Timeline of Church History

Apostolic era (33-100)

• 33 The Holy Spirit descends on the day of Pentecost, filling the followers of Jesus Christ with power from on high.
• 49 Apostolic Council of Jerusalem rules that Gentiles do not have to become Jews before becoming Christians.
• 50 The Apostle Matthew finishes the Gospel of Matthew in Aramaic.
• 62 Martyrdom of Apostle James the Just, the Lord's brother and bishop of Jerusalem.
• 63 St. Joseph of Arimathea travels to Britain and lands in Glastonbury.
• 64-67 Persecution of Christians by Emperor Nero.
• 64 Martyrdom of the Apostle Paul in Rome.
• 67 Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter in Rome; Apostle Linus elected first bishop of Rome.
• 68 Suicide of Emperor Nero.
• 69 St. Ignatius of Antioch consecrated to the episcopacy in Antioch.
• 70 Apostle Mark writes his Gospel; the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Romans; expulsion of the Christians from the synagogues.
• 71 Apostle Mark introduces Christianity to Egypt.
• 75 Judea, Galilea and Samaria are renamed Palaestina by the Romans.
• 80 Gospel of Luke written by the Apostle Luke; Jewish historian (and former general) Josephus writes the Antiquities.
• 85 Acts of the Apostles is composed by the Apostle Luke.
• 95 Apostle John writes the Book of Revelation.
• 96-98 Persecution of Christians under Emperor Domitian.
• 96 Gospel of John written by that apostle as a supplement and further theological illumination of the Synoptic Gospels.
• 100 Death of the Apostle John the Theologian.

Ante-Nicene era (100-325)

• 107 Martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch.
• 130 Conversion of Justin Martyr.
• 132 Jews, led by Bar Kochba, whom some identify as the Messiah, revolt against Rome.
• 135 Christmas instituted as a holy day in Rome.
• 136 Emperor Hadrian crushes the Jewish resistance, forbids Jews from ever entering Jerusalem, and changes the name of the city to Aelia Capitolina; first recorded use of the title Pope for the bishop of Rome.
• 144 Excommunication of Marcion for his heretical rejection of the Old Testament and for his semi-Gnostic teachings, particularly Docetism.
• 150 St. Justin Martyr describes the Divine Liturgy.
• 155 Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna.
• 156 Beginning of Montanism.
• 165 Martyrdom of Justin.
• 180 St. Irenaeus of Lyons writes Against Heresies.
• 197 Quartodeciman controversy.
• 200 Martyrdom of St. Irenaeus of Lyons.
• 203 Emperor Septimus Severus issues an edict against Christianity and Judaism.
• 215 Conversion of Tertullian to Montanism.
• 249-251 Persecution under the Emperor Decius.
• 251-253 Persecution under Emperor Gaius.
• 253-260 Persecution under Emperor Valerian.
• 284 Diocletian ascends the Roman imperial throne, and begins the most severe persecution against the Christians. During his reign, an estimated 1 million martyrs are slain for Christ.
• 285 St. Anthony the Great flees to the desert to pursue a life of prayer.
• 304 Alban, protomartyr of Britain, killed by Roman authorities.
• 310 Armenia becomes the first Christian nation.
• 312 Constantine the Great defeats Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge and becomes Emperor of the West.
• 313 The Edict of Milan is issued by St. Constantine the Great and his co-emperor Licinius, officially declaring religious freedom in the Roman Empire and specifically naming toleration for Christianity.

