A Timeline of Christianity

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With respect to the early timeline, we can know a few events: We can be fairly certain that Jesus was born in September or October of 5 BC and that he died in 30 AD. It is likely that Peter and Paul were martyred in 67 AD. James was martyred in 62 AD. Beyond this most everything else is speculation apart from the historical data of the Romans who kept  records which come down to us from men like Josephus or Tacitus.

BC

44 Julius Ceasar assassinated.

41 Marc Antony names Herod the Great king of Judea.

29 Octavian, nephew of Julius Caesar conferred the title of Augustus by the Senate.

20 Schools of Hillel and Shammai founded.

19 Herod begins to rebuild the Temple.

5-4 Jesus and John the Baptist born. Herod dies; succeeded by Archelaus.

AD

1 Paul Born?

5 John the Apostle born?

6 Annas becomes High Priest. Archelaus deposed by Augustus and replaced by Herod Antipas.

7 A young Jesus astounds the priests in the Temple with his wisdom.

8 The School of Shammai (the dominant group of Pharisees in the 1st century) issues 18 edicts meant to create forced separation between Jews and Gentiles. These edicts will be accepted by most Jews and will form the basis for the opposition by the “Jews” and the “Pharisees” to the mission of Jesus and the Apostles). In the violent struggle over the passage of these edicts, a number of rabbis from the school of Hillel (called "prophets" in the Talmud) are murdered by Zealots sympathetic to Shammai, whom Jesus will (probably) later refer to in Matthew 23:30-31.

10 Hillel (founder of the Pharisee School of Hillel) dies; succeeded by his son Shimon.

14 Augustus dies; Tiberius succeeds him as emperor.

15 Annas removed as High Priest and son-in-law Caiaphas eventually succeeds him.

26 Pontius Pilate becomes Procurator of Judea.

27 John the Baptist and Jesus begin their ministries, Herod Antipas marries his brother’s wife.

29 John the Baptist beheaded by Herod.

30 Jesus crucified and resurrected. Shammai (founder of the Pharisee school of Shammai) dies.

31 Gamaliel, head of the Sanhedrin, encourages tolerance of the Christians.

33 Steven stoned. The school of Shammai attempts a power play, lashing out against and expelling from Jerusalem all non-Hebrew Jews. The Christians (see Acts 8) are swept up in this and the non-Hebrew proselytes are scattered abroad with the Hellenistic Jews, while the Hebrew Apostles remain in Jerusalem. Phillip preaches the Gospel in "Samaria" (probably Ceasarea).

33 AD Palestina "The one who drinks this water will never die" (John 4:13-14). ( first known appearance of THE HOLY GRAIL in words)

The Grail was the cup used at the last supper from which wine was drunk as a symbol of Jesus' blood. It is also the cup
which Joseph of Arimathea used to collect the actual blood of Jesus after his crucifixion while preparing the body for
burial.

34 Paul persecutes the Christians but undergoes conversion, thereafter spending three years in Damascus, eventually becoming the target of an assassination attempt.

36 Pilate butchers a group of Samaritans and is relieved of his position as Procurator for this act and his treatment of Herod Agrippa; he commits suicide in Italy a year later. James, brother of John, martyred by Herod.

37 Tiberius dies; Caligula succeeds him as emperor. Paul meets with key apostles in Jerusalem, then he begins proclaiming Christ boldly, enraging the religious leaders. He is forced to go home to Tarsus by the church elders and the Christian church then ‘had rest and was edified’ once Paul and his zeal were removed. Caiaphas removed as High Priest by Pilate’s successor Vitellius; Jonathan succeeds him. Peter founds the church in Antioch.

40-41 Conversion of Cornelius. Caligula orders a statue of himself placed in the Temple at Jerusalem but is assassinated before the order is carried out. Claudius is declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard.

44 Paul and Barnabas minister in Antioch; the term Christian comes to be used there for believers.

45 Book of Galatians written (?); possible year of the Book of James.

46-48 First missionary trip of Paul and Barnabas to Cypress (Acts 13, 14). Ananias appointed High Priest.

49 Council of Jerusalem deals with the subject of Gentiles in the church. James--not Peter--issues a decree that the Gentiles are relieved from following the Torah and becoming circumsised. Claudius expels the Jews from Rome as tension between orthodox and Christian Jews flares up in violence.

50-52 Paul and Barnabas separate over young John Mark; Paul undertakes second missionary journey with Silas and spends 18 months in Corinth. Books of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians written. The Virgin Mary dies in Ephesus at age 64 (?); Catholic tradition will assert that she undergoes an immediate resurrection and is assumed into Heaven. Gamaliel dies.

53-54 1st and 2nd Corinthians written.

54 Claudius poisoned by Nero (whose real name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus), who succeeds him.

55 The "Egyptian" (see Acts 21:37) and thousands of Jews slain during a re-enactment of Exodus.

56 Paul brings donations to the church in Jerusalem.

57 Book of Romans written.

58 Paul tried before Festus, appeals to Ceasar and sent to Rome for two years; evidently Nero finds him innocent of wrongdoing.

60 Gospels of Mark and Matthew  (?) written.

61 Book of Ephesians written.

62 James, head of the Jerusalem church, stoned and clubbed to death. Simeon, son of Cleopas, succeeds him. Books of Ephesians and Colossians written. Mark, who heads the church in Alexandria, gives up the position to Annianus.

63 Gospel of Luke written. Jews begin forming rebellion against Roman rule.

64 Rome burns; Nero blames the Christians and severe persecution begins. Book of Acts written. Matthias stoned to death.

65 1st and 2nd Peter written.

66 Book of Jude written.

67 Simeon leads the Christian Jews out of Jerusalem into the Decapolis as the rebellion against Rome formally starts; Peter and Paul martyred by Nero; according to Catholic tradition Linus succeeds Peter as pope of Rome. Mark martyred.

68-69 Nero commits suicide, resulting in a quick succession of emperors--Galba, Vitellius, Otho and finally Vespasian.

70 Jerusalem destroyed by Titus. Book of Hebrews written. A Heavenly voice is supposedly heard in Yavneh declaring that the Jews should follow the teachings of Hillel over Shammai.

70-500 AD From Palestina to Europe

The first disciples leave Jerusalem to bring Gospel in Italy, Spain, Wales, and Great Britain. Saint Mary of Magdala builds
pigrims'centers in Sarras and other places in France, and England.

71 The Romans cut down every tree in Israel and salt the land to punish the Jews for the rebellion.

73 Masada taken, and the assassins who have held out against the Romans commit suicide. The Christian Jews return to Jerusalem.

79 Vespasian dies; succeeded by son Titus.

80 1st John written.

