A compilation of the most important dates in Church history. (c. is abbreviation of the Latin word circa which means around, or approximately. Most early dates are approximate, unless confirmed by reliable sources.)
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| c.4500 BC | God created mankind. |
| c.2840 BC | Noah’s flood. |
| c.2420 BC | Calling of Abraham – the Father of the Jewish nation. |
| c.2290 BC | Birth of Jacob, later to be called Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel are named after Jacob’s sons. |
| c.1990 BC | The Exodus begins. Led by Moses, the Israelites leave Egypt and eventually settle in Canaan. |
| c.1555 BC | David becomes king of Israel, making Jerusalem his capital. |
| c.1515 BC | David’s son Solomon becomes king. He later builds a temple in Jerusalem to honour God. |
| c.1090 BC | Israelites captivity in Babylon. |
| 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.445 BC | The decree of Artaxerxes to restore the temple. Beginning of Daniel’s “seventy week” prophecy. |
| 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.32 AD | Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. |
| c.32 | Death of Jesus Christ. |
| c.32 | Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Sometimes known as the Birthday of the Church. |
| c.35 | Stephen – First Christian martyr (Acts 7). Paul converted. |
| c.46 | Paul began his missionary journeys. |
| c.48 | Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). 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 authorised 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 | 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. |
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