Notes on Church History

A Church HistoryTimeline

Compiled by R. Grant
Jones

If there is no timeline to the right,
click here.

Warning:  This is a work in progress,

and doubtless contains errors.

The Pre-Christian Background

First Century
Jesus,
Paul,
Nero,
Clement,

Persecutions under Nero and Domitian,
Synod of Jamnia

Second Century
Persecution under Trajan, Hadrian,and
Marcus Aurelius;
Ignatius of Antioch,
Symeon,
Marcion,

Quadratus,
Aristides,
Bar-Cocheba,
Justin Martyr,

Aristo of Pella,
Polycarp,
Montanus,
Claudius
Apollinaris,
Melito of Sardis,
Tertullian,
Irenaeus,

Victor of Rome,
Polycrates,
Clement of Alexandria

Third Century
Persecution under Septimius Severus,
Decius, and
Valerian;
Origen,
Callistus,

Hippolytus,
Dionysius,
Cyprian,
Stephen of
Rome,
Paul of Samosata,
Diocletian,
the Apostolic
Constitutions

Fourth Century (Part I)
Persecution under
Diocletian;
The council of Elvira,
Alban,
Lucian of
Antioch,
Constantine,
the Edict of Milan,

Alexander of Alexandria,
Arius,
Eusebius of
Nicomedia,
First Ecumenical Council (Nicea),
Eusebius
of Caesarea,
Athanasius,
Marcellus of Ancyra,

Julius of Rome,
Council of Antioch,
Council of
Sardica,
Cyril of Jerusalem

Fourth Century (Part II)
Councils of Sirmium,

Hilary of Poitiers,
Council of Arles,
Council of
Milan,
Liberius of Rome,
The “Blasphemy” of
Hosius,
Anomoeans,
Pneumatomachi,

Aetius,
Basil of Ancyra,
Rival Councils at Rimini
and Seleucia,
Jerome,
Julian the Apostate,

Meletius and Paulinus,
Damasus,
Basil the Great,

Gregory Nazianzus,
Gregory of Nyssa,

Epiphanius,
the Tall Brothers,
Second Ecumenical
Council (Constantinople),
Siricius,
Symeon the
Stylite,
Theodore of Mopsuestia,
Council of
Carthage,
Augustine of Hippo,
John Chrysostom

Fifth Century
Augustine of Hippo,
John
Chrysostom,
the Synod of the Oak,
Alaric Sacks
Rome,
John Cassian,
Pelagius,
Cyril of
Alexandria,
Theodore of Mopsuestia,
Jerome,

Theodoret,
Celestine,
Nestorius,
The
Twelve Anathemas,
Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus),

Vincent of Lerins,
Leo the Great,
Dioscorus,

Eutyches,
the Robber council,
Fourth Ecumenical Council
(Chalcedon),
Attila the Hun,
the end of the Roman
Empire in the West,
Peter the Fuller,
Acacius,

the Henoticon,
Gelasius

Sixth Century
Severus,
Julian of Helicarnassus,

John the Grammarian,
Burgundians renounce Arianism,

Justin,
schism over the Henoticon ends,
Hormisdas,

slaughter of Christians in Yemen,
Boethius,
Dionysios Exiguus,

Justinian,
Benedict,
Council of Orange,
St. Sabbas,

Hagia Sophia,
Pseudo-Dionysius,
Leontius of Jerusalem,

Evagrius,
Agapetus visits Constantinople,
Cassiodorus,

Dionysius Exiguus,
the Condemnation of Origen,
plague,

John Scholasticus,
Vigilius,
defeat of the Gothic
kingdom in Italy,
Fifth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople),
the
Suevis renounce Arianism,
Columba of Iona,
Lombards invade Italy,

Avar invasion,
Persian invasion,
Jacob
Baradaeus,
Maximus Confessor (birth),
Columbanus,

Visigoths renounce Arianism,
Council of Toledo (and the
filioque),
John of Biclar,
Gregory the Great,

Augustine of Canterbury

Seventh Century
Augustine of Canterbury,
the
Persians conquer Jerusalem and take the true cross,
Heraclius,

Sergios,
Honorius,
death of Mohammed,
Isidore of
Seville,
Sophronius,
last Arian king of the Lombards,
Aidan of
Lindisfarne,
the Ekthesis,
John Climacus,
destruction
of the library in Alexandria,
council at Rome (649),
Maximus
Confessor,
the Arab conquest,
the Synod of Whitby,

