Timeline of Christianity

The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era (AD) to the present. Question marks ('?') on dates indicate approximate dates.

The year one is the first year in the Christian calendar (there is no year zero), which is the calendar presently used (in unison with the Gregorian calendar) almost everywhere in the world. Traditionally, this was held to be the year Jesus was born; however, most modern scholars argue for an earlier or later date, the most agreed upon being between 6 BC and 4 BC.

6 AD Herod Archelaus deposed by Augustus; Samaria, Judea and Idumea annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration,^[1] capital at Caesarea. Quirinius became Legate (Governor) of Syria, conducted Census of Quirinius, opposed by Zealots (JA18, Luke 2:1–3, Acts 5:37)
7–26 Brief period of peace, relatively free of revolt and bloodshed in Iudaea and Galilee^[2]
9 Pharisee leader Hillel the Elder dies, temporary rise of Shammai
14–37 Tiberius, Roman Emperor
18–36 Caiaphas, appointed High Priest of Herod's Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus, deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius
19 Jews, Jewish proselytes, astrologers, expelled from Rome^[3]
26–36 Pontius Pilate, Prefect (governor) of Iudaea, recalled to Rome by Syrian Legate Vitellius on complaints of excess violence (JA18.4.2)
28 or 29 John the Baptist begins his ministry in the "15th year of Tiberius" (Luke 3:1–2), saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:1–2), a relative of Jesus (Luke 1:36), a Nazirite (Luke 1:15), baptized Jesus (Mark 1:4–11), later arrested and beheaded by Herod Antipas (Luke 3:19–20), it is possible that, according to Josephus' chronology, John was not killed until 36 (JA18.5.2)^[4]

Jesus begins his ministry after his baptism by John and during the rule of Pilate, preaching: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 4:12–17). While the historicity of the gospel accounts is questioned to some extent by some critical scholars and non-Christians, the traditional view states the following chronology for his ministry: Temptation, Sermon on the Mount, Appointment of the Twelve, Miracles, Temple Money Changers, Last Supper, Arrest, Trial, Passion, Crucifixion on Nisan 14th (John 19:14, Mark 14:2, Gospel of Peter) or Nisan 15th (Synoptic Gospels), entombment by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, Resurrection by God and Resurrection appearances of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and other women (Mark 16:9, John 20:10–18), Simon Peter (Luke 24:34), and others, (1Cor.15:3–9), Great Commission, Ascension, Second Coming Prophecy to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, and establishment of the Kingdom of God and the Messianic Age.

Apostolic Age

Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Nisan 14 or 15), the Jerusalem church is founded as the first Christian church with about 120 Jews and Jewish Proselytes (Acts 1:15), followed by Pentecost (Sivan 6), the Ananias and Sapphira incident, Pharisee Gamaliel's defense of the Apostles (5:34–39), the stoning of Saint Stephen (see also Persecution of Christians) and the subsequent dispersion of the Apostles (7:54–8:8, also Mark 16:20) which leads to the baptism of Simon Magus in Samaria (8:9–24), and also an Ethiopian eunuch (8:26–40). Paul's "Road to Damascus" conversion to "Apostle to the Gentiles" is first recorded in 9:13–16, cf. Gal 1:11–24. Peter baptizes the Roman Centurion Cornelius, who is traditionally considered the first Gentile convert to Christianity (10). The Antioch church is founded, where the term Christian was first used (11:26).

37–41 Crisis under Caligula, proposed as the first open break between Rome and the Jews^[5]
Before 44 Epistle of James if written by James the Brother of Jesus
44? Saint James the Great: According to a medieval tradition, on 2 January of the year AD 40, the Virgin Mary appeared to James on a pillar on the bank of the Ebro River at Caesaraugusta, while he was preaching the Gospel in Spain. There is no factual evidence of this. Following that vision, St James returned to Judea, where he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I in the year 44 during a Passover (Nisan 15) (Acts 12:1–3).
44 Death of Herod Agrippa I (JA19.8.2, Acts 12:20–23)
44–46? Theudas beheaded by Procurator Cuspius Fadus for saying he would part the Jordan river (like Moses and the Red Sea or Joshua and the Jordan) (JA20.5.1, Acts 5:36–37 places it before the Census of Quirinius)
45–49? Mission of Barnabas and Paul, (Acts 13:1–14:28) to Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (there they were called "gods ... in human form"), then return to Syrian Antioch: Map1
47 The Church of the East is created by Saint Thomas
48–100 Herod Agrippa II appointed King of the Jews by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians
49 "Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus,^[6] he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome." (referenced in Acts 18:2)^[7]
50 Passover riot in Jerusalem, 20,000–30,000 killed (JA20.5.3,JW2.12.1)
50? Council of Jerusalem and the "Apostolic Decree" of Acts 15:1–35, same as Galatians 2:1–10?, which is followed by the Incident at Antioch^[8] at which Paul publicly accuses Peter of "Judaizing" (2:11–21); see also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity
50–53? Paul's 2nd mission (Acts 15:36–18:22), split with Barnabas, to Phrygia, Galatia, Macedonia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, "he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken", then return to Antioch; 1 Thessalonians, Galatians written? Map2. Lydia of Thyatira, a seller of purple, becomes the first European Christian convert^[9] (Acts 16:11-15)
51–52 or 52–53 Proconsulship of Gallio according to an inscription, only fixed date in chronology of Paul^[10]
52, November 21 St. Thomas the Apostle lands in India.^[11]^[12]^[13] Establishes churches at Kodungalloor, Palayoor, Paraur, Kottakkav, Kokkamangalam, Nilakkal, Niranam and Kollam
53–57? Paul's 3rd mission, (Acts 18:23–22:30), to Galatia, Phrygia, Corinth, Ephesus, Macedonia, Greece, and Jerusalem where James the Just challenges him about rumor of teaching antinomianism (21:21); he addresses a crowd in their language (most likely Aramaic); Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians written? Map3
55? "Egyptian prophet" (allusion to Moses) and 30,000 unarmed Jews doing The Exodus reenactment massacred by Procurator Antonius Felix (JW2.13.5, JA20.8.6, Acts 21:38)
58? Paul arrested, accused of being a revolutionary, "ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes", teaching resurrection of the dead, imprisoned in Caesarea (Acts 23–26)
59? Paul shipwrecked on Malta, called a god (Acts 28:6)
60? Paul in Rome: greeted by many "brothers", three days later calls together the Jewish leaders, who had not received any word from Judea about him but were curious about "this sect" which everywhere is spoken against; he tries to convince them from the "law and prophets", with partial success – said the Gentiles would listen, and spends two years proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching "the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 28:15–31); Epistle to Philemon written?
60–64? early date for writing of 1 Peter (written by Peter)
before 62 Epistle of James if written by James the Just
62 James the Just stoned to death for law transgression by High Priest Ananus ben Artanus; popular opinion against act results in Ananus being deposed by new procurator Lucceius Albinus (JA20.9.1)
63–107? Simeon, 2nd Bishop of Jerusalem, crucified under Trajan
64–68 after July 18 Great Fire of Rome; Nero blames and persecutes the Christians (or Chrestians^[14]), possibly the earliest mention of Christians by that name, in Rome; see also Tacitus on Jesus; Paul beheaded? (Col 1:24,Eph 3:13,2 Tim 4:6–8,1Clem 5:5-7), Peter crucified upside-down? (Jn 21:18,1 Pet 5:13,Tertullian's Prescription Against Heretics chapter XXXVI,Eusebius' Church History Book III chapter I), "...a vast multitude, were convicted, not so much of the crime of incendiarism as of hatred of the human race. And in their deaths they were made the subjects of sport; for they were wrapped in the hides of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set on fire, and when day declined, were burned to serve for nocturnal lights." (Annals (Tacitus) XV.44)
64/67(?)–76/79(?) Pope Linus succeeds Peter as Episcopus Romanus (Bishop of Rome)
64 Epistle to the Hebrews written
65? Q document, a hypothetical Greek text thought by many critical scholars to have been used in writing of Matthew and Luke
66–73 First Jewish–Roman War: destruction of Herod's Temple and end of Judaism according to Supersessionism; Qumran community (site of Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947) destroyed
70(+/–10)? Gospel of Mark, written in Rome, by Peter's interpreter (1 Peter 5:13), original ending apparently lost, endings added c. 400, see Mark 16
70? Signs Gospel written, hypothetical Greek text used in Gospel of John to prove Jesus is the Messiah
70–100? Additional Pauline Epistles
70–200? Gospel of Thomas, Jewish Christian Gospels: Gospel of the Ebionites, Gospel of the Hebrews, Gospel of the Nazarenes
72, July 3 Martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle at Chinnamala, Mylapore, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
76/79(?)–88 Pope Anacletus: first Greek Pope, who succeeds Linus as Episcopus Romanus (Bishop of Rome)
80(+/-20) Didache written
80(+/-20)? Gospel of Matthew, based on Mark and Q, most popular in Early Christianity
80(+/-20)? Gospel of Luke, based on Mark and Q, also Acts of the Apostles by same author
80(+/-20)? Pastoral Epistles written (possible post-Pauline authorship)
88–101? Clement, fourth Bishop of Rome: wrote Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians (Apostolic Fathers)
90? Council of Jamnia of Judaism (disputed); Domitian applies the Fiscus Judaicus tax even to those who merely "lived like Jews"^[15]
90(+/-10)? late date for writing of 1 Peter (associate of Peter as author)
94 Testimonium Flavianum, disputed section of Jewish Antiquities by Josephus in Aramaic, translated to Koine Greek
95(+/-30)? Gospel of John and Epistles of John
95(+/-10)? Book of Revelation written, by John (son of Zebedee) and/or a disciple of his
96 Nerva modifies the Fiscus Judaicus, from then on, practising Jews pay the tax, Christians do not^[16]
98–117? Ignatius, third Bishop of Antioch, fed to the lions in the Roman Colosseum, advocated the Bishop (Eph 6:1, Mag 2:1,6:1,7:1,13:2, Tr 3:1, Smy 8:1,9:1), rejected Sabbath on Saturday in favor of "The Lord's Day" (Sunday). (Mag 9.1), rejected Judaizing (Mag 10.3), first recorded use of the term catholic (Smy 8:2).
100(+/-30)? Epistle of Barnabas (Apostolic Fathers)
100(+/-25)? Epistle of James if written by author other than James the Just or James the Great
100(+/-10)? Epistle of Jude written, probably by doubting relative of Jesus (Mark 6,3), rejected by some early Christians due to its reference to apocryphal Book of Enoch (v14)

