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

*To view a map at its full size when using Internet Explorer, place
your cursor over the map and click on the icon that appears at the lower
right.

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The Third Century

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Index

201 A flood destroyed the Christian
church in Edessa.

202 6th Persecution of the Church, under
Septimius Severus (198-211).  Leonides, the father of Origen (see 211
below) was martyred and his property confiscated.

Alban, a Roman soldier, killed in
Verulamium during this persecution, in 209.  First British
martyr.  Executed for sheltering a Christian priest.

203 Perpetua, her slave girl Felicitas and four
male slaves martyred at Carthage, killed by wild beasts.  All but one
had been catechumens when arrested and were baptized in prison.
Felicitas gave birth there.  Perpetua and one male slave, Saturus,
experienced visions while imprisoned.

210 Minucius Felix, a North African, wrote his
Octavius.  An apology for the Christian faith, the
Octavius is noted for its excellent Latin.

211 Origen “Adamantius” became head of the
catechetical school in Alexandria.  He left the school in 232 or
233.  Born in Alexandria around 185, Origen had been taught by
Ammonius Saccas, the same person who later taught Plotinus (see 244
below).  Many speculate that Ammonius was the originator of
Neoplatonism.  Later, Origen had been instructed by Clement of
Alexandria.  Origen died in Tyre in  253 or 254.  His death
was largely due to the harsh treatment he received in prison in Tyre
during the Decian persecutions (from about 249).

Origin compiled the Hexapla, six
translations of the Old Testament in parallel columns including the
Hebrew, a transliteration of the Hebrew into Greek, and the four main
Greek versions.  He considered the Old Testament canon to consist of
those books in the Greek Bible, but since this included books not
available in Hebrew, Origen advised that the additional scriptures not be
cited in disputations with the Jews.  His method of interpreting
scriptures was largely allegorical and conveyed spiritual truth -- the
literal sense was of little moment to him.  Like Clement, he rejected
a literal millennium.

He believed that all souls existed before they
united with the flesh.  All souls but one fell away from God; and it
was this one faithful soul that God chose to unite with his Logos to form
the Son of Man.  Origen believed in the freedom of the will, and did
not exclude the possibility that the redeemed may fall away, even in
heaven.  On the other hand, Origen held that the devil himself will
be saved.  Many of his views, particularly on the pre-existence of
souls and universal redemption, were condemned at the Fifth Ecumenical
Council in 553.  Eusebius of Caesarea later reported that Origen had
castrated himself, but Origen’s own commentaries on Matthew’s gospel make
that seem very unlikely.

Origen was opposed to Monarchianism, either in its
modalistic form, or in the view that the Son was simply a holy man filled
to a unique degree with the Spirit.  He taught that while the Father
and the Son are one in power and will, they are two distinct realities
(similar to Justin’s Logos theology).  They are distinct as the
archetype and the flawless image.  But, in Origen, the Son is
lower in being than the Father and is subordinate to him.  The
Son is begotten, not made, and his generation is eternal, not in
time.  He is the mediator between the created world and the Supreme
Father.

Origen insisted Mary needed redemption from her
sins, like all other humans.  Unlike Tertullian, he believed Mary
remained a virgin for the rest of her life.  He believed Jesus’
brothers are Joseph’s sons, not hers.

About words:  Much of the debate concerning
the Trinity and Christology centered on the meaning of the words
hypostasis and ousia.  They were synonyms originally, the former
Stoic and the latter Platonic, meaning real existence or essence.
But Origen frequently used hypostasis in the sense of individual
subsistence or individual existent.

In his Commentary on Romans, written between 233
and 244, Origen wrote, “It is also due to this [hereditary sin] that the
church has a tradition from the apostles to give baptism even to
infants.”

Origen’s interpretation of Mt 16.17-18 is at
variance with papal claims to supremacy over the church.  Origen saw
the Rock as Christ (1 Cor 10.4), and all who have faith in Christ
like Peter as ‘rocks.’  According to Ep 2.2, all the apostles (and
the prophets) are the foundation on which the church is built.

Eusebius reported (Book VI, Chapter 33) that Origen
was instrumental in correcting the Christology of Beryllus, the bishop of
Bostra in Arabia.  Beryllus’ teachings had occasioned discussion with
other bishops and eventually resulted in a conference, which Origen
attended.  Apparently, Beryllus had taught that the Son did not exist
before his human life and did not possess divinity of his
own.

Origen both stated that The Book of Enoch (1
Enoch) did not “circulate in the Churches as divine” (Against
Celcus, Book V, Chapter LIV) and quoted it as Scripture (De
Principiis, Book IV, 35).