Wilfrid,
Athanasian Creed,
Benedict Biscop,
the Sixth
Ecumenical Council (Constantinople),
Maronites,
Willibrord,

Quinisext Council

Eighth Century
Arab conquest of Spain,
Coelfrith,

Boniface,
Paulicians,
Leo the Isaurian,

Iconoclasm,
John of Damascus,
the Venerable Bede,

the battle of Tours,
the Khazars,
Constantine
Copronymus,
the Donation of Constantine,
council of Gentily,

synod of Cealchythe,
Empress Irene,
forced conversion of the
Saxons,
Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea),
the synod of
Frankfort

Ninth Century
Charlemagne,
Alcuin,

Theodore Studites,
the council of Aachen,
Nicephorus,

the University of Constantinople,
the Synodicon of
Orthodoxy,
Gottschalk of Orbais,
persecution in Spain,

Photius,
Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals,
Nicholas I,

Cyril and Methodius,
John Scotus Erigena,
Conversion of
Bulgaria,
Ratramnus,
Radbertus,
Hincmar of
Reims,
Mount Athos,
the Synod horrenda

Tenth Century
Cluny,
the Bulgarian
patriarchate,
King Wencelaus of Bohemia,
the Magyars
defeated,
several bad popes,
influence in Denmark,
in
Norway,
in Poland,
in Hungary,
the Wendish Revolt,

Adalbert of Prague,
the conversion of Russia,
Olaf Tryggvason,

influence in Sweden

Eleventh Century
Leningrad Codex,
the
filioque first inserted into the creed in Rome,
Alexius
the Studite,
Phoundagiagitai,
King Stephen of Hungary,

persecution under Caliph Hakim,
Michael Psellus,
the
investiture controversy,
Berengar of Tours,
the East-West
Schism,
Michael Cerularius,
Jaroslav the Wise,

another Wendish uprising,
the Norman conquest,

Christianity imposed in Sweden,
Manzikert,
Hildebrand,

Henry IV,
John Italos,
Constantine the African,
Anselm,

Christodoulos,
the First Crusade,
the Cistercians

Twelfth Century
Basil the Bogomil,
the Holy Fire
in Jerusalem,
the Templars,
St. Cyril Philiotes,
Concordat of
Worms,
Otto of Bamburg,
Gratian’s Decretum,
Constantine
Chrysomallos,
Peter Abelard,
Bernard of Clairvaux,
the Second
Crusade,
the Wendish Crusade,
Peter Lombard,
Synod of
Blachernae,
Synod on John 14.28,
Cathari council in Languedoc,

Thomas Becket,
Euphronsyne of Polotsk,
Joachim of Fiore,

massacre in Constantinople,
St. John of Novgorod,
Saladin,

the Third Crusade,
Richard the Lionhearted,
Teutonic Knights,

Theodore Balsamon,
the Livonian Crusade,
Michael Glykas

Thirteenth Century
the Fourth Crusade sacks
Constantinople,
Stephen Langton,
the Fourth Lateran
Council,
Francis of Assisi,
Dominic,
St. Sava,
Synodicon
of the Holy Spirit,
Papal Inquisition,
Alexander Nevsky,

Mongols,
Thomas Aquinas,
Bonaventure,
council
of Lyons,
council of 1285,
Saint Timofey,
Dante,
Duns
Scotus

Fourteenth Century
Unum Sanctum,
the
Babylonian Captivity of the papacy,
St. Sergius of Radonezh,

St. Gregory Palamas,
the Black Plague,
Serbian
patriarchate,
Council of St. Sophia,
Council of
Blachernae,
Schism of the papacy,
battle of Kulikova,

John Wyclif,
conversion of Lithuania

Fifteenth Century
the synod of Piza,
John
Huss,
the council of Basel,
council of Constance,

Joan of Arc,
the council of Florence,
the printing
press,
fall of Constantinople,
the Judaizer heresy,

Marsilio Ficino,
the first Tsars of Russia,
the Spanish
Inquisition,
Archbishop Gennadi,
Abbot Joseph,

Rodrigo Borgia,
the new world

Sixteenth Century
Non-possessors,
Nils
Sorsky,
John Reuchlin,
Erasmus,
Martin
Luther,
Complutensian Polyglot,
the Aldine
Septuagint,
the Diet of Worms,
Henry VIII,

