Jesus to AD 500

By ryankashian
  • 27 BCE

    Pax Romana begins

    The Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, was a rare period of relative peace throughout the Roman
    Empire. It lasted until about AD 180.
  • Period: 27 BCE to 32

    Pax Romana

  • 33

    The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

  • 33

    Pentecost

    Pentecost is the birth of the Church. On this day, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to Mary and the
    Apostles, inspiring them to preach the Good News. Thousands were baptized
  • 33

    The Apostles spread the Gospel

    The Apostles James and John were among the leaders of these groups, as were Paul, Barnabas, Titus, and Timothy. They traveled extensively, gathering followers of Jesus into
    small communities, which were the beginnings of local churches
  • 34

    The Conversion of St. Paul. 33-42 St. Stephen martyred.

    A martyr is one who is killed for bearing witness to the
  • 42

    St. John the Apostle travels to Ephesus with the Blessed Virgin Mary.

    tells of how, from the Cross, Jesus charged St. John with the care of His mother
  • 42

    St. James the Apostle is martyred

    his body is secretly buried in Spain.
    Christians stole his body and brought it in a boat to Spain, to a place that would become known as Santiago de Compostela
  • 42

    St. Paul begins missionary journeys to Galatia

    Greece, Syria, and other places. Council of Jerusalem. This council affirms that the New Covenant in Christ means that Christians are not bound
    by Mosaic Law and that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to Jew and Gentile alike
  • 64

    Persecution of Christians begins under Roman emperor Nero,

    Romans burn the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Didache written All the writings that will become part of the New Testament have been written
  • 250

    Persecution under Roman emperor Decius

    Decius required all to worship the gods of the state, or be tortured and killed
  • 251

    Council of Carthage

    This council allowed people who lapsed in their faith during the persecution to be brought
    back into the Church after a period of penance
  • 303

    Persecution under Roman emperor Diocletian

    Diocletian ordered the destruction of all Christian churches, imprisonment of bishops and priests, and the execution of all who refused to participate in the public worship of pagan
    gods
  • 313

    Emperor Constantine issues the Edict of Milan

    This edict granted religious toleration to Christians and unleashed the spread of
    Christianity
  • 325

    Council of Nicaea

    This council, called by Emperor Constantine, set forth the Nicene Creed and affirmed that
    Jesus and the Father are consubstantial – of the same substance
  • 330

    Emperor Constantine divides the Roman Empire into East and West

    and West.
    The West was centered in Rome, and the East was centered in Constantinople (present-day
    Instanbul, Turkey)
  • 330

    Construction of the first St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

  • 354

    Birth of St. Augustine

  • 360

    Books begin to replace scrolls

  • 382

    Pope Damasus asks St. Jerome to translate the Gospels into Latin.

  • 397

    The Councils of Hippo and Carthage determine which books will become part of the New Testament

  • 405

    St Jerome complete his translation of the Old Testament

  • 410

    The Visigoths destroy the city of Rome

  • 410

    St. Augustine begins writing The City of God

  • 431

    Council of Ephesus

    Hypostatic Union This council condemned a heresy that said that Jesus was two persons in one body, and the council declared that the Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God (Theotokos).
  • 432

    St. Patrick sets out to spread the Gospel in Ireland

  • 451

    Council of Chalcedon.

    This council affirmed that Christ is fully human and fully divine (the hypostatic union
  • 476

    The Western Roman Empire collapses

  • 480

    Birth of St. Benedict

  • 496

    Clovis, the King of the Franks, coverts to Catholicism

  • 529

    St. Benedict founds his first monastery

  • 590

    St. Gregory the Great becomes pope

  • 596

    Pope St. Gregory the Great sends St. Augustine of Canterbury to England to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons.

  • 597

    St. Augustine baptizes the King of Kent

  • 716

    St. Boniface leaves England to evangelize Germania

  • 754

    With St. Boniface’s help, the pope allies with the kings of the Franks

  • 1000

    Muslims control two thirds of the ancient Christian world

  • 1000

    Muslims control two thirds of the ancient Christian world

  • 1054

    The Great Schism

  • 1073

    St. Gregory VII elected pope

  • 1073

    St. Gregory VII elected pope

  • 1073

    The Great Schism

  • 1073

    Pope St. Gregory VII excommunicates the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV

  • 1088

    First universities founded

  • 1094

    The Byzantine emperor in Constantinople asks the West for aid against Muslim armies

  • 1095

    Pope Urban II calls for a Crusade, and Christians temporarily capture Jerusalem

  • 1144

    First Gothic cathedral completed

  • 1147

    Second and Third Crusades

  • 1204

    Crusaders from the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople

  • 1209

    Franciscan Order is founded by St. Francis of Assisi

  • 1216

    Dominican Order founded by St. Dominic

  • 1229

    The Inquisition is founded

  • 1275

    St. Thomas Aquinas write the Summa Theologica

  • 1300

    The Renaissance begins

  • 1347

    Bubonic plague arrives in Europe

  • 1386

    St. Catherine of Siena cares for the sick and buries the dead when the plague strikes Siena

  • 1440

    Printing Press invented

  • 1492

    Christopher Columbus sails for North America

  • 1513

    Ponce de Leon of Spain founds St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine, named for St. Augustine of Hippo, was the first European settlement in what is now the United States.

  • 1517

    Martin Luther presents the 95 Theses In this document, Luther presented what he saw as abusive practices in the Catholic Church.

  • 1520

    Luther denies the authority of the pope to interpret Scripture

  • 1521

    Luther is excommunicated

  • 1522

    Luther translates the Bible into German

  • 1545

    The Council of Trent (input to Timetoast Timeline as “Timespan”)

  • The King James Bible becomes the Bible of the Church of England

  • The Mayflower sets sail from England to North America

    Separatists wishing to further “purify” the Church of England of Catholic influence leave for North America on the Mayflower. They hoped their colony would be a “city on a hill”--an example to the Church of England of the need for further reform. In the New World, many would be persecuted for their faith. Most of the first British colonies in North America legally exclude Catholics, Quakers, and others from participation in public life

  • The Colony of Maryland is established

  • England overthrows its Catholic king and bans any future Catholic monarchs

  • Maryland outlaws the public practice of Catholicism in the colony

  • Period: to

    The Enlightenment

  • British colonies in North America declare their independence

  • The French Revolution begins

  • The US Constitution prevents religious tests for national office

  • The First Amendment protects free religious exercise in the US

    prevents national government from establishing a religion.
    States were free to keep their established churches, and many did into the early 1800s