Ante-Nicene period

100–150? Apocryphon of James, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Gospel of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Secret Gospel of Mark (Complete Gospels, published by Jesus Seminar)
110–130? Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, writes "Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord", lost, widely quoted (Apostolic Fathers)
110 Ignatius of Antioch writes to the Smyrnaeans that the Christian church is katholikos ("universal")^{[citation needed]}
110–160? Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, Letter to the Philippians, (Apostolic Fathers)
112 Pliny reports rapid growth of Christianity in Bithynia^[17]
120? Rabbi Tarfon advocates burning the Gospels^[18]
125(+/-5)? 2 Peter written, not accepted into canon until early 400s, drew upon Epistle of Jude, "catholic" epistle, Pastoral Epistles written
125? Rylands Library Papyrus P52, oldest extant NT fragment, p. 1935, parts of Jn18:31-33,37-38
130–250? "Christian Apologists" writings against Roman religion: Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Apology of Aristides, Theophilus of Antioch, Tatian, Quadratus, Melito of Sardis, Apollinaris Claudius, Marcus Minucius Felix, Arnobius, Epistle to Diognetus
132–135 Bar Kokhba's revolt: final Jewish revolt, Judea and Jerusalem erased from maps, region renamed Syria Palæstina (the term Palestine was originally coined by Herodotus), Jerusalem renamed Aelia Capitolina
142–144? Marcion of Sinope: bishop according to Catholic Encyclopedia, goes to Rome, possibly to buy the bishopric of Rome, upon rejection forms his own church in Rome, later called Marcionism, rejected Old Testament, decreed canon of one Gospel, one Apostolicon (10 Letters of Paul) and one Antithesis^[19] which contrasted the Old Testament with the New Testament, cited Western text-type, see also Expounding of the Law#Antithesis of the Law
150? "Western Revisor" adds/subtracts from original Acts to produce Western version which is 10% larger and found in Papyrus P29,38,48 and Codex Bezae (D)
150 Gospel reaches Portugal and Morocco^[20]
150? Valentinius (most famous Christian Gnostic, according to Tertullian) narrowly loses election for Bishop of Rome
150(+/-10)? The Shepherd of Hermas, written in Rome (Apostolic Fathers)
150–200? Other Gospels: Gospel of the Saviour, Gospel of Peter, Oxyrhynchus Gospels, Dialogue of the Saviour
155? Montanus claims to be the Paraclete ("Counselor") of John 14:16
160? Martyrdom of Polycarp (Apostolic Fathers)
166 Bishop Soter writes that the number of Christians has surpassed the Jews^[21]
167 At the request of Lucius of Britain, missionaries Fuganus (or Phagan) and Duvianus (or Deruvian) were sent by Pope Eleuterus to convert the Britons to Christianity^[22]
170? Dionysius, bishop of Corinth^[23] claimed Christians were changing and faking his own letters just as [he knew] they had changed the Gospels (Eusebius' EH 4 c.23 v.12; Ante-Nicene Fathers, v.8)
170? Tatian produces "Diatessaron" (Harmony) by blending 4 "Western" text-type Gospels into 1
170? Symmachus the Ebionite writes new Greek translation of Hebrew Bible
174 First Christians reported in Austria^[20]
177 Persecution in Lyon, martyrdom of Blandina
180? Hegesippus
180–202? Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon: combated heresies, cited "Western" Gospel text-type (Ante-Nicene Fathers); second "Primate of the Gauls"
185–350? Muratorian fragment, 1st extant canon for New Testament after Marcion?, written in Rome by Hippolytus?, excludes Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 3 John; includes Wisdom of Solomon, Apocalypse of Peter
186? Saint Apollonius: used the term catholic in reference to 1 John
188–231 Saint Demetrius: bishop of Alexandria, condemned Origen
189–198 Pope Victor I: 1st Latin Pope, excommunicated Eastern churches that continued to observe Easter on Nisan 14 Quartodeciman
190 Pataenus of Alexandria goes to India in response to an appeal for Christian teachers^[24]
196? Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus (Ante-Nicene Fathers)
196 Bar Daisan writes of Christians among the Parthians, Bactrians (Kushans), and other peoples in the Persian Empire^[25]
197 Tertullian writes that Christianity had penetrated all ranks of society in North Africa^[26]
199–217? Caius [1] [2], presbyter of Rome, wrote "Dialogue against Proclus" in Ante-Nicene Fathers, rejected Revelation, said to be by Gnostic Cerinthus; see also Alogi
200 First Christians are reported in Switzerland and Belgium^[20]
199–217? Caius,^[27]^[28] presbyter of Rome, wrote "Dialogue against Proclus" in Ante-Nicene Fathers, rejected Revelation, said to be by Gnostic Cerinthus, see also Alogi
200? Papyrus 46: 2nd Chester Beatty, Alexandrian text-type; Papyrus 66: 2nd Bodmer, John, 1956, "Alexandrian/Western" text-types; Papyrus 75: Bodmer 14–15, Luke & John, earliest extant Luke, ~Vaticanus; 200? Papyrus 32: J. Rylands Library: Titus 1:11-15;2:3-8; Papyrus 64 (+67): Mt3:9,15; 5:20-22,25-28; 26:7-8,10,14-15,22-23,31-33
200? Sextus Julius Africanus
200? Antipope Natalius,^[29] rival bishop of Rome, according to Eusebius's EH5.28.8-12, quoting the Little Labyrinth of Hippolytus, after being "scourged all night by the holy angels", covered in ash, dressed in sackcloth, and "after some difficulty", tearfully submitted to Pope Zephyrinus
202 Roman Emperor Severus issues an edict forbidding conversion to Christianity ^[30]
206 Abgar, King of Edessa, embraces the Christian faith ^[31]
208 Tertullian writes that Christ has followers on the far side of the Roman wall in Britain where Roman legions have not yet penetrated ^[32]
217–236 Antipope Hippolytus, Logos sect? Later dispute settled and considered martyr, Roman canon
218–258 Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, cited "Western" NT text-type, claimed Christians were freely forging his letters to discredit him (Ante-Nicene Fathers)
220? Clement of Alexandria, cited "Alexandrian" NT text-type & Secret Gospel of Mark & Gospel of the Egyptians; wrote "Exhortations to the Greeks"; "Rich Man's Salutation"; "To the Newly Baptized"; (Ante-Nicene Fathers)
220?–340? Codex Tchacos, manuscript containing a copy of the Gospel of Judas, is written
223? Tertullian: sometimes called "father of the Latin Church", because he coined trinitas, tres Personae, una Substantia, Vetus Testamentum, Novum Testamentum, convert to Montanism, cited "Western" Gospel text-type (Ante-Nicene Fathers)
225? Papyrus 45: 1st Chester Beatty Papyri, Gospels (Caesarean text-type, mixed), Acts (Alexandrian text-type)
235–238 Maximinus Thrax: emperor of Rome, ends Christian schism in Rome by deporting Pope Pontian and Antipope Hippolytus to Sardinia, where they soon die
241 Mani begins to preach in Seleucia-Ctesiphon in what is now Iraq [3]
248–264 Dionysius, Patriarch of Alexandria see also List of Patriarchs of Alexandria
250 Denis (or Denys or Dionysius) is sent from Rome along with six other missionaries to establish the church in Paris^[33]
250? Apostolic Constitutions, Liturgy of St James, Old Roman Symbol, Clementine literature
250? Letters of Methodius, Pistis Sophia, Porphyry Tyrius, Commodianus (Ante-Nicene Fathers)
250? Papyrus 72: Bodmer 5-11+, pub. 1959, "Alexandrian" text-type: Nativity of Mary; 3Cor; Odes of Solomon 11; Jude 1-25; Melito's Homily on Passover; Hymn fragment; Apology of Phileas; Ps33,34; 1Pt1:1-5:14; 2Pt1:1-3:18
250? Origen, Jesus and God one substance, adopted at First Council of Nicaea in 325, compiled Hexapla; cites Alexandrian, Caesarean text-type; Eusebius claimed Origen castrated himself for Christ due to Mt19:12 (EH6.8.1-3)
251–424? Synods of Carthage
251–258 Antipope Novatian decreed no forgiveness for sins after baptism (An antipope was an individual whose claim to the papacy was either rejected by the Church at the time or later recognized as invalid.)^[34]
254–257 Pope Stephen I: major schism over rebaptizing heretics and apostates
258 "Valerian's Massacre": Roman emperor issues edict to execute immediately all Christian Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, including Pope Sixtus II, Antipope Novatian, Cyprian of Carthage (CE: Valerian, Schaff's History Vol 2 Chap 2 § 22)
264–269 Synods of Antioch: condemned Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, founder of Adoptionism (Jesus was human until Holy Spirit descended at his baptism), also condemned term homoousios adopted at Nicaea
265 Gregory Thaumaturgus (Ante-Nicene Fathers)]
270 Death of Gregory Thaumaturgus, Christian leader in Pontus. It was said that when Gregory became "bishop" there were only 17 Christians in Pontus while at his death thirty years later there were only 17 non-Christians.^[35]
270? Anthony begins monastic movement
275? Papyrus 47: 3rd Chester Beatty, ~Sinaiticus, Rev9:10-11:3,5-16:15,17-17:2
276 Mani (prophet), crucified, founder of the dualistic Manichaean sect in Persia
280 First rural churches emerge in northern Italy; Christianity is no longer exclusively in urban areas
282–300? Theonas, bishop of Alexandria (Ante-Nicene Fathers)
287 Maurice from Egypt is killed at Agauno, Switzerland for refusing to sacrifice to pagan divinities ^[36]
290–345? St Pachomius, founder of Christian monasticism
296–304 Pope Marcellinus, offered pagan sacrifices for Diocletian, later repented. Name in Martyrology of Bede
300 First Christians reported in Greater Khorasan; an estimated 10% of the world's population is now Christian; parts of the Bible are available in 10 different languages ^[37]
301 – Armenia is the first kingdom in history to adopt Christianity as state religion
303–312 Diocletian's Massacre of Christians, includes burning of scriptures (EH 8.2)
303 Saint George, patron saint of Georgia, England and other states
304? Victorinus, bishop of Pettau
304? Pope Marcellinus, having repented from his previous defection, suffers martyrdom with several companions
306 Synod of Elvira prohibits relations between Christians and Jews
310 Maxentius deports Pope Eusebius and Heraclius^[38]^[39] to Sicily (relapse controversy)
312 Lucian of Antioch, founder of School of Antioch, martyred
312 Vision of Constantine: while gazing into the sun he sees a cross with the words by this sign conquer, see also Labarum, he was later called the 13th Apostle and Equal-to-apostles
313 Edict of Milan: Constantine and Licinius end persecution, establish toleration of Christianity
313? Lateran Palace given to Pope Miltiades for residence by Constantine
313? Traditional date for founding of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre
314 King Urnayr of Caucasian Albania adopts Christianity as official religion
314 Catholic Council of Arles,^[40] called by Constantine against Donatist schism to confirm the Council of Rome in 313
314–340? Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, church historian, cited Caesarean text-type, wrote Ecclesiastical History in 325^[41]
317? Lactantius
321 Constantine decrees Sunday as state "day of rest" (CJ3.12.2), see also Sol Invictus

First Seven Ecumenical Councils

Constantine called the First Council of Nicaea in 325 to unify Christology, also called the first great Christian council by Jerome, the first ecumenical, decreed the Original Nicene Creed, but rejected by Nontrinitarians such as Arius, Theonas, Secundus of Ptolemais, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Theognis of Nicaea who were excommunicated, also addressed Easter controversy and passed 20 Canon laws such as Canon VII which granted special recognition to Jerusalem.

