Timeline of Christianity

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The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era (AD) to the present. Question marks ('?') on dates indicate approximate dates.

The year one is the first year in the Christian calendar (there is no year zero), which is the calendar presently used (in unison with the Gregorian calendar) almost everywhere in the world. Traditionally, this was held to be the year Jesus was born; however, most modern scholars argue for an earlier or later date, the most agreed upon being between 6 BC and 4 BC.

Background historical timelineEdit

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Timeline of Jesus' ministryEdit

Jesus began his ministry after his baptism by John and during the rule of Pilate, preaching: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Template:Bibleverse). While the historicity of the gospel accounts is questioned to some extent by some critical scholars and non-Christians, the traditional view states the following chronology for his ministry:

PropheciesEdit

Second Coming Prophecy to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, and establishment of the Kingdom of God and the Messianic Age.

Apostolic AgeEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__|$B= Template:Ambox }} Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Nisan 14 or 15), the Jerusalem church was founded as the first Christian church with about 120 Jews and Jewish Proselytes (Template:Bibleverse), followed by the events of


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Year Date History Image
37–41 Crisis under Caligula is seen as the first clear conflict between Rome and the Jews.<ref>H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, Template:ISBN, The Crisis Under Gaius Caligula, pages 254-256: "The reign of Gaius Caligula (37-41) witnessed the first open break between the Jews and the Julio-Claudian empire. Until then — if one accepts Sejanus' heyday and the trouble caused by the census after Archelaus' banishment — there was usually an atmosphere of understanding between the Jews and the empire ... These relations deteriorated seriously during Caligula's reign, and, though after his death the peace was outwardly re-established, considerable bitterness remained on both sides. ... Caligula ordered that a golden statue of himself be set up in the Temple in Jerusalem. ... Only Caligula's death, at the hands of Roman conspirators (41), prevented the outbreak of a Jewish-Roman war that might well have spread to the entire East."</ref>
Before 44 Epistle of James is written by James the Great, originally in Koine Greek.
File:Fülep Lajos Baja.JPG
Memorial to Lajos Fülep quoting James 3:17, "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."
44? Death of Saint James the Great - According to a medieval tradition, on 2th of January of the year 40 AD, the Virgin Mary appeared to James on a pillar on the bank of the Ebro River at Caesaraugusta, while he was preaching the Gospel in Spain. Following that vision, St. James returned to Judea, where he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I in the year 44 AD during a Passover. Herod then proceeded to arrest St. Peter (Nisan 15) (Template:Bibleverse).
44 The death of Herod Agrippa I (Last king of Judea) occurred when an angel of the Lord struck him down, resulting in him being eaten by worms and dying.<ref>Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews - Book XIX (JA19), section 8.2, earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref> (Template:Bibleverse)
44–46? Theudas was beheaded by Procurator Cuspius Fadus for saying he would part the Jordan River (like Moses with the Red Sea or Joshua with the Jordan). After him, Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and gathered followers; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.<ref>Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews - Book XX (JA20), section 5.1 earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref> (Template:Bibleverse places it before the Census of Quirinius)
45–49? Mission of Barnabas and Paul, (Template:Bibleverse) to Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (there they were called "gods ... in human form"), then return to Syrian Antioch: Map1
47 The Church of the East is created by Saint Thomas in the Persian Empire (modern-day Iraq and Iran)
48 Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15).

Gentile Christians accepted alongside those in the Jewish tradition.

48–100 Herod Agrippa II appointed King of the Jews by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians
49 Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome, stating, "the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus."<ref>A. J. MAAS (2003). Origin of the Name of Jesus Christ. Retrieved January 23, 2006. Walter Bauer's et al. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1979, under Christos notes: "as a personal name; the Gentiles must have understood Christos in this way to them it seemed very much like Chrestos [even in pronunciation ...], a name that is found in lit."</ref> (referenced in Template:Bibleverse)<ref>Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Claudius XXV.4; Jewish Encyclopedia: Rome: Expelled Under Tiberius: "... in 49–50, in consequence of dissensions among them regarding the advent of the Messiah, they were forbidden to hold religious services. The leaders in the controversy, and many others of the Jewish citizens, left the city."</ref>
File:Claudius crop.jpg
Sculpture of Claudius
50 Passover riot in Jerusalem, 20,000–30,000 killed<ref>Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews - Book XX (JA20), section 5.3 earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref><ref>Flavius Josephus: Early Jewish Writings- The Wars Of The Jews JW2.12.1 earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref>
50? Council of Jerusalem and the "Apostolic Decree" of Template:Bibleverse, same as Template:Bibleverse?, which is followed by the Incident at Antioch<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers see section titled: "THE INCIDENT AT ANTIOCH"</ref> at which Paul publicly accuses Peter of "Judaizing" (Template:Bibleverse-nb); see also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity
50–53? St. Paul's 2nd mission (Template:Bibleverse), split with Barnabas, to Phrygia, Galatia, Macedonia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, "he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken", then return to Antioch; 1 Thessalonians, Galatians written? Map2. Lydia of Thyatira, a seller of purple, becomes the first European Christian convert<ref>Cumming, John (1998). Butler's Lives of the Saints. Collgeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. p. 24</ref> (Acts 16:11-15)
51–52 or 52–53 Proconsulship of Gallio according to an inscription, only fixed date in chronology of Paul<ref>Pauline Chronology: His Life and Missionary Work, from Catholic Resources by Felix Just, S.J.</ref>
52 November 21 St. Thomas the Apostle lands in India.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

