Major World Events

Beginning to 1 BCE * 1-999 AD/CE * 1000-1499 AD/CE. *. 1500 AD/CE - Present

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The History of the Church

Before you scroll through the dates on this page, take 5 min and explore a youtube version of a church history timeline.  It goes fast, so you may need to watch it again. You can turn off the sound, if you need to! Enjoy.

Also, check out: Visual Timeline of the Early Church Fathers by Mark Barry from 30 AD to 500 AD - Very Helpful. 

1-99

• 25 - Han Dynasty founded (lasted 220 yrs, Buddhism was introduced to China)

• 30 - Jesus died and resurrected from the grave 

• 35 b. Ignatius. His letters to churches and to Polycarp are widely quoted in the early church

• 37 - Emperor Caligula begins to reign in Rome

• 41 - Emperor Caligula assassinated;

• 44-49 - Books of the Bible: James and Galatians

• 50-54 - Books of the Bible: Mark, Mathew, I & 2 Thessalonians,

• 51 The Jewish persecution of Christians in Rome becomes so disruptive that the Jews are expelled from the city

• 54 - Claudius Murdered by wife; Her son Nero took leadership

• 55-59 - Books of the Bible: 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans

• 60 b. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor. "He was a man of long ago and the disciple of one 'John' and a companion of Polycarp," according to Irenaeus

• 60-64 - Books of the Bible: Luke, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, Acts, I Timothy, Titus, I Peter

• 64 - Rome Burns; may have been set by Nero?

  • 64 Emperor Nero blames the fire that destroys much of Rome on the Christians. He persecutes the church ruthlessly and uses Christians as candles to light his garden. It is likely that both Peter and Paul were executed during this persecution

• 65-69 - Books of the Bible: 2 Timothy, 2 Peter, Hebrews, Jude

• 68 - Four emperors lead, Vespasian, comes out on top

  • 68 The end of Nero's reign

• 69 b. Polycarp, in Smyrna. He was a strong defender of the faith in Asia Minor combating the Marcionites and the Valentinians. Irenaeus reported that Polycarp had communication with John the Apostle and 'others who had seen the Lord'

• 70 - Jerusalem falls; Titus takes the city on Ab 9, burning the city and selling tens of thousand Jewish slaves

• 73 - Masada falls. Jewish zealots held off Roman forces for 3 yrs. Committed mass suicide to avoid capture

• 80 - The Colosseum Dedicated by Titus - used for Gladiator games until 404 AD

• 80-90 - Books of the Bible: John

• 81 Domitian becomes Emperor. As Emperor, he persecuted both Jews and Christians

• 89 - Domitian's Reign of Terror and heavy taxes

• 90-96 - Books of the Bible: 1, 2, 3 John Revelation

• 96 - Domitian assassinated; led to a series of five good emperors till 180 AD

  • Clement of Rome dies - wrote epistles to Corinth

• 98 - Trajan becomes emperor. Eventually instituted a policy toward Christians that stayed in effect until the time of Aurelius. His policy was not to seek Christians out, but if they were brought before the authorities they were to be punished, usually executed, for being Christians

100-199

• 100s -

  • Rome use glass for windows for the first time

  • Egyptian mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy believed that the stars and planets reviewed around the earth. The church adopted this theory for 1400+ years until Copernicus (1543). Surprisingly, Pythagoras (c 570-495 BCE) believed that the Earth was round and Aristarchus suggested that the earth and planets revolved around the sun. That didn’t take hold until Copernicus with Galileo (1609) confirming it with a telescope instead of relying on human senses.

• 107 - Ignatius martyred in Rome

• 130 d. Papias

  • 130 Conversion of Justin Martyr. Justin loved philosophy and had studied many philosophies and pagan religions in his search for truth. He was an apologist and taught that the seeds of truth (logos) could be found in all religions, but that only Christianity taught the whole truth

• 140 Irenaeus born (d. 200)

• 144 - Marcion excommunicated for rejecting the Old Testament, rejecting most of the New Testament, and teaching that Christ only appeared to be human (Docetism). His challenge helps the church realize the necessity of formally recognizing the canon