81 Domitian succeeds Titus as emperor; eventually begins severe persecution of Christians after an assassination attempt.

85 2nd and 3rd John written. A sect mentioned in the Book of Revelation that will impact Christianity forever after arises in Pergamum known as the Nicolaitans. Taking their name from Nicholas of Antioch, an early church elder mentioned in the Book of Acts, they will promote a number of false doctrines. Their lasting impact will be to greatly elevate the priesthood above the laity which will give birth to the Catholic and Orthodox hierarchies. The very name Nicolaitan translated means to conquer people.

90 Rabbis Johanan ben Zakkai, Gamaliel II and Simeon (not the Simeon who heads the Christian church in Jerusalem) re-establish the Sanhedrin and expel all Christians from the synagogues. They also forbid the reading of the 10 Commandments in synagogues, possibly because Gentile Christians were claiming these were the laws they should live their lives by. The Didache and Gospel of John written.

95 Clement of Rome (c. 30 - 100), one of the earliest popes, writes a letter arguing that church leaders possess a divine authority inherited from Christ and his apostles.

96 Domitian assassinated. Book of Revelation written. (Pope) Clement of Rome writes a rebuke to the church at Corinth--this is the cornerstone of Catholic assertion that the Roman church had authority over all Christian churches.

100 John, last of the Apostles, dies in Ephesus.

100 Christian churches are established in Greece, North Africa, Italy, and Asia Minor.

100-165 St. Justin Martyr lives and is one of the first Christian apologists to offer a defense of Christianity.

107 Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem and last verifiable relative of Jesus, martyred at the ripe old age of 120.

125 First recorded instance of a prayer to Mary.

132 Bar Kochba proclaimed Messiah by Jewish leaders and revolt forms against Roman rule; the Christians do not participate.

135 Last vestiges of Jewish self-rule eliminated by the Romans as the rebellion is crushed. The Temple is given over to Zeus. The first Gentile bishop, Marcus, appointed over the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (the 15 previous bishops had been fully Jewish and full Torah observant).

140 Shepherd of Hermas is written, presenting a highly developed system of bishops, deacons, and priests

150 Four "canonical" gospels are collected together.

150- School of Alexandria is founded in Egypt, quickly becoming a major center for both Christian theology and Greek philosophy. Among its prominent teachers are the theologians Clement (died c. 215) and Origen (c. 185 - 254).

169 Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna and disciple of John, martyred.

175 the term Old Testament is first used by the bishop of Sardis.

180 Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, becomes the first post-Apostolic church father to assert primacy of the church in Rome over all other churches.

180 Irenaeus (125 - c. 202), Catholic theologian, writes Against Heresies in an attempt to fight the spread of Gnosticism. He claimed that "every church must agree" with the church of Rome because of its apostolic authority.

180 First African Christians are martyred at Scillium.

185 Origen forbids teaching from Jewish sources.

200 Christian ministers for the first time are called priests. Judah ben Nasi, of the school of Hillel, begins codifying Jewish philosophies and commentaries in the Mishna.

200 German Goths create the tradition of the "best man" by taking their best fighter with them to help abduct brides from neighboring vilages.

201 First specific Christian church building erected in Syria.

209 St. Alban, first British martyr, is killed for his faith in one of the few persecutions of Christians by pagans ever to take place on the island, during the governorship of Gaius Junius Faustinus Postumianus.

249 - 251 Roman emperor Diocletian persecutes Christians

250 - 336  Life of Arius, priest at Alexandria and founder of Arianism. Arianism was one of the most widespread and divisive heresies in the history of Christianity.As a priest in Alexandria, Arius taught (c.318) that God created, before all things, a Son who was the first creature, but who was neither equal to nor coeternal with the Father. According to Arius, Jesus Christ was a supernatural creature not quite human and not quite divine. In these ideas Arius followed the school of Lucian of Antioch.

256 (Pope) Steven becomes the first head of the Roman church to openly declare succession to Peter and to hold supremacy over all church bishops.

260 First datable instance of Christians praying to the saints (Peter & Paul) for intercession.

296 - 373 Life of Athanasius. He disputed Arius and taught that that Jesus must be divine, because otherwise, he could not be the Savior.

303 Diocletian orders a general persecution of all Christians.

300 By this point, only the clergy are permitted to speak from the pulpit (in earlier centuries both clergy and lay people were permitted to teach the Scriptures).

301 Armenia becomes the first Christian nation.

312 Constantine superficially converts to Christianity after a dream leads him to a military victory. He remains polytheistic until his death, even striking coins to honor Apollo.

313 Constantine issues the Edict of Milan, granting legal rights to all Christians and restoring their confiscated possessions.

318 Jewish representatives meet with (Pope) Sylvester to complain about Gentile Bishops being appointed in key Middle East cities, and ask for acknowledgment that the Jerusalem church is the Mother church. They are rebuffed.

321  Emperor Constantine declares Sunday to be a day of rest:

"On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."

324 Constantine moves the capital to Constantinopal, leaving the bishop (pope) of Rome the most powerful man in Italy.

325 Council of Nicea meets to codify Christian doctrines in response to growing heresies--Jewish bishops are specifically excluded from the meeting. Doctrine of the Trinity formally acknowledged--in some cases with bishops threatened with death if they do not accept it.

333 Christian Jews ordered by Constantine to abandon all ties to Judaism or be killed.

336 Christmas first celebrated on December 25th. This is the same date as the first-century BCE Roman holiday for the sun god Mithra.

337 Christianity becomes the official state religion of Rome. Constantine finally receives baptism as a Christian (from heretical Arian priests) and dies on Pentecost.

338 Jewish calendar converted to solar calendar.

343 The Council of Serdicia gives preference to the bishop of Rome--(Pope) Justin--in mediating over the Eastern churches which are embroiled in Arian heresies.

350 Codex Vaticanus, the first complete Bible, is writen.

350 Christianity first reaches Ethiopia.

351 The Jews revolt against the Roman emperor Gallus in a losing war.

353 Emporer Constantius orders the closing of all pagan temples of the Empire.

359 Jewish calendar established in its present form by Rabbi Hillel.

364 Council of Laodicea makes a de facto ruling of death for Christians who keep a 7th day Sabbath. This will essentially end Messianic Judaism until it re-emerges in the 19th century.

367 Festal Epistle of St. Athanasius (c. 293 - 373) offers earliest known list of the New Testament canon in current form.

380 Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire under the reign of Theodosius I.

381 First Council of Constantinople. Convened by Theodosius I, then emperor of the East and a recent convert, to confirm the victory over Arianism, the council drew up a dogmatic statement on the Trinity and defined Holy Spirit as having the same divinity expressed for the Son by the Council of Nicaea 56 years earlier. That statement has been lost, but the work of the council established the orthodox teaching of the Trinity as it is held today.
The council condemned all varieties of Arianism along with a new heresy, Apollinarianism. The sessions, which were attended only by bishops of the East, lasted two months.

