The first Ecumenical Council was convened in the Byzantine city of Nicea on this day in 325 by the recently converted Roman emperor, Constantine. It was a momentous occasion—the first time the church had convened a universal synodical meeting since the time of Peter, James, John, Barnabas, and Paul at Jerusalem to discuss the initial outreach of the largely Jewish …
Birth of a Nation
The independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv as British rule in Palestine came to an end on this day in 1948. Immediately, all of its Arab neighbors declared war and vowed to destroy the nation altogether. Arab troops greatly outnumbered the entire Jewish population, but of the 85,000 Jews in Palestine, 30,000 took up arms to defend …