Daily Prayers

Daily Prayer is encouraged each morning and evening for the entire fellowship. A way to read the whole Bible annually is listed in each Sunday bulletin with a simple format of reading three to five chapters from the Old and New Testament each day. A prayer list of needs and concerns of our fellowship and for friends of our fellowship is kept. A calendar of commemorations to remember faithful lives in Christ and the story of the Christian Church is provided for inspiration and encouragement. Devotional materials are available as well.

In these unsettling times, we would like to offer a resource for A Simple Form of Daily Prayer

MARCH 1
GEORGE HERBERT, PRIEST AND POET, died 1633
Herbert (1593 – 1633) an Anglican priest wrote several favorite hymns such as “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” and “Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life.” His poems collected in the Temple and the Country Parson are classics of the English Language.

MARCH 17
PATRICK, MISSIONARY, died 461AD
Patrick (389 – 461AD) was born in Britain but was captured during a raid and made a slave of the Irish at age 16. After six years, he escaped returning home but God called him to go back to Ireland. In 432, Patrick returned founding churches and preaching the good news of Jesus to the Irish people. Patrick’s Confession is his testimony revealing God’s call to him to share the faith. Patrick is considered the apostle to the Irish.

MARCH 19
JOSEPH, THE GUARDIAN OF OUR LORD
The husband of the Virgin Mary was a carpenter who is portrayed in Scripture as a faithful man, a protector and provider for his wife and the Christ Child. Joseph is not mentioned in the adult life of Jesus and is believed to have died before the public ministry began.

MARCH 21
THOMAS CRANMER, BISHOP AND MARTYR
Cranmer’s lasting achievement is contributing to and overseeing the creation of the Book of Common Prayer, which remains (in revised form) the worship book of the Anglican Communion. He was burned at the stake under Queen Mary for his support of the Protestant Reformation.

MARCH 22
JONATHAN EDWARDS, TEACHER AND MISSIONARY, died 1757
After a powerful conversion experience to the way of Christ, Edwards (1703 – 1757), became an influential preacher, leading to widespread religious revival in the American northeast, mission work to Native Americans in Massachusetts, and serving as president of Princeton University.

MARCH 24
OSCAR ROMERO, BISHOP AND MARTYR
Romero was deeply concerned with injustices evident toward the poor and powerless in El Salvador, and worked forthrightly against political repression. He was assassinated while presiding at the Eucharist in a chapel near the cathedral in San Salvador.

MARCH 25
THE ANNUCIATION OF OUR LORD
This festival celebrates the angelic announcement to Mary of the coming birth of the Christ Child. The date is determined by Christmas, being exactly nine months before the festival of our Lord’s birth.

MARCH 29
HANS NIELSEN HAUGE, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH, died 1824
Hauge (1771 – 1824) had a mystical experience of the Lord that gave him peace and a call to preach the way of Christ to his “sleeping country” Norway. He advocated what he called “the living faith” which was a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus which transforms the believer’s life. As a lay preacher, Hauge was arrested several times and persecuted by his church. Nevertheless, he persisted emphasizing a person’s vocation as a service to God and urged his followers to remain faithful to the national church.

MARCH 31
JOSEPH
Joseph was the son of the patriarch Jacob and Rachel. The favorite son of his father, he incurred the jealousy of his older brothers, who sold him into slavery in Egypt and told their father he was dead (read Genesis 37). In Egypt he became the chief servant in the home of Potiphar, a military official. Because Joseph refused to commit adultery with his master’s wife, he was unjustly accused of attempted rape and thrown into jail (read Genesis 39). Years later, he interpreted dreams for Pharaoh, who then freed him from prison and placed him in charge of the entire country. When his brothers came from Canaan to Egypt in search of food, they did not recognize him. He eventually revealed his identity to them, forgave them, and invited both them and his father to live in Egypt. He is especially remembered and honored for his moral uprightness (read Genesis 39) and for his willingness to forgive his brothers (read Genesis 45 and 50).

