Wednesday, March 4, 2026

It is the 4th of March 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Come with me to the North of England- just a skip down from Scotland, on the east coast of the North Sea, to the town of Houghton-le-Spring, a few miles outside of Durham. It was once one of the largest parishes in all of England.

 

Just this past Sunday, the Church of England parish there in Houghton-le-Spring, St. Michael’s and All Angels, celebrated “Gilpin” day, where they celebrated the “radical” hospitality of its one-time rector Bernard Gilpin- a fascinating character who helps us look into the English Reformation and tell the story of how a broken leg may have saved his life.

 

Bernard Gilpin was born in 1517… right up our alley here. He was born in Northwest England to a family of some eminence; his mother's uncle was a Bishop in the church, which, prior to Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy, was the Roman Catholic Church. Bernard attended Queen’s College, Oxford, where he read from Erasmus and other Humanists and came to the attention of Cardinal Wolsey. He was elected a fellow of the college and was ordained. His great learning made him a favorite amongst those who sided with Rome against Henry- a position he initially took. With the death of Henry and the rise of Edward VI, the reformer Peter Martyr came to England to defend the Reformation, and Gilpin was chosen to oppose him. But something happened in the study for the debate and in the debate itself. Gilpin did not want to leave the Catholic church but found some of their medieval emphases to be wrong- he would come to side with the Reformers on issues like Justification by faith alone through grace alone and in opposition to purgatory and masses for the dead.

 

He would be made a “general preacher” and protected under Cecil, as long as Edward was on the throne. But, it’s Early Modern England- we’ve got dramatic crown intrigue- and in 1553 Edward dies and Queen Mary, the Catholic, comes to the throne.

 

These would be dangerous times for someone embracing reformation doctrines- even if he was personally in favor of a slow and conservative reform- but he would be protected by his mother’s Uncle- that Bishop who would protect his nephew by providing him cover and work out of the parish at Houghton-le-Spring where Gilpin would serve that northern population and would be known as “the Apostle to the North”. However, we read the biography and possible hagiography, he seems to have had a remarkable ministry to the poor. Not only does his old parish remember him this time of year, but the town also has a whole Ox roast in honor of his charity in feeding his parish, often from his own table. He was known to have community feasts from late Fall to Easter. He provided for the education of “poor men's sons,” and his radical hospitality is what put him over, even with those of the more Protestant or Catholic persuasions.

 

But lest we race too fast past the Whole Ox roast- and the Ox sandwiches served out of the Rectory- an Ox and an accident will define the second half of his life.

 

Queen Mary’s crackdown on Protestants was in full swing. Gilpin had come under suspicion and was summoned to a trial down south. The language is sparse- was there an accident with an ox? With a horse? Who knows. But Bernard broke his leg and had to delay his trip. During that delay- while Bernard was thoroughly convinced he was going to the stake for his faith- Mary died. Elizabeth, the Protestant, was now queen- Gilpin was spared.

 

He spent the last decades of his career serving the people of the north- until February of 1583, when Gilpin was at market in Durham and knocked down by an Ox. The injury would be fatal, and Gilpin would die on the 4th of March in 1583. He served others (often with an ox), was saved by a broken leg (possibly ox-related), and was then done in by an Ox- but not before being hailed as the Apostle to the North- the reticent reformer known for radical hospitality was 66 years old.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and a fun fact- the daily lectionary has the questionable end of John 7 not in the most ancient manuscripts- you can read that on your own- let’s get a good promise of Pentecost from the prophet Ezekiel:

24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 4th of March 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man chagrined to learn that Ox tail is actually just cow tail… Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows so little about the Bovine world…Ox’s are one thing, but Buffalo? Bison? It gives me a headache. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.