ChurchHistory

(1) THE INCARNATION AND THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH: 4 B.C. - A.D. 98

4 B.C. ~ Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem.

A.D. 27-30 ~ Christ's ministry. Jesus travels throughout the Holy Land, teaching and doing good in fulfillment of prophecy.

A.D. 30 ~ Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ.

Day of Pentecost: the Christian Church, as a Spirit-filled body, is founded. 3,000 people repent (turn from sin, and commit
themselves to God) and are baptized.

c. 45 ~ First Church Council at Jerusalem (presided by James) approves of accepting Gentiles into fellowship.

70 ~ Destruction of Jerusalem. Roman armies capture the city and burn the Temple.

48-96 ~ The books of the New Testament are written by the apostles and their associates, defining and explaining Christian doctrine,
history, ministry, and prophecy. St. Paul travels widely in the Roman Empire, spreading the gospel and establishing churches with
elders and deacons. According to tradition, Thomas travels east as far as India. Other disciples also evangelize in the Roman Empire.

65-67 ~ Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero.

98 ~ St. John, the last of the apostles, dies peacefully in Ephesus.

(2) FROM THE SUB-APOSTOLIC ERA TO THE COUNCIL OF NICEA: A.D. 98-325

c. 107 ~ Ignatius, a Christian leader, as he is led to Rome to be martyred, writes letters to congregations encouraging them to become
"Monarchical Episcopates," that is, to be led by only one bishop per congregation.

c. 115 ~ The first church teaching-manual, the Didache, is written, describing Christian ethics and worship. It allows baptism to be
performed by pouring water over a person three times in cases in which immersion is not possible.

c. 140 ~ The book The Shepherd of Hermas is written, describing (among other things) immersion as the point of conversion. Some
early Christians regard the book as authoritative.

c. 170-220 ~ Christian leaders Irenaeus and Tertullian defend the faith against false teachers such as Marcion, developing Christian
theology in the process.

c. 200's ~ In the cities of Alexandria and Caesarea, Origen writes many books, often interpreting the Bible allegorically. Origen is later
condemned as a false teacher but his influence remains strong for some time.

250 ~ Persecution of Christians by Emperor Decius. Around the same time, Cyprian approves of infant baptism/sprinkling to cleanse
infants of inherited sinfulness.

Late 200's ~ Anthony adopts a monastic lifestyle (he becomes a monk), encouraging celibacy and asceticism.

303 ~ Persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian.

312 ~ Battle at Milvian Bridge. Before the battle, future Roman Emperor Constantine has a dream (so it is recorded) in which he
was promised victory if he ordered his men to bear symbols of Christianity into battle (which he did, and they won).

313 ~ Constantine issues the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity. He uses Christianity as a means of consolidating political power
while still honoring Roman deities.

324 ~ Eusebius writes Ecclesiastical History.

325 ~ Council of Nicea. Constantine

summons Christian clergy-men from

throughout the Roman Empire to discuss

the nature of Christ. They affirm that Christ

is truly Divine and truly human. Arius, who

taught that Christ was a created being, is con-

demned. The "Apostles' Creed," a summary of

Christian beliefs dating from the 100's, is

reformulated as the Nicene Creed.

(3) FROM THE COUNCIL OF

NICEA TO THE BEGINNING OF

THE MIDDLE AGES: A.D. 325-814

c. 367 ~ Athanasius, a defender of Trinitarian

thought (the belief in God as three eternal

Persons), lists the canonical books of the New

Testament. He also supports the perpetual

virginity of Mary, and engages in various

theological debates.

381 ~ Council of Constantinople. The

decisions of the Council of Nicea are re-affirmed

and the Nicene Creed is issued as a definitive

summary of Christian doctrine.

383-384 ~ Jerome, a scholar, makes an official Latin translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate.

393 ~ Council of Hippo. The books of the New Testament are listed.

c. 390-430 ~ Augustine of Hippo develops teachings of original sin and purgatory. He writes City of God, promoting Rome as the
church capital, so to speak. He debates free will and human nature with the British theologian Pelagius.

430's-460 ~ St. Patrick evangelizes Ireland.

c. 400 ~ John Chrysostom preaches and writes against immorality and political corruption.

431 ~ Council of Ephesus. To resolve the question of Christ's Deity, Mary is affirmed to be the "Theotokos," God-bearer. Nestorius,
who taught that Christ was not Divine in Mary's womb, is condemned.

440-461 ~ Leo the Great, bishop of Rome, claims authority over all Christendom.

451 ~ Council of Chalcedon. Christ is affirmed to be one Person in two natures, human and Divine, "with no confusion, no change,
no division, and no separation." Groups in Egypt, Armenia, and Syria withdraw from fellowship with Rome.

486 ~ The Roman Empire collapses. Its armies were unable to defend its borders. Byzantium (a.k.a. Constantinople) officially
becomes the new political center.

496 ~ Amid the unrest and relative disorder in Europe, Clovis king of the Franks converts to Christianity, along with all the Franks (the
French).

