History of the Church

The Council of Trent

Period: 1545 BCE to 1563 BCE

In 1545 mark the beginning of the Catholic Reformation, also known as the Counter-Reformation. The council of Trent called for a reform in the church as people where leaving the church and the church was splitting up. The council of trent had to fix rules

Crusades

Period: 1096 BCE to 1202 BCE

The crusades were a series of holy wars called by popes with the promise of indulgences for those who fought in them and directed against external and internal enemies of Christian people. The Crusades were a series of intermittent Papal sanctioned military campaigns beginning in the late 11th century. They commenced with a call to arms by Pope Urban 2 who was responding to a request for military support for the Byzantine Empire

Spread of Christianity

Period: 30 BCE to 300 BCE

Christianity spread initially from Jerusalem throughout the Near East, into places such as Aram, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Jordan and Egypt. Christianity entered an environment already rich with religious diversity. Jesus, the apostles, and the earliest converts to Christianity were Jews and their teachings were presented in a Jewish context.

Protestant Reformation

16

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice.

The Birth of Jesus

30

Jesus's birthplace, a Palestinian city located in the disputed West Bank. Jesus’ birthday is generally celebrated on December 25 each year. However, the Bible does not tell us exactly when His birthday was. We celebrate His birth at Christmas, but there is no record in the Bible of the early Christians celebrating the birth of Jesus.n the New Testament, Pilate writes Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews as a sign to be affixed to the cross of Jesus.

Council of Jerusalem

49

Council of Jerusalem, St Paul preaching the gospel conference of the Christian Apostles in Jerusalem in about 50 that decreed that Gentile Christians did not have to observe the Mosaic Law of the Jews. It was occasioned by the insistence of certain Judaic Christians from Jerusalem that Gentile Christians from Antioch in Syria obey the Mosaic custom of circumcision. A delegation led by the apostle Paul and his companion Barnabas, was appointed to confer with the elders of the church in Jerusalem.

The Council of Nicea

325

The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine. The Council of Nicea was an important meeting of about 300 bishops from across the Roman Empire who met to discuss theological and administrative issues. It is best known for resulting in the Nicene Creed, which is still used by most Christian denominations today as a statement of faith.

The four Early Church Councils

Period: 325 to 451

First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Constantinople
First Council of Ephesus
Council of Chalcedon
These are the four early Church Councils.

Though the Council of Jerusalem was the first Church Council, attended by the Apostles. Fifty-six years after Nicaea, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I convened the second General Council. Fifty years after the First Council of Constantinople. Twenty years after then the Roman Emperor of the East, to coordinate it at Chalcedon

Christianity becomes the official religion

379

When the emperor became a Christian it meant that the empire became Christian. Suddenly, the persecuted became the establishment. Constantine cleansed the Roman bureaucracy of pagans and replaced them with Christians. As happens many times with converts, he became more fanatical than those who had long been believers before him. In short, he was determined to make the entire empire Christian.

Great Schism

Dec 24, 1054

The Western Schism, a split within the Roman Catholic Church that lasted from 1378 to 1417. The Schism that precipitated the final separation between the Eastern Christian churches and the Western Church. The main effects of the schism were to delay needed reforms in the church and to give rise to the conciliar theory, which was revived at the Council of Basel. It is generally agreed by Roman Catholic scholars that the line of popes from Urban to Gregory was the canonical one.

Monasticism

Dec 24, 1153

Monasticism is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

Martin Luther

Dec 24, 1483

Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben. Martin Luther was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther studied at the University of Erfurt and in 1505 decided to join a monastic order, becoming an Augustinian friar. On 31 October 1517, he published his 95 Theses, attacking papal abuses and the sale of indulgences.

Luther posts his Ninety-Five Theses

Dec 24, 1517

Martin Luther posted theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The door functioned as a bulletin board for various announcements related to academic and church affairs. As a faithful monk and priest who had been appointed professor of biblical theology at the University of Wittenberg, a small, virtually unknown institution in a small town.

Vatican 2

Dec 24, 1960

Vatican 2 was instrumental for renewal in the self-understanding of the Church, its inner life and its relationship to other Christian traditions, other religions and the world. Today, the council is credited with essentially shaping the modern Catholic Church. But some Catholics still look fondly on the old days, and others are concerned about the interpretation of the council's legacy.