• 150 - b. Clement of Alexandria (d.220) was an apologist who used Plato to support Christianity, and tried to reach gnostics by showing that only the Christian had real "gnosis." He helped establish the allegorical method of interpreting scripture. His works make up a large proportion of The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. II

• 155 - Polycarp martyred

• 156 Possibly the beginning of the Montanist movement. They were an aescetic movement with apocalyptic visions. They claimed the Spirit spoke directly through their prophets and prophetesses

• 160 Tertullian born (d. 220) He objected to Justin's use of philosophy to defend Christianity, saying "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?." Late in life he became a Montanist and wrote Against Praxeas, which helped the church understand the Trinity

• 161 - Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor

• 165 Justin is martyred

• 180 Marcus Aurelius, last of the five good emperors, Dies; succeeded by son, Commodus

• 185 - Origen born - Pupil of Clement of Alexandria, he further develops the allegorical method. This and his desire to relate to the Neoplatonists in Alexandria led him away from orthodoxy in some matters.

200-299

• 200 - Irenaeus dies

• 202 - Septimus Severus tries to unite the empire under one religion, the worship of the Unconquered Sun. Both Jews and Christians refuse and are vehemently persecuted

• 216 b. Mani, founder of Manichaeism. He fused Persian, Christian, and Buddhist elements into a major new heresy

• 220 - Clement of Alexandria dies

• 225 - Tertullian dies

• 231 Chinese invent the wheelbarrow.

• 250 Decius orders persecution of Christians. New laws make emperor-worship compulsory. 249-251 He ordered everyone in the empire to burn incense to him. Those who complied were issued a certificate. Those who did not have a certificate were persecuted. Many Christians bought forged certificates, causing great controversy in the church

• 251-first sprinkling by a sick man who was afraid to die

• 254 - Origen dies (b 185)

• 263 b. Eusebius of Caesarea. He was the first church historian. Many works of the early church survive only as fragments

300-399

• 303 - Diocletian begins general persecution of Christians, churches AND scriptures burned, clergy imprisoned

• 305 - persecution stops

• 306 - Emperor Constantine I ascends to the throne in the western half of the empire.

• 310 b. Apollinaris, the heretic who said that Jesus had a human body but not a human mind; He had the divine mind. Gregory of Nazianzus' reply: "What has not been assumed cannot be restored"

• 313 - February- Constantine embraced Christianity. The edict of Milan gives Christians equal rights. It is issued by Constantine in the West and Licinius in the East, but Licinius soon withdraws his commitment to it

• 314 By this date, there is a significant number of Christians in Britain

• 320 - The Chinese invent the first helicopter top spun by pulling a cord.

• 323-Constantine begins a program to extend his power to the East.

• 324-Constantine temporarily re-unites the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire.

• 325 - 1st Council of Nicea-Constantine calls for a world-wide council (Pope St. Sylvestor, #33 from Peter). Major issue: condemns Arianism. Arius, in Alexandria, taught that Christ was the first created being, that there was a time when He was not. The council declared that Jesus was begotten, not made and that He is Homoousios, of the same substance as the Father.

  • Prior to this meeting, churches around the world celebrated Easter at various times. The council created a formula to figure when Easter would be celebrated as a move of unity for the churches. To guarantee all churches celebrate Easter on the same day, it was determined that Easter would be on the first Sunday after the first full moon, which follows the vernal equinox (which was also determined would be March 21), but always after Jewish Passover (Nisan 15). This was the practice through the Great Schism in 1054 but diverged when the Western Catholic church switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1582 making the vernal equinox on March 21; the Eastern Orthodox church remained on the Julian calendar with a vernal equinox of April 3.. Source.

• 329 - Basil the Great of Cappadocia, the monk who created the basic Rule for the Eastern Orthodox monks that is still in use today. Basil taught communal monasticism that serves the poor, sick, and needy. One immediate effect of the disappearance of persecution is the rise of monasticism to replace the old martyr witness

• 330 - Constantine established his capital at Byzantium, later Constantinople much to the dismay of the Romans.- spent four years building it

• 337 - Emperor Constantine of Byzantium dies. He is possibly baptized as a Christian on his deathbed.

  • Constantine's three sons, Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius share power peacefully for decades after his death.

• 347 - b. Jerome, the great Bible scholar and translator, author of the Vulgate

• 350 - Christianity--particularly Coptic branches considered heretical--reach Ethiopia.