385 (Pope) Siricius forbids bishops, priests and deacons from having sex.

387 Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430) converts to Christianity, becoming the leading theologian in the church's history by writing major theological works like City of God and Confessions and by writing polemics against heresies.

393 Christian conquerors abolish Greek Olympics.

394 Council of Carthage - first council to uphold the doctrines of prayers for the dead and purgatory.

395 The Roman Empire divides into two portions, the Eastern being Byzantium.

397 Augustine’s council decrees there are 27 books in the official New Testament.

400 The Gamara (Babylonian Talmud) written. Statues are starting to appear in churches with regularity.

400's Anglo-Saxon pagan invaders almost eliminate Christianity in England.

404 Jerome publishes the Vulgate, the latin translation of the Old and New Testaments.

415 Hypatia, a pagan scholar, is killed at the hands of a Christian mob. A close advisor of Orestes, the Roman governor of Alexandria, Hypatia had been a popular public lecturer in philosophy and mathematics.

418 British monk Pelagius (c. 354 - 420) is excommunicated. Pelagius denied original sin and the need for baptism, asserting that if God asked men to do good, then they must be capable of doing good on their own. He was condemned by Augustine.

425 The Jewish Sanhedrin in Tiberius abolished for good by the Romans, acting under Catholic pressure.

426 Augustine declares that the purpose of marriage is procreation.

430 St. Patrick, the "Apostle of Ireland," introduces Christianity to pagan Ireland. A Roman Briton, he was born Maewyn Succat and adopted Patrick or Patricius upon becoming a priest

431 Council of Ephesus formally acknowledges Mary is the mother of God and that Jesus was God in the flesh.

431 Ecumenical Council of Ephesus denounces the teachings of Nestorius (d. 451), who argued that Christ had completely separate human and divine natures. In addition to voting that Christ was fully human and fully divine at the same time, it also voted that is the mother of God as well as of Jesus Christ.

432 First celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, in honor of the arrival of St. Patrick.

451 Council of Chalcedon gives the same authority to the Bishop of Constantinopal as to the bishop of Rome; this is the beginning of the eventual schism between the Eastern and Western churches.

451

Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon votes that Christ is simultaneously "truly man and truly God." The traditional belief that Jesus had both a divine and human nature was being challenged at the time by Monophysitism, an outgrowth of the Alexandrian school. Their followers believed that Christ had only a single divine nature. The council rejected that belief. In their Chalcedonian Definition, they affirmed that Christ had two natures which were "...without confusion, without change, without division, without separation." This formulation has survived as the traditional belief to the present day among almost all branches of Christendom. A little known statement of the Council was Canon #15 (1): "No woman under 40 years of age is to be ordained a deacon, and then only after close scrutiny."  This is appears to be the last time in church history that the ordination of women was mentioned as a routine practice in any form, and certainly establishes that women did hold, at one time, important church offices.

460 (Pope) Leo forbids priests to marry.

461 Approximate death of St. Patrick.

475-542 AD England

A Christian King, named Arthur, prays the Grail on Man's Island and in Scotland. The heart of the King, according to
Layamon, is the Round Table. His Grail's seekers are Gawain, Lancelot, and Perceval.

476 The Western Roman Empire falls to barbarian armies, leaving the church as the primary authority in the West. In the East, the Byzantine Empire based in Constantinople continues for the next 977 years.

491 Armenian orthrodox church declares independence from Rome and Byzantium.

494 St. Valentine's Day is set as February 14th by Pope Gelasius I.

500 The word pope, formerly applied to all church bishops, now is used solely by the Bishop of Rome.

500 The Talmud, a compilation of Jewish oral laws and traditions, is put in its final form in Babylonia. It consists of two parts: an oral law (Mishna) in Hebrew and commentaries on the oral law (Gemara) in Aramaic.

500 Incense introduced in Christian church service; first plans of Vatican drawn up.

503 Britons, possibly under war leader Arthur, defeat the Saxons at Mount Badon.

525 Dionysius Exiguus sets Christian calendar (A.D.) and Jesus' birth at 23 December 1 AD.

527 Justinian's reign begins. He is responsible for a codification of Roman Law that affects many future civilizations and the re-conquest of Africa and Italy.

529 Justinian abolishes the philosophical schools of Athens (Plato's Academy ), wiping out the last vestiges of paganism in the Empire.

529 Italian monk Benedict establishes a monastery on Monte Cassino, in Italy. His Benedictine order eventually establishes the Western monastic tradition which spread rapidly throughout Europe.

532 The Church of Hagia Sofia (Divine Wisdom), the largest Christian church in the world, is built in Constantinople by emperor Justinian (483 - 565) as the focal point of Byzantine Christianity.

550 Saint David takes Christianity to Wales.

553 Second Council of Constantinople, convened by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I to settle the dispute known as the Three Chapters. The West, in general, was slow in recognizing it as an ecumenical council, though ultimately it was accepted, chiefly because of the orthodoxy of its pronouncements.

563 Irish monk Saint Columba founds a monastery on the island of Iona and begins the conversion of the Picts to Christianity.

587 Visigoths of Spain converted to Christianity.

589 Lombards of Italy converted to Christianity.

590 - 604 Pope Gregory the Great (c. 540 - 604) begins liturgical reforms and changes in church administration, enhancing both the power and prestige of the papacy. Originally a Benedictine, Gregory creates a religious policy for western Europe by fusing the Roman papacy with Benedictine monasticism. He establishes the Latin church, which serves to counteract the subordination of the Roman popes to Eastern emperors. He also commanded that a way be found to collect and preserve the singing of the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos (now known as Gregorian Chant).As the fourth great "church father," St. Gregory the Great drew his theology from Ambrose of Milan, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo. His concepts of purgatory and penance serve widen the growing theological gulf between the Eastern and Western Churches

591 (Pope) Gregory forbids forced conversion of Jews.

596 Pope Gregory sends Augustine of Canterbury (d. 605) to England on a missionary journy to spread the message of Christianity.

597 St. Augustine of Canterbury visits England and converts the kingdom of Kent to Christianity, baptizing King Ethelbert (also known as king Aethelbryht or Aethelberht)

597: Death of St. Columba (born 521), pioneer missionary to Scotland. From the Isle of Iona, Columba evangelized the mainland of Scotland and Northumbria.

601 First cathedral built in England.

607 (Pope) Boniface III petitions Emperor Phocas to decree that "the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches" and that the title of "Universal Bishop" should be reserved exclusively for the bishop of Rome, in opposition to the bishop of Constantinople.

