed Church to Lutherans who worshiped in Danish or German felt pressure (sometimes in the form of vandalism) to assimilate.

The Amish had been pacifists since their founding, centuries prior to World War I, yet they were not safe from the assaults of the U.S. military over their refusal to fight in a war.  Neither was Salmon, whose pacifism, rooted in Roman Catholicism, put him at odds with the American bishops of his own church.  He responded to the draft by applying for conscientious objector status.  The Army refused to grant him that status, but offered non combatant status instead.  Even that constituted a violation of Salmon’s conscience.  In 1918 the military police arrested our saint.  In short order he had gone through a court-martial and received a guilty verdict and a death sentence, reduced to a term of 25 years.  For more than two years Salmon suffered as he refused to cooperate with his persecutors and oppressors, who retaliated by treating him inhumanely–including with much solitary confinement, sometimes in a vermin-infested cell above the prison sewer.  When, in 1920, our saint started a hunger strike, guards force-fed him.  Then the Army, arguing that he was not only a criminal but an insane person, had him committed to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, D.C.  The new American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) defended Salmon and other war resisters, sent to prison.

In prison Salmon, consulting only the Catholic Encyclopedia and the Bible, composed a 200-page refutation of just war theory.  No modern war, he argued, can fit that theory.  Furthermore, our saint insisted, militarism had become the new idolatry.  Such arguments did not convert many enemies into allies at a time when the “rally around the flag” mentality turned into jingoism, vigilantism, and religious intolerance–all in the name of national security.

President Warren G. Harding, of whom I also harbor mostly negative opinions, at least pardoned Salmon and other war resisters in late 1920.  The Army issued our saint a Dishonorable Discharge, however.  Salmon returned to his wife, with whom he had three children.  His prison experiences had broken his health.  He died, aged 42 years, at Chicago, Illinois, on February 15, 1932.

I have attempted and failed to be a pacifist.  Nevertheless, I have concluded that most violence is both avoidable and wrong.  I have also concluded that the mistreatment of pacifists is always wrong.  I have decided to place the persecutors and oppressors of Salmon in the same category as the Puritans who hanged Quakers in New England in the late 1600s:  evildoers who reacted out of fear.

National security is an invalid excuse for trampling the rights of people, in this case, a man who simply refused to commit violence or to be complicit in it.  As Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) stated,

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Or at least a jingoist.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 4, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN OF DAMASCUS AND COSMAS OF MAIUMA, THEOLOGIANS AND HYMNODISTS

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CALABRIA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE POOR SERVANTS AND THE POOR WOMEN SERVANTS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH MOHR, AUSTRIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF THOMAS COTTERILL, ENGLISH PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST

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Almighty God, whose prophets taught us righteousness in the care of your poor:

By the guidance of your Holy Spirit, grant that we may

do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in your sight;

through Jesus Christ our Judge and Redeemer, who lives and reigns

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

Isaiah 55:11-56:1

Psalm 2:1-2, 10-12

Acts 14:14-17, 21-23

Mark 4:21-29

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 736

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Above:  Michael Praetorius

Image in the Public Domain

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MICHAEL PRAETORIUS (FEBRUARY 15, 1571-FEBRUARY 15, 1621)

German Lutheran Composer and Musicologist

Michael Praetorius, whose German surname was Schultz, was a native of Kreuzberg, Thuringia.  He, born on February 15, 1571, worked as the choirmaster at Luneberg.  Then, in 1604, our saint relocated to Wolfenbuttel to become the organist, choirmaster, and secretary to the Duke of Brunswick.  Over time he also worked with Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672) at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden and served as the Prior of the monastery of Ringelheim, near Golsar, without having to reside there.  Praetorius wrote much music for the Church.  His compositions included the following:

1. Terpsichore Musarum;
2. Magnificat;
3. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming;
4. Puer Natus in Bethlehem;
5. Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland;
6. Allein Gott in der Sei Ehr;
7. In Dulce Jubilo; and
8. Mass for Christmas Morning.

One might recognize some of these tunes from worship; I do.

Praetorius also wrote the Treatise on Music (1614-1620), in three volumes plus a fourth volume left incomplete due to the author’s death.  The wide-ranging treatise covered a variety of sacred music as well as secular music.

Praetorius died at Wolfenbuttel on February 15, 1621, his fiftieth birthday.