Suleiman’s Seige of Vienna,
the first complete English Bible
printed,
Calvin,
the Jesuits,
the Roman
Inquisition,
the council of Trent, Mary Tudor,
the
Peace of Augsburg,
the Geneva Bible,
the Bishop's
Bible,
Ivan the Terrible,
the battle of Lepanto,

the massacre of St. Bartholomew,
Ostrozhsky or
Ostrong Bible,
Gregorian
Calendar,
Sixtine
Septuagint,
Russian
Patriarchate,
Brest-Litovsk,
the Edict of
Nantes,
Basil of Mangazeya

Seventeenth Century
Douay-Rheims Bible,
the King
James Bible,
the Thirty Years War,
Philaret of
Moscow,
Josaphat Kuntsevich,
Textus Receptus,

Codex Alexandrinus,
Huguenots,
Cyril
Lukaris,
the English Civil War,
Council of
Jerusalem,
Council of Jassy,
Peter of Moghila,

Nikon,
Peter the Great,
final Turkish seige of
Vienna,
revocation of the Edict of Nantes,
liberation
of Hungary,
Glorious Revolution

Eighteenth Century
Unigenitus,
Moscow
patriarchate abolished,
Melkites,
Gregorian
calendar,
Paissy Velichkovshy,
Jesuits
suppressed,
Kosmas the Aetolian,
the Philokalia

Nineteenth Century
Alexis Khomiakov,
Nikita
the Albanian,
Seraphim of Sarov,
Kollyvades,
John
of Kronstadt,
liberation of Greece from Turkish rule,

Marquis de Custine,
the encyclicals of the Eastern
Patriarchs,
the Crimean War,
Immaculate
Conception,
First Vatican Council,
Westcott and Hort,

The Way of a Pilgrim,
Theophan the Recluse,

Leo XIII

Twentieth Century
Gregorian calendar,

persecution of the Russian Church,
World War II,

Vatican II,
the “embrace of peace”

A partial list of references

Maps*

A Map to Accompany the First Four Centuries

The Patriarchates Circa 451

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your cursor over the map and click on the icon that appears at the lower
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The First Century

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Index

14 Augustus died on August 19.  On
September 17, the Senate in Rome decreed that Augustus Caesar was one of
the gods, and it named Tiberius emperor.  (If Luke 3.1 dates “the
reign of Tiberius Caesar” from this year, his fifteenth year was 28/29
A.D.)

30, 33? Jesus was crucified and
resurrected.

39/40 Philo of Alexandria (15/10 BC - 45/50)
led an embassy of Jews from Alexandria to the emperor Caligula
(37-41) in Rome.  The Jews of Alexandria were then the subject of a
Roman pogrom, which Philo and his companions hoped to end.  Caligula,
however, cut Philo off as he spoke.  Philo later told his fellow
ambassadors that God would punish Caligula, who was soon
assasinated.

Philo was a theologian who sought to harmonize
Jewish theology with Greek (largely Platonic) philosophy.  Many ideas
found in later Christian theology are present in Philo, though sometimes
in a form unacceptable to the Church.  Philo taught that Greek
philosophy had been plagiarized from Moses.  He believed that the
Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint, dating from the third century BC) was
divinely inspired.  Philo referred to the Logos (the residence of the
Platonic Ideas) as the first-begotten Son of God - though, in his view,
the Logos was definitely below God, distinct from the Godhead.  He
interpreted the theophanies of the Old Testament as appearances of the
Logos (as for the Fathers they were Christophanies).  He stressed the
allegorical interpretation of scripture, though this must be
balanced.  With the later Eastern mystical theologians, Philo
discussed the incomprehensibility of God in essence, and how knowledge of
God can be attained in an ecstatic state.

In some ways, Philo was more akin to the Gnostics
and Manichaeans.  For instance, like Plato, Philo viewed the body as
the prison for the soul.  This reveals a distinctly non-Christian
view of matter.

41 Jerusalem expanded.  New city walls were
built, bringing the site of Jesus’ crucifixion within the city.

42James, the brother of John, was beheaded (Acts
12.2).

43 The emperor Claudius (41-54) conquered
Britain.

Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch (Acts
11.25-26).

44 Death of Herod Agrippa I, King of Judea and
Samaria (Acts 12.23).

45 The church in Antioch sent famine relief to the
Christians of Judea by the hands of Saul and Barnabas (Acts 11.29).

47-49 First missionary journey of Saul and
Barnabas (Acts 13-14).

49 According to the Roman historian Suetonius
(70-122) in his The Twelve Caesars, Claudius “expelled the Jews
from Rome since they rioted constantly at the instigation of
Chrestus.”

49/50   The council of Jerusalem
was held (Acts 15).  As a result, Gentiles were not required to
be circumcised.

