Archive for the ‘January 9’ Category
Above: The Logo of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Fair Use
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THOMAS CURTIS CLARK (JANUARY 8, 1877-DECEMBER 7, 1953)
U.S. Disciples of Christ Evangelist, Poet, and Hymn Writer
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Our faith is in the Christ who walks
With men today, in street and mart;
The constant friend who thinks and talks
With those who seek him with the heart.
–Thomas Curtis Clark, from Hymn #545, The Worshipbook: Services and Hymns (1972)
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Thomas Curtis Clark comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Hymnal (1941), of the old Evangelical and Reformed Church.
Clark, born in Vincennes, Indiana, on January 8, 1877, wrote more than sixty hymns. His mother was Emma Rose Jennings Clark. Our saint’s father was the Reverend Thomas Jefferson Clark, a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Clark studied at Indiana University, Bloomington (A.B., 1899), then at The University of Chicago (1901-1902).
Our saint suffered a nervous breakdown in Chicago in 1902. He moved to Bloomington, where his father was a minister. During this time of physical, emotional, and spiritual frailty, Clark wrote his first poems and hymns. One of these texts was a hymn, “God is Not Far from Any One of Us” (1903).
God is not far from any one of us;
The wildflower by the wayside speaks His love;
Each blithesome bird bears tidings from abovef;
Sunshine and shower His tender mercies prove,
And men know not His voice!
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God is not from any one of us;
He speaks to us in every glad sunrise;
His glory floods us from the noonday skies;
The stars declare His love when daylight dies,
And men know not His voice!
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God is not far from any one of us;
He watches o’er His children day and night;
On every darkened soul He sheds this light;
Each burdened heart He cheers, and lends His might
To all who know His voice.
–Hymn #78, The Hymnal (1941)
Clark worked in a few jobs before he found his calling. He taught high school in Washington, Indiana. Then our saint became a singing evangelist. He also worked in the piano business.
Clark’s calling was religious publishing. He was an assistant editor of church school literature at the Christian Board of Publication, St. Louis, Missouri (1906-1911). Our saint was also the poetry editor of The Christian Century (1912-1948), the editor of The Christian Century Quarterly (1919f), and a member of the editorial staff of The Christian Century Pulpit (1929f).
Clark married Hazel Davis in June 1910. The couple remained married for the rest of our saint’s life. In writing, he described Hazel as
the most devoted Christian I know.
Of Clark’s hymns, few have survived in current denominational hymnals in the age of “seven-eleven songs.” Once upon a time, however, these texts were more popular. Our saint wrote far more than seven words a congregation sang eleven times. One text, “Thou Father of Us All” (1942), was one of three award winners in a Hymn Society of America contest in 1943. (The words are under copyright, according to hymnary.org.) x
Clark wrote, edited, and compiled books. They included:
- Poems and Songs (1909);
- Friendly Town (1917);
- Love Off to the War, and Other Poems (1918);
- Lincoln, and Others (1923);
- A Child’s Thought of God (1927), with Esther A. Gillespie;
- The New Patriotism: Poems of World Brotherhood (1927);
- Quotable Poems: An Anthology of Modern Verse, Volume I (1928), with Esther A. Gillespie;
- Poems of Justice (1929);
- The Master of Men: Quotable Poems about Jesus (1930);
- Poems for Special Dats and Occasions (1930);
- It Shall Not Be Again (1931);
- The Golden Book of Faith (1931);
- Quotable Poems: An Anthology of Modern Verse, Volume II (1931);
- Abraham Lincoln: Thirty Poems (1934);
- One Hundred Poems of Peace: An Anthology (1934);
- Home Roads and Far Horizons–Songs and Sonnets (1935);
- The Golden Book of Religious Verse (1937);
- 1000 Quotable Poems: An Anthology of Modern Verse (1937), with Esther A. Gillespie;
- Fifty Lincoln Poems (1939);
- Poems for Life (1941);
- God’s Dreams: Poems (1943);
- Poems for the Great Days (1948);
- Today is Mine: A Manual of Devotion (1950);
- Christ in Poetry: An Anthology (1952); and
- The Golden Book of Immortality: A Treasury of Testimony (1954), with Hazel Davis Clark.