His music continues to enrich the lives of many people.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 2, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN

THE FEAST OF ALICE FREEMAN PALMER, U.S. EDUCATOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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Eternal God, light of the world and Creator of all that is good and lovely:

We bless your name for inspiring Michael Praetorius

and all those who with music have filled us with desire and love for you;

through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit

lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 29:14b-19

Psalm 90:14-17

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

John 21:15-17, 24-25

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 728

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Above:  Thomas Bray

Image in the Public Domain

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THOMAS BRAY (1656-FEBRUARY 15, 1730)

Anglican Priest and Missionary

Thomas Bray did much to help The Church of England in North America.  The native of Marton, Shropshire, England, graduated from Oxford University then became a priest in Warwickshire.  In 1696 the Bishop of London selected Bray to supervise church work in Maryland.  Our saint sailed for the colony three years later.  During two and a half months in 1700 Bray became concerned about the neglect of the Anglican Church in the North American colonies, as well as about the realities of life for Native Americans and for African-American slaves.  Back in England he spent the rest of his life working for the welfare of slaves, founding schools and libraries, raising funds for missionary work, and recruiting priests to serve in North America.  Bray also lobbied for the appointment of a bishop for North America.  He was not alone in this cause.  Unfortunately, The Church of England did not consecrate a bishop for North America until 1787, when Charles Inglis (1734-1816) became the first Bishop of Nova Scotia, with a sprawling diocese.  (Scottish non-juring bishops consecrated Samuel Seabury in 1784.)

Bray’s final charge was St. Botolph Without, Aldgate, London, from 1706 until his death, in 1730.  Aside from the North America-related efforts I have listed, our saint, deeply involved in domestic prison reform, suggested that General James Edward Oglethorpe found a colony and include debtors as settlers in it.  In 1732, Oglethorpe secured the charter for Georgia.  The boats arrived the following year.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 2, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN

THE FEAST OF ALICE FREEMAN PALMER, U.S. EDUCATOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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O God of compassion, you opened the eyes of your servant

Thomas Bray to see the needs of the Church in the New World,

and led him to found societies to meet those needs:

Make the Church in this land diligent at all times

to propagate the Gospel among those who have not received it,

and to promote the spread of Christian knowledge;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

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

Isaiah 52:7-10

Psalm 102:15-22

Philippians 2:1-5

Luke 10:1-9

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 225

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Above:  Icon of the New Martyrs of Libya, 2015

Icon Writer = Tony Rezk

I have found the icon on many websites, never with any mention of any restriction regarding the use of the image.

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NEW MARTYRS OF LIBYA

Died February 15, 2015

On February 15, 2015, militants–terrorists, really; let us use the correct term–of the self-proclaimed Tripoli Province of the Islamic State beheaded 21 men in orange jumpsuits.  The terrorists had abducted these martyrs in December 2014 and January 2015.  The abducted were migrant workers.  All but one were Egyptian Coptic Christians who, their murderers claimed, persisted in unbelief.  These martyrs were:

1. Milad Makeen Zaky,
2. Abanud Ayad Atiya,
3. Maged Solaiman Sheheta,
4. Yusuf Shukry Yunan,
5. Kirollas Shokry Fawzy,
6. Bishoy Astafanus Kamel,
7. Somaily Astafanus Kamel,
8. Malak Ibrahim Sinweet,
9. Tawardos Yusuf Tawardos,
10. Girgis Milad Sinweet,
11. Mina Fayez Aziz,
12. Hany Abdelmesih Salib,
13. Bishoy Adel Khalaf,
14. a worker from Awr village,
15. Ezat Bishri Naseef,
16. Loqa Nagaty,
17. Gaber Munir Adly,
18. Esam Badir Samir,
19. Malak Farag Abram, and
20. Sameh Salah Faruq.

The twenty-first martyr was Matthew Ayariga of Ghana.  He had been a Christian for only a brief period of time before dying.  When terrorists asked Ayariga if he rejected Jesus, he identified with the Christian faith of the other martyrs.

Their God is my God,

Ayariga answered.  For that he died.

Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria Tawardos II declared these men the New Martyrs of Libya on February 21, 2015, and established their feast day as Amshir 8 on the Coptic Calendar, which is equivalent to February 15 on the Gregorian Calendar.

Often those who commit violence do so in the name of God, as they understand God.  If God is love, as I affirm, those who commit murder in the name of God stand in grievous error.  May they repent of their sins and throw themselves on the mercy of God, who forgives the penitent.  And may the examples of stalwart fidelity to God in the face of death inspire those of us who claim to follow God in Christ to remain in the faith, regardless of the cost.  May we heed the advice of the authors of the Letter to the Hebrews and the Apocalypse of John; may we remain faithful, not commit apostasy.  And may we refrain from repaying hatred and violence with anything except the love of Christ.  The servant is not greater than the master.  May we take our guidance from him.  May we leave that which is in the purview of God there and live in the love which Jesus modeled for us.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 31, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT WOLFGANG OF REGENSBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY BISHOP

ALL HALLOWS’ EVE

REFORMATION DAY

VIGIL FOR THE EVE OF ALL SAINTS’ DAY

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Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.

