24 August: 1662 "Book of Common Prayer:" St. Bartholomew's Day & Collect

St. John and St. Bartholomew
Dosso Dossi, 1527

24 Aug from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle.
The Collect

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who didst give to thine Apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach thy Word; Grant, we beseech thee, unto thy Church, to love that Word which he believed, and both to preach and receive the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Bartholomew is one of the twelve Apostles, mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13). 

 Saint Bartholomew Monastery at the site of the Apostle's martyrdom in historical Armenia.

Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (5:10) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Other traditions record him as serving as a missionary in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia.

Given the relics-proliferation-skandalon that would develop later, part of Bartholomew's skull is in Frankfort and an arm in Canterbury. It appears that everyone wanted a "piece of him;" it's called marketeering and advertising. 

Notwithstanding the game-on-relics-marketeers, we remember Bartholomew's fidelity and service to Christ, leaving the unknown details of his life to the Omniscient, Gracious and Triune God. 

Psalm 139 and Bartholomew:

139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
² You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
³ You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
⁵ You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹ Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
²⁰ For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹ Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²² I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

A Huguenot Timeline

For the full article, see:  http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/a-huguenot-timeline/#comment-17206

A Huguenot timeline

August 14, 2013 in Calvinism, Protestant | Tags: Calvinism, Christianity, France, history, Huguenot 

 

The National Huguenot Society has a timeline of important Huguenot dates which provide a decent overview of their history with regard to French religious and civil life.

John Calvin decided to become a Protestant in 1533. In 1536, he published the first edition of his apologetic work, Institutes of the Christian Religion. That same year, he fled France for Basel, then Geneva.

By the 1550s, the Reformed faith was gaining more converts in France. This is a summary of what happened next:

25 May 1559		First Synod of the French Reformed Church held in Paris, followed by persecutions and issuance of Edict prohibiting “heretical” worship
1559		Attempt to replace Catholic Guises with Huguenot Condé as regent
1560		Huguenots petition the King and threaten revolt if persecution persists
1 March 1562		Massacre at Vassay begins French religious wars; Condé assassinated
1562		Huguenots sign manifesto saying they were forced to take arms
1 May 1562		Arrival at St. John’s River, in Florida, of the first pilgrimage by Huguenots to North America
1564		Death of John Calvin
1565		Huguenot colony massacred at St. John, FL
24 August 1572		St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in which tens of thousands of Huguenots were killed
1585		Huguenots/Protestants expelled from France
13 April 1598		Edict of Nantes by Henry of Navarre which granted religious and civil liberties to the Huguenots promises protection
18 October 1685		Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV which was published 22 October 1685, and resulted in persecution of the Huguenots; 400,000 flee France to other countries
28 November 1787   For the rest of the article, see:		Promulgation of the Edict of Toleration http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/a-huguenot-timeline/#comment-17206

Lest We Forget: St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

This event was surely known in England also. Sir Francis Walsingham, the Chief Spymaster for Queen Elizabeth 1, was in Paris at the outbreak of the coordinated slaughter and barely escaped with his life. This also was the year that the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth and the year in which he offered indulgences to any English subject who might assassinate Elizabeth. Also, following the massacre, the Pope directed a procession through Rome with the singing of the Te Deum Laudamus, the ancient hymn of praise. Also, these events were the stuff of history to Huguenots who arrived in the US, largely in NYC and Charleston. They became strong supporters of the 1st and 2nd Amendments.

 

http://www.reformation.org/bart.html

 

The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

 

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Last updated Feb. 24, 2002

Believe it or not.....the ancient Irish records talk about a "Senior Patrick" who died on August 24, 465. This, we believe, is the home-going date of the Real St. Patrick versus March 17 for the death of Palladius!!

The Scots (Irish) missionaries had great success in France during the Dark Ages. One of the greatest, Johannis Scotus Erigena, was founder of the University of Paris.

An Eyewitness Account of the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre
by François Dubois
From the Musée Cantonal Des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne Switzerland

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August 24, 1572, was the date of the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France. On that day, over 400 years ago, began one of the most horrifying holocausts in history. The glorious Reformation, begun in Germany on October 31, 1517, had spread to France—and was joyfully received. A great change had come over the people as industry and learning began to flourish, and so rapidly did the Truth spread that over a third of the population embraced the Reformed Christian Faith.

However, alarm bells began to ring at the Vatican! France was her eldest daughter and main pillar—the chief source of money and power. . . . King Pepin of the Franks (the father of Charlemagne) had given the Papal States to the Pope almost 1000 years earlier. Almost half the real estate in the country was owned by the clergy.

Meanwhile, back in Paris, the King of France and his Court spent their time drinking, reveling and carousing. The Court spiritual adviser—a Jesuit priest— urged them to massacre the Protestants—as penance for their many sins! To catch the Christians off-guard every token of peace, friendship, and ecumenical good will was offered.