• Constans dies.

• 351 - Roman Empire reunited once again

• 354 - b. Augustine of Hippo

• 366     In popular legend, this is the year Saint Augustine of Hippo first invents prayer beads in Europe.

• 367 - A letter of Athanasius names the 66 books of the canon

• 369 b. Pelagius

• 372 - Saint Basil, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, creates the first well-known public hospital.

• 380 Theodocius 1 - made Christianity the official religion

• 381 - Council of Constantinople. The Nicene position becomes dominant again, and the legal religion of the Empire. Jesus Christ is truly human, contrary to Apollinarianism, which held that Jesus had a human body but a divine mind.

• 382 A council in Rome affirms the authority of the New Testament canon. It is important to remember that the content of the canon was not a conciliar decision. The church recognized or discovered, the canon. The church did not determine the canon

  • Commissioned for Jerome to write the Latin Vulgate.

• 386 - Augustine was converted in a garden in Milan after hearing a child saying, "Take up and read!" - Read Romans 13:13-14 - "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh."

• 387 - Augustine baptized by Ambrose

• c. 389 b. St. Patrick. He was a British Romanized Christian who established Christianity in Ireland

• 390 - b. Leo the Great, an outstanding pope. He was influential in Chalcedon. He also argued for papal supremacy and showed political leadership in his negotiations with Attila the Hun

• 391 Augustine ordained a priest in Hippo, North Africa

• 393 - Diodorus of Tarsus dies (b 320.

  • 393 The Council of Hippo recognizes the canon. To be recognized as canonical, a book had to be Apostolic, fit in with the other scriptures, and have been of fruitful use throughout the church up to that time

• 394-Saint Basil, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, creates the first well-known public hospital.

• 395 - When Theodocius died the Empire split permanently.

• 397 - Ambrose of Milan dies

  • 397-401 Augustine writes Confessions

400-499

• 400 d. Nestorius, the heretic who said that Mary was the bearer of Christ (christokos), but not the bearer of God (theotokos). He could not call a three-month-old Jesus God. So he said that Jesus Christ was two persons, whose only union was a moral one

  • Saint Augustine writes his Confessions.

• 401 - Pope Innocent I establishes the Petrine Doctrine. He claims universal jurisdiction over the Roman Church. He serves as pope until 417.

• 405 - Patrick to Ireland

  • Saint Jerome finishes his translation of the Vulgate Bible.

• 407 - John Chrysostom dies (b. 347)

• 410 - First recorded use of commemorative metal crucifix over a church attributed to Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, between the basilica and rotunda.

• 411-430 - Augustine's Anti-Pelagian writings. Pelagius rejected the idea that we all fell in Adam (Federal Headship), original sin, and the sin nature. We could earn our salvation by works, so grace is not necessary. Augustine insisted that we all sinned in Adam, and spiritual death, guilt, and our diseased nature is the result. God's grace is necessary not only to be able to choose to obey God's commands but to be able to choose to turn to God initially for salvation

• 419 - Jerome dies (b. 345)

• 428 - Theodore of Mopsuestia dies (b. 350)

• 430 - Augustine dies (b. 354)

• 431 Council of Ephesus. Jesus Christ is one person, contrary to Nestorianism, which held that Christ was two persons, one divine and one human

• 432 - Saint Patrick begins a mission to Ireland. ???

• 433 - Attila rules the Huns. He dies in 453.

• 435 - Desert Father John Cassian dies

• 451 - Attila the Hun Defeated (d. 451)

  • 451 - Council of Chalcedon. Eutychianism is condemned, Dioscorus is deposed, The Tome of Leo is confirmed. Jesus Christ is "two natures, the Divine of the same substance as the Father (against Arianism), the human of the same substance as us (against Eutychianism), which are united unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably(against Nestorianism)." The church remains divided over these issues for the next 200 years

• 453 - Attila the Hun dies

• 461 - d. St. Patrick

• 475 - Romulus Augustus declared Roman Emperor. He will be the last one.

• 476 - Western Roman Empire Ends - Rome falls in its final death spasms under Romulus Augustulus. Odovacar the Goth and his forces depose Romulus Augustus. The traditional end of the Western Roman Empire, though the Eastern half continues and grows into the Byzantine Empire.