MARCH 31
JOHN DONNE, POET, died 1631
After finishing his education at Oxford University, Donne seemed headed for a career in the English public service. But a series of circumstances led him into the ordained ministry. He is well known as a writer of both secular and sacred poetry.

APRIL 4
BENEDICT THE AFRICAN, CONFESSOR, died 1589
Born a slave on the island of Sicily, Benedict lived as a hermit until the Pope ordered all hermits to attach themselves to a monastery, at which time Benedict joined the Franciscans. Though illiterate, he was highly respected as a confessor and later superior of his community.

APRIL 6
ALBRECHT DURER, ARTIST, died 1528
Durer (1471 – 1528), a painter and engraver, was the leader of the German Renaissance School who, after a period of travel, settled in his native Nuremburg. His work is a close examination of the splendor of creation – the human body, animals, and natural landscapes. Along with Lucas Cranach, Durer’s engravings were important works of art for teaching the faith. For example, a number of engravings by Cranach were used to illustrate Luther’s Small Catechism. His “Praying Hands” are a Protestant favorite.

APRIL 9
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, TEACHER AND MARTYR, died 1945
Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945) was a Lutheran pastor and teacher in Nazis Germany. He studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York but returned to Berlin in 1930 to resist the growing evil in his homeland. He directed a seminary in Pomeranian, Germany until he was arrested and imprisoned in 1943 for anti-war activities. His Cost of Discipleship, Life Together, and Ethics are powerful witnesses to Christ. After the Service on Sunday, April 8, 1945 in Flossenburg prison, Bonhoeffer was taken away to be hanged. His last words: “This is the end, but for me the beginning of life.”

APRIL 10
MIKAEL AGRICOLA, BISHOP, died 1557
Agricola (1512 – 1557) was a student of Luther and Melanchthon at Wittenburg and returned to spread the Reformation to his native Finland. He became the bishop of Turku and devised an orthography which became the basis for modern Finnish spelling. He went on to provide an ABC book, a prayerbook, and translated the New Testament and liturgy for his people. He died on Palm Sunday after returning from a mission trying to negotiate peace between Russia and Sweden.

APRIL 19
OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
The Petri brothers (1490’s – 1570’s) were instrumental in spreading the ideas of the Reformation to Sweden. They translated the New Testament, the liturgy and many hymns into their native Swedish language so that their people could understand the good news of Jesus.

APRIL 20
JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, PASTOR, died 1558
Johannes Bugenhagen (1485 – 1558), from Pomerania in northern Germany, was appointed pastor of Wittenberg in 1523 through the efforts of Martin Luther and thus served as Luther’s own pastor and confessor. One of the greatest scholars of the Reformation era, he helped translate the New Testament into Low German and wrote a commentary on the Psalms. He also worked to organize the Lutheran Church in northern Germany and Denmark, journeying to Copenhagen where he crowned both King and Queen and consecrated seven men to the offices of superintendent and bishop.

APRIL 21
ANSELM, TEACHER, died 1109
Anselm (1033 – 1109) was one of the great theologians of the Western Church. He devised the ontological proof for the existence of God and developed ideas of the atonement explaining how Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the way of reconciliation between God and humankind. His major works include Why God Became Man and the Proslogion. Reconciling reason and faith, Anselm famously proclaimed, “I believe in order to understand.”

APRIL 23
TOYOHIKO KAGAWA, RENEWER OF SOCIETY, died 1960
Kagawa (1888 – 1960) was born into a wealthy Japanese family but was disinherited by them when be became a Christian. He helped people for several years in the slums of Shinkawa and was imprisoned because of his pacifist opposition to the empire of Japan during World War II. He became a leader in the democracy movement in Japan.

APRIL 24
JOHANN WALTER, CANTOR, died 1570
Walter (1496 – 1570) began service at the age of 21 as a composer and bass singer in the court chapel of Frederick the Wise. In 1524, he published a collection of hymns arranged according to the church year. It was well received and served as the model for numerous subsequent hymnals. In addition to serving for 30 years as cantor (church musician) in the cities of Torgau and Dresden, he also assisted Martin Luther in the preparation of the Deutsche Messe (1526). Walter is remembered as the first Lutheran cantor and composer of church music.