Our saint, aged 76 years, died on December 7, 1953.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 27, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS GALLAUDET AND HENRY WINTER SYLE, EPISCOPAL PRIESTS AND EDUCATORS OF THE DEAF
THE FEAST OF SAINT AMADEUS OF CLERMONT, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK; AND HIS SON, SAINT AMADEUS OF LAUSANNE, FRENCH-SWISS ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF GEORGE THOMAS COSTER, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINSTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF HENRIETTE LUISE VON HAYN, GERMAN MORAVIAN HYMN WRITER
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Dear God of beauty,
you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to
Thomas Curtis Clark and others, who have composed hymn texts.
May we, as you guide us,
find worthy hymn texts to be icons,
through which we see you.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15
Psalm 147
Revelation 5:11-14
Luke 2:8-20
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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Above: Johann Josef Ignaz von Döllinger
Image in the Public Domain
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JOHANN JOSEF IGNAZ VON DÖLLINGER (FEBRUARY 28, 1799-JANUARY 10, 1890)
Dissident and Excommunicated Roman Catholic Priest, Theologian, and Historian
INTRODUCTION
Father Johann Josef Ignaz von Dõllinger comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via historical accounts. He also comes here via a pupil, John Dalberg Acton (1834-1902).
I confess readily to my relationship to authority. I am neither an anarchist nor an unconditional conformist. I chafe against all forms of authoritarianism. With the common good (defined by mutuality) and the Golden Rule as my core principles, I evaluate what authority figures say and do. Theologically, I feel free to ask any question and to harbor any doubt I choose. I gladly accept the label “heretic” from people. In fact, I own and wear a T-shirt with “heretic” printed on the front. Yet I am, compared to many people I know, orthodox. According to fundamentalists, however, I am a Hellbound heretic. So be it. I call myself an Episcopalian.
Sometimes I poke my proverbial fingers into the equally proverbial eyes of authority figures because they deserve no less. We are all “but dust.” Even authority figures are mere mortals. Somebody has to remind some of them of that.
I follow my own interests and march to the beat of my own drum. Therefore, I am a default contrarian much of the time. Many of my interests are outside of the mainstream, or at least of little or no interest to most people around me. I feel no compulsion to keep up with “watercooler” topics of discussion either. If I wanted to break the ice, I would have joined the crew of a ship with a reinforced hull long ago.
I grew up a Protestant–a United Methodist, mainly. The rebelliousness hardwired into Protestantism appealed to my personality. (It still does.) Yet my sense of history led me toward Holy Mother Church. Instead of crossing the Tiber River, I became an Episcopalian. I have turned into an Anglican-Lutheran-Catholic. (The Middle Way, indeed!)
Given all that, O reader, you may not be surprised to read that Father Döllinger catches and holds my attention. I like him. I disagree with him on certain points. Of course, if agreeing with me on all points were a criteria for inclusion on my Ecumenical Calendar, the project would not exist. I do agree with Döllinger’s rejection of papal infallibility. I also conclude that anyone who got on the bad side of the reactionary Pope Pius IX could not have been all bad.
The article about Döllinger in The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907-1912) offers a hardline evaluation, not surprisingly:
Seldom has it been so clearly proven that whenever a man turns completely from a glorious and honourable past, however stormy, his fate is irrevocably sealed.
Consider the source, O reader.
