Most Important Dates In Church History

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.