325, 20 May–19 June: The First Council of Nicaea
325 The Kingdom of Aksum (Modern Ethiopia and Eritrea) declares Christianity as the official state religion, becoming the 2nd country to do so
325 Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, ordered built by Constantine
326, November 18: Pope Sylvester I consecrates the Basilica of St. Peter built by Constantine the Great over the tomb of the Apostle
328–373 Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, first cite of modern 27 book New Testament canon
330 Old Church of the Holy Apostles, dedicated by Constantine
330, May 11: Constantinople solemnly inaugurated. Constantine moves the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, renaming it New Rome
331 Constantine commissions Eusebius to deliver 50 Bibles for the Church of Constantinople^[42]
335 Council in Jerusalem reverses Nicaea's condemnation of Arius, consecrates Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulchre
337? Mirian III of Iberia (present-day Georgia) adopts Christianity.^[43]
337, May 22: Constantine the Great dies (baptized shortly prior to his death)
341–379 Shapur II's persecution of Persian Christians
343? Catholic Council of Serdica, canons confirmed by Pope Julius
350? Julius Firmicus Maternus
350? Codex Sinaiticus (א), Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209(B): earliest Christian Bibles, Alexandrian text-type
350? Ulfilas, Arian, apostle to the Goths, translates Greek NT to Gothic
350? Comma Johanneum 1Jn5:7b-8a (KJV)
350? Aëtius, Arian, "Syntagmation": "God is agennetos (unbegotten)", founder of Anomoeanism
350? School of Nisibis founded
353–367 Hilary, bishop of Poitiers
355–365 Antipope Felix II, Arian, supported by Constantius II, consecrated by Acacius of Caesarea
357 Third Council of Sirmium issues so-called Blasphemy of Sirmium or Seventh Arian Confession,^[44] called high point of Arianism
359 Council of Rimini, Dated Creed (Acacians); Pope Liberius rejects Arian creed of council
360 Julian the Apostate becomes the last non-Christian Roman Emperor
363–364 Council of Laodicea: Canon 29 decreed anathema for Christians who rest on the Sabbath, disputed Canon 60 named 26 NT books (excluded Revelation)
366–367 Antipope Ursicinus, rival to Pope Damasus I
367–403 Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, wrote Panarion against heresies
370–379 Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea
370? Doctrine of Addai at Edessa proclaims 17 book NT canon using Diatessaron (instead of the 4 Gospels) + Acts + 15 Pauline Epistles (inc. 3 Corinthians) Syriac Orthodox Church
370 (d. ca.) Optatus of Milevis, who in his conflict with the sectarian Donatists stressed unity and catholicity as marks of the Church over and above holiness, and also that the sacraments derived their validity from God, not from the priest
372–394 Gregory, Bishop Of Nyssa
373 Ephrem the Syrian, cited Western Acts
374–397 Ambrose, governor of Milan until 374, then made Bishop of Milan
375–395 Ausonius, Christian governor of Gaul
379–381 Gregory Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople
380, February 27: Emperor Theodosius I issues the Edict of Thessalonica, declaring Nicene Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire^[45]
380, November 24: Emperor Theodosius I is baptised
381 First Council of Constantinople, 2nd ecumenical: Jesus had true human soul, Nicene Creed of 381
382 Catholic Council of Rome under Pope Damasus I sets the Biblical canon, listing the inspired books of the Old Testament and the New Testament (disputed)
383? Frumentius, Apostle of Ethiopia
385 Priscillian, first heretic to be executed?
386 Cyril of Jerusalem: wrote compellingly of catholicity of the Church
390? Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea, believed Jesus had human body but divine spirit
391 Theodosian decrees outlaw most pagan rituals still practiced in Rome
396–430 Augustine, bishop of Hippo, considered the founder of formalized Christian theology (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)
397? Saint Ninian evangelizes Picts in Scotland
398–404 John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople, see also List of Patriarchs of Constantinople, (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)
400: Jerome's Vulgate (Latin edition and translation of the Bible) is published
400? Ethiopic Bible: in Ge'ez, 81 books, standard Ethiopian Orthodox Bible
400? Peshitta Bible in Syriac (Aramaic), Syr (p), OT + 22 NT, excludes: 2Pt, 2-3Jn, Jude, Rev; standard Syriac Orthodox Church Bible
406 Armenian Bible, translated by Saint Mesrop, standard Armenian Orthodox Bible
410, 24 August: Sack of Rome by Alaric and the Visigoths
412–444 Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, coined Hypostatic union
418–419 Antipope Eulalius, rival to Pope Boniface I
420 St. Jerome, Vulgate translator, Latin scholar, cited expanded ending in Mark after Mark 16:8, Pericope of the Adultress addition to John (John 7:53-8:11) (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)
423–457 Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus, noted Tatian's Diatesseron in heavy use, wrote a Church History
431 Council of Ephesus, 3rd ecumenical: repudiated Nestorianism, decreed Mary the Mother of God, forbade any changes to Nicene Creed of 381, rejected by the Persian Church, leading to the Nestorian Schism
432 St Patrick begins his mission in Ireland. Almost the entire nation is Christian by the time of his death in a conversion that is both incredibly successful and largely bloodless
440–461 Pope Leo the Great: sometimes considered the first pope (of influence) by non-Catholics, stopped Attila the Hun at Rome, issued Tome in support of Hypostatic Union, approved Council of Chalcedon but rejected canons in 453
449 Second Council of Ephesus, Monophysite: Jesus was divine but not human
450? Codex Alexandrinus (A): Alexandrian text-type; Codex Bezae (D): Greek/Latin Gospels + Acts; Codex Washingtonianus (W): Greek Gospels; both of Western text-type
450? std. Aramaic Targums, Old Testament in Aramaic
450? Socrates Scholasticus Church History of 305-438; Sozomen Church History of 323-425
451 Council of Chalcedon, 4th ecumenical, declared Jesus is a Hypostatic Union: both human and divine in one (Chalcedonian Creed), rejected by Oriental Orthodoxy
455 Sack of Rome by the Vandals. The spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem previously taken by Titus are allegedly among the treasures taken to Carthage
456? Eutyches of Constantinople, Monophysite
465? Prosper of Aquitaine
476, September 4: Emperor Romulus Augustus is deposed in Rome, marked by many as the fall of the Western Roman Empire
484–519 Acacian schism, over Henoticon, divides Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) churches
491 Armenian Orthodox split from East (Greek) and West (Latin) churches
495, May 13 Vicar of Christ decreed a title of Bishop of Rome by Pope Gelasius I
496 Clovis I, King of the Franks, baptized
498–499, 501–506 Antipope Laurentius, rival of Pope Symmachus, Laurentian schism
500? Incense introduced in Christian church service, first plans of Vatican
524 Boethius, Roman Christian philosopher, wrote "Theological Tractates", Consolation of Philosophy; (Loeb Classics) (Latin)
525 Dionysius Exiguus defines Christian calendar (AD)
527 Fabius Planciades Fulgentius
529 Benedict of Nursia establishes his first monastery in the Abbey of Monte Cassino, Italy, where he writes the Rule of St Benedict
530 Antipope Dioscorus, possibly a legitimate Pope
535–536 Unusual climate changes recorded
537–555 Pope Vigilius, involved in death of Pope Silverius, conspired with Justinian and Theodora, on April 11, 548 issued Judicatum supporting Justinian's anti-Hypostatic Union, excommunicated by bishops of Carthage in 550
538 Byzantine general Belisarius defeats last Arian kingdom; Western Europe completely Catholic
541–542 Plague of Justinian
543 Justinian condemns Origen, disastrous earthquakes hit the world
544 Justinian condemns the Three Chapters of Theodore of Mopsuestia (died 428) and other writings of Hypostatic Union Christology of Council of Chalcedon
550 St. David converts Wales, crucifix introduced
553 Second Council of Constantinople, 5th ecumenical, called by Justinian
556–561 Pope Pelagius I, selected by Justinian, endorsed Judicatum
563 Columba goes to Scotland to evangelize Picts, establishes monastery at Iona
567 Cassiodorus
589 Catholic Third Council of Toledo: Reccared and the Visigoths convert from Arianism to Catholicism and Filioque clause is added to Nicene Creed of 381
590–604 Pope Gregory the Great, whom many consider the greatest pope ever, reforms church structure and administration and establishes Gregorian chant, Seven deadly sins
591–628 Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards, began gradual conversion from Arianism to Catholicism
596 St. Augustine of Canterbury sent by Pope Gregory to evangelise the Jutes
600? Evagrius Scholasticus, Church History of AD431-594^[46]
604 Saxon cathedral created (by Mellitus) where St Paul's Cathedral in London now stands
609 Pantheon, Rome renamed Church of Santa Maria Rotonda
612? Bobbio monastery in northern Italy
613 Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland
614 Khosrau II of Persia conquers Damascus, Jerusalem, takes Holy Cross of Christ
622 Mohammed founds Islam after fleeing to Mecca
624 Battle of Badr, considered beginning of Islamic Empire
625 Paulinus of York comes to convert Northumbria
628 Babai the Great, pillar of Church of the East, dies
628–629 Battle of Mut'ah: Heraclius recovers Cross of Christ and Jerusalem from Islam until 638
632 Eorpwald of East Anglia baptized under influence of Edwin of Northumbria
634–644 Umar, 2nd Sunni Islam Caliph: capital at Damascus, conquered Syria in 635, defeated Heraclius at Battle of Yarmuk in 636, conquered Egypt and Armenia in 639, Persia in 642
635 Cynegils of Wessex baptized by Bishop Birinus
664 Synod of Whitby unites Celtic Christianity of British Isles with Roman Catholicism
680–681 Third Council of Constantinople, 6th ecumenical, against Monothelites, condemned Pope Honorius I, Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople, Heraclius' Ecthesis
681–686 Wilfrid converts Sussex
687–691 Dome of the Rock built
690? Old English Bible translations
692 Orthodox Quinisext Council, convoked by Justinian II, approved Canons of the Apostles of Apostolic Constitutions, Clerical celibacy, rejected by Pope Constantine
698 Fall of Carthage
711–718 Umayyad conquest of Hispania
717–718 Second Arab siege of Constantinople
718–1492 Reconquista: Iberian Peninsula retaken by Roman Catholic Visigoth monarchs
718 Saint Boniface, archbishop of Mainz; an Englishman, given commission by Pope Gregory II to evangelize the Germans
720? Disentis Abbey of Switzerland
730–787 First Iconoclasm: Byzantine Emperor Leo III bans Christian icons; Pope Gregory II excommunicates him
731 English Church History written by Bede
732 Battle of Tours stops Islam from expanding westward
750? Tower added to St Peter's Basilica at the front of the atrium
752? Donation of Constantine, granted Western Roman Empire to the Pope (later proved a forgery)
756 Donation of Pepin recognizes Papal States
781 Nestorian Stele, Daqin Pagoda, Jesus Sutras, Christianity in China
787 Second Council of Nicaea, 7th ecumenical: ends first Iconoclasm
793 Sacking of the monastery of Lindisfarne marks the beginning of Viking raids on Christendom