HIS LIFE
Johann Josef Ignaz von Döllinger, born in Bamberg, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire, on February 28, 1799, came from a line of physicians and professors of medicine. His grandfather had founded the medical faculty at the University of Bamberg. Our saint’s father taught medicine at the University of Bamberg (-1803) then at the University of Würzberg (1803f). Döllinger, a bookworm from an early age, mastered French, Italian, and Spanish. At the University of Würzberg, our saint studied science, theology, philosophy, and law. Seminary followed in Bamberg (1820-1822).
Döllinger became a priest on April 22, 1822. This displeased his father, who (a) wanted the son to lead an academic career, and (b) considered leading a celibate life to be physically impossible. Our saint, briefly a chaplain, led an academic career, with the aid of his father. Döllinger started teaching canon law in Aschaffenburg from November 1823 to 1827. During this time, he received his Doctor of Theology degree. Our saint relocated to Munich, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, in 1827. He taught canon law and church history. Döllinger also served as a canon of the royal chapel of St. Cajetan (1839f) and as the provost, or head canon (1847f).
Dollinger’s relatively liberal politics–including support for constitutional government–got him into trouble. It cost him his professorship in 1847, although he got that position back in 1850. In 1871, Döllinger’s refusal to accept the new dogma of papal infallibility got him into deep trouble with Rome. This act of conscience led to excommunication that year and dismissal from the professorship the following year. Fortunately for our saint, he had the favor of the Kings of Bavaria. Döllinger held various royal appointments–academic and scientific positions–and continued to research, write, and publish for the rest of his life.
Döllinger was sui generis. He was too liberal for traditionalists and too traditional for hardcore German Liberals. Our saint’s church was the ancient Catholic Church, not the Roman Catholic Church with an infallible Supreme Pontiff. Schism was anathema to Döllinger. He was unambiguous in criticizing Protestantism (in 1838, 1843, and 1851, in particular). The excommunicated priest, who influenced the new Old Catholic Church, refused to join it while harboring no hostility toward it. Our saint’s insistence of academic freedom made him many enemies in ecclesiastical circles, too.
Döllinger, who refused attempts to persuade him to reconcile with Rome, died in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire, on January 10, 1890. He was 90 years old.
CONCLUSION
Certain issues at play in Döllinger’s life remain pertinent, sadly.
- The lack of academic freedom in schools, colleges, and universities in more than one denomination remains problematic.
- Dissent has a legitimate role in the Church. Some limits need to exist, of course; certain standards should apply. Yet the quest for doctrinal purity is a fool’s errand. Some of the self-identified pure are purer than others. The “purer” the tent is, the smaller and more Donatistic it is.
- Schism is a matter to approach with extreme caution, and should be a last resort.
Given the ecclesiastical standards that have unfolded and continue to unfold, what did Döllinger do that warranted excommunication? He apparently honored his vow of celibacy. He did not disavow the Holy Trinity. He did not molest anyone. He did not abuse indigenous children at residential schools in Canada. Our saint’s alleged offenses seemed to have been asking “too many” questions and refusing to accept a new dogma.
Sola Scriptura, in the narrow definition, holds that nothing outside of scripture is necessary for salvation. I read about Döllinger and conclude that his refusal to accept papal infallibility did not endanger his salvation. I conclude that, in the mind of God, the excommunication was irrelevant.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 26, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN PAUL I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK WILLIAM HERZBERGER, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT LEVKADIA HARASYMIV, UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC NUN, AND MARTYR, 1952
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUIGI BELTRAME QUATTROCCHI AND MARIA CORSINI BELTRAME QUATTROCCHI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC HUMANITARIANS
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, JORNET Y IBARS, CATALAN CATHOLIC NUN AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE ABANDONED ELDERLY
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Almighty God, you gave to your servant Johann Josef Ignaz von Döllinger
special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it in Christ Jesus:
Grant that by this teaching we may know you,
the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Proverbs 3:1-7
Psalm 119:89-96
1 Corinthians 3:5-11
Matthew 13:47-52
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 721
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Above: Cannon Chapel, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
Image in the Public Domain
(I spent some quality time at Cannon Chapel during my youth.)