Nicene era (325-451)

• 325 First Ecumenical Council held in Nicea, condemning Arianism, setting the Paschalion, and issuing the first version of the Nicene Creed.
• 326 Discovery of the True Cross by the Empress St. Helena.
• 328 Athanasius the Great becomes bishop of Alexandria.
• 329 St. Athanasius ordains St. Frumentius (Abba Selama) to the priesthood and commissions him to apostolic work in Ethiopia.
• 340 Conversion of Wulfila to Arianism, subsequently missionizing the Goths with his heretical doctrine.
• 348 Death of St. Pachomius the Great.
• 356 Death of St. Anthony the Great.
• 367 St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes his Paschal letter, listing for the first time the canon of the New Testament of the Holy Scriptures.
• 375 St. Basil the Great writes On the Holy Spirit, confirming the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
• 380 Christianity established as the official faith of the Roman Empire by Emperor St. Theodosius the Great.
• 381 Second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, condemning Macedonianism/Pneumatomachianism and Appollinarianism, declaring the divinity of the Holy Spirit, confirming the previous Ecumenical Council, and completing the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
• 395 Augustine becomes bishop of Hippo.
• 398 St. John Chrysostom becomes Archbishop of Constantinople.
• 401 Augustine of Hippo writes the Confessions.
• 407 Death of John Chrysostom in exile.
• 410 Fall of Rome to the Visigoths.
• 418 Council of Carthage anathematizes Pelagianism.
• 426 Augustine of Hippo writes The City of God.
• 431 Third Ecumenical Council held in Ephesus, condemning Nestorianism and Pelagianism, confirming the use of the term Theotokos to refer to the Virgin Mary; the council also grants autocephaly to the Church of Cyprus.
• 433 The Formulary of Peace completes the work of the Third Ecumenical Council by reconciling Cyril of Alexandria with John of Antioch.
• 484 Founding of the Monastery of St. Sabbas in the Judean wilderness.

Byzantine era (451-843)

• 451 Fourth Ecumenical Council meets at Chalcedon, condemning Eutychianism and Monophysitism, affirming that Christ has two natures; a huge schism occurs, with the entire Church of Alexandria breaking from the rest of the Church, bringing large portions of the Church of Antioch along with it.
• 466 Church of Antioch elevates the bishop of Mtskheta to the rank of Catholicos of Kartli, thus rendering the Church of Georgia autocephalous.
• 553 Fifth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in an attempt to reconcile the Chalcedonians with the non-Chalcedonians. The Three Chapters of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa are condemned for their pro-Nestorian nature. Origen and his writings are also condemned.
• 563 Consecration of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople; St. Columba arrives on Iona and establishes his monastery there.
• 570 Birth of Mohammed, founder of Islam.
• 589 At the Council of Toledo in Spain, the Filioque is added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in an attempt to combat Arianism.
• 596 St. Gregory the Dialogist sends St. Augustine of Canterbury to southern Britain to connvert the pagans.
• 635 Lindisfarne sees the establishment of the monastery that would convert northern England by the missionary saint Aidan, a monk from Iona.
• 664 Synod of Whitby held in northern England, harmonizing Celtic and Roman liturgical practices in England.
• 680-681 Sixth Ecumenical Council is held in Constantinople, condemning Monothelitism and affirming the Christology of St. Maximus the Confessor, affirming that Christ has both a natural (human) will and a divine will. Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople and Pope Honorius of Rome are both explicitly anathematized for their support of the Monothelite heresy.
• 685 First monastics come to Mount Athos.
• 692 Quinisext Council (also called the Penthekte Council or the Council in Trullo) is held in Constantinople, issuing canons which are seen as completing the work of the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils, and declaring the Church of Jerusalem to be a patriarchate.
• 726 Emperor Leo the Isaurian starts his campaign against the icons.
• 731 The Venerable Bede completes the Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
• 754 Iconoclastic Council is held in Constantinople under the authority of Emperor Constantine V Copronymus, condemning icons and declaring itself to be the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
• 787 Seventh Ecumenical Council is held in Nicea, condemning Iconoclasm and affirming the veneration of the holy icons, declaring that worship is due to God alone, and that the honor paid to icons passes to its prototype.
• 800 Charlemagne is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Leo III of Rome on Christmas day.
• 829 St. Ansgar arrives in Denmark and begins preaching.
• 843 The Triumph of Orthodoxy occurs on the first Sunday of Great Lent, restoring the icons to the churches.