609 All Saints' Day (a.k.a. All Hallows' Day) first celebrated on May 13th when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary.

610 Pretzels are invented by an Italian monk who uses them as rewards to children who learn their prayers.

611AD: salt was added and the pretzels became penance: they were handed out, and water was witheld ( a joke from : onelasttime )

613 Jews refusing Christian baptism are ordered out of Spain.

614 Jews are allowed by the conquering Persians to return to Jerusalem after centuries of banishment. With Jewish participation, tens of thousands of Christians are martyred.

625 Mohammad begins the Koran.

625 - 638 Papacy of Honorious I. He showed great interest in the church in Spain and the British Isles and did much to reform the education of the clergy. He became involved in Monotheletism, the doctrine declaring that Christ operated with but one will, although he had two natures. It opposed the intent of the Council of Chalcedon.

632 East Anglia Christianized.

635 Christianization of Wessex.

638 Jerusalem captured by Moslems.

640 The Moslems burn Library of Alexandria, "The Center of Western Culture," with 300,000 ancient papyrus scrolls, is completely distroyed by fire.

664 At the Synod of Whitby, Oswy abandons the Celtic Christian Church and accepts the faith of the Latin Chruch of Rome. The Celtic Christian Church begins its decline.

674 Churches in England are fitted with glass windows for the first time.

680-681 Third Council of Constantinople. It was convoked by Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV to deal with Monotheletism. The council was attended by more than 150 bishops from all over the world and presided over by papal legates. It condemned Monotheletism very clearly by defining the orthodox faith as the acceptance of a separate will and operation in each of the natures of Christ. It also condemned several churchmen as Monothelites, among them an earlier pope, Honorius I. 688 The Dome of the Rock (Mosque of Omar) is built by Abd al-Malik on the Temple mount, where Mohammed supposedly ascended into Heaven.

687 Pepin of Heristal, a Merovingian ruler, unites the Frankish territories and builds the center of his kingdom in Belgium. He is succeeded by his son, Charles Martel, who creates an alliance with the Christian Church, allowing the Merovingian Dynasty (and Christianity) to expand into Germany. Pepin the Short succeeds his father, Charles Martel, and strengthens the convergence of Benedictine missionaries and Frankish expansion.

695 Spain begins persecution of Jews.

700 The Psalms are translated into Anglo-Saxon and the Lindsisfarne Gospels are produced.

700 Benedictine missionaries complete the conversion of England begun by St. Gregory the Great.

718 Pelayo, a noble Visigoth who has been elected king, defeats the Muslim Army in Alcama in the neighbourhood of Covadonga, thus beginning the Christian Reconquest of Spain.

721 (Pope) Leo II orders forced baptism of all jews.

726 Byzantine emperor Leo III (c. 680 - 741) begins the "Iconoclastic Controversy" by banning the worship of religious images (icons).

735 Venerable Bede, an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine scholar, writes the History of the English Church and People in Latin, generally regarded as the best historical writing of medieval history.

750 The first great English epic poem, Beowulf, is written in Old English. The work is anonymous and untitled until 1805. It is a Christian poem that exemplifies early medieval society in England and shows roots in Old Testament Law. Irish monks establish early medieval art. The greatest surviving product of these monks is the Book of Kells, a Gospel book of decorative art.

751 St. Boniface anoints Pepin the Short as a divinely sanctioned king, and thus the Frankish monarchy becomes fused into the papal order.  The western European empire, based on the alliance between the Frankish monarchy and the Latin Church, provides an image of Western cultural unity for Europeans lost since the fall of the Roman Empire, though it does not last long.

756 Donation of Pepin - the papal domains in Italy are created and established as territory under the soveriegn control of popes.

768 Pepin's son, Carolus Magnus (Charlemagne), succeeds his father and becomes one of the most important rulers of medieval history. His empire, known as the Carolingian dynasty, eventually includes much of central Europe, northern Italy and central Italy in addition to realms already conquered by Frankish rule. Charlemagne's system of government divides the vast realm into different regions, ruled by local "counts" who are overseen by representatives of Charlemagne's own court. In addition, to aid expansion and administration of the kingdom, Charlemagne promotes what is later called the "Carolingian Renaissance." Prior to this revival of learning, nearly the entire kingdom (with the exception of Benedictine England) was illiterate due to the decay of the Roman Empire.  The director of the "renaissance" is Anglo-Saxon Benedictine Alcuin, who receives his learning from a student of Bede. Alcuin sets up schools, sees to the copying of classical Latin texts and develops a new handwriting.

778 The army of Charlemagne suffers the defeat of Roncesvalles at the hands of the Vascons; death of Roland.

787 The Second Nicean Council meets - this is the last of the seven church councils commonly accepted as authoritative by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The Council votes to allow the veneration but not the worship of icons.

800 Charlemange (c. 742 - 814) is crowned emperor by Pope Leo III (750 - 816) at Saint Peter's Basillica in Rome. This coronation marks th beginning of a new relationship between the church and state, with the emperor's temporal authority depending upon the spiritual blessing of the pope.

843 The worship of icons is restored in the East by Byzantine emperor Michael III (839 - 867), thus ending the "Iconclastic Controversy."

850 Acropolis of Zimbabwe is built in Rhodesia.

867 Photian Schism between Eastern and Western churches begins during the first patriarchy of Photius (c. 820 - 891). Photius excommunicates Pope Nicholas I (c. 800 - 867) during their dispute over various issues, but especially the use in the Western church of the filoque clause in the Nicene Creed (meaning: "and from the son"). This had been added to the statement that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The schism leads to Photius' deposition, but he later manages to achieve reconciliation with Rome.

869-870 Fourth Coucil of Constantinople. It has never been accepted by the Orthodox Church, which instead recognizes the council of 880 that supported Photius. The council of 869 was convoked at the suggestion of Basil I, the new Byzantine emperor, to confirm the restoration of St. Ignatius of Constantinople to the see that Photius had resigned. Photius had already been condemned, without a hearing, at a Roman synod. At Constantinople his defense was cut short, and when he refused to sign his own condemnation, he was excommunicated. The result of these councils was to intensify the bitterness between East and West.

910 The Benedictine monastery of Cluny in Burgundy becomes a place of monastic reform. The two major innovations here are the direct subjection of monasteries to the pope (avoiding the oversight of secular, local and ecclesiastical powers) and the building of "daughter monasteries" subordinate to the Cluniac "family," which grows to sixty-seven monasteries by 1049 CE.

950 Catholicism is finally the prevalent and dominant religion throughout Europe.

988 Vladimir I (c. 956 - 1015), grand duke of Kiev, declares Eastern Orthodox Christianity to be the official state religion of Russia.