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File:Rubens apostel thomas.jpg
St. Thomas the Apostle
53–57? St. Paul's 3rd mission, (Template:Bibleverse), to Galatia, Phrygia, Corinth, Ephesus, Macedonia, Greece, and Jerusalem where James the Just challenges him about rumor of teaching antinomianism (Template:Bibleverse-nb); he addresses a crowd in their language (most likely Aramaic); Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians written? Map3
55? "Egyptian Prophet" (allusion to Moses) and 30,000 unarmed Jews doing The Exodus reenactment massacred by Procurator Antonius Felix,<ref>Flavius Josephus: Early Jewish Writings- The Wars Of The Jews JW2.13.5 earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref><ref>Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews - Book XX (JA20), section 8.6 earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref> Template:Bibleverse)
58? St. Paul arrested, accused of being a revolutionary, "ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes", teaching resurrection of the dead, imprisoned in Caesarea (Template:Bibleverse)
59? After St. Paul was shipwrecked on Malta, he was called a god. (Template:Bibleverse)
60? St. Paul in Rome was greeted by many "brothers". Three days later, he called together the Jewish leaders, who had not received any word from Judea about him but were curious about "this sect," which was spoken against everywhere. He tried to convince them from the "law and prophets", with partial success. He said the Gentiles would listen and spent two years proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching "the Lord Jesus Christ"(Template:Bibleverse); Epistle to Philemon written?
60–65 The early date for the writing of the First Epistle of Peter is debated among scholars, but it is generally believed to have been written around this date. (written by Peter)
62 James the Just is stoned to death for law transgression by High Priest Ananus ben Artanus. Popular opinion against this act resulted in Ananus being deposed by the new procurator Lucceius Albinus<ref>Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews - Book XX (JA20), section 9.1 earlyjewishwritings.com, accessed 2024-11-13</ref>
63–107? Simeon, 2nd Bishop of Jerusalem, crucified under Trajan
File:SymeonTheApostle.jpg
Simeon the Apostle
64–68 after July 18 Great Fire of Rome; Nero blames and persecutes the Christians (or Chrestians<ref>In the earliest extant manuscript containing Annales 15:44, the second Medicean, the e in "Chrestianos", Chrestians, has been changed into an i; cf. Gerd Theißen, Annette Merz, Der historische Jesus: ein Lehrbuch, 2001, p. 89. The reading Christianos, Christians, is therefore doubtful.</ref>), possibly the earliest mention of Christians by that name, in Rome; see also Tacitus on Jesus; Paul beheaded? (Template:Bibleverse,Template:Bibleverse,Template:Bibleverse,1Clem 5:5-7), Peter crucified upside-down? (Template:Bibleverse,Template:Bibleverse,Tertullian's Prescription Against Heretics chapter XXXVI,Eusebius' Church History Book III chapter I), "...a vast multitude, were convicted, not so much of the crime of incendiarism as of hatred of the human race. And in their deaths they were made the subjects of sport; for they were wrapped in the hides of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set on fire, and when day declined, were burned to serve for nocturnal lights." (Annals (Tacitus) XV.44)
64/67(?)–76/79(?) Pope Linus succeeds Peter as Episcopus Romanus (Bishop of Rome)
64 The Epistle to the Hebrews written by an Unknown Author
65 The Q document, a hypothetical Greek text thought by many critical scholars to have been used in the writing of Matthew and Luke
66–73 First Jewish–Roman War: destruction of Herod's Temple and end of Judaism according to Supersessionism; Qumran community (site of Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947) destroyed
70(+/–10)? Gospel of Mark, written in Rome, by Peter's interpreter (1 Peter 5:13), The original ending of the gospel is believed to be lost, and additional endings were added around c. 400 (Mark 16)
File:Mark 16 first lines, Codex Sinaiticus.png
The end of Mark 15 (excluding verse 47
70? The Signs Gospel written, hypothetical Greek text used in the Gospel of John to prove Jesus is the Messiah
File:Zampieri St John Evangelist.jpg
Saint John the Evangelist, Domenichino
70–100? Additional Pauline Epistles(??)
70-132 The Epistle of Barnabas (Apostolic Fathers)
70–200? The Gospel of Thomas, the Jewish-Christian Gospels: the Gospel of the Ebionites, the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of the Nazarenes Will come back to edit this
72 July 3 Martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle at Chinnamala, Mylapore, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
76/79(?)–88 Pope Anacletus: first Greek Pope, who succeeds Linus as Episcopus Romanus (Bishop of Rome)
80(+/-20) the Didache written in Koine Greek
80(+/-20)? The Gospel of Matthew, based on Mark and Q, most popular in Early Christianity
80(+/-20)? The Gospel of Luke, based on Mark and Q, also Acts of the Apostles by same author
80(+/-20)? The Pastoral Epistles written (possible post-Pauline authorship)
88–101? Clement, fourth Bishop of Rome: wrote Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians (Apostolic Fathers)
90? Council of Jamnia of Judaism (disputed); Domitian applies the Fiscus Judaicus tax even to those who merely "lived like Jews"<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Fiscus Iudaicus, Suetonius's Domitian XII: "Besides other taxes, that on the Jews [A tax of two drachmas a head, imposed by Titus in return for free permission to practice their religion; see Josephus, Bell. Jud. 7.6.6] was levied with the utmost rigor, and those were prosecuted who, without publicly acknowledging that faith, yet lived as Jews, as well as those who concealed their origin and did not pay the tribute levied upon their people [These may have been Christians, whom the Romans commonly assumed were Jews]. I recall being present in my youth when the person of a man ninety years old was examined before the procurator and a very crowded court, to see whether he was circumcised."</ref>
90(+/-10)? The late date for the writing of 1 Peter (associate of Peter as author)
94 Testimonium Flavianum, disputed section of Jewish Antiquities by Josephus in Aramaic, translated to Koine Greek
95(+/-30)? The Gospel of John and the Epistles of John
90 The Book of Revelation written, by John (son of Zebedee) and/or a disciple of his
96 Nerva modifies the Fiscus Judaicus, from then on, practicing Jews must pay taxes while Christians do not<ref>Wylen, Stephen M., The Jews in the Time of Jesus: An Introduction, Paulist Press (1995), Template:ISBN, pp. 190–192.; Dunn, James D.G., Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, A.D. 70 to 135, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1999), Template:ISBN, Pp 33-34.; Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro & Gargola, Daniel J & Talbert, Richard John Alexander, The Romans: From Village to Empire, Oxford University Press (2004), Template:ISBN, p. 426.;</ref>
98–117? Ignatius, third Bishop of Antioch, fed to the lions in the Roman Colosseum, advocated the Bishop (Eph 6:1, Mag 2:1,6:1,7:1,13:2, Tr 3:1, Smy 8:1,9:1), rejected Sabbath on Saturday in favor of "The Lord's Day" (Sunday). (Mag 9.1), rejected Judaizing (Mag 10.3), first recorded use of the term catholic (Smy 8:2).
100(+/-10)? The Epistle of Jude was likely written by Jude, a doubting relative of Jesus (Mark 6:3). It was rejected by some early Christians due to its reference to the apocryphal Book of Enoch.