Middle Ages

800 King Charlemagne of the Franks is crowned first Holy Roman Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III
849–865 Ansgar, Archbishop of Bremen, "Apostle of the North", began evangelisation of North Germany, Denmark, Sweden
855 Antipope Anastasius: Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor appoints him over Pope Benedict III but popular pressure causes withdrawal
863 Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople to evangelise the Slavic peoples. They translate the Bible into Slavonic
869–870 Catholic Fourth Council of Constantinople condemns Patriarch Photius (rejected by Orthodox)
879–880 Orthodox Fourth Council of Constantinople restores Photius, condemns Pope Nicholas I and Filioque (rejected by Catholics)
897, January Cadaver Synod: Pope Stephen VI conducts trial against dead Pope Formosus, public uprising against Stephen leads to his imprisonment and strangulation
909 Abbey of Cluny, Benedictine monastery, founded in France
966 Duke Mieszko I of Poland baptised; Poland becomes a Christian country
984 Antipope Boniface VII, murdered Pope John XIV, alleged to have murdered Pope Benedict VI in 974
988? Christianization of Kievan Rus'
991 Archbishop Arnulf of Rheims accuses Pope John XV of being the Antichrist
997–998 Antipope John XVI, deposed by Pope Gregory V and his cousin Holy Roman Emperor Otto III
1000 or 1001 Saint Stephen of Hungary crowned; Hungary becomes a Christian country
1001 Byzantine emperor Basil II and Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah execute a treaty guaranteeing the protection of Christian pilgrimage routes in the Middle East
1009 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah destroys the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem, and then rebuilds it to its current state
1012 Antipope Gregory VI, removed by Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
1030 Battle of Stiklestad, considered victory of Christianity over Norwegian paganism
1045 Sigfrid of Sweden, Benedictine evangelist
1046 Council of Sutri: Pope Sylvester III exiled, Pope Gregory VI admits to buying the papacy and resigns, Pope Benedict IX resigns, council appoints Pope Clement II
1054 East–West Schism split between Eastern (Orthodox Christianity) and Western (Roman Catholic) churches formalized
1058–1059 Antipope Benedict X, defeated in war with Pope Nicholas II and Normans
1061–1064 Antipope Honorius II, rival of Pope Alexander II
1065 Westminster Abbey consecrated
1073–1085 Pope Gregory VII: Investiture Controversy with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, proponent of clerical celibacy, opponent of simony, concubinage, Antipope Clement III
1079 Stanislaus of Szczepanów, patron saint of Poland
1080 Hospital of Saint John the Baptist founded in Jerusalem by merchants from Amalfi and Salerno – serves as the foundation for the Knights Hospitaller
1082 Engelberg Abbey of Switzerland built
1093–1109 Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, writes Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man), a landmark exploration of the Atonement
1095–1291 10 Crusades, first called by Pope Urban II at Council of Clermont against Islamic Empire, to reconquer the Holy Land for Christendom
1098 Foundation of the reforming monastery of Cîteaux, leads to the growth of the Cistercian order
1101 Antipope Theodoric and Antipope Adalbert deposed by Pope Paschal II
1113 Knights Hospitaller confirmed by Papal bull of Pope Paschal II, listing Blessed Gerard (Gerard Thom) as founder, (a.k.a. Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and Chevaliers of Malta)
1118 Knights Templar founded, to defend Holy Land
1123 Catholic First Lateran Council
1124 Conversion of Pomerania – first mission of Otto of Bamberg
1128 Holyrood Abbey in Scotland
1128 Conversion of Pomerania – second mission of Otto of Bamberg
1130 Peter of Bruys burned at the stake
1131 Tintern Abbey founded in Wales
1131–1138 Antipope Anacletus II
1139 Catholic Second Lateran Council
1140? Decretum Gratiani, Catholic Canon law
1142 Peter Abélard, Letters of Abelard and Heloise
1144 The Saint Denis Basilica of Abbot Suger is the first major building in the style of Gothic architecture
1154–1159 Pope Adrian IV, first (and to date only) English pope
1155 Theotokos of Vladimir arrives to Bogolyubovo
1155 Carmelites founded
1163 Construction begins on Notre Dame de Paris
1168 Conversion of Pomerania – Principality of Rugia missioned by Absalon
1173 Waldensians founded
1179 Catholic Third Lateran Council
1191 Teutonic Knights founded
1204–1261 Latin Empire of Constantinople
1205 Saint Francis of Assisi becomes a hermit, founding the Franciscan order of friars; renounces wealth and begins his ministry
1208 Start of the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars
1214 Rosary is reportedly given to St. Dominic (who founded Dominican Order) by an apparition of Mary
1215 Catholic Fourth Lateran Council decrees special dress for Jews and Muslims, and declares Waldensians, founded by Peter Waldo, as heretics. One of the goals is the elimination of the heresy of the Cathars
1219 Francis of Assisi crosses enemy lines during the Fifth Crusade to speak to Sultan al-Kamil; the meeting ends with a meal. James of Vitry writes that Muslim soldiers returned Francis and another friar, Illuminato, "with signs of honor."^[47]
1220–1263 St Alexander Nevsky, holy patron of Russia
1231 Charter of the University of Paris granted by Pope Gregory IX
1241 Pope Gregory IX denounced as Antichrist by Eberhard II von Truchsees, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, at the Council of Regensburg
1245 Catholic First Council of Lyon
1252, May 15 Ad exstirpanda: Pope Innocent IV authorizes use of torture in Inquisitions
1260 Date at which a 1988 Vatican sponsored scientific study places the origin of the Shroud of Turin
1263, July 20–24 The Disputation of Barcelona is held at the royal palace of King James I of Aragon in the presence of the King, his court, and many prominent ecclesiastical dignitaries and knights, between a convert from Judaism to Christianity Dominican Friar Pablo Christiani and Rabbi Nachmanides
1274 Summa Theologiae, written by Thomas Aquinas, theologian and philosopher, landmark systematic theology which later becomes official Catholic doctrine
1274 Catholic Second Council of Lyon
1291 Last Crusader city (Acre) falls to the Mamelukes

Renaissance

1308–1321 Divine Comedy (Divina Commedia), by Dante Alighieri; most consensual dates are: Inferno written between 1307 and 1308, Purgatorio from 1307–1308 to 1313–1314 and last Paradiso from 1313–1314 to 1321 (year of Dante's death)
1307 The arrest of many of the Knights Templar, beginning confiscation of their property and extraction of confessions under torture
1305–1378 Avignon Papacy, Popes reside in Avignon, France
1311–1312 Catholic Council of Vienne disbands Knights Templar
1313 Foundation of the legendary Order of the Rose Cross (Rosicrucian Order), a mystic Christian fraternity for the first time expounded in the Divine Comedy^[48]^[49]^[50]^[51]
1314 Jacques de Molay, last Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, burned at the stake
1326 Metropolitan Peter moves his see from Kiev to Moscow
1341–1351 Orthodox Fifth Council of Constantinople
1342 Marsilius of Padua
1345 Sergii Radonezhskii founds a hermitage in the woods, which grows into the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra
1378–1418 Western Schism in Roman Catholicism
1380–1382 Wycliffe's Bible, by John Wycliffe, eminent theologian at Oxford, NT in 1380, OT (with help of Nicholas of Hereford) in 1382, translations into Middle English, 1st complete translation to English, includes deuterocanonical books, preaches against abuses, expresses anti-catholic views of the sacraments (Penance and Eucharist), the use of relics, and clerical celibacy
1388 Twenty-five Articles of the Lollards published
1408 Council of Oxford forbids translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular, unless and until they are fully approved by church authority
1409 Council of Pisa declares Roman Pope Gregory XII and Avignon Pope Benedict XIII deposed, elected Pope Alexander V (called the Pisan Pope)
1414–1418 Catholic Council of Constance asks Gregory XII, Benedict XIII, Pisan Pope John XXIII to resign their papal claims, then elects Pope Martin V; condemns John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, who is burned at the stake
1423–1424 Council of Siena
1425 Catholic University of Leuven
1430? Andrei Rublev, the greatest of medieval icon-painters
1431 St. Joan of Arc, French national heroine, burned at the stake
1431–1445 Catholic Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence
1439 Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, highest building in the world until 1874
1452 Dum Diversas, papal bull issued on 18 June 1452, credited with ushering in the West African slave trade in Europe and the New World
1453 Fall of Constantinople, overrun by Ottoman Empire
1455 Gutenberg Bible, first printed Bible, by Johann Gutenberg
1473–1481 Sistine Chapel built
1478 Spanish Inquisition established by Pope Sixtus IV
1483 Martin Luther born in Eisleben
1484 December 5, Summis desiderantes against Witchcraft issued by Pope Innocent VIII
1487 Persecution and crusade against the Waldensians instigated by Pope Innocent VIII
1492 Columbus opens new continents to Christianity
1498 Girolamo Savonarola, Dominican priest, writes Bonfire of the Vanities
1506 Pope Julius II orders the Old St. Peter's Basilica torn down and authorizes Donato Bramante to plan a new structure (demolition completed in 1606); Vatican Swiss Guard founded
1508–1512 Michelangelo frescoes the Sistine Chapel's vaulted ceiling
1510s A number of theologians in the Holy Roman Empire start to preach reformational ideas shortly before Martin Luther, including Christoph Schappeler in Memmingen (1513), but fail to spark a larger movement
1512–1517 Catholic Fifth Council of the Lateran: condemned Conciliarism

