March 23, 1567

It was Palm Sunday. But there were no triumphant shouts in the city of Valenciennes on this day in 1567. No songs of celebration rang through her streets. The Word was preached. It was preached in boldness and in truth by one of her faithful pastors, Guido de Brés. But that was the only sound that went forth at this moment in Valenciennes. An eerie stillness crouched outside the sanctuary of the town. It was not always so. How busily the city had thrived in the truth! With joy the citizens...