1000 Scandinavia and Hungary converted to Christianity.

1032 (Pope) Benedict IX, a teenage boy, made Pope through bribery. He becomes perhaps the worst pope in recorded history and is driven out of Rome by an enraged populace.

1054 Schism between the Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches finalizes long-standing split between the chuches. Pope Leo IX (1002 - 1054) and Patriarch Michael Cerularius exchange anathemas of excommunication.

1059 The College of Cardinals is established as the body responsible for electing popes.

1071 Turkish armies are victorious over Byzantine forces in the Battle of Manzikert, leading to a sharp decline in the power of the Byzantine Empire.

1073 Pope Gregory VII (c. 1020 - 1085) begins his widespread and famous reforms of church practice, liturgies and administration.

1074 Pope Gregory VII excommunicates all married priests.

1075 The Investiture fight begins between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman emperor Henry VI (1050 - 1106), in which Gregory denies Henry the traditional right to appoint bishops. Henry, who does not accept this quietly is eventually excommunicated and deposed in 1077, but Henry and his supporters, along with an army, drive Gregory into exile during an invasion of Italy (1081 - 1083).

1080 Order of the Hospital of St. John founded in Italy. This special order of knights was dedicated to guarding a pilgrim hospital, or hostel, in Jerusalem. Order not officially acknowledged until 1113 by the Pope.

1085 At the Council of Clermont, the First Crusade (out of a total of eight official crusades) is called by Pope Urban II (c. 1035 - 1099) against Muslims in the Holy Lands.

1095 The first of eventually seven crusades begin in the Holy Land at the behest of (Pope) Urban II.

1095-1272 AD Holy Land

Nine Christian Crusades against Islam. The Templars Knights go to East to fight and die. During these wars, the first
Grail's manuscripts come to light.

1096-1099  First Crusade actually carried out in an effort to aid Byzantine Christians against Muslim invaders.

1099 Crusaders sack Jerusalem, killing 40,000.

1100 A new asceticism is sought for monks who wish to engage in contemplation and self-examination. Two new orders are created: the Carthusian and the Cistercian. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, leader of the Cistercians, establishes 343 monasteries before he dies. Accompanying the fervent worship of Jesus during this period is the pronouncement of the Virgin Mary as a saint. This is the first time a woman is given central significance in the Christian religion.

1100-1300 Construction of the famous cathedral in Chartres, France.

1119 Hugues de Payens founds the Order of Knights Templars in Jerusalem. Name comes from the fact that their headquarters was on the site of Solomon's Temple.

1122 Diet of Worms finally brings an end to the long-standing investiture fight with a compromise which retains church authority over Europe.

1123 First Lateran Council. Summoned by Pope Calixtus II to signal the end of the investiture controversy by confirming the Concordat of Worms (1122). It was held in the Lateran Palace, Rome, making it the first council to be held in Western Europe. Many of the council's decrees became part of the evolving corpus of medieval Latin canon law.

1135 Maimonides, father of modern Sephardic Judaism, born; his writings forever influence both Judaism and Islam.

1136 The abbé Suger develops the rose window.

1136 AD England

Geoffrey from Monmouth writes Historia regum Britanniae in latin: with this work, the world knows the character of King
               Arthur.

1139  Second Lateran Council. Convened at the Lateran Palace, Rome, by Pope Innocent II, the council attempted to heal the wounds left by the schism of the antipope Anacletus II (d. 1138) and condemned the theories of Arnold of Brescia.  Among the council's canons were prohibitions of clerical concubinage and marriage and of the use of bows and crossbows in fighting Christians; simony and usury were also condemned.

1147 Second Crusade begins following an appeal by St. Bernard of Clarivaux. Lasts until 1149.

1155 Pope Adrian IV gives Ireland to Henry II of England.

1170 Thomas a Beckett, archbishop of Canterbury since 1162, is executed for opposing the king's attempts to limit the church's power.

1170-1185 AD France

Chrétien de Troyes, from France, narrates the first episodes about Grail, Lancelot and Perceval.

1170-1220 AD Europe

The main Grail's novels appeare in Europe. The most important Grail's manuscripts of XII and XIII century come from
  Wales, England, France, Spain and Germany.

1179 Third Lateran Council. Convened at the Lateran Palace, Rome, by Pope Alexander III after the Peace of Venice (1178) had reconciled him with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, it included an envoy from the Orthodox Greeks. The most important legislation was the first canon, which confirmed that the election of the pope was thereafter to be in the hands of the cardinals alone, two thirds being necessary for election. The council also condemned usury, tournaments, and brigandage. The Albigenses and Waldenses were condemned. The legislation from this council formed an important part of the evolving canonical tradition in the 12th and 13th centuries

1118-1314 AD Palestina

Templars keep in Jerusalem the most important relics of Christendom. Philip of France arrests all of them, accusing them of
  heresy. Someone of them survives in Spain, England, Scotland, Germany and Hungary.

1182 Philip II banishes the Jews from France.

1189 Third Crusade begins, lead by Frederick Barbarossa, Philip of France and Richard of England. Frederick drowns the next year on the way to Palestine - German folklore develops that he is hidden in a mountain waiting to return and lead Germany to a new and brighter future. Crusade ends in 1192.

1189 Jews massacred at the coronation of Richard I.

1198 - 1216  Power of the medieval papacy reaches its height with the reign of Innocent III (1161 - 1216) who manages to excommunicate both Holy Roman emperor Otto IV (1182 - 1218) and King John of England (c. 1167 - 1216) in 1209.

1200 (?) The Jewish mystic movement Cabala develops in France and spreads to Spain. Cabalists believe that every word, letter and number in the Bible can reveal hidden mysteries via cabalistic interpretation.

1202  Fourth Crusade is launched.

1204 Venetians convince the soldiers of the fourth crusade to attack Constantinople before moving on to the Holy Land. The residents of the City suffer the worst devastation in Constantinople's history, and Venice reaps the spoils. After Constantinople is sacked by Western Crusaders on the Fourth Crusade, Latin domination of the Eastern Church begins. Thomas Morosini of Venice is installed as patriarch of Constantinople, increasing the rivalry between Eastern and Western churches.

1206 St Dominic is supposedly given the rosary by the Virgin Mary.

1206 St. Francis of Assisi, at the age of twently-five, begins his twenty year allegiance to Christ until his death in 1226 CE. He founded of the Franciscan order which seeks to imitate the life of Jesus by embracing poverty. St. Francis wins the support of Pope Innocent III.

1208 St. Francis of Assisi renounces wealth to follow Christ.

1208 Crusade against the Albingensians (also known as Cathars) and Waldensians is launched in southern France by Pope Innocent III. In Beziers alone in 1209, at least 20,000 people are massacred.