APRIL 25
MARK THE EVANGELIST
John Mark, after breaking an association with the Apostle Paul, became the companion of Peter and is traditionally considered the author of the Gospel according to Mark. According to tradition, he was martyred in Alexandria in 64AD for his preaching against idol worship.

APRIL 29
CATHERINE OF SIENA, TEACHER, died 1380
Catherine (1346 – 1380) received visions of Christ as a child and took monastic vows. Her teaching in A Treatise on Divine Providence is a classic of the faith.

MAY 1
PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES
Philip was born in Bethsaida, the same hometown as Peter and Andrew, and brought Nathaniel to the Lord (read John 1:43 – 51). According to tradition, he was martyred in Phrygia. James the Less (meaning shorter or younger) distinguishes him from James the Elder and James the brother of our Lord Jesus. He is mentioned in the apostolic lists and his mother Mary was present at the Lord’s crucifixion.

MAY 2
ATHANASIUS, BISHOP AND TEACHER, died 373
Athanasius (295 – 373) defended the divinity of Christ against false teaching at the Council of Nicea and throughout his 45 years as Bishop of Alexandria. He endured persecution by false teachers and exile numerous times for his confession of faith. His On the Incarnation and the Athanasian Creed connected to his name are Christian classics.

MAY 4
FREDRICK WYNEKEN, MISSIONARY, died 1864
Fredrick Wyneken (1810 – 1864) came to America from Germany in 1838 and accepted a call to be the pastor of a congregation in Friedheim and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Supported by Wilhelm Loehe’s mission society, Wyneken served as an itinerant missionary in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, particularly among Native Americans. With Loehe and others, he helped found Concordia Theological Seminary in 1846 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

MAY 4
MONICA, MOTHER OF AUGUSTINE, died 387
Monica was married to a pagan husband who was ill-tempered and unfaithful, but whom she helped bring into the Christian faith. She repeated the influence on his son Augustine, who went on to become one of the greatest church teachers.

MAY 5
FREDRICK THE WISE, KING
Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony from 1486 – 1525, was Martin Luther’s king in the early years of the Reformation. Were it not for Frederick, there might not have been a Lutheran Reformation. Born in Torgau in 1463, he became well known for his skill in political diplomacy and his sense of justice that he was called “the Wise” by his subjects. Though he never met Luther, Frederick repeatedly protected and provided for him. Frederick refused the Pope’s demand to extradite Luther to Rome for a heresy trial in 1518. When Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw in 1521 at the Diet of Worms, Frederick provided sanctuary for Luther at the Wartburg castle. On his deathbed, Frederick received the Lord’s Supper in both kinds – a confession of the evangelical faith.

MAY 7
C.F. WALTHER, TEACHER, died 1887
Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (1811 – 1887), the father of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, served as its first president from 1847 to 1850 and then again from 1864 – 1878. In 1839 he emigrated from Saxony, Germany, with other Lutherans, who settled in Missouri. He served as pastor of several congregations in St. Louis, helped found Concordia Seminary, and in 1847 was instrumental in the formation of the LCMS (then called the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States). Walther worked to promote confessional Lutheranism in America. Among his most influential works are Church and Ministry and The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel.

MAY 8
JULIAN OF NORWICH, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH
Julian (1340’s – 1420’s?) of Norwich in England wrote the mystical classic Showings from revelations received from Christ at the age of thirty on May 13, 1373. She lived as a monastic recluse most of her life. Her contemplation of the Cross of Christ and the love of God reaching out to all in Christ influenced many in the English Church tradition.

MAY 8
VICTOR THE MOOR, MARTYR, died 303
Also known as Victor Maurus, this native of the northwest African nation of Mauritania was a soldier in the Roman Praetorian Guard. Under the persecution of Maximian, Victor died for his faith in Christ in Milan.

MAY 9
NICOLAUS LUDWIG VON ZINZENDORF, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH, HYMNWRITER, died 1760
When he was 22, a group of Moravians asked permission to live on Zinzendorf’s land. He agreed, and eventually worldwide Moravian missions emanated from this community. Zinzendorf participated in these missions, and is also remembered for writing hymns characteristic of his Pietistic faith.