Reformation

1517 95 Theses of Martin Luther begins the Reformation and Lutheranism
1518 Heidelberg Disputation: Martin Luther puts forth his Theology of the Cross
1519 Leipzig Debate between Martin Luther and Johann Eck
1519 Huldrych Zwingli begins the Reformed tradition, sparking the Reformation in Switzerland
1520 Luther publishes three monumental works, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On the Freedom of a Christian
1521 Luther refuses to recant his works at the Diet of Worms
1521 Papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem (It Pleases the Roman Pontiff) excommunicates Luther
1521 Ferdinand Magellan claims the Philippines for Spain, first mass and subsequent conversion to Catholicism, first in East Asia
1522 Luther Bible, German NT translation
1524 The Freedom of the Will published by Erasmus
1525 On the Bondage of the Will published by Luther in response to Erasmus
1525 Anabaptist movement begins
1526 Tyndale's NT, English NT translation from 1516 Greek text of Erasmus, first printed edition, reflects influence of Luther's NT in rejecting priest for elder, church for congregation, banned in 1546 by Henry VIII of England
1526 Luther publishes his German Mass and The Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ—Against the Fanatics, his first written work against the Sacramentarians
1528 Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein, Lutheranism is officially adopted
1528 Luther affirms the real presence of Christ's body and blood in his Confession Concerning Christ's Supper
1529 Marburg Colloquy, Luther defends doctrine of Real Presence in discussion with Zwingli
1530 Augsburg Confession, first doctrinal statement of the Lutheran Church
1531 Huldrych Zwingli is killed during the Second war of Kappel
1531 Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico: According to tradition, when the roses fell from it the icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared imprinted on the cactus cloth. The sudden, extraordinary success of the evangelizing of ten million Indians in the decade of 1531–1541.
1534 Henry VIII establishes new independent entity Church of England, see also English Reformation
1535–1537 Myles Coverdale's Bible, used Tyndale's NT along with Latin and German versions, included Apocrypha at the end of the OT (like Luther's Bible of 1534) as was done in later English versions, 1537 edition received royal licence, but banned in 1546 by Henry VIII
1535 Thomas More refuses to accept King Henry VIII's claim to be the supreme head of the Church in England, and is executed
1535–1679 Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
1536 Desiderius Erasmus, eminent Dutch humanist and editor of the Textus Receptus, dies
1536 Tyndale put to death, left his OT translation in manuscript, English ecclesiastical authorities ordered his Bible burned because it was thought to be part of Lutheran reform
1536 Institutes of the Christian Religion written by John Calvin (Calvinism)
1536 John of Leiden, fanatic Dutch Anabaptist
1536 Jacob Hutter, founder of Hutterites
1536 Helvetic Confessions of the Reformed Churches of Switzerland
1536–1540 Dissolution of the Monasteries in England, Wales and Ireland
1536 Pilgrimage of Grace
1536–1541 Michelangelo paints "The Last Judgement"
1537 Christian III of Denmark decreed Lutheranism state religion of Norway and Denmark
1537 Luther writes Smalcald Articles
1537–1551 Matthew Bible, by John Rogers, based on Tyndale and Coverdale received royal licence but not authorized for use in public worship, numerous editions, 1551 edition contained offensive notes (based on Tyndale)
1539–1569 Great Bible, by Thomas Cromwell, 1st English Bible to be authorized for public use in English churches, defective in many places, based on last Tyndale's NT of 1534–1535, corrected by a Latin version of the Hebrew OT, Latin Bible of Erasmus, and Complutensian Polyglot, last edition 1569, never denounced by England
1540 Jesuit order founded by Ignatius of Loyola, helped reconvert large areas of Poland, Hungary, and south Germany and sent missionaries to the New World, India, and China
1541 John Calvin returns to Geneva
1542 Roman Inquisition established by Pope Paul III
1542 Robert Bellarmine born – became a Cardinal Inquisitor under Pope Clement VIII
1543 Parliament of England bans Tyndale's translation as a "crafty, false and untrue translation"
1545–1563 Catholic Council of Trent: Counter-Reformation against Protestantism, clearly defined an official theology and biblical canon
1549 Original Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England written by Thomas Cranmer
1551 The Stoglav Church Council (One Hundred Chapters) Moscow, Russia
1552 Joachim Westphal starts controversy against Calvinists, defending Lutheran doctrine of Real Presence
1552 Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary, "Apostle of the Indies"
1553 Pontifical Gregorian University founded at Vatican City
1553 Michael Servetus founder of Unitarianism, burned at the stake in Geneva
1553–1558 Queen Mary I of England persecutes reformers: John Rogers, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, Thomas Cranmer; of 238 burned at the stake
1555 Peace of Augsburg gives religious freedom in Germany only to Lutheran Protestants
1558 Church of England permanently reestablished after Mary I of England dies
1559 Military Order of the Golden Spur founded by Pope Paul IV
1560 Geneva Bible, NT a revision of Matthew's version of Tyndale with use of Theodore Beza's NT (1556), OT a thorough revision of Great Bible, appointed to be read in Scotland (but not England), at least 140 editions, first Bible with chapter and verse numbers
1560 Scots Confession, Church of Scotland, Scottish Reformation
1560–1598 French Wars of Religion
1560–1812 Goa Inquisition, persecution of Hindus and Jews in India, see also Christianity in India
1561 Menno Simons, founder of Mennonites
1563 Thirty-Nine Articles of Church of England, also decreed Biblical canon
1563 Heidelberg Catechism of Reformed churches
1565-73 Examination of the Council of Trent by Martin Chemnitz
1566 Roman Catechism and Index of Prohibited Books published
1569 Metropolitan Philip of Moscow strangled by Malyuta Skuratov
1570 Pope Pius V issued a bull Quo primum; He standardised the Holy Mass by promulgating the 1570 edition of the Roman Missal.
1571 Dutch Reformed Church established
1571 Battle of Lepanto saves Christian Europe; Pope Pius V organizes the Holy League led by Don Juan de Austria to defend Europe from the larger Islamic Ottoman forces (230 galleys and 56 galliots)
1572 John Knox founds Scottish Presbyterian Church, due to disagreement with Lutherans over sacraments and church government
1572–1606 Bishops' Bible, a revision of the Great Bible checked against the Hebrew text, 1st to be published in England by episcopal authority
1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: Thousands of Protestants murdered in France
1577 Formula of Concord adopted by German Lutherans
1579 Discovery of the holiest Russian icon, Our Lady of Kazan
1580 Book of Concord of Lutheranism published
1582 St Teresa of Avila dies
1582 Gregorian calendar of Pope Gregory XIII adopted at different times in different regions of the world
1582 Rheims New Testament published – it later became part of the 1610 Douay–Rheims Bible
1585 Jesuit scholar Francisco Ribera publishes first futurist interpretation, of the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation
1587 Toyotomi Hideyoshi expels Jesuits from Kyūshū
1587? Mission Nombre De Dios in St. Augustine, Florida, considered first Catholic mission to North America^[52]
1588 Spanish Armada defeated in its efforts to reconquer England for Catholicism
1589 Metropolitan Jove is elected the first Patriarch of Moscow
1590 Michelangelo's dome in St Peter's Basilica completed
1591 St John of the Cross
1592 The Clementine Vulgate of Pope Clement VIII, replaced the Sistine Vulgate of 1590, the standard Latin Catholic Bible until the Second Vatican Council
1596 Ukrainian Catholic Church forms when Ukrainian subjects of the king of Poland are reunited with Rome’s, largest Byzantine Catholic Church
1598 Edict of Nantes grants toleration to French Protestants (Huguenots)
1600 Giordano Bruno, Dominican priest, burned at the stake

17th century

1604 Fausto Paolo Sozzini Socinianism
1606 Carlo Maderno redesigns St Peter's Basilica into a Latin cross
1607 Jamestown, Virginia founded
1608 Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain
1609 Baptist Church founded by John Smyth, due to objections to infant baptism and demands for church-state separation
1609–1610 Douay–Rheims Bible, 1st Catholic English translation, OT published in two volumes, based on an unofficial Louvain text corrected by Sistine Vulgate, NT is Rheims text of 1582
1611 King James Version (Authorised Version) is published, based primarily on Tyndale's work and Bishop's Bible of 1572, first printings included separate Apocrypha between the testaments
1614 Fama Fraternitatis, the first Rosicrucian manifesto (may have been in circulation ca. 1610) presenting "The Fraternity of the Rose Cross"
1615 Confessio Fraternitatis, the second Rosicrucian manifesto describing the "Most Honorable Order" as Christian^[53]
1616 Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, the third Rosicrucian manifesto (an hermetic allegory presenting alchemical and Christian elements)
1618–1648 Thirty Years' War
1620 Plymouth Colony founded by Puritans
1622–1642 Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu
1630 City upon a Hill, sermon by John Winthrop
1634–1637 Confessio catholica by Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard
1635 Roger Williams banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony, for advocating separation of church and state
1636 Founding of what was later known as Harvard University as a training school for ministers – the first of thousands of institutions of Christian higher education founded in the USA
1636–1638 Cornelius Jansen, bishop of Ypres, founder of Jansenism
1637–1638 Shimabara Rebellion
1638 Anne Hutchinson banished as a heretic from Massachusetts
1641 John Cotton, advocate of theonomy, helps to establish the social constitution of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
1642, 15 September – 27 October: Synod of Iași at Iași
1643 Acta Sanctorum
1643 John Campanius arrives in New Sweden
1644 Rhode Island founded by Roger Williams as first colony to establish complete religious liberty
1644 Long Parliament directs that only Hebrew canon be read in the Church of England (effectively removing the Apocrypha)
1646 Westminster Standards produced by the Assembly, one of the first and undoubtedly the most important and lasting religious document drafted after the reconvention of the Parliament, also decrees Biblical canon
1648 George Fox founds the Quaker movement
1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War, extends religious toleration to Calvinists
1650 Bishop James Ussher calculates date of creation as October 23, 4004 BC
1653–1656 Raskol of the Russian Orthodox Church
1653 Coonan Cross Oath at Mattancherry by Malankara Church
1655–1677, Abraham Calovius publishes Systema Iocorum theologicorum, height of Lutheran scholasticism
1660–1685 King Charles II of England, restoration of monarchy, continuing through James II, reversed decision of Long Parliament of 1644, reinstating the Apocrypha, reversal not heeded by non-conformists
1666 Paul Gerhardt, Lutheran pastor and hymnwriter, is removed from his position as a pastor in Nikolaikirche in Berlin, when he refuses to accept "syncretistic" edict of the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg
1672 Greek Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem: decreed Biblical canon
1675 Philipp Jakob Spener publishes Pia Desideria, which becomes a manifesto for Pietism
1678 John Bunyan publishes Pilgrim's Progress
1682 Avvakum, leader of the Old Believers, burned at the stake in the Far North of Russia
1683 Roger Williams, advocate of Separation of church and state, founder of Providence, Rhode Island, dies
1685 Edict of Fontainebleau outlaws Protestantism in France
1685 James II of England baptizes his son as a Catholic
1685 Orthodoxy introduced to Beijing by Russian Orthodox Church
1688 'Glorious Revolution' overthrows James II of England over fears of Catholic restoration; William of Orange takes English throne
1689 English Bill of Rights establishes religious liberty
1692 Salem witch trials held in Colonial America
1692–1721 Chinese Rites controversy
1693 Jacob Amman founds Amish sect