Inspire us with the memory of the New Martyrs of Libya,

whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross,

and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives

to your Son’s victory over sin and death,

for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 59

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Winter, by Hendrick Avercamp

Image in the Public Domain

1 (Henry Morse, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1645)

• Benedict Daswa, South African Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr, 1990
• Charles Seymour Robinson, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnologist
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian Roman Catholic Composer and Musician
• Mitchell J. Dahood, Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar
• Sigebert III, King of Austrasia

2 (PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE)

3 (Anskar and Rimbert, Roman Catholic Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen)

• Adelaide Anne Procter, English Poet and Feminist
• Alfred Delp, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• James Nicholas Joubert and Marie Elizabeth Lange, Founders of the Oblate Sisters of Providence
• Jemima Thompson Luke, English Congregationalist Hymn Writer; and James Edmeston, Anglican Hymn Writer
• Samuel Davies, American Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

4 (CORNELIUS THE CENTURION)

5 (Martyrs of Japan, 1597-1639)

• Avitus of Vienne, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Jane (Joan) of Valois, Co-Founder of the Sisters of the Annunciation
• Pedro Arrupe, Advocate for the Poor and Marginalized, and Superior General of the Society of Jesus
• Phileas and Philoromus, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 304

6 (Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, Poet and Hymn Writer)

• Danny Thomas, U.S. Roman Catholic Entertainer and Humanitarian; Founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Mateo Correa-Magallanes and Miguel Agustin Pro, Mexican Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1927
• Vedast (Vaast), Roman Catholic Bishop of Arras and Cambrai

7 (Helder Camara, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife)

• Adalbert Nierychlewski, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1942
• Daniel J. Harrington, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar
• Gregorio Allegri, Italian Roman Catholic Priest, Composer, and Singer; brother of Domenico Allegri, Italian Roman Catholic Composer and Singer
• Moses, Apostle to the Saracens
• William Boyce and John Alcock, Anglican Composers

8 (Josephine Bakhita, Roman Catholic Nun)

• Cornelia Hancock, U.S. Quaker Nurse, Educator, and Humanitarian; “Florence Nightingale of North America”
• Jerome Emiliani, Founder of the Company of the Servants of the Poor
• John of Matha and Felix of Valois, Founders of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity
• Josephina Gabriella Bonino, Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family

9 (Bruce M. Metzger, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Biblical Translator)

• Alto of Altomunster, Roman Catholic Hermit
• Porfirio, Martyr, 203

10 (Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola; and her twin brother, Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino and Father of Western Monasticism)

• Benedict of Aniane, Restorer of Western Monasticism; and Ardo, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Henry Williams Baker, Anglican Priest, Hymnal Editor, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Norbert of Xanten, Founder of the Premonstratensians; Hugh of Fosses, Second Founder of the Premonstratensians; and Evermod, Bishop of Ratzeburg
• Philip Armes, Anglican Church Organist

11 (ONESIMUS, BISHOP OF BYZANTIUM)

12 (Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, and Jarena Lee, Evangelists and Social Activists)

• Benjamin Schmolck, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer
• Charles Freer Andrews, Anglican Priest
• Julia Williams Garnet, African-American Abolitionist and Educator; her husband, Henry Highland Garnet, African-American Presbyterian Minister and Abolitionist; his second wife, Sarah J. Smith Tompkins Garnet, African-American Suffragette and Educator; her sister, Susan Maria Smith McKinney Steward, African-American Physician; and her second husband, Theophilus Gould Steward, U.S. African Methodist Episcopal Minister, Army Chaplain, and Professor
• Michael Weisse, German Moravian Minister and Hymn Writer and Translator; and Jan Roh, Bohemian Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer
• Orange Scott, U.S. Methodist Minister, Abolitionist, and first President of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection

13 (AQUILA, PRISCILLA, AND APOLLOS, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)

14 (Abraham of Carrhae, Roman Catholic Bishop)

• Christoph Carl Ludwig von Pfeil, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs
• Francis Harold Rowley, Northern Baptist Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Writer
• Johann Michael Altenburg, German Lutheran Pastor, Composer, and Hymn Writer
• Victor Olof Petersen, Swedish-American Lutheran Hymn Translator

15 (New Martyrs of Libya, 2015)

• Ben Salmon, U.S. Roman Catholic Pacifist and Conscientious Objector
• Henry B. Whipple, Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota
• John Tietjen, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Ecumenist, and Bishop
• Michael Praetorius, German Lutheran Composer and Musicologist
• Thomas Bray, Anglican Priest and Missionary

16 (Philipp Melanchthon, German Lutheran Theologian and Scribe of the Reformation)

• Charles Todd Quintard, Episcopal Bishop of Tennessee
• Christian Frederick Martin, Sr., and Charles Augustus Zoebisch, German-American Instrument Makers
• Louis (Lewis) F. Kampmann, U.S. Moravian Minister, Missionary, and Hymn Translator
• Nicholas Kasatkin, Orthodox Archbishop of All Japan