MAY 9
JOB
Job was a blameless and upright man who came from Uz (Job 1:1), a land northeast of Canaan. The Book of Job examines the depths of his faith, which was severely tested through the sufferings God permitted. Despite the sudden death of his ten children and the loss of all his wealth and his health, Job refused to curse God. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Still, in the midst of his tribulations Job questioned the meaning and purpose of suffering to the point of asserting his own righteousness (Job 34:5 – 6). Finally, the Lord revealed that a man cannot know the mysteries of God (Job 38 – 41). Job’s faith in his Redeemer and the resurrection prevailed (Job 19:25 – 27). In the end the Lord restored his wealth and blessed him with another seven sons and three daughters.

MAY 14
MATTHIAS, APOSTLE
Matthias was the apostle added to the Twelve after Jesus’ resurrection, as a replacement for the dead Judas Iscariot. He had traveled among the followers of Jesus throughout the Lord’s ministry. Formerly commemorated on February 24, Matthias’s celebration is moved to May 14 in agreement with most Western calendars.

MAY 18
ERIK, KING AND MARTYR
Erik (circa 1150 AD) spread faith in Christ through crusades into Scandinavia and was renowned for his just laws, help of the poor, and ministry toward the sick. He was martyred as he left the Service by an enemy Danish pagan prince.

MAY 19
DUNSTAN, BISHOP, died 988
Dunstan (909 – 988) was born of a noble family near Glastonbury, England and served for a while at the court of King Athelstan. In 936, he took monastic vows and lived as a hermit working as a musician, an illuminator (artist) of texts, and metalworker. After being named Archbishop of Canterbury, he supported the cause of learning and almost single handedly revived monasticism in England in the tenth century.

MAY 21
CONSTANTINE AND HELENA, KING AND MOTHER
Constantine 1 served as Roman Emperor from AD 306 to 337. During his reign the persecution of Christians was forbidden by the Edict of Milan in 312, and ultimately the faith gained full imperial support. Constantine took an active interest in the life and teachings of the church and called the Council of Nicaea in 325 at which orthodox Christianity was defined and defended. His mother, Helena (ca. 255 – 329), strongly influenced Constantine. Her great interest in locating the holy sites of the Christian faith led her to become one of the first Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Her research led to the identification of Biblical locations in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and beyond, which are still maintained as places of worship today.

MAY 23
LUDWIG NOMMENSEN, MISSIONARY, died 1918
Nommensen (1834 – 1918) spread the gospel to Sumatra, founding the church there and completed a translation of the Bible.

MAY 24
ESTHER
Esther is the heroine of the biblical book that bears her name. Her Jewish name was Hadassah, which means “myrtle.” Her beauty, charm, and courage served her well as queen to King Ahasuerus. In that role she was able to save her people from the mass extermination that Haman, the king’s chief advisor, had planned (Esther 2:19 – 4:17). Esther’s efforts to uncover the plot resulted in the hanging of Haman on the very same gallows that he had built for Mordecai, her uncle and guardian. Then the king named Mordecai minister of state in Haman’s place. This story is an example of how God intervenes on behalf of His people to deliver them from evil, as here through Esther He preserved the Old Testament people through whom the Messiah would come.

MAY 24
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST, died 1543
Copernicus (1473 – 1543) was a Polish priest who cared for the sick and helped the poor. He studied medicine, theology, classics and, most notably, astronomy where he proved that the Earth revolved around the sun in his On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.

MAY 25
THE VENERABLE BEDE, TEACHER, died 735
Bede (673 – 735) was the last of the early church fathers and the first to compile the history of the English church. Born in Northumbria, Bede was given by his parents to a monastery in Northern England at the age of seven. The most learned man of his time, he was a prolific writer of history, whose careful use of sources provided a model for historians in the Middle Ages. Known best for his book, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, he was also a profound interpreter of Scripture; his commentaries are still fresh today. His most famous disciple, Cuthbert, reported that Bede was working on a translation of John’s Gospel into English when death came, and that he died with the words of the Gloria Patri on his lips. He received the title “Venerable” within two generations of his death and is buried in Durham Cathedral as one of England’s greatest saints.

