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==Post-Communist era (1991-Present)==
*1991 Soviet Union collapses, ending [[w:Cold War|Cold War]]; representatives of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches meet in Chambesy, Switzerland, discussing relations with World Council of Churches; Ruthenian Byzantine rite Catholic Church in [[w:Zakarpattia Oblast|Transcarpathia]] was restored as a separate entity from Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church based in [[w:Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], having about 23% of Transcarpathia's parishes compared to 60% of the Orthodox total there; Greek Orthodox [[w:Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy|Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern Europe]] is created.
*1992 Civil war begins in former Yugoslavia; synaxis of primates of Orthodox churches in Constantinople; [[Church of Romania|Romanian Orthodox Church]] canonizes [[w:Constantin Brâncoveanu|Constantin Brâncoveanu]] (+1714).
*1993 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Balamand, Lebanon, issuing common document "Uniatism: Method of Union of the Past, and Present. Search for Full Communion" (the "[[Balamand document]]"); Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "The Ecumenical Councils."
*1993 [[Church of Cyprus]] condemns [[Freemasonry]]; ''[[Orthodox Study Bible|Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms]]'' published; [[Church of Eritrea|Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] becomes autocephalous; martyrdom of [[New Martyrs of Optina Pustyn]].
*1994 [[Ligonier Meeting]] in Western Pennsylvania at [[Antiochian Village]] held by the majority of Orthodox hierarchs in North America votes to do away with the notion of Orthodox Christians in America being a "[[diaspora]]"; death of [[Paisios (Eznepidis)|Elder Paisios]] of [[Mount Athos]].
*1995 Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew I]] visits Vatican; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Understanding of Salvation in the Light of the Ecumenical Councils"; Pope John Paul II issues encyclical ''[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_02051995_orientale-lumen_en.html Orientale Lumen]'', encouraging reunion between East and West.
*1996 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America reorganized by the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]], dividing the administration of the two continents into four parts.
*1997 Visit by Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] to US; establishment of dioceses of Bukoba, Madagascar, Ghana and Nigeria; Russian [[w:Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations|Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations]] declares [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]] as Russia's predominant religion.
*1998 [[Church of Constantinople]], not recognizing Russia's right to issue a [[tomos]] of [[autocephaly]] in 1951, issues its own tomos for the [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]]; [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/thessaloniki_roc.aspx Thessaloniki Summit] held to discuss Orthodox participation in [[w:World Council of Churches|WCC]]; uncovering of the relics of [[Ambrose of Optina|Ambrose]] of [[Optina Monastery|Optina]]; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy."
*1999 Numerous Serbian Orthodox sites in Kosovo and Metohia destroyed and desecrated during NATO peacekeeping presence; Lutheran World Federation and Roman Catholic Church sign [[w:Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification |Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification]].
*2000 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Baltimore, discusses text on "The Ecclesiological and Canonical Implications of Uniatism," but is suspended; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Word and Sacraments (Mysteria) in the Life of the Church"; [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] announces the [[glorification|canonization]] of Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia]] and his immediate family; government of Greece orders removal of religious affiliation from state identity cards.
*2001 Pope John Paul II of Rome [[Fourth Crusade#Papal Apology to Orthodox Church|apologizes to Orthodox Church]] for Fourth Crusade; [[Church of Alexandria|Chalcedonian]] and [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Non-Chalcedonian]] Patriarchates of Alexandria agree to mutually recognize baptisms and marriages performed in each other's churches.
*2002 Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] and Pope [[John Paul II]] co-sign Venice Declaration of Environmental Ethics; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Mysteria/Sacraments as Means of Salvation."
*2003 [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]] granted "self-rule" (similar but not identical to [[autonomy]]) by [[Church of Antioch]].
*2004 Pope [[John Paul II]] returns [[relics]] of [[John Chrysostom]] and [[Gregory the Theologian]] to [[Church of Constantinople]]; Patr. [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]] consecrates church in Havana, Cuba; consecration of first Orthodox church in Antarctica by [[Church of Russia]]; [[Theotokos of Tikhvin|Tikhvin Icon]] returned to Tikhvin Dormition Monastery after six decades in the United States; [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] canonizes Fr. [[Alexis Medvedkov]], Fr. [[Dimitri Klepinine]], Mother [[Maria Skobtsova]], [[George Skobtsov]] and [[Elie Fondaminskii]] of the Russian emigration in France; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission statement "Baptism and Chrismation as Sacraments of Initiation into the Church."
*2005 Major controversy in Ukraine involving the almost exclusively western Ukraine-based [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniate]] Greek Catholic Church moving its administrative centre on from Lviv to Kiev, constructing a large cathedral there, and its plans to establish a patriarchate, criticized by the Orthodox [[Church of Ukraine]] and other Orthodox.
*2006 Publication of first Orthodox prayer book in Chinese and Russian; Pope [[Benedict XVI]] drops ''Patriarch of the West'' title; Russian Orthodox parish opened in Pyongyang, North Korea; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Belgrade, Serbia; Pope [[Benedict XVI]] visits Ecumenical Patriarchate, drawing criticism from [[Mount Athos]]; Abp. [[Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens]] visits Vatican; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "The Holy Eucharist in the Life of the Church."