18th century

1701 Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands splits with Roman Catholicism
1706 Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, missionary, arrives in Tranquebar
1707 Examen theologicum acroamaticum by David Hollatz: the last great Lutheran doctrinal work before the Age of Enlightenment
1718–1722 Orthodox Lutheran Valentin Ernst Löscher publishes The Complete Timotheus Verinus against Pietism
1721 Peter the Great substitutes Moscow Patriarchate with the Holy Synod
1722 Hans Egede, missionary, arrives in Greenland
1728 The Vicar of Bray (song)
1730–1749 First Great Awakening in U.S.
1735 Welsh Methodist revival
1738 Methodist movement, led by John Wesley and his hymn-writing brother Charles, begins
1740 Johann Phillip Fabricius, missionary, arrives in South India
1741 Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, famous Fire and brimstone sermon
1741 George Frederick Handel performs his classic gospel oratorio "Messiah" for the first time
1754 An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture, by Isaac Newton, published
1767–1815 Suppression of the Jesuits
1768 New Smyrna, Florida, Greek Orthodox colony, founded
1768 Reimarus dies without publishing his radical critic work distinguishing Historical Jesus versus Christ of Faith
1769 Mission San Diego de Alcalá, first California mission
1771 Emanuel Swedenborg publishes his "Universal Theology of the True Christian Religion", later used by others to found Swedenborgianism
1774 Ann Lee, leader of American Shakers, emigrates to New York from England
1774 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing starts publishing Reimarus' works on historical Jesus as Anonymous Fragments, starting Liberal Theology Era (in Christology)
1776–1788 Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, critical of Christianity
1776 Mission Dolores, San Francisco
1779 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: "Jesus never coerced anyone to follow him, and the imposition of a religion by government officials is impious"
1780 Robert Raikes begins Sunday schools to reach poor and uneducated children in England
1784 American Methodists form Methodist Episcopal Church at so-called "Christmas Conference", led by bishops Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury
1784 Roman Catholicism is introduced in Korea
1789–1815 John Carroll, Archdiocese of Baltimore, first Roman Catholic US bishop
1789–1801 Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution
1791 First Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"
1793 Herman of Alaska brings Orthodoxy to Alaska
1795 The Age of Reason, written by Thomas Paine, advocates Deism
1796 Treaty with Tripoli (1796), article 11: "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"
1800 Friedrich Schleiermacher publishes his first book, beginning Liberal Christianity movement

19th century

1801 Cane Ridge Revival in Cane Ridge, Kentucky initiates the Christians (Stone Movement) wing of the Restoration Movement
1809 Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement) wing of the Restoration Movement initiated with the publication of the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington
1815 Peter the Aleut, orthodox Christian, tortured and martyred in Catholic San Francisco, California
1816 Bishop Richard Allen, a former slave, founds the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first African-American denomination
1817 Claus Harms publishes 95 theses against rationalism and the Prussian Union of churches
1819 Thomas Jefferson produces the Jefferson Bible
1820, Spring: Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, has his First Vision
1824 English translation of Wilhelm Gesenius' ...Handwörterbuch...: Hebrew-English Lexicon, Hendrickson Publishers
1827 Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg takes on the editorship of the Evangelische Kirchenzeitung, the chief literary organ of the Neo-Lutheranism
1828 Plymouth Brethren founded; promotes Dispensationalism
1830 Catherine Laboure receives Miraculous Medal from the Blessed Mother in Paris, France
1830 Charles Finney's revivals lead to Second Great Awakening in America
1830, April 6 the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) founded by Joseph Smith. Book of Mormon also published
1831 William Miller begins the Advent Movement, by preaching his first sermon on the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation
1832 Christians (Stone Movement) and Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement) merge to form the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
1832, February 28: Persecution of Old Lutherans: by a royal decree all Lutheran worship is declared illegal in Prussia in favour of the Prussian Union agenda^[54]
1833 John Keble's sermon "National Apostasy" initiates the Oxford Movement in England
1838–1839 Saxon Lutherans objecting to theological rationalism emigrate from Germany to the United States; settle in Perry County, Missouri. Leads to formation of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
1843 Disruption of: schism within the established Church of Scotland
1844 Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder, missionary, arrives in Port Natal, South Africa
1844 Lars Levi Laestadius experiences awakening—beginning of Laestadianism
1844, June 27, Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, murdered at Carthage, Illinois
1844, October 22 Great Disappointment: false prediction of Second Coming of Christ by Millerites
1844, December Ellen G. White, co-founder and prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has her first vision
1845 Southern Baptist Convention formed in Augusta, Georgia
1846 Our Lady of La Salette
1847 Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod founded in Chicago, Illinois
1847 John Christian Frederick Heyer, missionary, arrives in Andhra Pradesh, India
1848 Epistle to the Easterners and Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs response
1848 Oneida Community founded by John Humphrey Noyes in western New York state
1849 Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe founds the first deaconess house in Neuendettelsau, Bavaria
1850 Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod founded in Milwaukee
1853 Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America founded outside Madison, Wisconsin
1854 Missionary Hudson Taylor arrives in China
1854 Immaculate Conception defined as Catholic dogma
1855 Søren Kierkegaard, founder of Christian existentialism
1855 Samuel Simon Schmucker begins attempt to replace the Augsburg Confession with the Definite Platform in the General Synod, leading to schism in 1866
1858 Bernadette Soubirous receives the first of 18 apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France.
1859 Ashbel Green Simonton, missionary, arrives in Brazil and founds Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, the oldest Brazilian Protestant denomination
1863 Seventh-day Adventist Church officially formed 19 years after the Great Disappointment
1865 Methodist preacher William Booth founds the Salvation Army, vowing to bring the gospel into the streets to the most desperate and needy
1866 General Council (Lutheran) formed by ten Lutheran synods in the United States
1869–1870 Catholic First Vatican Council asserts doctrine of Papal Infallibility (rejected by Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland)
1870 Italy declares war on the Papal States; Italian Army enters Rome; Papal States cease to exist
1871 Pontmain, France is saved from advancing German troops with the appearing of Our Lady of Hope
1871–1878 German Kulturkampf against Roman Catholicism
1872 Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America organized
1876 Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany) founded
1878 First translation of the New Testament into Batak by Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen
1879 Knock, Ireland is location of apparition of Our Lady, Queen of Ireland
1879 Church of Christ, Scientist founded in Boston by Mary Baker Eddy
1881–1894 Revised Version, called for by Church of England, uses Greek based on Septuagint (B) and (S), Hebrew Masoretic Text used in OT, follows Greek order of words, greater accuracy than AV, includes Apocrypha, scholarship never disputed
1884 Charles Taze Russell founds Bible Student movement
1885–1887 Uganda Martyrs
1885 Baltimore Catechism published
1886 Moody Bible Institute founded
1886 Onesimos Nesib begins translation of the entire Bible into the Oromo language
1886 Johann Flierl, missionary, arrives in New Guinea
1891 Albert Maclaren and Copland King, Anglican missionaries, arrive in New Guinea
1893 Heresy trial of Luther Alexander Gotwald
1894 The Kingdom of God is Within You, by Leo Tolstoy, start of Christian anarchism
1897 Christian flag conceived in Brooklyn, New York
1899 Gideons International founded
1900 Eastern Orthodoxy is introduced in Korea^[55]