Death of Helena, queen mother of the kingdom of
Adiabene, a Jewish state in northern Mesopotamia.  Adiabene was
frequently allied with Persia in wars against Rome.

The emperor Claudius promoted the cult of the Great
Mother (Magna Mater) of the Gods and her consort Attis.  The two had
been introduced into the Roman pantheon around 200 B.C.

50 Paul’s second missionary journey began,
with Silas (Acts 15.40).  Paul and Silas visited Philippi (Acts
16.11-40), meeting Lydia, the seller of purple, and being rescued from
prison, with the consequent conversion of the Philippian jailor (Acts
16.33); Thessalonica, where there was a riot on their behalf (Acts 17.5);
Boroea, where the Jews willingly examined the Old Testament prophecies of
the Messiah (Acts 17.11); Athens, where Paul preached in the Areopagus
(Acts 17.22-31); Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla, refugees
because of Claudius’ expulsion of the Jews from Rome (Acts 18.2); and
Ephesus, Caesarea, and Jerusalem before returning to Antioch (Acts
18.22).

51 Paul wrote the epistles to the Thessalonians, from Corinth.

53 Paul’s epistle to the Galatians written from Antioch
(?).  Beginning of the third missionary journey.  Paul in
Ephesus, 53-55/56.  (Acts 19)

55 Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, from Ephesus.

55/56 Paul departed Ephesus (Acts 20.1), visiting Macedonia and
Corinth. 2Corinthians written from Macedonia.

57 Paul wrote Romans from Corinth.  Departed Greece (Acts
20.3), and after passing through Troas (Acts 20.7-12), and preaching to
the presbyters of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20.18-35), came to Jerusalem
(Acts 21.17), ending the third missionary journey.

57-59 Paul imprisoned in Caesarea (Acts 23.33-26.32), under Felix and
Festus.

60 Paul arrived at Rome (Acts 28.16).

61/62 Paul wrote the epistles entitled Philemon, Colossians,
Ephesians and Philippians.

62 According to tradition, James the Just,
bishop of Jerusalem, was killed in the temple by an angry mob, apparently
struck in the head with a sledgehammer.

Tradition has it Bartholomew was martyred in
Kalyana, a city state on the west coast of India, near modern-day
Bombay.  Bartholomew was skinned alive and crucified.

Paul tried and acquitted in Rome.

63-66 Paul traveled to Macedonia, Asia Minor,
Crete, and possibly Spain.  1 Timothy and Titus
written.

641st Persecution of Christians, under Nero.  When Rome
burned for six days, Nero (54-68) blamed the Christians.  In
62, Nero had married Poppea Sabina, a proselyte to Judaism.  Of
Nero’s persecution, Tacitus wrote, “First Nero had self-acknowledged
Christians arrested.  Then, on their information, large numbers of
others were condemned.  ...Their deaths were made farcical.
Dressed in wild animal’s skins, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or
crucified, or made into torches to be ignited after dark as substitutes
for daylight.”  Suetonius was more succinct:  “Punishments were
also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous
religious belief.”

A third century legend has it that Simon Magus
(Acts 8.9-24) and St. Peter had confrontations in Rome.  Simon,
wishing to gain an advantage over Peter and to impress Claudius with his
ability to fly, fell to his death from the top of the Roman Forum.

64 The church in Alexandria founded by St. Mark,
the disciple of Peter.

64 Herod’s temple in Jerusalem completed.  See
20 BC and 66.

66Jewish rebellion began and war between the Romans and Jews
ensued.  Jerusalem was taken in 70 and destroyed, as was
Herod’s temple.  Later, in the second century, Justin Martyr would
teach that this destruction was the judgment of God upon a nation that had
rejected its Messiah and failed to discern that, under the new
dispensation, the temple sacrifices were abrogated.

67 Some date the book of Revelation to this
year.  Most place it toward the end of Diocletian’s reign
(81-96).

Paul’s second trial in Rome. 2 Timothy
written.

66 First known public reference to Mithraism in
Rome.  King Tiridates of Armenia visited Nero in Rome.  To Nero
he said, “I have come to thee, my god, to worship thee as I do
Mithras.”

67/68 St. Paul martyred on the road from
Rome to Ostia.  Beheaded by the sword.  About this same time St.
Peter also martyred, crucified upside down.

69 According to tradition, St. Andrew was
crucified in Patrae, on the Peloponnesus peninsula.

69Ignatius became bishop of Antioch in Syria.

69Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, born.  Died 155.
Irenaeus stated that Polycarp had known St. John at Ephesus.
Polycarp was martyred and was noted for doing nothing to provoke the
authorities, but waiting quietly for them to come arrest him.
Irenaeus wrote, “Polycarp also was not only instructed by the Apostles,
and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also by Apostles in
Asia, ordained Bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early
youth, having always taught the things which he had learned from the
Apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are
true.”

70  Near this date, R. Jochanan ben Zaccai
founded a rabbinical school in Jamnia (Palestine).

Matthew and Mark’s gospels were probably
written shortly after this year.  Luke’s gospel may have been
composed as late as 80.

72 Tradition has it Thomas was stabbed to
death by Brahman priests in Mylapore, India.

79 According to tradition, Jude and Simon
were torn apart by a Persian mob after this date.  Simon had
joined forces with Jude after a trip to Britain.  Jude had been in
Armenia.

80 The Coliseum at Rome opened.

90 The Jewish Synod of Jamnia established
the Hebrew canon, the modern Protestant Old Testament.  Esther,
Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and Ezekiel were nearly left out of the
canon, while Sirach was a strong but unsuccessful contender for
inclusion.  Rabbis at Jamnia also articulated the theory that every
letter in the Hebrew has a meaning.  It is thought by many that, as a
natural consequence of this view of scripture, a standard text was chosen
around this time and non-standard readings were suppressed.

The language of the early church was Greek, and the
version of the Old Testament in use among both Christians and Jews of the
diaspora was the Septuagint.  The Septuagint contains books
(sometimes termed “the Apocrypha”) not included in the Jamnian
canon.  As the Septuagint’s prophecies of the Messiah frequently were
used polemically by Christians, the translation fell out of favor among
the Jews.  In time, non-Palestinian Jews accepted the decisions of
Jamnia.  New translations of the Old Testament scriptures were made
based on the Jamnian standard text.

90 According to tradition, Philip was
crucified upside down (like Peter) in Hierapolis, Asia Minor.  (Some
say that Philip the apostle and Philip the evangelist were two distinct
individuals, and it was Philip the evangelist who was buried at
Hierapolis.)

90 According to Hippolytus, Matthew died a
natural death, in Hierees, Persia.

92Clement elected bishop of Rome.  Served through
100.  He wrote a letter to the Corinthian congregation which had
deposed its old clergy and replaced them with new men.  He asked that
they retain the former clergy on the grounds that these stood in due
succession from the apostles.  “The Apostles knew through our Lord
Jesus Christ that contentions would arise about the office of the
Episcopate; and for this reason, being endued with perfect foreknowledge,
they appointed those already mentioned, and handed down a succession, so
that when they should depart, other approved men should succeed to their
ministry.”  (~97.)

In 2 Clement, which may be a second century
document, it is written, “Brethren, we ought so to think of Jesus Christ
as of God ... for if we think meanly of him, we shall hope only to receive
some small things from him.”

93 2nd Persecution of Christians, under
Domitian (81-96).  The apostle John banished to Patmos.

Flavius Josephus (37/38-100) published his
Antiquities of the Jews.  Book 18 refers to Jesus
Christ.  Scholars believe the statement was tampered with by
Christians at a later date, because it refers to Christ as divine.
Josephus had been a leader of troops against the Romans in Galilee during
the war (66-70).  When captured, he predicted that Vespasian would
become emperor, a move that saved his life.  Josephus wrote a history
of the war, and, because of the favoritism he received from the Roman
emperors, was detested by his fellow Jews as a traitor.

100 Around this time St. John died at
Patmos.  (Eusebius, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria agree that
John lived into the reign of Trajan, which began in 98.)  The
Didache, written in this era, indicates worship was on
Sunday:  “Assemble on the Lord’s day, and break bread and offer the
eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your
sacrifice may be a pure one.”  Note also the implication that the
communion was regarded as a sacrifice.

100? Around this time the heretic Cerinthus
flourished.  He taught that the world was made, not by God himself,
but by a lower being.  He also claimed that Jesus was simply the
natural son of Joseph and Mary, and that a separate supernatural being,
the Christ, came upon Jesus at his baptism and departed at his
crucifixion.  According to the third century bishop Dionysius of
Alexandria, “the doctrine he taught was this: that the kingdom of Christ
will be an earthly one.”  Cerinthus “was himself devoted to the
pleasures of the body and altogether sensual in his nature.”  In
Dionysius’ day, some claimed that Cerinthus wrote the book of
Revelation.