211 Apollonius, an opponent of Montanism,
flourished.

212 Full citizenship extended to all free
inhabitants of the empire.

216 The emperor Caracalla (211-217) took vengeance
on the city of Alexandria.  His wrath was fiercest against the
literary community there, because of certain sarcastic verses that had
been written about him for murdering his brother Geta.

217 Callistus (217-222) became bishop of Rome, to
Hippolytus’ horror.  At some time and in some fashion that is now
obscure to us, Hippolytus was also ordained bishop of Rome - speaking in
an anachronistic manner, he was an “anti-pope.”  Yet he was, soon
after his martyrdom, considered a saint of the Church.

The Monarchian controversy continued.
Tertullian, in Africa, argued that God is one substance consisting in
three persons (terminology eventually adopted by most of the
church).

Callistus was the first bishop of Rome known to
have quoted the “Rock” passage in Matthew as applicable to his own
office, around the year 220.  Some believe that Tertullian’s
On Modesty was written as a response to an order by Callistus that
penance be imposed on those who committed sexual sins, in preparation for
their restoration to communion.  Writing as a Montanist, Tertullian
was opposed to their restoration, and in On Modesty he put an
argument based on Mt. 16.18 into Callistus’ mouth.
Tertullian did not have Callistus claiming a primacy over the church,
however, but simply that bishops (“every Church akin to Peter”) had the
power to forgive sins.  Tertullian argued that this power was
personal, belonging to Peter alone.  The interpretation of the
passage was further developed by Siricius (384/5).

220 Around this date, Hippolytus established the
date of Christ’s birth as Dec. 25 (see 198).  In the East, January 6
was the date assigned for this.  The East adopted the Western view
during the fourth century.

The emperor Elagabalus (218-222) introduced the
cult of the Syrian sun god Sol to Rome in around this year.

222 Julius Africanus went on an embassy to the
emperor Severus to gain his support for the building of Nicopolis in
Palestine (formerly Emmaus).  Africanus is best known for his
chronology, in which he states that the time from Adam to the sixteenth
year of Tiberius (29/30 A.D.) is 5531 years.  It would thus seem that
1 A.D. is year of the world 5501 in Julius’ chronology.

Africanus was also architect for the library
Severus built in the Pantheon in Rome, completed in around 227, and he
corresponded with Origen, arguing that the book of  Susanna (included
in the Septuagint text of Daniel) was spurious.

225?  Papyrus 45: 1st Chester Beatty, Gospels
(Caesarean), Acts (Alexandrian):
Mt
20:24-32; 21:13-19; 25:41-26:39;
Mk
4:36-40; 5:15-26, 38-6:3, 16-25, 36-50; 7:3-15, 25-8:1, 10-26, 34-9:9,
18-31; 11:27-12:1, 5-8, 13-19,24-28;
Lk 6:31-41,45-7:7; 9:26-41, 45-10:1, 6-22, 26-11:1, 6-25,
28-46, 50-12:12, 18-37, 42-13:1, 6-24, 29-14:10, 17-33;

Jn 10:7-25, 30-11:10, 18-36, 42-57;

Ac 4:27-36; 5:10-21, 30-39; 6:7-7:2, 10-21, 32-41,
52-8:1, 14-25, 34-9:6, 16-27, 35-10:2, 10-23, 31-41; 11:2-14, 24-12:5,
13-22; 13:6-16, 25-36, 46-14:3, 15-23; 15:2-7, 19-27, 38-16:4, 15-21,
32-40; 17:9-17

Papyrus 967: Chester Beatty 9, Greek Ezekiel
11:25-end, ~Codex Vaticanus

231 A private house in the city of Dura-Europas on
the Euphrates was adapted for Christian worship.  This is the
earliest known example of a church with religious pictures on the
walls.  The art appears to have been influenced by similar work in a
synagogue in the same city.  Depicted on frescoes are Adam and Eve,
the Good Shepherd and his flock, the Samaritan woman at the well, Christ
walking on the water, the raising of Lazarus, the resurrection of Christ,
the healing of the paralytic and David’s victory over Goliath.

232 Dionysius, later to become bishop of
Alexandria, succeeded Heraclus as head of the catechetical school in
Alexandria.

235 Persecution under the emperor Maximin
(235-238).  At this time, the bishop of Rome, Pontian, and Hippolytus
were exiled to Sardinia.  Pontian died soon thereafter, and
Hippolytus in about 238.

240 The Pythian games had been introduced into many
cities of the Roman Empire by this year.  These were athletic
contests held every four years in honor of Apollo, and were originally
associated with the oracle at Delphi.