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GENE MILTON TUCKER (JANUARY 8, 1935-JANUARY 4, 2018)
United Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
Gene M. Tucker comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The New Interpreter’s Bible. He wrote the introduction, commentary, and reflections on Isaiah 1-39 for Volume VI (2001) of the set. (Tucker accepted the scholarly consensus that there were three Isaiahs.)
Tucker, from Texas, became a minister and a scholar. Our saint, a son of Raymond H. Tucker and Lorene Tucker, debuted in Albany, Texas, on January 8, 1935. He grew up in West Texas and became an avid outdoorsman as a youth. Throughout his youth, Tucker remained an outdoorsman, enjoying hunting and fishing. Our saint, who graduated from McMurry College, Abilene, Texas, in 1957, was on course to become a minister and a Biblical scholar when he married Charlyne “Charky” Williams that year. Tucker earned his B.D. (1960), M.A. (1961), and Ph.D. (1963) at Yale Divinity School. He, ordained in The Methodist Church (The United Methodist Church since April 23, 1968), commenced on his academic career. Tucker’s first position was at the Graduate School of Religion, the University of Southern California, from 1963 to 1966. In 1966-1970 Tucker taught at Duke Divinity School. While there, he served as the President of the Council on Human Relations, a civil rights organization, in Durham, North Carolina.
From 1970 to 1995, Tucker taught at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. He edited scholarly works, cowrote a commentary on Joshua (1974), wrote Form Criticism of the Old Testament (1971), and contributed to Preaching the New Common Lectionary (1984-1987) and Preaching Through the Christian Year (1992). Furthermore, our saint served on the translation committee of the New Revised Standard Version (1989) of the Bible. Tucker also taught Sunday School at Briarwood United Methodist Church, Atlanta, for a quarter of a century.
The Tuckers retired to Denver, Colorado, in 1995, to be close to their children. Our saint taught in Australia for a time, focused on theological-ecological concerns, continued to enjoy the outdoors, and wrote a commentary on Genesis (2001). He donated his academic library to the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Puerto Rico in 1911.
Tucker, aged 82 years, died in Denver on January 4, 2018.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 6, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
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O God, you have endowed us with memory, reason, and skill.
We thank you for the faithful legacy of [Gene M. Tucker and all others]
who have dedicated their lives to you and to the intellectual pursuits.
May we, like them, respect your gift of intelligence fully and to your glory.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Psalm 103
Philippians 4:8-9
Mark 12:28-34
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 6, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CHRODEGANG OF METZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF EDMUND KING, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
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Above: Emily Greene Balch
Image in the Public Domain
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EMILY GREENE BALCH (JANUARY 8, 1867-JANUARY 9, 1961)
U.S. Quaker Sociologist, Economist, and Peace Activist
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If Messiah should arise bodily from death, it would mean there was more for us to learn in our efforts to understand than we had expected. It would not overthrow any truth that we had eventually reached, whatever adjustment our thought might have to make.
–Emily Greene Balch, quoted in G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006), 90
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Emily Greene Balch, raised a Unitarian, spent her adult life working for social justice. She, born in Boston, Massachusets, on January 8, 1867, came from a wealthy and prominent family. Family wealth enabled our saint to receive a fine education. Unitarianism, with its tradition of social justice activism, also contributed to Balch’s professional direction. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1889 then at the Sorbonne. In 1892, in Boston, between graduate studies at the Sorbonne and at Harvard, Balch founded Denison House, modeled after Hull House, in Chicago, Illinois. Our saint continued her graduate studies (focused on poverty, sociology, gender, and economics) at the Universities of Chicago and Berlin.
Balch served on the faculty of Wellesley College from 1896 to 1918. She rose to Professor of Economics in 1913. The college fired her in 1918; the cause of the termination was our saint’s pacifism during World War I.