MAY 27
JOHN CALVIN, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH, died 1564
Calvin (1509 – 1564) was a reformer of the Church. He broke with Rome and set up a theocratic government in Geneva. His Institutes of the Christian Religion is a classic.

MAY 29
JIRI TRANOVSKY, HYMNWRITER, died 1637
Tranovsky (1592 – 1637) was “Luther of the Slavs” spreading the good news of Jesus in Slovakia, reforming the liturgy, and writing hymns for his people. One example of his hymnody is Your Heart, O God, Is Grieved in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #602.

MAY 31
THE VISIT OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
The feast of the Visitation lifts up Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth recorded in Luke 1:39 – 47. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is one of the great hymns of the Church and is appointed for singing every Vespers.

JUNE 1
JUSTIN, MARTYR, died 165
Justin (100 – 165) was born of pagan parents and after a long search for truth became a follower of Christ and taught the faith at Ephesus. His Dialogue with Trypho and Apology record his ideas. He was scourged and beheaded when he refused to participate in a pagan sacrifice.

JUNE 3
JOHN XXIII, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH, died 1964
John XXIII (1881 – 1964) served as bishop of Rome (Pope) and convened Vatican II. This led to many reforms within the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and opened up dialogue with Lutherans and other Christians.

JUNE 3
THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA, died 1886
On June 3, 1886, thirty-two young men were burned to death for refusing to renounce Christianity. The confident manner in which these Christians went to their deaths contributed to a much stronger Christian presence in Uganda.

JUNE 5
BONIFACE, MISSIONARY AND MARTYR, died 754
Boniface (675 – 754) was educated, became a monk, and was ordained as a presbyter in England. He was deeply inspired by the example of others to become a missionary. Upon receiving a papal commission in 719 to work in Germany, Boniface devoted himself to planting, organizing, and reforming churches and monasteries in Hesse, Thuringia, and Bavaria. One of his first acts was to cut down a sacred oak tree of Thor in Hesse. When he was not harmed, many of the people came to Christ and the wood was used to build a church. He also did mission work in the Netherlands. On June 5, 754, while reading the Gospel to a group of converts, Boniface and his companions were murdered by a band of pagans. Boniface is known as the apostle and missionary to the Germans.

JUNE 7
SEATTLE, CHIEF OF THE DUWAMISH CONFEDERACY, died 1866
Noah Seattle (1790 – 1866) led a coalition of tribes, and convinced them to live peacefully with encroaching white settlers. When he became a Roman Catholic Christian, he held morning and evening prayer with his tribe. The city of Seattle is named for him.

JUNE 9
COLUMBA AND AIDAN, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
Columba (521 – 597) was an abbot and missionary who founded the Christian community on Iona (still a vibrant point for pilgrimages and ecumenism) and spread the Gospel to the tribes of Irish, Picts, and Scots in his day. Aidan (600? – 651) was a monk of Iona who served as bishop and revived the church of his day. The Life of Columba and the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede preserve many stories about these saints.

JUNE 11
BARNABAS, APOSTLE
Barnabas, one of the earliest Christian disciples, was originally called Joseph. After Paul’s conversion, it was Barnabas who introduced the former enemy of Christians to the apostles. With Paul, he organized the first missionary journey and defended the “salvation by grace through faith” claims of the Gentile Christians. In the Eastern churches Barnabas is commemorated as one of the seventy commissioned by our Lord Jesus. Tradition asserts that he was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus in 61 AD.

JUNE 12
THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF NICEA
The first Council of Nicea was convened in the early summer of 325 by the Roman Emperor Constantine at what is today Isnuk, Turkey. The emperor presided at the opening of the Council. The Council ruled against the Arians, who taught that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God but was created by the Father and was called Son of God because of his righteousness. The chief opponents of the Arians were Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, and his deacon, Athanasius. The council confessed the eternal divinity of Jesus and adopted the earliest version of the Nicene Creed, which in its entirety was adopted at the Council of Constantinople in 381.