20th century

1902 Geevarghese Gregorios of Parumala, Indian Orthodox Church dies
1903 First group baptism at Sattelberg Mission Station under Christian Keyser in New Guinea paves way for mass conversions during the following years
1904 Welsh revival
1904 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil – Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil – is founded on June 24 in São Pedro do Sul city, State Rio Grande do Sul
1905 French law on the separation of Church and State
1906 Albert Schweitzer publishes The Quest of the Historical Jesus (English translation 1910)
1906 Biblia Hebraica
1906–1909 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California begins modern Pentecostal movement
1907 The Church of God in Christ is formed as a Pentecostal body
1907–1912 Nicholas of Japan, Archbishop of Japanese Orthodox Church
1908 Church of the Nazarene founded in Pilot Point, Texas
1909 Scofield Reference Bible published
1909–1911 The Rosicrucian Fellowship, an international association of Esoteric Christian mystics, founded at Mount Ecclesia
1910 Christian Congregation in Brazil founded in Santo Antônio da Platina, Brazil by Italo-American Louis Francescon. It begins Pentecostalism in Brazil and South America
1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference launches modern missions movement and modern ecumenical movement; 5-point statement of the Presbyterian General Assembly also used by Fundamentalists
1910–1915 The Fundamentals, a 12-volume collection of essays by 64 British and American scholars and preachers, forms foundation of Fundamentalism
1912 Re-establishment of Catholicate of the East of Indian Orthodox Church in Kerala, India. Baselios Paulose II as the Catholicose of the East.
1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
1914 Welsh Church Act 1914
1914 Iglesia ni Cristo incorporated in the Philippines by its founder Felix Y. Manalo
1914 Paul Olaf Bodding completes his translation of the Bible into the Santali language
1915 Ellen G. White, co-founder and prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, dies
1915–1923 The Armenian genocide occurs
1916 Father Divine founds International Peace Mission movement
1916 And did those feet in ancient time
1917 Heinrich Hansen publishes Lutheran Evangelical Catholic theses Stimuli et Clavi
1917 Our Lady of Fatima appears Marian apparitions to 3 young people, in Fátima, Portugal – Jacinta Marto, Francisco Marto and Lúcia Santos ("Sister Lucia")
1917, 13 October: Miracle of the Sun is witnessed by as many as 100,000 people in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal ("How the Sun Danced at Midday at Fátima")
1917 Restitution of the Moscow Patriarchy with Tikhon as patriarch
1917 True Jesus Church founded in Beijing
1918 Execution of Holy Martyrs of Russia, including the last tsar, Nicholas II, and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, by the Communists
1918 United Lutheran Church in America founded
1919 Karl Barth's Commentary on Romans is published, critiquing Liberal Christianity and beginning the neo-orthodox movement
1920 The Ecclesia, an Esoteric Christian Temple, is erected and dedicated on Christmas Day (December 25)
1921 Oxford Group founded at Oxford
1922 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America founded
1922 The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments, a New Translation by James Moffatt published
1923 Aimee Semple McPherson builds Angelus Temple
1924 First religious radio station in the U.S., KFUO (AM), founded
1925 Scopes Trial causes division among Fundamentalists
1925 United Church of Canada formed
1925 St. Therese of Lisieux canonized
1925 The World Conference of Life and Work is held in Stockholm, Sweden
1926 Father Charles Coughlin's first radio broadcast
1926–1929 Cristero War in Mexico: The Constitution of 1917 brings persecution of Christian practices and anti-clerical laws – approximately 4,000 Catholic priests are expelled, assassinated or executed
1927 Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly founds the Congregation of Sisters of the Destitute
1927 Pope Pius XI decrees Comma Johanneum open to dispute
1929 Lateran Treaty signed, containing three agreements between kingdom of Italy and the papacy
1929 Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly dies
1929 Voice of Prophecy radio ministry founded by Seventh-day Adventist pastor H.M.S. Richards Sr.
1930 Rastafari movement founded
1930 Old American Lutheran Church founded
1930 The Lutheran Hour begins with Walter A. Maier as speaker
1931 Jehovah's Witnesses formally separate from the Bible Student movement
1931 Christ the Redeemer (statue) built in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1932 Franz Pieper's A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod adopted by the LCMS
1932 Marian apparitions to five school children in Beauraing, Belgium as Lady Virgin of the Poor^[56]
1933 Catholic Worker Movement founded
1933 The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts by George Lamsa published
1934 Herbert W. Armstrong founds Radio Church of God
1935 Gunnar Rosendal publishes Lutheran High Church manifesto Kyrklig förnyelse
1935 Dr. Frank C. Laubach, known as "The Apostle to the Illiterates", working in the Philippines, develops a literacy program that continues to teach millions of people to read
1935 Alfred Rahlf's critical edition of the Koine Greek Septuagint published
1935 Billy Sunday, early U.S. radio evangelist, dies
1938 First Debbarma Christian, Manindra Debbarma, is baptized at Agartala
1938 Tripura Baptist Christian Union established at Laxmilunga, Tripura
1939 Southern and Northern US branches of the Methodist Episcopal Church, along with the Methodist Protestant Church, reunite to form The Methodist Church (slavery had divided the church in the 19th century)
1940 Monumento Nacional de Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos, world's largest cross, 152.4 meters high
1942 National Association of Evangelicals founded
1945 On the Feast of the Annunciation, "Our Lady" appears to a simple woman, Ida Peerdeman, in Amsterdam. This is the first of 56 appearances as "Our Lady of All Nations",^[57] which took place between 1945 and 1959.
1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer is executed by the Nazis
1945 Ludwig Müller
1945 The Nag Hammadi library is discovered
1946–1952 Revised Standard Version, revision of AV "based on consonantal Hebrew text" for OT and best available texts for NT, done in response to changes in English usage
1947 Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism by Carl F. H. Henry, a landmark of Evangelicalism versus Fundamentalism in US
1947 Oral Roberts founds the Evangelistic Association
1947 Dead Sea scrolls discovered
1947 Lutheran World Federation founded
1948 World Council of Churches is founded
1948 Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, see also Christian Zionism
1949 Evangelist Billy Graham preaches his first Los Angeles crusade
1949, October 2: Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Community – Comunidade Evangélica Luterana São João da Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil – is founded in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul
1950 First part of the Common Confession between the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is adopted, resulting in the schism of the Orthodox Lutheran Conference
1950 New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures released
1950 Assumption of Mary decreed by Pope Pius XII
1950 Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa
1951 Bishop Fulton Sheen (1919–1979) debuts his television program Life is Worth Living on the DuMont Network, a half hour lecture program on Roman Catholic theology that remained the number one show on U.S. television for its time slot, winning several Emmys until Sheen ended the program in 1957
1951 The Last Temptation of Christ, a fictional account of the life of Jesus written by Nikos Kazantzakis, wherein Christ's divinity is juxtaposed with his humanity, is published, and promptly banned in many countries
1951 Campus Crusade for Christ founded at UCLA
1952 Novum Testamentum Graece, critical edition of Greek NT, basis of modern translations, published
1952 C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity published
1952 This Is the Life TV series begins
1954 Unification Church founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon, under the name Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (acronym HSA-UWC)
1954 U.S. Pledge of Allegiance modified by act of Congress from "one nation, indivisible" to "one nation under God, indivisible"
1956 In God We Trust designated U.S. national motto
1956 Anchor Bible Series
1956 The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
1956 It Is Written television ministry founded by Seventh-day Adventist pastor George Vandeman
1957 United Church of Christ founded by ecumenical union of Congregationalists and Evangelical & Reformed, representing Calvinists and Lutherans
1957 English translation of Walter Bauer's Wörterbuch ...: A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, University of Chicago Press
1958 Sedevacantism, the belief that the office of the pope is vacant, begins with the death of Pope Pius XII
1959 Family Radio founded by Harold Camping
1959 Franz Pieper's A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod reaffirmed by the LCMS
1960 Merger creates the "new" American Lutheran Church
1960 John F. Kennedy becomes the first Roman Catholic to be elected President of the United States
1961 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures published
1961 Christian Broadcasting Network founded by Pat Robertson
1962 Engel v. Vitale, first U.S. Supreme Court decision against School prayer
1962 Karl Rahner, Joseph Ratzinger, Yves Congar, John Courtney Murray, Hans Küng among others appointed "periti" for upcoming Second Vatican Council. Rahner famous for paraphrasing Augustine's axiom: "Many whom God has the Church does not have; and many whom the Church has, God does not have."
1962–1965 Catholic Second Vatican Council, announced by Pope John XXIII in 1959, produces 16 documents which become official Roman Catholic teaching after approval by the Pope, purpose to renew "ourselves and the flocks committed to us"
1963 Martin Luther King Jr. leads a civil rights march in Washington, D.C.
1963 A campaign by atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair results in U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting reading of Bible in public schools
1963 Oral Roberts University founded
1963 Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America dissolves in schism
1963 New Testament of Beck's American Translation completed, thousands of copies distributed through The Lutheran Hour
1965 Reginald H. Fuller's The Foundations of New Testament Christology
1965 Rousas John Rushdoony founds Chalcedon Foundation
1965 Nostra aetate declaration promulgated at Vatican II that repudiates the charge of deicide against Jews
1966 Roman Catholic Index of Prohibited Books abolished
1966 Raymond E. Brown's Commentary on the Gospel of John
1967 Lutheran Council in the United States of America organized
1968 In Zeitoun, Egypt, a bright image of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Zeitoun was seen over the Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Demiana for over a 3-year period.
1968 United Methodist Church formed with union of Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church, becoming the largest Methodist/Wesleyan church in the world
1968 Troy Perry established the first congregation of what later became the Metropolitan Community Church, first denomination formed for LGBT people
1970s The Jesus movement takes hold in the U.S.
1970 Mass of Paul VI replaces Tridentine Mass
1970 The Late, Great Planet Earth, futurist book by Hal Lindsey, published
1970? Chick Publications founded
1971 New American Standard Bible published
1971 The Exorcist, a novel of demonic possession and the mysteries of the Catholic faith, is published
1971 Liberty University founded by Jerry Falwell
1972 Most Lutheran free churches in Germany merge, forming the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church
1972, William Johnson becomes first openly gay man ordained by the United Church of Christ
1973, June 12: Near the city of Akita, received a Marian apparitiion known as Our Lady of Akita in which three messages were given to her over a period 5 months^[58]
1973 Trinity Broadcasting Network founded by Paul and Jan Crouch
1973 New International Version of the Bible is first published (revised in 1978, 1984), using a variety of Greek texts, Masoretic Hebrew texts, and current English style
1973 Walkout at Concordia Seminary begins the Seminex controversy in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
1974 Jim Bakker founds PTL television ministry
1975 Bruce Metzger's Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament published
1976 Anneliese Michel, Bavarian woman, undergoes exorcism against demon possession
1976 Suicide by self-immolation of East German pastor Oskar Brüsewitz, leads to mass protests against communism
1977 New Perspective on Paul movement begun with E. P. Sanders' 1977 work Paul and Palestinian Judaism.
1977 Focus on the Family founded by James Dobson
1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy issued
1978–2005 Pope John Paul II: reaffirmed moral traditions (The Splendor of Truth)
1979 Nova Vulgata replaces Clementine Vulgate
1979 Moral Majority founded by Jerry Falwell
1979 Jesus (1979 film), most watched movie of all time according to New York Times
1979–1982? New King James Version, complete revision of the 1611 Authorized (King James) Version, updates archaisms while retaining style
1980 Glacier View Conference: Seventh-day Adventist pastor and professor Desmond Ford is defrocked for questioning the sanctuary doctrine of the church, in a 1979 lecture at Pacific Union College
1981 Kibeho, Rwanda, reported that "Our Lady" appeared to several teenagers telling them to pray to avoid "rivers of blood" (Marian apparitions)^[59]
1981 Mother Angelica launches EWTN; it grows to become one of the largest television networks in the world; the operation expands to radio in 1992
1981 Institute on Religion and Democracy is founded
1981 Pope John Paul II shot by Mehmet Ali Agca; survives and later forgives him
1982 Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics
1985 Jesus Seminar founded
1985 E. P. Sanders' Jesus and Judaism published
1986 Chicago Statement on Biblical Application
1986 Dutch Remonstrant Brotherhood becomes the first Protestant church worldwide to approve seme-sex marriage.
1986 Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican Archbishop of South Africa; joins anti-apartheid movement
1987 Danvers Statement – Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
1988 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America founded
1988 Lutheran Council in the United States of America dissolved
1988 Christian Coalition founded by Pat Robertson
1988 The Last Temptation of Christ, directed by Martin Scorsese, is released by Universal Pictures, and promptly attacked as heretical by organized Christian and Catholic groups
1988 The celebration of 1,000 years since the baptism of Kievan Rus throughout the R.O.C.
1988 Assemblies of God pastor Jimmy Swaggart caught in sex scandal
1989 New Revised Standard Version
1990 American Center for Law and Justice founded
1991 John P. Meier's series A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, v. 1
1992 New Catechism of the Catholic Church published
1993 Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference founded
1993 International Lutheran Council founded
1994 "Evangelicals & Catholics Together"^[60]
1994 Porvoo Communion
1994 Answers In Genesis founded by Ken Ham
1994, July 3: Glorification of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
1996 Cambridge Declaration – Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals^[61]
1997, March 5–10: World Council of Churches: Towards a Common Date for Easter, see also Reform of the date of Easter
1998, April 6 PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ
1999 International House of Prayer in Kansas City begins non-stop 24/7 continual prayer
1999, October 31: signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church
1999 Gospel of Jesus Christ – An Evangelical Celebration; a consensus Gospel endorsed by various evangelical leaders including J.I. Packer, John Ankerberg, Jerry Falwell, Thomas C. Oden, R.C. Sproul, Wayne Grudem, Charles Swindoll, et al.
1999 Radical orthodoxy Christian theological movement begins, critiquing modern secularism and emphasizing the return to traditional doctrine; similar to the Paleo-orthodoxy Christian theological movement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, which sees the consensual understanding of the faith among the Church Fathers as the basis of Biblical interpretation and the foundation of the Church
2000 Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ founded in schism from Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over fellowship with the Episcopal Church
2000 Visions of the Virgin Mary are reported in Assiut, Upper Egypt;^[62] phenomena associated to Mary is reported again in 2006, in a church at the same location during the Divine Liturgy.^[63] Local Coptic priests and then the Coptic Orthodox Church of Assiut issue statements in 2000 and 2006 respectively