1208 First recorded witchcraft trial in England. Gideon, alleged to be a sorcerer, is acquitted.

1212  Spain reconquers the Iberian peninsula from the Muslims in the name of Christianity.

1212  Childrens' Crusade is launched. More than 50,000 children sold into slavery.

1215 Innocent III organizes the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome in order to discuss and define central dogmas of Christianity. It was one of the most important councils ever held, and its canons sum up Innocent's ideas for the church. It recognizes the necessity of the Eucharist and penance as sacraments for salvation. This council established the requirements of confession at least once a year and communion at Easter time as the minimum requirement for church membership, called the Easter duty. Priests are forbidden to participate in trials by ordeal. The Council also called for the Fifth Crusade to be warred under papal guidance by sea.

1215 Pope Innocent III nullifies the Magna Carta.

1216 Spanish theologian Dominic (1170 - 1221) founds his own Dominican order of monks, who are dedicated to preaching, scholarship and teaching. The order is authorized by Innocent III. Its purpose is to convert Muslims and Jews and to put an end to heresy. The Dominicans eventually become the main administrators of inquisitorial trials.

1217 Fifth Crusade ends in failure.

1222 András II of Hungary issues A Golden Bull exempting clergy from taxation and refusing land or offices to Jews or foreigners.

1225 - 1274   Life of theologian Thomas Aquinas, who codifies the Catholic theology in works such as Summa Theologica, marking the high point of the medieval scholastic movement.

1228 Sixth Crusade.

1229 Inquisition forbids reading of Bible by lay persons.

1232. (Pope) Gregoory IX appoints the first inquisitors.

1233 The Holy Inquisition is established by Pope Gregory IX (c. 1155 - 1241) in order to abolish heresy wherever it can be found. Domincans are assigned responsibility to carry out the Inquisition.

1248 Seventh Crusade

1258 The papacy approves the use of torture for religious disobedience, following Innocent III's brutal "inquisitions" against heresy (namely the Waldensian and Albigensian heretics).

1258 Flagellants begin physically punishing themselves in the belief that this will prevent plagues.

1260 Date which a 1988 Vatican-sponsored scientific study places the origin of the Shroud of Turin.

1261 Michael Palaeologus (1224 - 1282) finally drives the Latin rulers out of Constantinople and reestablishes local Eastern Orthodox Rule.

1263 Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachmon wins a theological debate in Barcelona over Catholic scholars and is driven out of Spain. Jews thereafter, while forced into theological debates, are restricted in the way they may present arguments.

1269 Louis IX of France orders Jews to wear a purple badge.

1272 The last crusade ends.

1277 Roger Bacon is imprisoned for heresy.

1290 The Jews are expelled from England by Edward "Longshanks" (the evil king in Braveheart)

1291 Saracene armies capture Acre, the last Christian outpost in Palestine, thus officially ending the Crusades.

1302 Pope Boniface VIII (c. 1235 - 1303) issues the papal bull Unum Sanctum, which declares that the pope has supreme and final authority in all matters, both civic and spiritual.

1302 On January 27, Dante Alighieri is fined and exiled from Florence by the Catholic Church.

1303 (Pope) Bonafice VIII issues the first papal letter to the Christian church; this is the first de facto use of the doctrine of Papal Infallibility, although it isn’t formally ratified until the 1800s.

1303 Pope Boniface VIII is kidnapped by supporters of French King Philip IV (1268- 1314) after threatening to depose Philip. Boniface dies within a month.

1305 The 70-year "Babylonian Captivity" of the papacy begins when Pope Clement V (1260 - 1314) moves the papal residence and administrative offices to Avignon in France in order to escape the political turmoil raging in Italy.

1306 Philip IV expels the Jews from France.

1316 Pope sends eight Dominican monks to Ethiopia in search of Prester John, a legendary Christian emperor.

1322 Pope John XXII forbids contrapuntal music in churches.

1327 Born in 1260, German Dominican Master Eckhart defines the individual soul as a "spark" of the divine at its most basic element. By renouncing all knowledge of the self, one is able to retreat into that "spark" and reach God. Most of his teachings are condemned by the papacy. Two bands of mysticism arise from Eckhart's theories: heterodox, the belief in the unification of God and man on earth without the aid of priests as intermediaries, and orthodox, the belief in the possibility of joining the soul with God and the awareness of divine presence in everyday life.

1335 Pope Benedict XII issues sweeping reforms of the monastic orders.

1343 William of Ockham's Dialogues argue for separation of church and state.

1345 Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, is completed.

1348 Jews blamed for Black Death and systematically persecuted.

1357 Earliest verifiable record of the Shroud of Turin.

1376 John Wycliffe, an Oxford don, writes Civil Dominion calling for reforms in the Church

1378 The "Great Schism" begins when the election of Urban VI (c. 1318 - 1389) to the papacy is challenged by French cardinals, who in turn elect Clement VII (d. 1394) to the same office. Clement becomes known as the "antipope" and resides in Avignon. Both Rome and Avignon have rival popes for the next 40 years.

1382 John Wyclif publishes the first English Bible translated from the Vulgate.

1382 John Wycliffe is expelled from Oxford University because of his opposition to traditional Church doctrines.

1394 - 1423  Benedict XIII is antipope at Avignon.

1391 Spanish Jews are forced to convert to Catholisicm for the sake of "social and sectarian uniformity."

1399 In England, the death penalty becomes the punishment for heresy, and many Lollards, Wycliffe's lay followers, convert.

1400 Czech students of John Wycliffe bring Wycliffism to the Bohemian capital of Prague. Preacher John Hus (1373-1415 CE) adopts Wyclif's theories to support his own claims against ecclesiastical extravagance.

1400-1900 AD Europe

   Grail seems to disappeare. No novels, no books about it. But the legend is going to return in XX century...

1401 England introduces de Heretico Comburendo, giving the Church power over heresy.

1408 Council of Oxford forbids translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular unless and until they were fully approved by Church authority; sparked by the Wycliffite Bible.

1409 Council of Pisa attempts to end the Great Schism by declaring both rival popes deposed and electing a third: Pope Alexander V. Previous two popes remain instransigent, resulting in three rival popes.

1409 Pope Alexander V publicly burns 200 of John Wycliffe's writings.

1414 A Lollard uprising in England fails. Some Lollards retreat underground and aid the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.

1415 John Hus travels to the Council of Constance to propose his reforms for the Church. Upon his arrival at the Council, Hus is tried for heresy and burned. His death encourages futher revolt by his followers.

1417 The Council of Constance, the largest Church meeting in medieval history, finally ends the Great Schism. The council gains secular support and elects Martin V as pope, deposing all three rival popes. It also replaces papal monarchy with a conciliar government, which recognizes a council of prelates as the pope's authority, and mandates the frequent meeting of the council. This new period is known as the Italian territorial papacy, which lasts until 1517 CE.