*2007 Restoration of [[full communion]] between [[Moscow Patriarchate]] and [[ROCOR]]; 1600th anniversary celebration of the repose of [[John Chrysostom]]; the [[Roman Catholic Church|Vatican]] [[w:Vatican_abolishes_Limbo|formally abolishes doctrine of Limbo]]; number of Orthodox believers in Italy reaches almost one million as a result of immigration from Romania and Ukraine; synod of over 50 bishops of the [[Church of Ukraine]] announce that the UOC-MP is "an autonomous, historical part of the Russian Orthodox Church"; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Ravenna, Italy, led by co-presidents [[w:Walter Kasper|Cardinal Walter Kasper]] and Metr. [[John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon]], agreeing upon a joint document consisting of 46 articles providing an ecclesiastical road map in discussing union; Russian delegation walks out of Ravenna talks in protest of presence of Estonian delegation ([[Church of Constantinople|EP]]); letter "[[w:A Common Word Between Us and You|A Common Word Between Us and You]]" is sent by 138 Muslim leaders from 40 nations to the leaders of the world's Christian churches, calling for understanding and commonality.
*2008 First Orthodox Liturgy [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=4495 celebrated at the North Pole]; [[Orthodox Study Bible]] (with [[Septuagint]]) published; [[Church of Ukraine|UOC-MP]] canonizes new martyrs of Vasyliivskyi, Fr. [[Serhii Shtenko]] and laymen [[Prokhor Bunchuk]] and [[Kyryl Pryima]], martyred during the communist persecution of the church in the 20th century; 14th Session of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission was held in Paphos, Cyprus.
==Notes==
*Some of these dates are necessarily a bit vague, as records for some periods are particularly difficult to piece together accurately.
*The division of Church History into separate eras as done here will always be to some extent arbitrary, though it was attempted to group periods according to major watershed events.
*This timeline is necessarily biased toward the history of the [[Orthodox Church]], though a number of non-Orthodox or purely political events are mentioned for their importance in history related to Orthodoxy or for reference.
==See also==
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in America]]
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in Australia]]
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in Greece]]
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in New Zealand]]
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in Japan]]
==Published works==
The following are published writings that provide an overview of Church history:
'''From an Orthodox perspective'''
* [[Alexander Schmemann|Schmemann, Alexander]]. ''The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy''.
* [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Ware, Timothy]]. ''The Orthodox Church: New Edition''. (ISBN 0140146563)
'''From a [[Heterodox]] perspective'''
* Boer, Harry R. ''A Short History of the Early Church''. (ISBN 0802813399)
* Cairns, Earle E. ''Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church''. (ISBN 0310208122)
* Chadwick, Henry. ''The Early Church''. (ISBN 0140231994)
* Collins, Michael, ed.; Price, Matthew Arlen. ''Story of Christianity: A Celebration of 2000 Years of Faith''. (ISBN 0789446057)
* Eusebius Pamphilus; Cruse, C.F. (translator). ''Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History''. (ISBN 1565633717)
* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''A History of Christian Thought, Volume 1: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon''. (ISBN 0687171822)
* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''A History of Christian Thought, Volume 2: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation''. (ISBN 0687171830)
* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''A History of Christian Thought, Volume 3: From the Protestant Reformation to the Twentieth Century''. (ISBN 0687171849)
* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation''. (ISBN 0060633158)
* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''The Story of Christianity, Volume 2: Reformation to the Present Day''. (ISBN 0060633166)
* Hall, Stuart G. ''Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church''. (ISBN 0802806295)
* Hastings, Adrian, ed. ''A World History of Christianity''. (ISBN 0802848753)
* Hussey, J. M. ''The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire: Oxford History of the Christian Church''. (ISBN 0198264569)
* Jones, Timothy P. ''Christian History Made Easy''. (ISBN 1890947105)
* Noll, Mark A. ''Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity''. (ISBN 080106211X)
* [[Jaroslav Pelikan|Pelikan, Jaroslav]]. ''The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600)''. (ISBN 0226653714)
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 2: The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600-1700)''. (ISBN 0226653730)
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 3: The Growth of Medieval Theology (600-1300)''. (ISBN 0226653749)
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 4: Reformation of Church and Dogma (1300-1700)''. (ISBN 0226653773)
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 5: Christian Doctrine and Modern Culture (since 1700)''. (ISBN 0226653803)
* Schaff, Philip. ''History of the Christian Church''. (ISBN 156563196X)
* Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C., ed. ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography: Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D. With an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies''. (ISBN 1565630572)
* Walton, Robert C. ''Chronological and Background Charts of Church History''. (ISBN 0310362814)
==External links==
*[http://saintignatiuschurch.org/timeline.html A Timeline of Church History] provided by [http://saintignatiuschurch.org/ St. Ignatius of Antioch Orthodox Christian Church]
*History of Orthodox Christianity ''(QuickTime movies)''
** [http://realserver.goarch.org/en/gotelecom/history_pt1-DSL.mov Part 1: Beginnings]
** [http://realserver.goarch.org/en/gotelecom/history_pt2-DSL.mov Part 2: Byzantium]
** [http://realserver.goarch.org/en/gotelecom/history_pt3-DSL.mov Part 3: A Hidden Treasure]
*[http://www.archons.org/patriarchate/ Timeline of Patriarchal History]. Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. ''(Pop-up Video Presentation, in Sections)''
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[[Category:Timelines|Church History]]
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