241 End of the records of the Fratres
Arvales.  This was a pagan priesthood or college in Rome which
offered annual sacrifices for the fertility of farmlands.

244 Plotinus, a pagan from Egypt, opened a
school in Rome.  Plotinus’ philosophy emphasized the transcendence of
God, and His incomprehensibility (due to His simplicity).  Nous is
emanated from God and contains ideas of both classes and
individuals.  The two Souls (corresponding to Plato’s World Soul)
proceed from the Nous.  [The interpretation of Plotinus which sees
Nous and Soul as emanated has been questioned by modern philosophers - in
particular, see Lloyd Gerson’s Plotinus.]  Material creation
exists at the bottom of this chain and is the principle of evil.
Curiously, Plotinus criticized the Gnostics for their contempt for
material reality, considering it worthy of high value as the image of
intelligible reality.  Plotinus taught that the soul can rise to
union with God through purification, the rejection of sense perception in
favor of philosophy and science, a stage which is beyond discursive
thought, and a final stage of mystical union which is beyond
separation.  Vladimir Lossky points out that whereas Plotinus viewed
union as simplicity and the removal of distinction, Christian mysticism
sees God’s incomprehensibility as due not to His simplicity, but as
absolute, and thus union with God is a “going forth from being as
such.”  Plotinus died in 269 or 270.  His chief disciple was
Porphyry, a critic of Christianity, who offered Neoplatonism as a cultured
alternative to Christianity among the upper classes.

247 Dionysius, a former pupil of Origen,
became bishop of Alexandria (247-64).

248? Late in this year or early in 249, pagans in
Alexandria initiated a persecution of Christians in Alexandria.  Some
historians theorize that this spontaneous persecution may have been caused
by the emperor Philip’s (244-49) unpopular tax reform, and his [possible]
association with Christians: Philip purportedly attended Holy Week
services at Antioch, where bishop Babylas had him stand among the
penitents.

249 In around this year, a council in Smyrna
determined that heretics must be rebaptized before they could enter the
Church.

249-51 7th Persecution of the Church, under
the emperor Decius (249-251).  The bishops of Rome, Antioch and
Jerusalem were martyred.

Decius killed the emperor Philip in 249, then, by
mid-December of that year, promulgated an edict requiring sacrifice to the
gods.  It is possible that Decius was distancing himself from
Philip’s pro-Christian stance, thus demonstrating his loyalty to the
empire’s traditional sacred rites.  He required that everyone possess
a certificate proving he had sacrificed to the gods (Jews, however, were
excepted from this requirement, and from the edict requiring
sacrifice).  Many Christians either sacrificed or purchased
certificates of sacrifice from commissioners, which some consider just as
bad.

A plague began in Decius’ reign, and it continued
for about 15 years.

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage (248-258),
argued that no human being has the power to remit apostasy.
Cyprian’s views eventually resulted in the Donatist schism.

Cyprian interpreted Matthew 16.18 as giving
no special privilege to Peter.  In his view, Christ singles Peter out
as a symbol of unity.  The other apostles were exactly what Peter
was.  Cyprian was constantly entitled, “Most glorious and most
blessed Pope.”

Cyprian, at least, enjoyed a limited monarchy as
bishop:  “Since I have made it a rule from the beginning of my
episcopate not to decide things on my own account without consulting you
[the presbyters] and having the agreement of the people.”

In 251 or 253, at a council at Carthage, Cyprian
responded to a query from Fidus, a rural bishop, whether infant baptism
should be delayed until the eighth day.  Cyprian replied that there
should be no delay.  He saw no reason to run the risk of the child’s
eternal damnation.  Infant communion as well, Cyprian reported, was
the custom at Carthage.  Fidus seems to have been motivated to delay
baptism because of the impure appearance of newborn infants!
(Epistle LVIII.)

In a work entitled The Lapsed, Cyprian
recounted the story of a young (nursing) Christian girl who was made to
partake of a pagan sacrifice.  Thereafter, the girl was no longer
physically able to keep down the bread and wine of the eucharist.
This is early evidence of paedocommunion.

250 In a letter to Paul of Samasota, Dionysius of
Alexandria frequently referred to “the Theotokos Mary (h qeotokoV Maria).”

Diophantos of Alexandria flourished around this
year.  He was the first to introduce symbolism into algebra.