17 (August Crull, German-American Lutheran Minister, Poet, Professor, Hymnodist, and Hymn Translator)

• Antoni Leszczewicz, Polish Roman Catholic Priest, and His Companions, Martyrs, 1943
• Edward Hopper, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Janini Luwum, Ugandan Anglican Archbishop and Martyr, 1977
• Johann Heermann, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• John Meyendorff, Russian-French-American Orthodox Priest, Scholar, and Ecumenist

18 (Colman of Lindisfarne, Agilbert, and Wilfrid, Bishops)

• Barbasymas, Sadoth of Seleucia, and Their Companions, Martyrs, 342
• Guido di Pietro, a.k.a. Fra Angelico, Roman Catholic Monk and Artist
• James Drummond Burns, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

19 (Nerses I the Great, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church; and Mesrop, Bible Translator)

• Agnes Tsao Kou Ying, Agatha Lin Zhao, and Lucy Yi Zhenmei, Chinese Roman Catholic Catechists and Martyrs, 1856, 1858, and 1862; Auguste Chapdelaine, French Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr, 1856; and Laurentius Bai Xiaoman, Chinese Roman Catholic Convert and Martyr, 1856
• Bernard Barton, English Quaker Poet and Hymn Writer
• Elizabeth C. Clephane, Scottish Presbyterian Humanitarian and Hymn Writer
• Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., Episcopal Priest, Ecumenist, and Liturgist; Dean of American Liturgists

20 (Henri de Lucac, French Roman Catholic Priest, Cardinal, and Theologian)

• Stanislawa Rodzinska, Polish Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1945
• Wulfric of Haselbury, Roman Catholic Hermit

21 (John Henry Newman, English Roman Catholic Priest-Cardinal)

• Arnulf of Metz, Roman Catholic Bishop; and Germanus of Granfel, Roman Catholic Abbot and Martyr, 677
• Robert Southwell, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1595
• Thomas Pormort, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1592

22 (Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst, Anti-Nazi Martyrs at Munich, Germany, 1943)

• Bernhardt Severin Ingemann, Danish Lutheran Author and Hymn Writer
• Margaret of Cortona, Penitent and Founder of the Poor Ones
• Praetextatus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Rouen
• Thomas Binney, English Congregationalist Minister, Liturgist, and “Archbishop of Nonconformity”

23 (Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishops and Martyrs, 107/115, 155/156, and Circa 202)

• Alexander Akimetes, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Austin Carroll (Margaret Anne Carroll), Irish-American Roman Catholic Nun, Author, and Educator
• Samuel Wolcott, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Missionary, and Hymn Writer
• Stefan Wincenty Frelichowski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• Willigis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Mainz; and Bernward, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hildesheim

24 (MATTHIAS THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

25 (Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder, Nonna, and Their Children:  Gregory of Nazianzus the Younger, Caesarius of Nazianzus, and Gorgonia of Nazianzus)

• Bernhardt Severin Ingemann, Danish Lutheran Author and Hymn Writer
• Felix Varela, Cuban Roman Catholic Priest and Patriot
• John Roberts, Episcopal Missionary to the Shoshone and Arapahoe
• Karl Friedrich Lochner, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Theodor Fliedner, Renewer of the Female Diaconate; and Elizabeth Fedde, Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess

26 (Antonio Valdivieso, Roman Catholic Bishop of Leon, and Martyr, 1495)

• Andrew Reed, English Congregationalist Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Writer
• Charles Sheldon, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Author, Christian Socialist, and Social Gospel Theologian
• Emily Malbone Morgan, Founder of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross
• Jakob Hutter, Founder of the Hutterities, and Anabaptist Martyr, 1536; and his wife, Katharina Hutter, Anabaptist Martyr, 1538
• Paula of Saint Joseph of Calasanz, Founder of the Daughters of Mary

27 (Nicholas Ferrar, Anglican Deacon and Founder of Little Gidding; George Herbert, Anglican Priest and Metaphysical Poet; and All Saintly Parish Priests)

• Anne Line and Roger Filcock, English Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1601
• Fred Rogers, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
• Gabriel Possenti, Roman Catholic Penitent
• Marian Anderson, African-American Singer and Civil Rights Activist
• Raphael of Brooklyn, Syrian-American Russian Orthodox Bishop of Brooklyn

28 (Anna Julia Haywood Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, African-American Educators)

• Mary Lyon, U.S. Congregationalist Feminist and Educator
• Joseph Badger, Sr., U.S. Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister; First Missionary to the Western Reserve
• Samuel Simon Schmucker, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Theologian, and Social Reformer

29 (John Cassian and John Climacus, Roman Catholic Monks and Spiritual Writers)

• Luis de Leon, Spanish Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian
• Patrick Hamilton, First Scottish Protestant Martyr, 1528

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