Today in 1907, Pope Pius X (above) administered an almighty bollocking to liberal biblical scholars, listing and condemning all the errors they had been spreading. The papal decree Lamentabili sane exitu (‘With truly lamentable results’) specified no less than 65 errors, specially chosen by the Roman Inquisition. The errors included: the resurrection is not an historical fact; Christ didn’t intend to found the Church; and scientific progress means that Christian doctrine needs to be adjusted.
‘These errors are being daily spread among the faithful. Lest they captivate the faithful’s minds and corrupt the purity of their faith, His Holiness, Pius X, by Divine Providence, Pope, has decided that the chief errors should be noted and condemned by the Office of this Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition.’ Lamentabili sane exitu
The Church of England General Synod voted (by 320 to 83) for the ordination of women as deacons, the lowliest form of clergy life, today in 1985. Women were allowed to preach and baptize, as well as wear a dog collar and be called Rev, but they couldn’t lead the communion service or give a blessing ‘In the name of the Father…’ It took seven more years before women in the C of E were allowed to become priests, and 29 before they could break the stained glass ceiling and become bishops.
Aonio Paleario, the Italian religious reformer, was hanged for heresy today in 1570, across the River Tiber from the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome. His death had been a long time coming, as he had been tried for heresy almost 30 years earlier. Although he was a Catholic teacher, Paleario was attracted by the ideas of Luther and Calvin, which led him to deny the existence of Purgatory, and to teach that forgiveness comes from faith in the mercy of God alone.
‘In such times as these, I do not think a Christian ought to die in his bed. To be accused, to be dragged to prison, to be scourged, to be hung up by the neck, to be sewed up in a sack, to be exposed to wild beasts, is little. Let me be roasted before a fire, provided only the truth be brought to light by such a death.’ Aonio Paleario
It is the feast day of St Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. He is famous for questioning whether Jesus had risen from the dead, and equally famous for making the first-ever statement of Jesus’s divinity, by calling him ‘My Lord and my God’. Thomas is known in John’s Gospel by the name Didymus (‘the twin’), which has led to speculation that he may have been the spitting image of Jesus himself.
Today in 1996, the British prime minister John Major announced that the Stone of Scone, seized from Scone Abbey in Scotland by King Edward I in 1296, and used ever since in the coronation of English and British monarchs, would be returned to Scotland. For the previous 700 years, the stone had been embedded in the coronation chair at Westminster Abbey. Legends say that it is the exact same stone Jacob slept on in the book of Genesis, brought to Scotland by the prophet Jeremiah, presumably when he was on holiday. But science has revealed that it’s just a lump of local red sandstone.
Image: Library of Congress