Key dates in Christian Church history

AD  
33 Pentecost, Jerusalem: Holy Spirit falls on the disciples and they receive the power that Jesus has promised them.
60-100 Four gospels are written.
70 Jerusalem destroyed. Rome’s influence on Christianity grows.
312 Emperor Constantine converted. Christianity becomes state religion.
325 Council of Nicea produces a creed. Modified by the Council of Constantinople.
381 ‘The Nicea Creed’ claims Christ to be ‘of one being with the Father’.
410 Rome falls, the Roman Empire in the west begins to crumble.
800 Church and State reunite under Charlemagne. Europe becomes ‘Christendom’.
1054 Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity separate.
1517 Luther begins the Reformation and the Protestant Church breaks away.
1534 Henry VIII declares himself head of the English Church.
1559 The Elizabethan Settlement establishes the Church of England.
1611 The Authorised Version of the Bible is published for all to read.
1662 A revised Book of Common Prayer becomes law for all to use in worship.
1689 The Toleration Act gives religious freedom to all Protestants.
1790s The Methodist Revival brings Evangelicalism to the Church of England.
1829 All restrictions on Catholics are lifted.
1830s Anglo-Catholicism becomes an influential movement in Anglicanism.
1859 Darwin’s Origin of Species sends shock waves through the Church.
1860s Liberalism grows in all denominations.
1910 A World Missionary Conference sows the seeds of the Ecumenical Movement.
1962 The Second Vatican Council blows a wind of change through Catholicism.
1960s Charismatic Renewal affects all denominations.

 

Adapted from “An amazing short history of The Christian Church” by Ray Samuels (2002)

Page last edited: 17/03/2008
Feedback on this page: contact Webmaster