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; Ps 33,34; 1Pt 1:1-5:14; 2Pt 1:1-3:18; Jude 1-25

Papyrus 77:  Mt 23:30-39

Papyrus Chester Beatty: #5:R962: Gn 8:13-9:2; Gn
24:13-46:33, Enoch 91-105;
#7: I
8:18-19:13,38:14-45:5,54:1-60:22;
#8:
Jr 4:30-5:24;
#10: Dn 1-12:13 (+Add),
Bel 4-39, Sus 5-end, Esther 1:1a-8:6(+Add)

The uncial 0189: Ac 5:3-21

250 Gothic raids into Asia minor.

251 Two rival candidates vied for the vacant see of
Rome.  Novatian held that the church cannot forgive or accept those
guilty of murder, adultery or apostasy.  Cornelius held that the
bishop could remit even grave sin.  Novatian’s view was foreshadowed
by that of Hippolytus and Tertullian against Callistus (see 217).
Cornelius had precedence in Paul’s treatment of the incestuous Corinthian
and in Irenaeus’ view that an adulterous Christian woman could be restored
by repentance.

Cornelius won the election (and this was,
apparently, an election by the congregation), and the followers of
Novation formed their own communities, which eventually withered
away.  Cyprian of Carthage, after initial hesitation, ended in
communion with Cornelius.

In Letter XL, Cyprian indicated that the laity had
a role in the election of bishops: “nor shall we cease to command them to
lay aside their pernicious dissensions and disputes, and to be aware that
it is an impiety to forsake their Mother; and to acknowledge and
understand that when a bishop is once made and approved by the testimony
and judgment of his colleagues and the people, another can by no means be
appointed.”  This is from a letter to Cornelius, newly elected bishop
of Rome, in which Cyprian described how he dealt with the followers of
Novatian.  See also Letter LI.

In writing to Cornelius, bishop of Rome,
Cyprian referred to him as “brother,” as did Cornelius in reply.  The
bishops of Rome did not begin calling their fellow bishops “sons” until
Damasus’ time.

“With a false bishop appointed for themselves by
heretics, they dare even to set sail and carry letters from schismatics
and blasphemers to the chair of Peter and to the principal Church, in
which sacerdotal unity has its source; nor did they take thought that
these are Romans, whose faith was praised by the preaching Apostle, and
among whom it is not possible for perfidy to have entrance.  …For, as
it has been decreed by all of us - and is equally fair and just -that the
case of every one should be heard there where the crime has been
committed; and a portion of the flock has been assigned to each individual
pastor, which he is to rule and govern, having to give account of his
doing to the Lord; it certainly behooves those over whom we are placed not
to run about nor to break up the harmonious agreement of the bishops with
their crafty and deceitful rashness, but there to plead their cause, where
they may be able to have both accusers and witnesses of their
crime…”  St. Cyprian, Letter to Cornelius of Rome,
LIV,14.

252 A plague struck North Africa.  The
Christians feared that this would be interpreted by the pagans that “the
gods” were angered and would lead to a renewal of Decius’
persecution.

254-6 Stephen bishop of Rome.  He
decided that Spanish congregations in Merida and Leon should receive as
their bishop one who had lapsed during Decius’ persecution.  The
congregations appealed to Cyprian of Carthage (bishop 248-58).
Cyprian called a council which decided in favor of the Spanish.

Stephen’s is the first known invocation of the
“Thou art Peter...” text to affirm his position as Peter’s successor (but
see Callistus and Siricius, 384/5 below.  The attribution of such a
statement to Stephen was clearly made by Firmilian, bishop of Caesarea in
Cappadocia, in a letter to Cyprian (Epistle 74).)  Cyprian
countered:  “In the person of one man he gave the keys to all, that
he might denote the unity of all; the rest, therefore, were the same that
Peter was, being admitted to an equal participation in honor and power,
but a beginning is made from unity that the church of Christ may be shown
to be one.”

255 A compilation on the bishops of Rome, known as
the Liberian Catalogue, had been written by this time.

255? Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, met
with the presbyters and teachers of the Church in the district of Arsinoe
for three consecutive days to discuss chiliasm.  A certain Coracion,
under the influence of a bishop Nepos of Egypt, had been the chief local
proponent of a “millennium of bodily luxury upon this earth” [Eusebius,
Ecclesiastical History, 7.24].  After the discussion, Coracion
confessed himself to have been in error and completely convinced by the
arguments presented against chiliasm.

Dionysius later wrote a book entitled On the
Promises, directed against Nepos’ teachings, which presented his own
view that Revelation was not written by John the Beloved.
Dionysius stated that some reject the book, “pronouncing it without sense
or argument,” and claim that Cerinthus the heretic was its author, but
that he himself could not reject it, “as many brethren hold it in high
esteem.”  He added, “I do not reject what I cannot
comprehend.”