JUNE 14
ELISHA
Elisha, son of Shaphat of the tribe of Issachar, was the prophet of God to the northern kingdom of Israel ca. 849 – 786 B.C. Upon seeing his mentor Elijah taken up into heaven, Elisha assumed the prophetic office and took up the mantle of his predecessor. Like Elijah, Elisha played an active role in political affairs. He also performed many miracles, such as curing the Syrian army commander Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1 – 27) and restoring life to the son of a Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8 – 37). A vocal opponent of Baal worship, Elisha lived up to his name, which means “my God is salvation.”

JUNE 14
BASIL THE GREAT, BISHOP OF CAESAREA, died 379
GREGORY, BISHOP OF NYSSA, died around 385
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, died around 389
MACRINA, THEOLOGIAN, died around 379
The Cappadocian fathers, as the three men in this group are known, explored the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Basil’s monastic rule forms the Eastern monastic life. Gregory of Nazianzus defended orthodox Christianity in Constantinople. Gregory of Nyssa, Basil’s younger brother, wrote on the spiritual life. Macrina, older sister of Basil and Gregory of Nyssa, was the leader of a community dedicated to asceticism, meditation, and prayer.

JUNE 17 EMANUEL NINE, MARTYRS, died 2015
On June 17, 2015, Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Lee Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson were murdered by a self-professed white supremacist while they were gathered for Bible study and prayer at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (often referred to as Mother Emanuel) in Charleston, South Carolina. Pastors Pinckney and Simmons were both graduates of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. A resolution to commemorate June 17 as a day of repentance for the martyrdom of the Emanuel Nine was adopted by the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on August 8, 2019.

JUNE 21
ONESIMOS NESIB, TRANSLATOR, EVANGELIST, died 1931
Onesimos was born in Ethiopia. Captured and taken as a slave to Eritrea, he was there freed by Swedish missionaries. He translated the Bible into his native Oromo and returned to preach there.

JUNE 24
NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
John the Baptist was highly revered by the early Christians as the forerunner of the Christ and the last of the Old Testament prophetic line. The celebration of his birthday is one of the earliest festivals in the calendar of the church and can be read in the Gospel according to Luke 1 – 2.

JUNE 25
PRESENTATION OF THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION
The Augsburg Confession, the principal doctrinal statement of the theology of Martin Luther and the Lutheran reformers, was written largely by Phillip Melanchthon. At its heart it confesses the justification of sinners by grace alone, through faith alone, for the sake of Christ alone. Signed by leaders of many German cities and regions, the confession was formally presented to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at Augsburg, Germany, on June 25, 1530. A few weeks later Roman Catholic authorities rejected the Confession, which Melanchthon defended in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531). In 1580 the Unaltered Augsburg Confession was included in the Book of Concord.

JUNE 25
PHILIPP MELANCHTHON, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH, died 1560
Though he died on April 19, Philipp Melanchthon is commemorated today because of his connection with the Augsburg Confession. Colleague and co-reformer with Martin Luther, Melanchthon was a brilliant scholar, known as “the teacher of Germany.”

JUNE 27
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, TEACHER, died 444AD
Cyril (376 – 444 AD) became archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt in 412. Throughout his career, he defended a number of orthodox doctrines, among them the teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is rightly called Theotokos, the “God-bearer.” In 431 AD the Council of Ephesus affirmed this teaching that the Son of Mary is also true God. The writings of Cyril on the doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ, for example his On the Unity of Christ, are classic works of theology.

JUNE 28
IRENAEUS, BISHOP AND TEACHER
This important early church leader tried very hard to hold to the faith handed down by the apostles. An opponent of the movement known as Gnosticism, Irenaeus was one of the first to speak of the church as catholic, or linked together.

JUNE 29
PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES
These two strong willed apostles are the pillars of the church in the first generation after Christ. Peter was one of the Twelve, one who both offered a glorious confession of faith and later denied knowing Jesus. Paul once led the persecution of Christians, then was converted and helped bring the faith to non-Jewish people.