1420 Hus' supporters defeat German "crusaders." The lower-class Hussites are led by General John Zizka.

1427 Thomas a Kempis writes The Imitation of Christ, a manual directing the individual through Orthodox mysticism. Originally in Latin, it is translated into European languages for the lay audience. Its major themes concern the path of Christian piety for those active in everyday life, communion with Christ, biblical meditation and a moral life. The only sacrament suggested is the Eucharist.

1429 Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc; 1412 - 1431), a peasant girl in France, seeks out the French leader and relates her divinely-inspired mission to drive the English out of France. She takes control of the French troops and liberates most of central France.

1430  Joan of Arc is captured and taken to England. The English accuse her of being a witch and condemn her for heresy. Joan is publicly burned in the city of Rouen.

1451 (Pope) Nicholas V bans social contact between Christians and Jews.

1453 The last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, leads a force of 4,000 troops and succeeds in holding off 160,000 advancing Turks for seven weeks. The Ottomans defeat the Byzantine Empire and continue expanding into the Balkans. The Ottoman Turkish Empire moves its capital from Bursa to Istanbul (Constantinople). After 1500, the Moguls (1526-1857 CE) and the Safavids (1520-1736 CE) follow the military example set by the Ottomans and create two new empires

1456 Gutenburg Bible printed.

1473 Sistine Chapel built under supervision of Giovanni de Dolci.

1478 Spanish Inquisition established by Ferdinand and Isabella with the consent of Pope Sixtus IV. The main goal was to punish and persecute all of the "converted" Jews who still managed to practice their old faith in secret.

1483 Martin Luther born at Eisleben, Germany, November 10.

1484 Pope Innocent VIII officially denounces pagan practices.

1487 Henry VII of England removes the right of the accused heretics to know the names of their accusers.

1488 (Pope) Eugenius IV prohibits anti-Jewish sermons.

1488 - 1569  Life of Miles Coverdale, an Augustinian friar who left the Order, repudiated Catholicism and became the first Protestant Bishop of Exeter.

1491 - 1569 Life of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order (see 1534).

1492 The Jews are expelled from Spain.

1492 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, later benefactors of Christopher Columbus, end Muslim rule in Spain. With the help of Tourquemada, Grand Inquisitor, they also force the conversion or expussion of all Jews in Spain.

1499 Francisco Jime'nez forces mass conversion of Moors.

1501 Church orders books against papal authority burned.

1505  - 1572   Life of John Knox, Protestant reformer in Scotland

1506 Pope Julius II orders the old St Peter's Basilica torn down and authorizes Donato Bramante to plan a new structure, demolition completed in 1606.

1506 Approximately 3,000 converted Jews are slaughtered in a Lisbon riot.

1507 Martin Luther ordained and celebrates first Mass.

1508 Martin Luther has the revelation that a man is saved by faith in Christ alone, apart from either works or the Sacraments.

1508 Michelangelo frescoes the Sistine Chapel's vaulted ceiling.

1509 Pope Julius II excommunicates the city of Venice.

1509 - 1564 Life of John Calvin. Calvin preached predetermination and that good conduct and success were signs of election.

1514 Albrecht becomes archbishop of Mainz and sells indulgences in return for contributions to building the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

1516 (Pope) Paul IV creates Jewish ghettos in Venice.

1517 Luther nails his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg.

1518 At meeting of Augustinians in Heidelberg, Martin Luther defends his theology. In October, Luther appears before Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg, but refuses to recant. In December, his prince, Frederick the Wise, refuses to hand him over to Rome.

1519 Martin Luther claims to understand the "righteousness of God" as "passive righteousness with which God justifies us by faith" [some scholars date this discovery earlier].In July he debates Catholic Professor John Eck at Leipzig and denies supreme authority of popes and councils.

1520 Papal bull Exsurge Domine gives Luther 60 days to recant or be excommunicated. Luther writes his 3 seminal treatises, To the Christian Nobility, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of a Christian. Luther burns the papal bull excommunicating him as well as books of canon law.

1520 Anabaptist movement develops in Switzerland and Germany. Anabaptists are harshly persecuted by both Catholics and Protestants. Anabaptists deny any efficacy in infant baptism and renounce the use of violence.

1521 Luther excommunicated.

1521 Martin Luther is condemned as a heretic and outlaw at the Diet of Worms in April. On trial before Emperor Charles V and other leaders of church and state, he refuses to recant his writings. After the Diet of Worms, he is "kidnapped" by Frederick the Wise and hidden at Wartburg Castle. There he begins translating the New Testament.

1522 In March, Luther comes out of hiding and returns to Wittenberg, helping to reestablish order there.

1522 Martin Luther finishes New Testament translation, first published in September.

1522 Zwingli condems priesthood celibacy.

1524 South German peasant uprising, inspired by Luther's reform work but repressed with Luther's support, begins 150 years of religious wars.

1525 - 1534 Tyndale's translation of the NT from the Greek text of Erasmus (1466). Used as a vehicle by Tyndale for bitter attacks on the Church, it reflects the influence of Luther's NT of 1522 in rejecting "priest" for "elder," "church" for "congregation."

1529  Luther publishes Large Catechism and Small Catechism.

1529 The term "Protestant" originates at the Diet of Speyer when supporters of Luther formally protest the imperial efforts to limit the spread of Lutheranism.

1529 Royal decree in Denmark makes Lutheranism the sole religion.

1530 Luther, as an outlaw, cannot attend Diet of Augsburg, held in attempt to end religious division in the Holy Roman Empire. Philipp Melanchthon, Luther's co-worker, presents the Augsburg Confession, a statement of Lutheran beliefs and thus founds the Lutheran church. Luther and Zwingli (Swiss Protestant leader) agree on 14 of the 15 articles of faith, but disagree on the significance of the Lord's Supper.

1531 Reported apparition of Mary at Guadalupe, Mexico; considered "worthy of belief" by the Catholic Church.

1531 Comet, eventually named "Haley's" creates wave of superstition.

1531 Inquisition begins in Portugal.

1531 Lutheran states form the Schmalkaldic League as an alliance against the Holy Roman Empire.

1534 Luther publishes complete German Bible.

1534 Henry VIII breaks England away from the Catholic church, confiscates monastic property, and declares himself its head, thus beginning the Episcopal Church.

1534 Jesuit order founded by Loyola (1491-1556) which helped reconvert large areas of Poland, Hungary, and S. Germany, and sent missionaries to the New World, India, and China.

1535. John Calvin writes his famed work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin’s writings will forever influence the Protestant movement from that time forward. Calvin himself will cold-heartedly execute (in some cases by torture) more than 50 people he considers heretics, before his death.