256 Cyprian held a council in September of
this year which held that baptism performed by the Novatians was
ineffective.  Stephen of Rome argued against Cyprian in favor of the
validity of baptism administered by wicked persons.

Firmilianus, bishop of Caesarea in
Cappadocia, wrote a letter to Cyprian in which he compared Stephen, bishop
of Rome, to Judas, complained of his “audacity and pride,” and ridiculed
his claim to be the “successor of Peter, on whom the foundations of the
Church were laid.”

256 The Franks crossed the Rhine.

257 8th Persecution of the Church,
under Valerian (253-259).  Edicts were published demanding outward
conformity with paganism and Christians were forbidden to hold worship
services, under penalty of death.  In 258, Valerian began to put the
clergy to death - St. Cyprian was martyred in that year.  He
also attacked prominent laymen, but remitted the death penalty in exchange
for a denial of Christ.  The persecution continued through 260.
Given the troubles of the day, Valerian had sought to foretell the future
via human sacrifice and other rites.  When his efforts failed,
blame fell on the Christians within the imperial family.  Thus, his
desire to restore the efficacy of pagan religious efforts motivated
Valerian’s persecution.

258 On June 29 of this year, the remains of Sts.
Peter and Paul were transferred to the ad Catacumbos on the Appian
way.  The feast of Saints Peter and Paul in the Roman calendar dates
from this year and commemorates this event.

258 Xystus, bishop of Rome, was executed,
along with his deacons.  As he was being arrested, Xystus charged St.
Lawrence with care of the poor.  Lawrence was subsequently
arrested himself.  In prison, he converted a baptised a blind man,
pouring water from a vessel three times over the man’s body.  The
blind man was healed.  Lawrence, refusing to sacrifice to idols, was
burned with hot irons, beaten, and laid on a hot iron sheet, where he
died.

258 The Alemanni pushed through the Alps into the
Po River valley.  As a result, Verona, Como and Aquileia were
fortified with stone from tombs.

259 Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, became
involved in a dispute in Libya between adherents of the Logos theology
(see above, year 189) and some modalistic Monarchians.  Dionysius
argued that the Son and the Father are as different as a boat and a
boatman, and denied they are of the same substance.  The Libyans
appealed to Dionysius of Rome (260-68), who assembled a synod to consider
the issue.  He rebuked the Sabellians and those who separate the
Godhead into three gods or consider the Son a creature or work.  In
his Defense of the Nicene Definition, Athanasius quotes Dionysius
of Alexandria to say, “And I have written in another letter a refutation
of that false charge they bring against me, that I deny that Christ was
one in essence with God.”  Dionysius did repent of using the
expressions “the Son was made,” and that “He is not eternal.”

Writing against the Sabellians, Dionysius of
Rome gave the following exposition of the Trinity:

“Next, I may reasonably turn to those who divide
and cut to pieces and destroy that most sacred doctrine of the Church of
God, the Divine Monarchy, making it as it were three powers and partitive
subsistences and god-heads three.  I am told that some among you who
are catechists and teachers of the Divine Word, take the lead in this
tenet, who are diametrically opposed, so to speak, to Sabellius’s
opinions; for he blasphemously says that the Son is the Father, and the
Father the Son, but they in some sort preach three Gods, as dividing the
sacred Monad into three subsistences foreign to each other and utterly
separate.  For it must needs be that with the God of the Universe,
the Divine Word is united, and the Holy Ghost must repose and habitate in
God; thus in one as in a summit, I mean the God of the Universe, must the
Divine Triad be gathered up and brought together. For it is the
doctrine of the presumptuous Marcion, to sever and divide the Divine
Monarchy into three origins, - a devil’s teaching, not that of Christ’s
true disciples and lovers of the Savior’s lessons, for they know well
that a Triad is preached by divine Scripture, but that neither Old
Testament nor New preaches three Gods.  Equally must one censure
those who hold the Son to be a work, and consider that the Lord has come
into being, as one of things which really came to be; whereas the divine
oracles witness to a generation suitable to Him and becoming, but not to
any fashioning or making.  A blasphemy then is it, not ordinary,
but even the highest, to say that the Lord is in any sort a
handiwork.  For if He came to be Son, once He was not; but He was
always, if (that is) He be in the Father, as He says Himself, and if the
Christ be Word and Wisdom and Power (which, as ye know, divine Scripture
says), and these attributes be powers of God.  If then the Son came
into being, once these attributes were not; consequently there was a time,
when God was without them; which is most absurd.  And why say more on
these points to you, men full of the Spirit and well aware of the
absurdities which come to view from saying that the Son is a work?
Not attending, as I consider, to this circumstance, the authors of this
opinion have entirely missed the truth, in explaining, contrary to the
sense of divine and prophetic Scripture in the passage, the words, ‘The
Lord created me a beginning of His ways unto His works. (Prov.
8.22)’  For the sense of ‘He created,’ as ye know, is not one, for we
must understand ‘He created’ in this place, as ‘He set over the works made
by Him,’ that is, ‘made by the Son Himself.’  And ‘He created’ here
must not be taken for ‘made,’ for creating differs from making. ‘Is not He
thy Father that hath bought thee? hath He not made thee and created thee?
(Dt. 32.6)’ says Moses in his great song in Deuteronomy. And one may Say
to them, O reckless men, is He a work, who is ‘the First-born of every
creature, who is born from the womb before the morning star, (Col. 1.15
and Psalm 110.3)’ who said, as Wisdom, ‘Before all the hills He begets me?
(Prov. 8.25)’  And in many passages of the divine oracles is the Son
said to have been generated, but nowhere to have come into being; which
manifestly convicts those of misconception about the Lord’s generation,
who presume to call His divine and ineffable generation a making.
Neither then may we divide into three Godheads the wonderful and divine
Monad; nor disparage with the name of ‘work’ the dignity and exceeding
majesty of the Lord; but we must believe in God the Father Almighty,
and in Christ Jesus His Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and hold that to the
God of the universe the Word is united.  For ‘I,’ says He, ‘and
the Father are one;’ and, ‘I in the Father and the Father in Me.’
For thus both the Divine Triad, and the holy preaching of the Monarchy,
will be preserved.”

