'Today in Christian History'

Today is Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

On this day in history:

70 - Following a six-month siege, Jerusalem surrendered to the 60,000
troops of Titus' Roman army. Over a million Jewish citizens
perished in the siege and, following the city's capture,
another 97,000 were sold into slavery.

1565 - The parish of St. Augustine, Florida, was founded by Father Don
Martin Francisco Lopez de Mendozo Grajales, chaplain to the
conquering Spanish forces. It became the first and oldest
Roman Catholic parish established in America.

1636 - Harvard College (later University) was founded by the
Massachusetts Puritans at New Towne. It was the first
institution of higher learning established in North America,
and was originally founded to train future ministers.

1845 - Oxford Movement leader, John Henry Newman, 44, resigned from the
Church of England -- convinced that it had severed itself from
its ancient episcopal moorings and true apostolic succession
-- and became a Roman Catholic.

1928 - Pius XI issued the encyclical "Rerum Orientalium," promoting
study of the history, doctrine and liturgy of Eastern
Orthodoxy. He recommended that priests apply themselves to
special studies at the Oriental Institute in Rome, founded in
1917 by Benedict XV.