Ante-Nicene periodEdit

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  • 197 Tertullian writes that Christianity had penetrated all ranks of society in North Africa<ref>Herbermann, p. 385</ref>
  • 199–217? Caius,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 199–217? Caius,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 200 First Christians are reported in Switzerland and Belgium<ref name="Barrett, p. 23"/>
  • 200? Papyrus 46: 2nd Chester Beatty, Alexandrian text-type; Papyrus 66: 2nd Bodmer, John, 1956, "Alexandrian/Western" text-types; Papyrus 75: Bodmer 14–15, Luke & John, earliest extant Luke, ~Vaticanus; 200? Papyrus 32: J. Rylands Library: Titus 1:11-15;2:3-8; Papyrus 64 (+67): Mt3:9,15; 5:20-22,25-28; 26:7-8,10,14-15,22-23,31-33
  • 200? Sextus Julius Africanus
  • 200? Antipope Natalius,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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First Seven Ecumenical CouncilsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Constantine called the First Council of Nicaea in 325 to unify Christology, also called the first great Christian council by Jerome, the first ecumenical, decreed the Original Nicene Creed, but rejected by Nontrinitarians such as Arius, Theonas, Secundus of Ptolemais, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Theognis of Nicaea who were excommunicated, also addressed Easter controversy and passed 20 Canon laws such as Canon VII which granted special recognition to Jerusalem.

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Middle AgesEdit

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RenaissanceEdit

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ReformationEdit

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17th centuryEdit

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18th centuryEdit

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19th centuryEdit

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20th centuryEdit

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  • 1994 Porvoo Communion
  • 1994 Answers In Genesis founded by Ken Ham
  • 1994, July 3: Glorification of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
  • 1996 Cambridge Declaration – Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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21st centuryEdit

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See alsoEdit

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FootnotesEdit

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SourcesEdit

  • Academic American Encyclopedia (on Compuserve)
  • Catholic Encyclopedia: Biblical Chronology
  • English Versions of the Bible by John Berchmans Dockery O.F.M.
  • Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
  • World Almanac and Book of Facts

External linksEdit

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