Balch spent her professional life pursuing practical solutions to problems of poverty and gender. The word “intersectionality” did not exist yet, but she tried to help people at intersections of categories, such as poor, child, female, immigrant, industrial worker, and conscientious objector. She supported the labor union movement, was a suffragette, helped conscientious objectors, advocated to end child labor, and worked on industrial education. Balch, Jane Addams (1860-1935), and others founded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915. Our saint served as the Secretary General of that organization for a number of years. She also joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Balch, a convert to Quakerism in 1921, assisted refugees from the Third Reich while continuing to help conscientious objectors during World War II. She also supported Allied victory in that war. For our saint’s work with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946.
Balch, who never married, lived to the age of 94 years. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 9, 1961.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 1, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, DISCIPLE OF JESUS
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Holy and righteous God, you created us in your image.
Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression.
Help us, like your servant Emily Greene Balch,
to work for justice among people and nations, the the glory of your name,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Hosea 2:18-23
Psalm 94:1-15
Romans 12:9-21
Luke 6:20-36
–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 60
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Above: Metropolitan Philip II and Czar Ivan IV, by Vasili Purikev
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT PHILIP II OF MOSCOW (FEBRUARY 11, 1507-DECEMBER 12, 1569)
Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, and Martyr
St. Philip II of Moscow took a stand for righteousness while facing a tyrant. He knew what the high price for that action would be and did the right thing anyway.
Theodore Kolyshov was a nobleman and a soldier before, at the age of 30 years, he entered the monastery at Solovetsk, on the White Sea, and became Philip. Ten years later he became the abbot. He was not only a capable abbot but a skilled agricultural engineer; he designed a new drainage and irrigation system for the monastery grounds. In 1565 our saint became the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia.
St. Philip II’s tenure was brief and politically difficult. Czar Ivan IV “the Terrible” (reigned 1547-1584) was a tyrant; he had political opponents executed, sometimes en masse. Our saint opposed the violent monarch. At Dormition Cathedral, Moscow, on March 2, 1568, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, with Ivan IV in attendance, Philip II refused to bless the Czar. During the Eucharistic prayers St. Philip II said:
At this altar we are offering a pure and bloodless sacrifice for men’s salvation. Outside this holy temple the blood of innocent Christians is being shed. God rejects him who does not love his neighbor. I have to tell you this though I die for it.
–Quoted in Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints (1965), page 283
Ivan IV had his revenge. He had St. Philip II deposed, convicted of false allegations (including sorcery), and sentenced to life imprisonment later that year. One of Ivan IV’s lackeys, obeying orders, choked our saint with a cushion at Otrosh monastery on December 12, 1569.
The Russian Orthodox Church canonized St. Philip II in 1636.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 14, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN AMOS COMENIUS, FATHER OF MODERN EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF SAMUEL SEABURY, FIRST EPISCOPAL BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ROMANIS, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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Almighty God, who gave to your servant St. Philip II of Moscow
boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ
before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith:
Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us,
and to suffer gladly for the sake of the hope that is in us,
and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Esdras 2:42-48
Psalm 126 or 121
1 Peter 3:14-18, 22
Matthew 10:16-22
—Holy Women: Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 713
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Above: Julia Chester Emery
Image in the Public Domain
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JULIA CHESTER EMERY (SEPTEMBER 24, 1852-JANUARY 9, 1922)
Upholder of Missions
The Episcopal Church added Julia Chester Emery to its calendar of saints in 1994.
Emery was the daughter of a sea captain and the sister of two Episcopal priests. She was also the sister of Mary Emery, who served as the first National Secretary of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Board of Missions, The Episcopal Church. (The General Convention of 1871 created the Women’s Auxiliary.)