Suddenly—and without warning—the devilish work commenced. Beginning at Paris, the French soldiers and the Roman Catholic clergy fell upon the unarmed people, and blood flowed like a river throughout the entire country. Men, women, and children fell in heaps before the mobs and the bloodthirsty troops. In one week, almost 100,100 Protestants perished. The rivers of France were so filled with corpses that for many months no fish were eaten. In the valley of the Loire, wolves came down from the hills to feel upon the decaying bodies of Frenchmen. The list of massacres was as endless as the list of the dead!

Many were imprisoned—many sent as slaves to row the King's ships—and some were able to escape to other countries. . . . The massacres continued for centuries. The best and brightest people fled to Germany, Switzerland, England, Ireland and eventually America and brought their incomparable manufacturing skills with them. . . . France was ruined. . . . Wars, famine, disease and poverty finally led to the French Revolution—the Guillotine—the Reign of Terror—the fall of the Roman Catholic Monarchy—atheism—communism etc., etc.

When news of the Massacre reached the Vatican there was jubilation! Cannons roared—bells rung—and a special commemorative medal was struck—to honor the occasion! The Pope commissioned Italian artist Vasari to paint a mural of the Massacre—which still hangs in the Vatican!

Medal struck by Emperor Gregory XIII (1572-85) to commemorate the slaughter of over 100,000 French Christians!!

Emperor Gregory had the great red dragon of Satan as his heraldic symbol! The Gregorian Calendar is named after him.

The Huguenots won a short period of relief from persecution with the ascension of Henry IV to the throne. The Edict of Nantes gave full freedom to his Protestants subjects. The signing of this Edict inaugurated an era of peace and great prosperity for France. However, for granting his subjects liberty of conscience, the king was stabbed to death by a Jesuit named Ravaillac. This Edict of Toleration was revoked in 1685, and a new storm of persecution ensued. The exodus began again with over a million Huguenots fleeing France to avoid certain torture and death.

The descendants of the survivors that reached America were determined that this tragedy should not occur here. Many of them were prominent in the founding of the country. They knew that an armed citizenry in France would have prevented this tragedy from ever happening—and as a result—they gave us the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution. They knew that freedom of religion and an armed citizenry go hand in hand:

Amendment 1

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment 2

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

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Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . . .

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The French Protestants were called Huguenots: President George Washington had a Huguenot ancestor, as did at least 5 other Presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Tyler, James Garfield, and Theodore Roosevelt. A Huguenot refugee named Apollos de Revoire settled in Boston, and had a son who signed his name Paul Revere! Remember his famous midnight ride? Three members of the Continental Congress - Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Elias Boudinot were Huguenots. Other great names include Francis Marrion, General George Patton, Clair Chennault, Admiral Dewey, Du Ponts, Henry Thoreau, Longfellow etc., etc. A Huguenot colony was founded in Florida in 1562 (years before the English landed), but was later destroyed by Spanish raiders.

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http://wittenberg-door.blogspot.com/2012/08/today-in-church-history-huguenots-st.html

Today in Church History: Huguenots, St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

On the night of August 23, 1572, thousands of French Calvinists (Huguenots) were massacred in Paris and other French cites in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

In the preceding decades, Calvinism had spread rapidly in France despite fierce persecution. The French Wars of Religion had begun in 1562 and continued until 1594. The mass killing, ordered by Catherine de Medici, queen mother of France, and carried out by Roman Catholic nobles, was the most violent episode of the warfare. Estimates of the victims ranged from 5,000 to 10,000. Included among them was Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligney, who had arranged for a short-lived peace agreement between Calvinists and Catholics in France in 1570.

The massacre prompted further development within Reformed thought of the principle of civil disobedience and rebellion against tyrannical civil authorities. In the years that followed, French Calvinists would continue to experience persecution and would not attain full religious toleration until the French Revolution under Napoleon.

24 Aug, St. Bartholomew's Day: Global Day of Anglican Prayer

http://commonprayerday.com/

A Global Day of Anglican Prayer

The 24th of August is Common Prayer Day, a day for Anglicans all across the world to come together in celebration of their common heritage of prayer and worship.

This 2012 Christians of the Anglican tradition will renew their commitment to the tradition of Common Prayer as they celebrate a read or sung service of Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, the historic liturgy that has bound Anglicans together the world over since its institution on the 24th of August 1662.

Please join with us in Christian unity this St. Bartholomew's day by being one of the faithful who will raise their voices Heavenward in common praise and supplication.

WE humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of thy Name,
turn from us all those evils that we most righteously have deserved; and grant, that in all our troubles we
may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living,
to thy honour and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.