530's ~ Byzantine Emperor Justinian creates the law-code that was to be used throughout the Middle Ages. Later, Justinian's greatest
general, Belisarius, carries out the Decimation of the Vandals, who followed the teachings of Arius.

Early 500's ~ Benedict establishes the Benedictine Order of monks in Europe.

553 ~ Second Council of Constantinople. Although the Bishop of Rome is now generally regarded as the earthly head of the
church, it is Emperor Justinian who arranges this council, which re-affirms the dual natures of Christ.

590-604 ~ The Bishop of Rome is Gregory the Great, who stream-lines the church's organizational structure, reduces corruption, pro-
motes the celibacy of priests, and sends missionaries into Europe, notably Augustine of Canterbury.

610-632 ~ In Arabia, Muhammad founds the religion of Islam. Following his death in 632, his followers spread Islam throughout Arabia
and northern Africa, engaging in many military campaigns.

732 ~ Battle of Tours. Charles Martel, king of the Franks, defeats invading Muslim armies, who retreat into the southern Iberian
Peninsula (Spain).

800 ~ Charlemagne, grandson of Charles Martel, establishes the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church grows
stronger, building its own political system complete with its own army and political territory in central Italy, the Papal States (a gift from
Charlemagne's father Pepin in 756).

814 ~ Charlemagne dies; the Middle Ages begin.

(4) THE MIDDLE AGES: A.D. 814-1455

Early Middle Ages: the Roman Catholic papacy (the Pope and his assistants) exercises a degree of control over various European
monarchies, threatening to excommunicate rulers who do not submit to the Pope's authority. It also gains control of large amounts of
property. At the same time, various monarchs buy church positions and often determine who shall be Pope.

867 ~ Disagreements regarding a clergyman named Photius result in great strain on relationships between the Pope and the Eastern
church (also called the "Orthodox" Church) based in Constantinople.

988 ~ Orthodox Christianity is introduced in Russia by Prince Vladimir.

1054 ~ Longstanding disagreements regarding the date of Easter, church authority, and creedal semantics result in a formal schism
(doctrinal division) between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Church.

1095-1099 ~ The First Crusade. The Holy Land, previously ruled by Muslims, is conquered, and becomes four colonies ruled by
European princes.

High Middle Ages: the Roman Catholic Church becomes the dominant political force in Europe. Various Italian families compete for
control of the papacy. Several Popes of this period are morally decadent.

1149 ~ The Second Crusade, intended to defend the northern Holy Land colony, fails.

c. 1120-1153 ~ Bernard de Clairvaux spreads the Cistercian Order, calling monks to adopt austere but socially useful lifestyles.

1173 ~ In France, Peter Waldo begins a movement of preaching by the laity. He denies the full authority of the Pope, and denounces
the concept of purgatory. His followers, the Waldenses, are declared heretics in 1184.

1187 ~ Battle of the Horns of Hattin. In Palestine, Muslims over-whelming defeat a European army and regain control of most of the
Holy Land.

c. 1190-1199 ~ The Third Crusade. Led by Richard I of England against the Muslim general Saladin, the crusade results in a truce;
Christian pilgrims are allowed to visit Jerusalem but the Holy Land remains controlled by Muslim governments.

1204 ~ The Fourth Crusade. Instead of targeting the Holy Land, the crusaders carry out a massive raid of Constantinople, weakening
the Byzantine Empire.

Early 1200's ~ Francis of Assisi begins the Franciscan Order(s) of monks. Dominic, responding to false teachers in France, begins
the Dominican Order.

1215 ~ Fourth Lateran Council. The doctrine of transubstantiation (stating that the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper literally
become the flesh and blood of Christ) is affirmed.

1231 ~ Catholic monks begin the Inquisition, a long-term strategy of eliminating threats to the papacy via drastic methods of the torture
and execution of non-Catholics. The Inquisition is later directed against Jews and Protestants.

1245-1274 ~ Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican monk, writes the book Summa Theologica, describing the harmony between faith and
reason and other points of theology.

1302 ~ Pope Boniface VIII writes Unam Sanctam, officially declaring that submission to the Pope's authority is necessary for salvation.

1309-1377 ~ The papacy is moved from Rome to Avignon, France, and becomes a puppet of the French government. Following this
"Babylonian Captivity," a drawn-out power struggle ensues, called the "Great Papal Schism."

1380's ~ John Wycliffe preaches against the papal hierarchy, denies the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, and translates the
Vulgate into a form of English. His followers were called Lollards.

1369-1415 ~ In central Europe, John Hus, expanding on Wycliffe's ideas, calls for a return to Bible-based Christianity, and thoroughly
denounces the papacy.

1414-1417 ~ Roman Catholic leaders meet at the Council of Constance to settle the ongoing power struggle. After dismissing all
claimants to Popedom, they appoint a new Pope. Also, John Hus is promised safety to appear before the Council and explain his
views. He attends. But he is then arrested by the Roman Catholics and is burnt at the stake.

1453 ~ Constantinople falls to Muslim armies, ending the Byzantine Empire.

1455 ~ Johann Gutenburg invents the printing press; the first large book printed is the Vulgate Bible.