Our saint succeeded her sister in 1876 and served until retirement, 40 years later, at the age of 63 or 64 years. She traveled widely in The Episcopal Church, visiting remote mission stations around the world and speaking in every diocese and missionary district. This travel was frequently difficult. Emery also encouraged support for these missionary efforts and created the United Thank Offering. She died about six years later, on January 9, 1922.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 14, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN AMOS COMENIUS, FATHER OF MODERN EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF SAMUEL SEABURY, FIRST EPISCOPAL BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ROMANIS, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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God of all creation, you call us in Christ to make disciples of all nations and to proclaim your mercy and love:
Grant that we, after the example of your servant Julia Chester Emery,
may have vision and courage in proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the Earth;
through Jesus Christ our light and our salvation, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalm 67
Romans 12:6-13
Mark 10:42-45
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 163
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Snow in January
Image in the Public Domain
1 (EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)
- Holy Name of Jesus
- World Day of Peace
2 (NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)
- Gaspar del Bufalo, Founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood
- Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe, Bavarian Lutheran Minister, and Coordinator of Domestic and Foreign Missions
- Narcissus of Tomi, Argeus of Tomi, and Marcellinus of Tomi, Roman Martyrs, 320
- Odilo of Cluny, Roman Catholic Abbot
- Sabine Baring-Gould, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
3 (TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)
- Edward Caswall, English Roman Catholic Priest and Hymn Writer
- Edward Perronet, British Methodist Preacher
- Elmer G. Homrighausen, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Professor of Christian Education
- Gladys Aylward, Missionary in China and Taiwan
- William Alfred Passavant, Sr., U.S. Lutheran Minister, Humanitarian, and Evangelist
4 (ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)
- Angela of Foligno, Italian Roman Catholic Penitent and Humanitarian
- Elizabeth Ann Seton, Founder of the American Sisters of Charity
- Gregory of Langres, Terticus of Langres, Gallus of Clermont, Gregory of Tours, Avitus I of Clermont, Magnericus of Trier, and Gaugericus, Roman Catholic Bishops
- Johann Ludwig Freydt, German Moravian Composer and Educator
- Mary Lundie Duncan, Scottish Presbyterian Hymn Writer
5 (TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)
- Antonio Lotti, Italian Roman Catholic Musician and Composer
- Felix Manz, First Anabaptist Martyr, 1527
- Genoveva Torres Morales, Founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels
- John Nepomucene Neumann, Roman Catholic Bishop of Philadelphia
- Margaret Mackay, Scottish Hymn Writer
6 (EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)
7 (François Fénelon, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cambrai)
- Aldric of Le Mans, Roman Catholic Bishop of Le Mans
- Jean Kenyon Mackenzie, U.S. Presbyterian Missionary in West Africa
- Lanza del Vasto, Founder of the Community of the Ark
- Lucian of Antioch, Roman Catholic Martyr, 312
- William Jones, Anglican Priest and Musician
8 (Thorfinn of Hamar, Roman Catholic Bishop)
- A. J. Muste, Dutch-American Minister, Labor Activist, and Pacifist
- Arcangelo Corelli, Italian Roman Catholic Musician and Composer
- Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, Scientists
- Harriet Bedell, Episcopal Deaconess and Missionary
- Pepin of Landen, Itta of Metz, Their Relations, Amand, Austregisilus, and Sulpicius II of Bourges, Faithful Christians Across Generational Lines
9 (Julia Chester Emery, Upholder of Missions)
- Emily Greene Balch, U.S. Quaker Sociologist, Economist, and Peace Activist
- Gene M. Tucker, United Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
- Johann Josef Ignaz von Döllinger, Dissident and Excommunicated German Roman Catholic Priest, Theologian, and Historian
- Philip II of Moscow, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, and Martyr, 1569
- Thomas Curtis Clark, U.S. Disciples of Christ Evangelist, Poet, and Hymn Writer