260 The emperor Valerian taken prisoner by the
Persian emperor Shahpuhr I.  The prince of Palmyra (who had gained
independence after Valerian’s defeat) seized control of the Eastern
provinces of the empire until 272, when they were regained by the emperor
Aurelian.

260 Paul of Samosata became bishop of
Antioch in Syria.  He disdained the Logos theology, and spoke of
Jesus as a mere man who was uniquely inspired at his baptism
(Adoptionism).  In his view, the Word and the Spirit were
manifestations of the Father.    According to Simeon of
Beit Arsam, Paul had said, “I too, if I wish, shall be Christ since I and
Christ are of one and the same nature.”  Theodore of Mopsuestia
quoted Paul as follows:  “I do not envy Christ because he has been
made God.  For what he was made, I was made, since it is in my
nature.”  It was reported that at Antioch psalms were sung in praise
of Paul rather than of God.

Paul was condemned by a synod in Antioch in 268
(264?) presided over by Helenus, bishop of Tarsus.  Dionysius of
Alexandria and Firmilius of Caesarea were invited to attend the
synod.  Paul held onto his power because he was favored by the
Palmyra government.  When Aurelian (270-75) regained control of the
Eastern provinces, he declared the church building to be the legal
property of whomever the bishops of Italy and Rome should decide.  It
appears that Aurelian’s concern was loyalty on the part of the Antiochian
bishop, and he chose to employ the bishop of Rome to guarantee that
loyalty. Paul has been viewed as the ancestor of Arianism.

Gregory Thaumaturgus (213-270) was present
at the council which condemned Paul of Samosata.  Though a student of
Origen, Gregory’s view of the Trinity was orthodox.  His
Exposition of Faith is considered a forerunner of the Nicene
Creed:

“There is one God, the Father of the living Word,
who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image:  perfect
Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son.
There is one Lord, Only of the Only, God of God, Image and Likeness of
Deity, Efficient Word, Wisdom comprehensive of the constitution of all
things, and Power formative of the whole creation, true Son of one Father,
Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal
of Immortal, and Eternal of Eternal.  And there is One Holy Spirit,
having His subsistence from God, and being made manifest by the Son, to
wit to men:  Image of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect; Life,
the Cause of the Living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of
Sancitification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all
and in all, and God the Son, who is through all.  There is a perfect
Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor
estranged.  Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude
in the Trinity; nor anything superinduced, as if at some former period it
was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced.  And
thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the
Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abideth
ever.”

261 The emperor Gallenius proclaimed toleration
for Christians by edict.  This, in response to petitions from
Christian bishops, also restored confiscated churches and
cemeteries.  Before this time, churches could not own property, since
Christianity was illegal.  Churches now began to receive money and
property bequeathed in wills.