Late Byzantine era (843-1453)

• 861 Ss. Cyril and Methodius depart from Constantinople to missionize the Khazars.
• 864 Prince Boris of Bulgaria is baptized.
• 869-870 The Robber Council of 869-870 is held, deposing St. Photius the Great from the Constantinopolitan see and putting the rival claimant Ignatius on the throne.
• 879-880 The Eighth Ecumenical Council is held in Constantinople, confirming Photius as Patriarch of Constantintople
• 962 Denmark becomes a Christian nation with the baptism of King Harald Blaatand ("Bluetooth").
• 963 St. Athanasius of Athos establishes the first monastery on Mount Athos, the Great Lavra.
• 988 Baptism of Russia begins with the conversion of St. Vladimir of Kiev.
• 1014 Filioque used for the first time in Rome by Pope Benedict VIII.
• 1051 Monastery of the Kiev Caves founded.
• 1054 Cardinal Humbert excommunicates Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Consantinople, a major centerpoint in the formation of the Great Schism between East and West.
• 1066 Normans invade England flying the banner of the Pope of Rome, defeating King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings, beginning the reformation of the church and society there to align with Latin continental ecclesiology and politics.
• 1095 Launching of the First Crusade.
• 1204 Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople, laying waste to the city and stealing many holy relics and other items.
• 1341-1351 Three sessions of the Ninth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, affirming the hesychastic theology of St. Gregory Palamas and condemning the rationalistic philosophy of Barlaam of Calabria.
• 1439 Ecclesiastical reunion with the West is attempted at the Council of Florence, where only St. Mark of Ephesus refuses to capitulate to the demands of the delegates from Rome.
• 1448 Church of Russia declares its independence from the Church of Constantinople.
• 1453 Constantinople falls to the invasion of the Ottoman Turks.

Post-Imperial era (1453-1782)

• 1455 Gutenberg makes the first printed Bible.
• 1517 Martin Luther nails his Ninety-Five Theses to the door at Wittenburg, sparking the Protestant Reformation.
• 1589 The primate of the Church of Russia is styled as "patriarch."

Modern era (1782-present)

• 1782 First publication of the Philokalia.
• 1794 Missionaries, including St. Herman of Alaska, arrive at Kodiak Island, bringing Orthodoxy to America.
• 1811 Autocephaly of the Church of Georgia revoked by the Russian imperial state after Georgia's annexation, making it subject to the Church of Russia.
• 1821 Greek independence declared on the Day of Annunciation (March 25).
• 1829 The Treaty of Adrianople ends the Greek War of Independence, culminating in the creation of the modern Greek state.
• 1832 Church of Serbia becomes de facto autocephalous.
• 1833 Church of Greece declares its autocephaly, making it independent of the Church of Constantinople.
• 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs sent by the primates and synods of the four ancient patriarchates of the Orthodox Church, condemning the Filioque as heresy, declaring the Roman Catholic Church to be heretical, schismatic, and in apostasy, repudiating Ultramontanism and referring to the Photian Council of 879-880 as the "Eighth Ecumenical Council."
• 1850 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Greece.
• 1865 Church of Romania declares its independence from the Church of Constantinople.
• 1871 Nikolai Kasatkin establishes Orthodox mission in Japan.
• 1872 Council in Jerusalem declares phyletism to be a heresy; Church of Bulgaria gains de facto autocephaly by a decree of the Sultan.
• 1879 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Serbia.
• 1885 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Romania.
• 1917 Church of Georgia's autocephaly restored de facto by the political chaos in Russia.
• 1918 The Bolshevik Revolution throws the Church of Russia into chaos, effectively stranding the fledgling Orthodox mission in America.
• 1922 Church of Albania declares its independence from the Church of Constantinople.
• 1937 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Albania.
• 1943 Church of Russia recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Georgia.
• 1945 Church of Bulgaria's autocephaly generally recognized.
• 1970 Orthodox Church in America reconciles with the Church of Russia and is granted autocephaly.
• 1989 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Georgia.