10 (John the Good, Roman Catholic Bishop of Milan)
- Allen William Chatfield, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Translator
- Louise Cecilia Fleming, African-American Baptist Missionary and Physician
- María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña y Ortega, Founder of the Centers of Instruction, the Association of the Sodality of the Virgin Mary, the Ladies of the Catechetical Institute, the Association of the Apostolic Laymen/the Sopeña Lay Movement, the Works of the Doctrines/the Center for the Workers, and the Social and Cultural Work Sopeña/the Sopeña Catechetical Institute
- W. Sibley Towner, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar
- William Gay Ballantine, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Educator, Scholar, Poet, and Hymn Writer
11 (Theodosius the Cenobiarch, Roman Catholic Monk)
- Charles William Everest, Episcopal Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
- Ignatius Spencer, Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest and Apostle of Ecumenical Prayer; and his protégé, Elizabeth Prout, Founder of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion
- Miep Gies, Righteous Gentile
- Paulinus II of Aquileia, Roman Catholic Patriarch of Aquileia
- Richard Frederick Littledale, Anglican Priest and Translator of Hymns
12 (Benedict Biscop, Roman Catholic Abbot of Wearmouth)
- Aelred of Hexham, Roman Catholic Abbot of Rievaulx
- Caesarius of Arles, Roman Catholic Bishop of Arles; and his sister, Caesaria of Arles, Roman Catholic Abbess
- Anthony Mary Pucci, Italian Roman Catholic Priest
- Henry Alford, Anglican Priest, Biblical Scholar, Literary Translator, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Bible Translator
- Marguerite Bourgeoys, Founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame
13 (Hilary of Poitiers, Roman Catholic Bishop of Poitiers, “Athanasius of the West;” and Hymn Writer; and his protégé, Martin of Tours, Roman Catholic Bishop of Tours)
- Christian Keimann, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
- Edgar J. Goodspeed, U.S. Baptist Biblical Scholar and Translator
- George Fox, Founder of the Religious Society of Friends
- Mary Slessor, Scottish Presbyterian Missionary in West Africa
- Samuel Preiswerk, Swiss Reformed Minister and Hymn Writer
14 (Macrina the Elder, Her Family, and Gregory of Nazianzus the Younger)
- Abby Kelley Foster and her husband, Stephen Symonds Foster, U.S. Quaker Abolitionists and Feminists
- Eivind Josef Berggrav, Lutheran Bishop of Oslo, Hymn Translator, and Leader of the Norwegian Resistance During World War II
- Kristen Kvamme, Norwegian-American Hymn Writer and Translator
- Richard Meux Benson, Anglican Priest and Co-Founder of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist; Charles Chapman Grafton, Episcopal Priest, Co-Founder of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, and Bishop of Fond du Lac; and Charles Gore, Anglican Bishop of Worcester, Birmingham, and Oxford; Founder of the Community of the Resurrection; Theologian; and Advocate for Social Justice and World Peace
- Sava I, Founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and First Archbishop of Serbs
15 (Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader and Martyr, 1968)
- Bertha Paulssen, German-American Seminary Professor, Psychologist, and Sociologist
- Gustave Weigel, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Ecumenist
- John Cosin, Anglican Bishop of Durham
- John Marinus Versteeg, U.S. Methodist Minister and Hymn Writer
- Nikolaus Gross, German Roman Catholic Opponent of Nazism, and Martyr, 1945
16 (Roberto de Noboli, Roman Catholic Missionary in India)
- Berard and His Companions, Roman Catholic Martyrs in Morocco, 1220
- Edmund Hamilton Sears, U.S. Unitarian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Biblical Scholar
- Edward Bunnett, Anglican Organist and Composer
- Juana Maria Condesa Lluch, Founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Immaculate Conception, Protectress of Workers
- Timothy Richard Matthews, Anglican Priest, Organist, and Hymn Tune Composer
17 (Antony of Egypt, Roman Catholic Abbot and Father of Western Monasticism)
- Deicola and Gall, Roman Catholic Monks; and Othmar, Roman Catholic Abbot at Saint Gallen
- James Woodrow, Southern Presbyterian Minister, Naturalist, and Alleged Heretic
- Pachomius the Great, Founder of Christian Communal Monasticism
- Rutherford Birchard Hayes, President of the United States of America
- Thomas A. Dooley, U.S. Roman Catholic Physician and Humanitarian
