This Day in Christian History: March 30 March 30, 1492: Jews Expelled from Spain During the Spanish Inquisition In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...and 200,000 Jews were expelled from Spain. Columbus wrote in his diary: "In the same month in which their Majesties [Ferdinand and Isabella] issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of the kingdom and its territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake with sufficient men my expedition of discovery to the Indies."  This date became as important to Jewish History as it was to American history. The Spanish inquisition began in 1478 when the Spanish monarchs decided that Catholicism should be the faith of the nation, and began to regulate religion. Everyone must convert to Catholicism, or leave Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella, Monarchs of Spain At the time of the 1492 edict, there were around 200,000 Jews living in Spain, and all these people now someho...

This Day in Christian History: February 24 February 24 ,303 A.D.: First Edict of the Diocletianic Persecution Is Issued On this day in 303 A.D., Roman Emperor Galerius Valerius Maximianus issued the first of several edicts that called for the persecution of Christians. The edicts demanded that Christians comply with the Roman pagan rituals, and if they should not, they were subject to imprisonment or execution. These executions varied, including being fed to wild beasts, torture or being burned at the stake. The persecution ended when Constantine restored full legal rights to Christians. Amber Schamel is the author of the Days of Messiah series, a historical fiction series about early Christianity. Read a Free Sample!