21st century

2001 The Way of the Master founded
2001 Armenia marks 1,700th anniversary of Christianity as its state religion (First country to adopt Christianity as its state religion – Kingdom of Armenia – 301 AD)
2003 Mission Province is established in Church of Sweden: heralding a new era for confessional Lutheranism in Scandinavia
2003 – Publication of Back To Jerusalem Called to Complete the Great Commission
2003 – Coptic priest Fr. Zakaria Botros begins his television and internet mission to Muslims, resulting in thousands of conversions
2005 Death of Pope John Paul II, election of Pope Benedict XVI
2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District rules intelligent design as "unscientific", banning the teaching in American science classes and thereby dealing a major blow to creationism
2005 United Church of Christ becomes first protestant denomination to support same-sex marriage
2006 Legion of Christ begins to rapidly decline following the disgrace of its founder Marcial Maciel
2006 World Methodist Council votes unanimously to adopt the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
2006 Abdul Rahman, an Afghan Christian convert, is forced out of Afghanistan by local Muslim leaders and exiled to Italy
2006 Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism, signed by several Christian denominations in the Middle East, criticizes the doctrine as associating the Gospel with imperialism and militarism
2006 Film of the Gospel of Judas, a 2nd-century Gnostic account of Judas discovered in the 1970s, is shown on TV
2007 Creation Museum opens in Kentucky, United States
2007 American Association of Lutheran Churches and LCMS declare pulpit and altar fellowship
2007, May 17: Russian Orthodox Church is reunified after 80 years of schism with Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a formerly True Orthodox sect that officially became semi-Autonomous
2007 Pope Benedict XVI issues his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which liberalized the use of the traditional Latin Mass
2008 Conservative Anglicans indicate plans to split from liberal Anglicans in "The Jerusalem Declaration"
2009 Damien of Molokai canonized; apostle to lepers
2009, August 21: Minneapolis Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA passes four ministry policy resolutions that permit clergy in committed homosexual partnerships to be rostered leaders within the ELCA
2009 The Rosicrucian Fellowship, an international association of Esoteric Christian mystics,^[64] celebrates the centennial anniversary -- The Fraternity should remain secret one hundred years;^[65] the celebration ceremonies, on August 8 and November 13^[66] at Mount Ecclesia, serve the purpose of heralding the revival of the Christian mystic path of the Rose Cross.^[67]^[68]
2009 Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly declared Servant of God
2009 Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience is issued, signed by over 150 American religious leaders
2009 Anglican Church in North America is founded by former Episcopalian churches
2009 Pope Benedict XVI issues apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, establishing personal ordinariates for Anglican Use Catholics
2010 Lutheran CORE creates North American Lutheran Church in schism from the ELCA
2010, October 31: Attack on Baghdad church results in 52 deaths^[69]
2011, January 1: A church in Alexandria, Egypt, is bombed, killing 21 people, mostly Christians
2011 Martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistani politician, the only Christian elected member of the National Assembly, and outspoken critic of Pakistan's blasphemy laws
2012: ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians established by former members of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
2013, March: Pope Francis, an Argentinean, becomes the first non-European pope in modern times, first pope from the Jesuit order, the first pope from the Americas, and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere.
2014 No Mass is said in Mosul for the first time in 1,600 years due to the city's fall to ISIL
2015: Catholicos Karekin II canonizes 1.5 million Armenians killed in Armenian genocide as martyrs
2015 Coptic Martyrs in Libya
2016, June 19 – June 26: The Pan-Orthodox Council at Crete
2016: Four cardinals issue dubia, asking Pope Francis to clarify his statements on divorced and civilly remarried couples receiving Holy Communion
2017, November 5: Mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, kills 26 people and injures 20; deadliest shooting in an American place of worship in modern history^[70]
2018: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò accuses Pope Francis of removing sanctions placed on then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick
2018: Pope Francis signs agreement allowing Chinese Communist Party to appoint bishops while crackdown on Chinese Catholics continues
2018, early October: Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople decides to grant autocephaly to proposed Ukrainian Orthodox Church on January 6, 2019.
2018, October 15: Russian Orthodox Church announces break in relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople over objections of communion with the formerly noncanonical Ukrainian Orthodox Churches
2018, December 15: Unification council merges former Ukrainian Orthodox Churches of UOC-KP, UAOC, and parts of UOC-MP into the unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church
2019: 259 churchgoers murdered in Sri Lanka Easter bombings
2020, March: Public masses suspended in cities around the world due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020, April: Conversion of Hagia Sophia back to a mosque
2021, July 12: His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Paulose II (Catholicose of the East and Malankara Metropolitan) Supreme Head of the Indian Orthodox Church, dies

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c.2100 BC	Calling of Abraham - the Father of the Jewish nation.
c.2000 BC	Birth of Jacob, later to be called Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel are named after Jacob's sons.
c.1900 BC	Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt. Israelites eventually become captives in the land.
c.1446 or 1290 BC	The Exodus begins. Led by Moses, the Israelites leave Egypt and eventually settle in Canaan.
c.1010 BC	David becomes king of Israel, making Jerusalem his capital.
c.970 BC	David's son Solomon becomes king. He later builds a temple in Jerusalem to honour God.
c.930 BC	Following Solomon's death, the Kingdom is divided into two sections: Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah).
753 BC	Traditional date for the founding of Rome.
722 BC	Fall of the kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians.
612 BC	Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, falls to the Babylonians.
586 BC	Babylonians take Jerusalem and destroy Solomon's temple. Jewish nation is taken into captivity in Babylon (the exile).
c.538 BC	Return of some of the exiles. Start of reconstruction of the temple.
c.512 BC	Completion of the temple.
c.330 BC	Conquest by Alexander the Great. Rise of Hellenism (Greek culture).
c.250 BC	Work begins to translate the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. This is known as the Septuagint or LXX.
63 BC	Roman rule of Israel begins.
c.4 BC	Birth of Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem.
c.30 AD	Death of Jesus Christ.
c.33	Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Sometimes known as the Birthday of the Church.
c.33	Stephen - First Christian martyr (Acts 7).
c.48	Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) - a Watershed Moment Gentile Christians accepted alongside those in the Jewish tradition.
c.60	First Gospel published (often thought to be that written by Mark).
62	Martyrdom of James, "The Lord's Brother".
c.67-68	Apostles Peter and Paul* martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero.
70	Jewish rebellion against the Roman empire ends. Destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
From 70	Centre of Christianity moves to Antioch, Alexandria and Rome.
c.90	Book of Revelation and Gospel of Saint John written.
161-80	Widespread persecution of Christians under Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. (Severe persecutions also occurred under the emperors Decius (249-251) and Diocletian (284-305)).
301	Armenia becomes the world's first country to officially adopt Christianity as the state religion.
312	Roman emperor Constantine receives a vision of a flaming cross with the words 'In hoc signo vinces' : 'By this sign conquer'. Defeats rival Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
313	Edict of Milan issued by Constantine - Christianity becomes a legal religion within the Roman empire.
325	Constantine calls the first ecumenical council at Nicea. Arian heresy which declared Christ was a created being is refuted. Nicene Creed is drawn up, declaring Christ to be "...Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father..."
367	Saint Athanasius is the first to list all 27 New Testament books in his festal letter.
381	Ecumenical Council at Constantinople revises the Nicene creed to its current form.
c.382	Saint Jerome begins a translation of the Bible into Latin.
397	Synod at Carthage ratifies the 27 books of the New Testament as sacred scripture.
431	Ecumenical council held at Ephesus refutes Nestorianism. (The doctrine that Christ was two persons (one human, the other divine) in one body). Mary is declared Theotokos i.e. 'God-bearer' or more commonly, 'Mother of God'.
449	At Ephesus, Pope Leo I delivers his 'Tome', defending orthodox Christian belief. Leo also asserts Papal supremacy.
451	Ecumenical council at Chalcedon affirms Christ as having two distinct natures united in one person (known as the 'Hypostatic Union').
553	Ecumenical council at Constantinople affirms teaching of previous councils.
563	Columba establishes a monastery at Iona.
589	Insertion of the filioque (Latin: 'and the son') into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed at a council in Toledo.
597	Following a mission authorized by Pope Gregory I, St. Augustine becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
664	Synod of Whitby ratifies the authority of the Pope in England.
680-81	Ecumenical council at Constantinople rejects Monothelite heresy of one will in Christ.
731	The Venerable Bede writes his Ecclesiastical History.
787	Ecumenical council at Nicea ends the controversy over the use of icons in worship.
800	Charlemagne is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III.
988	Conversion of Prince Vladimir in Kiev. Growth of Christianity in Russia.
1054	Great Schism - Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic churches separate.
1095	Pope Urban II authorises the first Crusade to recover the Holy Land from Moslems.
1099	Crusaders conquer Jerusalem.
1182	Massacre of Latin inhabitants of Constantinople.
1187	Jerusalem recaptured by a Moslem army led by Saladin.
1189	Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart of England.
1204	Sack of Constantinople during the fourth crusade.
1216/23	Papal approval of the Dominican and Franciscan mendicant ('begging') orders.
1266-73	Thomas Aquinas writes his great work of systematic Theology: Summa Theologiae.
1305	Papacy moved to Avignon following a dispute with Philip IV of France.
c.1341	Defence of Orthodox spirituality by Gregory Palamas. Rise of Hesychasm.
c.1376	John Wycliffe writes 'Civil Dominion', arguing for reform of the church.
1378	Following the return of the Papacy to Rome, rival claimants (Antipopes) emerge. Dispute ends in 1417 with election of Martin V.
c.1380	John Wycliffe translates the Bible into Middle English.
1453	Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks.
1517	Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Wittenburg, Germany; beginning the Protestant reformation.
1521	Diet of Worms - Luther's final breach with the Catholic church.
1525	William Tyndale completes his translation of the Bible into English.
1534	Ignatius of Loyola founds the Jesuits.
1534	Act of Supremacy passed - Henry VIII becomes supreme head of the English church.
1536	John Calvin publishes his Institutes of the Christian Religion.
1545-63	Council of Trent - Roman Catholic counter reformation.
1549	Thomas Cranmer publishes the Book of Common Prayer in England (later revised in 1662).
1555	Peace of Augsburg ends religious wars in Germany.
1611	Publication of the King James Version of the Bible.
1618-48	Protestant/Catholic conflict in Germany (Thirty Years War).
1730-60	The 'Great Awakening' - A revival movement among Protestants in the USA.
1738	John and Charles Wesley converted. They lead an Evangelical revival in England and form the Methodist church.
1854	Dogma of the Immaculate conception of Mary proclaimed by the Roman Catholic church.
1870-1	First Vatican council. Dogma of Papal infallibility proclaimed.
1906	Azusa street revival in Los Angeles. Beginnings of the Pentecostal movement.
1910	World mission conference held in Edinburgh.
1918	Billy Graham born. Later becomes one of the most prominent evangelists in Christian history.
1948	Formation of the World Council of Churches.
1950	Dogma of the Assumption of Mary proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church.
1962-5	Second Vatican council. Major reforms in the Roman Catholic church are initiated. Mutual anathemas of 1054 between Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches lifted.
1997	Death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta - founder of the 'Missionaries of Charity'.
1999	Signing of the Joint Declaration on Justification by the Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches.
2005	Death of Pope John Paul II, who is succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI.
2006	World Methodist Council adopts the Lutheran/Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification.
2011	Beatification of Pope John Paul II.
2013	Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who is succeeded by Pope Francis.

Relevancy22: Contemporary Process Christianity: Post-Evangelic Topics and Theology

Quotes & Sayings

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Process Theology and the Many Creeds of the Christian Church - Part 2