18-25 (WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY)
18 (CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER, APOSTLE)
19 (Sargent Shriver and his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Humanitarians)
- Alessandro Valignano, Italian Jesuit Missionary Priest in the Far East
- Charles Winfred Douglas, Episcopal Priest, Liturgist, Musicologist, Linguist, Poet, Hymn Translator, and Arranger
- Henry Twells, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
20 (Fabian, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 250)
- Euthymius the Great and Theoctistus, Roman Catholic Abbots
- Greville Phillimore, English Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
- Harold A. Bosley, United Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
- Harriet Auber, Anglican Hymn Writer
- Richard Rolle, English Roman Catholic Spiritual Writer
21 (Mirocles of Milan and Epiphanius of Pavia, Roman Catholic Bishops)
- Alban Roe and Thomas Reynolds, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1642
- John Yi Yon-on, Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr in Korea, 1867
22 (John Julian, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymnologist)
- Alexander Men, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1990
- Benjamin Lay, American Quaker Abolitionist
- Ladislao Batthány-Strattmann, Austro-Hungarian Roman Catholic Physician and Philanthropist
- Vincent Pallotti, Founder of the Society for the Catholic Apostolate, the Union of Catholic Apostolate, and the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate
23 (John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria)
- Charles Kingsley, Anglican Priest, Novelist, and Hymn Writer
- Edward Grubb, English Quaker Author, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer
- George A. Buttrick, Anglo-American Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar; and his son, David G. Buttrick, U.S. Presbyterian then United Church of Christ Minister, Theologian, and Liturgist
- James D. Smart, Canadian Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar
- Phillips Brooks, Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts, and Hymn Writer
24 (Ordination of Florence Li-Tim-Oi, First Female Priest in the Anglican Communion)
- Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo
- Lindsay Bartholomew Longacre, U.S. Methodist Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Hymn Tune Composer
- Marie Poussepin, Founder of the Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation of the Virgin
- Martyrs of Podlasie, 1874
- Suranus of Sora, Roman Catholic Abbot and Martyr, 580
25 (CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL, APOSTLE)
26 (TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND SILAS, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)
27 (Jerome, Paula of Rome, Eustochium, Blaesilla, Marcella, and Lea of Rome)
- Angela Merici, Founder of the Company of Saint Ursula
- Carolina Santocanale, Founder of the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculate of Lourdes
- Caspar Neumann, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
- Mary Evelyn “Mev” Puleo, U.S. Roman Catholic Photojournalist and Advocate for Social Justice
- Pierre Batiffol, French Roman Catholic Priest, Historian, and Theologian
28 (Albert the Great and his pupil, Thomas Aquinas; Roman Catholic Theologians)
- Andrei Rublev, Russian Orthodox Icon Writer
- Daniel J. Simundson, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Biblical Scholar
- Henry Augustine Collins, Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest and Hymn Writer
- Joseph Barnby, Anglican Church Musician and Composer
- Somerset Corry Lowry, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
29 (LYDIA, DORCAS, AND PHOEBE, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)
30 (Lesslie Newbigin, English Reformed Missionary and Theologian)
- Bathildas, Queen of France
- David Galván Bermúdez, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Mexico, 1915
- Frederick Oakeley, Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest
- Genesius I of Clermont and Praejectus of Clermont, Roman Catholic Bishops; and Amarin, Roman Catholic Abbot
- Jacques Bunol, French Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
31 (Charles Frederick Mackenzie, Anglican Bishop of Nyasaland, and Martyr, 1862)
- Anthony Bénézet, French-American Quaker Abolitionist
- Menno Simons, Mennonite Leader
Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.
SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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