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The earliest known public churches are built, signaling a shift in Christians' life and practice.
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The Edict of Milan; made by Constantine I the Roman Emperor, Christianity no longer persecuted.
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Basil the Great founds a monastery, laying foundations for religious communities ever after.
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Ambrose defies Emperor Theodosius, refusing him Communion after his brutal killing of thousands in Thessalonica; the act influences church-state relations for generations.
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Gregory the Great becomes pope: The "first of the medieval popes" takes on civil power and lays the foundations for the papal state. He also commissions, in 597, Augustine's mission to England, which converts the pagan Angles.
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Battle of Tours: Frankish general Charles Martel halts the seemingly unstoppable Muslim invasion, keeping Europe under Christian control.
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The monastery at Cluny is founded, the genesis of a reform movement that spreads to over 1,000 communities and revitalizes monastic life for hundreds of years.
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Benard founds monastery at Clairvaux: The "father of Western mysticism" strengthens the monastic tradition.
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Innocent III calls the Fourth Lateran Council, which climaxes the rule of the medieval church's most influential pope and defines transubstantiation.
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John Wyclif supervises Bible translation, leaving the first complete English Bible.