262  The temple of Artemis in Ephesus
destroyed by Gothic invaders.

262/3 Porphyry became a disciple of Plotinus
in Rome about this year.  He arranged Plotinus’ writings into six
books of nine chapters each, the Enneads.  Porphyry placed great
stress on Plotinus’ doctrine of salvation as an ascetic process involving
turning one’s attention from the lower to the higher, ending in the
knowledge of God.  Porphyry stressed the need for asceticism -
abstinence from meat, celibacy, avoidance of frivolous entertainment,
etc.  Porphyry also wrote fifteen books against Christianity,
answered by Methodius, Eusebius of Caesarea, and others, and burned in
448.  Socrates, the fifth century church historian, states that
Porphyry was an apostate from Christianity.

268  The Juthurigi and the Alemanni advanced
to within 70 miles of Rome in this year, and again in 270.  In
consequence, a high wall was built around Rome.

269 The Goths invaded the Balkans.  Romans
defeated them at Naissus.

270 Goths were permitted to settle in Dacia (that
is, the territory north of the Danube).  The emperor Aurelian
withdrew Roman rule from Dacia.

274 Born in southern Babylonia, Mani
(216-274) died after being imprisoned by the Persian emperor, Bahram I, at
the instigation of Zoroastrian priests.  Mani was the founder of
Manichaeanism, a religion which was to rival Christianity for
adherents, reaching Rome early in the fourth century.  A gnostic
religion, Manichaeanism held that matter is intrinsically evil, the prison
of the soul.  Salvation was through gnosis, an inner illumination in
which the soul gained knowledge of God.  The righteous went to
paradise at death, but the wicked (those who procreate, own possessions,
drink wine, etc.) are reborn.  Good and evil were independent
principles, and both were held to continue indefinitely.

274-5 The Emperor Aurelian (270-75) promoted Sun
worship as the official cult of the empire.

275?  Papyrus 47: 3rd Chester Beatty,
~Sinaiticus, Rv9:10-11:3,5-16:15,17- 17:2

284 Diocletian became emperor.  Ruled through
305, when he abdicated.

285 St. Anthony began the first monastic
community, in Egypt.

286 On February 6, Julian of Homs (Emessa) was
martyred.  A Christian physician, Julian slipped into prison to
attend to Bishop Silouan and two disciples, who had been imprisoned and
tortured for forty days.  Julian’s activity was reported to his
father, as a staunch pagan, who turned him over to the governor.
Julian was tortured for eleven months, during which time his father sent
many to entice him away from the faith.  But Julian persevered in the
truth, converting those who had came to convert him.  Finally, his
father hired a blacksmith to drive nails into his feet and head.
Julian died in a cave outside the city where he had gone to pray.
His relics were removed to Emessa, where they were rediscovered in the
1970s.

286 Diocletian divided the empire into East and
West.  He appointed Maximian Augustus in the West.  The capital
in the East was Nicomedia; in the West, Milan.  A subordinate, called
a Caesar, was appointed for each Augustus.  Their cities were Trier
in the West and Salonica in the East.

During Diocletian’s reign, the civil diocese of
Italy was divided in two.  Milan was made capital of the northern
diocese.  The church accommodated itself to this civil change, and
the bishop of Milan assumed jurisdiction over northern Italy (Italy
annonaria).  Rome’s jurisdiction was limited to the southern
diocese.

286  The Forum in Rome burned.  It was
restored under Diocletian.

300?  Other 3rd century NT
papyri:
P1: Mt 1:1-9, 12,
14-20
P4: Lk 1:58-59; 1:62-2:1;
2:6-7; 3:8-4:2; 4:29-32: 4:34-35; 5:3-8; 5:30-6:16
P5: Jn 1:23-31, 33-40; 16:14-30; 20:11-17, 19-20,
22-25
P9: 1Jn 4:11-12,
14-17
P12: Heb 1:1