1535 - 1537   Coverdale's Bible (see 1488), used Tyndale's (1525) translation along with Latin and German versions. It included the Apocrypha at the end of the OT (like Luther) as was done in later English versions. The 1537 edition received royal license, but was banned in 1546.

1536 Luther agrees to the Wittenberg Concord on the Lord's Supper in an attempt to resolve differences with other reformers, but the Zwinglians do not accept it.

1536: Ten Articles of Religion were published by the English clergy, in support of Henry VIII's Declaration of Supremacy. The Anglican Church had begun defining its doctrinal distinctions, after breaking with Roman Catholicism.

1536 Tyndale put to death.

1536 John Calvin publishes the first edition of his work Institutes of the Christian Religion, destined to become one of the most influential works of Protestantism. The book details his theology of humanity's depravity, the necessity of grace for salvation and predestination.

1537  - 1551  Circulation of the Matthew Bible by John Rogers (1500-1555). This translation was based on Tyndale and Coverdale and received royal license, but was not authorized for use in public worship. There were numerous editions.

1538 Luther writes Against the Jews.

1539-1569 Circulation of the Great Bible by Thomas Cromwell. This was the first English Bible to be authorized for public use in English churches. While defective in many places, it was based on Tyndale's NT of 1534-1535 and corrected by a Latin version of the Hebrew OT, the Latin Bible of Erasmus, and the Complutensian Polyglot. The last edition appeared in 1569; it was never denounced by the Church of England.

1540 Ignatius founds the Jesuit order.

1541 The Moslems seal up the Golden Gate to prevent, as the Jewish tradition asserts, the the entrance point of the Messiah into Jerusalem.

1541 - 1564  Calvin heads a theocratic Protestant government in Geneva, Switzerland.

1542 Pope Paul II establishes the Universal Inquisition in Rome. Dominican cardinals try alleged heretics with no legal counsel.

1543 Spanish Catholics begin burning Protestants at the stake.
Nikolaus Copernicus refuses to publish De Revolutionibus Orbitum Coelestium out of fear of Church censure.

1544 Sweden makes Lutheranism the official state religion and bans Catholic worship.

1545 Council of Trent forms to respond to the schism started by Luther, eventually ratifying a number of key doctrines which affect the Catholic church to this day. Included are: Faith alone is not sufficient for salvation; Scripture and tradition hold equal value; the seven Sacraments are necessary for salvation; Transubstantiation formally acknowledged; priests forbidden to marry; Catholic canon of Scripture formally ratified.

1545 Luther writes Against the Papacy at Rome, an Institution of the Devil.

1545 - 1563   Council of Trent.This council marks the beginning of the Catholic Reformation, or counter-reformation. It sought to meet the challenge of Protestantism and clearly define an official theology.

1546 Luther dies.

1546 King Henry VIII forbids anyone to have a copy of Tyndale's or Coverdale's NT.

1546 On August 3, Etienne Dolet is hanged and burnt at the stake as a heretic and blasphemer for printing the works of humanists, including Erasmus.

1549 St. Francis Xavier arrives in Japan and introduces Christianity.

1549 Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal Church) is adopted in England, establishing a liturgy and practice for the Church of England.

1549: In England, Parliament established a uniformity of religious services and the first Book of Common Prayer, as Anglicanism became the newly established national faith.

1553 - 1558 Catholic Queen Mary (1516 - 1558) reigns in England, persecuting Protestants and restoring Catholicism as the official religion.

1555 Peace of Augsburg reduces religious hostilities in Holy Roman Empire by allowing princes to choose Catholicism or Lutheranism for their subjects.

1555 Pope Paul IV orders a wall built to create the first Jewish ghetto.

1558 Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) succeeds Mary as Queen of England and restores Protesantism as the official religion. The Puritan movement develops among those dissatisfied with her reforms of the church.

1560 Publishing of the Geneva Bible. The NT was a revision of Matthew's version of Tyndale with the use of Beza's NT (1556); the OT a thorough revision of Great Bible. It was appointed to be read in Scotland (but not England), and there were at least 140 editions.

1560 Scotch Presbyterian Church founded by John Knox (1505-1572), a disciple of Calvin, due to disagreement with Lutherans over sacraments and church government.

1562 (Pope) Gregory introduces his famed calendar, changing the New Year from April 1 to January 1.

1562 War of Religion begins in France between Catholics and French Protestants (Huguenots).

1563 Thirty-nine Articles of faith are adopted by the Anglican Church as orthodox beliefs.

1564 To commute his death sentence from the Inquisition for dissecting human bodies, Andreas Vesalius makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

1570 Pope Pius V (1504 - 1572) excommunicates English queen Elizabeth I.

1572 Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day in France: Thousands of French Calvinists are murdered.

1577 Orthodox creeds of Lutheranism are established as Lutheran churches accept the Book of Concord.

1582 Douay Version of the New Testament (English translation) is completed. After the Old Testament translation is completed in 1610, this becomes the first English translation of the Bible authorized by and for Roman Catholics.

1582 Gregorian calendar is introduced into Roman Catholic countries.

1584 Reginald Scot attacks superstition in The Discoverie of Witchcraft.

1587 Christians persecuted in Japan for the first time. Hideyoshi bans Christianity from Japan when he is refused sex for religious reasons.

1593 Diet of Uppsala in Sweden upholds Martin Luther's doctrines.

1596 Ukranian Catholic Church forms when Ukranian subjects of the king of Poland are reunited with Rome; largest Byzantine Catholic Church.

1598 French king Henry IV (1553 - 1610) issues the Edict of Nantes, ending the bloody Wars of Religion and granting religious freedom to Protestants.

1600 Giordano Bruno is burned at the stake for supporting Copernican astronomy.

1604 The homosexual King James of England (actually a Scot) (1566 - 1625) of England commissions the "King James" translation of the Bible. He also bans the Jesuits.

1608 John Smyth (c. 1570 - 1612) establishes the Baptist Church.

1609 Christianized Muslims, called Moriscos, are expelled from Spain, depriving Spain of much of its learned class. 

1611 First appearance of the King James Bible.

1616 The Church prohibits Galileo from further scientific work.

1618 Protestant uprising in Bohemia begins the Thirty Years' War.

1619 On February 9, Humanist Lucilio Vanini is tortured and burnt at the stake for atheism.

1620 English Puritans, known as Pilgrims, establish a colony in America at Plymouth Rock to escape religious pluralism in England.

1621 Church bans Johann Kepler's The Epitome of the Copernican Astronomer.

1622-1625  Execution of Christian missionaries to Japan reaches its high point.

1633 On June 21, Galileo is forced by the Inquisition to renounce theories of Copernicus. Desc