• 488 - Benedict, father of Western Monasticism (d.547)

500-599

• 512 - Arabic Alphabet of twenty-eight letters invented.

• 520 - Decimal system invented by Indian mathematicians Aryabhata and Varamihara.

• 527 - Justinian I Byzantine/Roman Emperor (527-65), tried to retake Western Rome Emperor.  Restricted and modernized law which our law is based on.

• 529 - The Council of Orange approves the Augustinian doctrine of sin and grace, but without absolute predestination

• 532 - Anno Domini dating system created by Dionysius Exiguus ("Denis the Short"), Scythian abbot of a monastery near Rome. The system will not become common for several centuries.

• 535 - Stained glass windows invented in Saint Sophia Cathedral. Stain-glass will not become common in Western Europe for several more centuries.

• 536 - a cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed ash across the Northern Hemisphere early in 536 set off a decade of horror that has been named the worst year to be alive: https://www.science.org/content/article/why-536-was-worst-year-be-alive

• 547 - Benedict (Benedictine order) dies

• 552 - Buddhism introduced to Japan

• 570 - Birth of Mohammed

• 590 - Gregory the Great becomes pope. He was a very effective and popular pope during a time when the government was weak. He fed the peasants and protected farms and villages from the Lombard invasion. His development of the doctrine of purgatory was instrumental in establishing the medieval Roman Catholic sacramental system

600-699

• 604 - Gregory the Great died

• 620 - Vikings begin invasions of Ireland

• 622 - Mohammed forced to flee Mecca to Medina -the flight known as the Hegira. Beginning of Islam

• 624 - Muhammad marries Aisha, the favorite of his four wives

  • Buddhism becomes the established religion of Japan

• 626 - Muhammad begins dictation of the Koran

• 630 - Mecca falls - Mohammed overtakes the city

• 632 - Mohammed dies - Abu Bakr became the first Caliph or "agent of the prophet"

• 637 - Jerusalem surrenders to Omar, the successor of Abu Bakr

• 642 - the Muslims take Egypt

700-799

• 8th Century Composition of Be Thou My Vision

• 700 - Chinese invent gun powder

  • The Arabs conquer Tunis. Coptic Christianity is nearly wiped out.

  • First surviving samples of Porcelain from the T'ang Dynasty in China.

  • Chinese invent ships with the stern-post rudder.

• 711 - Charlemagne became the Frankish ruler

  • Islam has spread from India to North Africa. All of North Africa is under Islamic control

• 726-787 The iconoclastic controversy. Emperor Leo III attacked the use of images. John of Damascus defended the use of icons in worship by differentiating between veneration and worship. He also argued that the use of images is an affirmation of Christ's humanity because a real person can be depicted. The opposition responds that images of Christ are not valid depictions because they can only represent his humanity, but not his divinity

• 732 Europeans turn back the Muslims at the Battle of Tours

• 735 - Bede and Lectio Divine

• 753- Pope Stephen baptism by sprinkling

• 771 - Charlemagne inherits the Frankish throne from his deceased father, Pepin. He rules until 814.

• 787 - Council of Nicea orders resumed veneration of images in the Church.

800-899

• 800 - Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor of the West.

• 820 - Algebra Invented by an Arabic Scholar derived from Hindu works

• 853 - Viking invaders take over Ireland. Viking rulers will remain in power until 1014.

• 861 - Vikings discover Iceland.

• 875-950 - the beginning of the dark ages - The Carolingian Empire was weakened and was assailed by new invaders. This period also marks the low point of the papacy

• 890 - Technique of nailed-on horseshoes invented and spreads through Siberia, Byzantium, and Germany.

900-999

• 900 - Curved iron mouldboard plows invented.

• 910 - Persian physician Rhazes - first to identify smallpox as different from measles. Suggested it was a blood disease.

• 932 - Chinese printers adapt Wood-block printing to mass-produce classical books.

• 978 - The Chinese compile a one-thousand-volume encyclopedia.

• 988 - Eastern Orthodox religion introduced to Russian lands around Kiev.​

Beginning to 1 BCE * 0-999 AD/CE * 1000-1499 AD/CE. *. 1500 AD/CE - Present