P15: 1 Cor  7:18-8:4
P20: Jm 2:19-3:9
P22:
Jn 15:25-16:2; 16:21-32
P23: Jm
1:10-12, 15-18
P27: Rm 8:12-22,
24-27; 8:33-9:3; 9:5-9
P28: Jn
6:8-12, 17-22
P29: Ac 26:7-8,
20
P30: 1 Th 4:12-13, 16-17; 5:3,
8-10, 12-18, 25-28; 2 Th 1:1-2
P38:
Ac 18:27-19:6, 12-16 (P38 dates from late in the third century, ~300
AD)
P39: Jn 8:14-22
P40: Rm 1:24-27; 1:31-2:3; 3:21-4:8; 6:4-5:16;
9:16-17:27
P45 (Chester Beaty):
Mt 20:24-32; 21:13-19; 25:41-26, 39; Mk 4:36-40; 5:15-26; 5:38-6:3;
6:16-25; 6:36-50; 7:3-15; 7:25-8:1; 8:10-26; 8:34-9:9; 9:18-9:31;
11:27-12.1; 12:5-8, 13-19, 24-28; Lu 6:31-41; 6:45-7:7; 9:26-41;
9:45-10:1; 10:6-22; 10:26-11:1; 11:6-25; 11:28-46; 11:50-12:12; 12:18-37;
12:42-31:1; 13:6-24; 13:29-14:10; 14:17-33; Jn 4:51, 54; 5:21, 24;
10:7-25; 10:30-11:10; 11:18-36, 42-57; Acts 4:27-36; 5:10-21, 30-39;
6:7-7:2; 7:10-21, 32-41; 7:52-8:1; 8:14-25; 8:34-9:6; 9:16-27; 9:35-10:2;
10:10-23, 31-41; 11:2-14; 11:24-12:5; 12:13-22; 13:6-16, 25-36;
13:46-14:3; 14:15-23; 15:2-7, 19-27; 15:38-16:4; 16:15-21, 32-40;
17:9-17
P47 (Chester Beaty) Rev 9:10-11:3;
11:5-16:15; 16:17-17:2
P48: Ac 23:11-17,
25-29
P49: Ep 4:16-29;
4:32-5:13
P53: Mt 26:29-40; Ac
9:33-10:1
P65: 1 Th 1:3- 2:1,
6-13
P69: Lk 22:41, 45-48,
58-61
P70: Mt 2:13-16; 2:22-3:1;
11:26-27; 12:4-5; 24:3-6, 12-15
Papyrus 75: Bodmer 14-15, Luke & John, earliest extant
Luke;  Lk 3:18-22; 3:33-4:2; 4:34-5:10; 5:37-6:4; 6:10-7:32; 7:35-39;
7:41-43; 7:46-9:2; 9:4-17:15; 7:19-18:18; 22:4-end; Jn 1:1-11:45;
11:48-57; 12:3-13:10; 14:8-15:10.  P75 is extremely close to
Vaticanus (B).
P80: Jn 3:34

P87: Phm 13-15, 24-25
P91: Act 2:30-37; 2:46-3:2

The following uncials:

0171: Mt 10:17-23, 25-32; Lk 22:44-56, 61-64

0220: Rm 4:23-5:3; 5:8-13
0212 (Diatessaron): Mt 27:56-57; Mk 15:40-42; Lk 23:49-51,
54; Jn 19:38

The earliest Syriac translations of the gospels
were made during the third century:  Syrus Curetonianus and Syrus
Sinaiticus.  Known collectively as Vetus Syra, Syrus Curetonianus
appears to be a revision of Syrus Sinaiticus.  They differ in style
from the Peshitta, which dates from about a century later (see 400
above).

300St. Gregory the Illuminator converted King Tiridates III of
Armenia to the Christian faith.  Armenia thus became a Christian
nation.  During the following century, the liturgy was translated
into and conducted in Armenian.

300 Early in the fourth century the celebration of
25 December, the Sun god’s birthday at mid-winter, as Christ’s birthday
began somewhere in the West (see 336 below).  Also, St. Peter’s
basilica was built on the site of Peter’s grave (see 330).

300?The Apostolic Constitutions were
written around this time.   Canon 35 gave an indication of the
role of the bishop within the Church:  “The bishops of every nation
must acknowledge him who is first among them and account him as their head
and do nothing of consequence without his consent; but each may do those
things which concern his own parish and the country places which belong to
it. But neither let him who is the first do anything without the consent
of all. For so there will be oneness of mind and God will be glorified
through the Lord in the Holy Spirit.”

Canon 85 gave the following list of the canon of
Scripture:  “Let the following books be esteemed venerable and holy
by you, both of the clergy and laity. Of the Old Covenant: the five books
of Moses-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; one of
Joshua the son of Nun, one of the Judges, one of Ruth, four of the Kings,
two of the Chronicles, two of Ezra, one of Esther, one of Judith, three of
the Maccabees, one of Job, one hundred and fifty psalms; three books of
Solomon-Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs; sixteen prophets.
And besides these, take care that your young persons learn the Wisdom of
the very learned Sirach. But our sacred books, that is, those of the New
Covenant, are these: the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John;
the fourteen Epistles of Paul; two Epistles of Peter, three of John, one
of James, one of Jude; two Epistles of Clement; and the Constitutions
dedicated to you the bishops by me Clement, in eight books; which it is
not fit to publish before all, because of the mysteries contained in them;
and the Acts of us the Apostles.”  [Note that Revelation is
absent from the New Testament canon.]

The Apostolic Constitutions also contain
clear evidence that infant communion was practiced in the
church.