Date	Event	Significance
6-5 B.C.	Birth of Christ	Demarcation of human history. The irreversible incarnation of the Eternal Word (Logos, 3056) of God (John 1:1-5, 14-18).
30	Day of Pentecost	Founding of the Church by the descent of the Holy Spirit
35	Martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 6:8-7:60)	Great persecution, spear-headed by Saul of Tarsus, spreads the church away from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-2).
35	Saul of Tarsus converted en route to Damascus (Acts 9:1-25).	By the grace of God, the Church's greatest enemy was converted into the Church's greatest Missionary!
48	Council of Jerusalem	Established that believing Gentiles did not have to be circumcised in order to be saved.
96	Authorship of Revelation by Apostle John	Close of the canon of the New Testament.
110	Martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch	He was the first to elevate the office of "Bishop" (episkopos, 1985), better, "Overseer" over the office of "Elder" (presbuteros, 4245). This is unbiblical, and thus, unfortunate. In the NT, the terms, though possessing different meanings, were interchangeable, connoting different aspects of the same office (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5, 7).
144	Marcion of Sinope expelled from the church of Rome.	He founded Marcionism, which rejected the OT as incompatible with the New Covenant. He compiled his own canon, which consisted of his own Gospel of Marcion, which closely resembled Luke, and only 10 Epistles of Paul. The rest of the NT he omitted.
175-185	Irenaeus of Lyons.	Wrote "Against Heresies" Book 1. Book 2. Book 3. Book 4. Book 5. Irenaeus is often used by Roman Catholics and others to support their belief in Apostolic Succession "because he said that all the bishops can trace their succession back to the apostles." That may be a misunderstanding of Irenaeus. Regardless, Apostolic Succession is a myth. The Apostles could pass on their teaching, but not their Apostleship. Jesus chose His Apostles and there are only twelve (Rev. 21:14).
185-254	Life of Origen of Alexandria	An accomplished scholar and prodigious writer, he published De Principiis (On First Principles), a comprehensive systematic theology. Another of his most famous works was his Hexapla, with one column in Hebrew and parallel five columns of various Greek translations. Sadly, he is a prime example of an early chuch scholar using allegorical interpretations of passages with which he had problems.
312	Conversion of Constantine	His conversion changed the whole course of European history, as Christianity became an approved religion in the Roman Empire instead of a persecuted religion.
325	First Council of Nicea	Formulated the original Nicene Creed, considered as a test of orthodoxy. Council convened by Roman Emperor Constantine.
380	Christianity made the state religion of Rome.	"With the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the Empire's state religion." (Wikipedia, citing Forster and Tony Honore). This further complicated the admixture of Church and State.
386	Augustine Converted to Christianity	Ordained Bishop in Hippo, Africa, he influenced much of Reformed doctrine in such areas as predestination, original sin, the bondage of the will, and efficacious grace. Sadly, his contributions to Roman Catholic theology include infant baptism, the perpetual virginity of Mary, and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Also sadly, he believed the Church Age was the Millennium.
400	Jerome published the Latin Vulgate	Out of many variant Latin texts, Jerome produced one standardized Latin text which became the accepted RCC text for centuries. The most recent edition is the Nova Vulgata, published in 1979.
622	Muhammad's Hegira from Mecca to Medina	Marked the birth of Islam
732	Battle of Tours	Halted the advance of Islam in Western Europe
800	Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III	Legitimized the Roman Catholic Church through the Pope as holding temporal power over the state.
817-827	Claudius, Bishop of Turin	He found the churches of Turin filled with "sordid images" .... "Since everyone was honoring them, I undertook their destruction singlehandedly." He taught that the Apostolic office of Peter ceased with his life; that "the power of the keys" passed to the whole Episcopal Order, and that the Bishop of Rome had Apostolic Power only so far as he led an Apostolic life.
1054	Great Schism between East and West	Pope Leo IX asserted the supremacy of the See of Peter over the entire Catholic Church. Papal legates excommunicated Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and his supporters. The legates dramatically deposited the sentence of excommunication on the altar of St. Sophia on July 16, 1054 as it stood ready for the Eucharist. Cerularius, a few days later, excommunicated the legates. Kenneth Scott Latourette (KSL), A History of Christianity, pp. 572-574.
1095	First Crusade Launched by Council of Clermont	Pope Urban II called for the 1st crusade in a sermon at the Council of Clermont in 1095. He encouraged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I. Urban ostensibly wanted to guarantee pilgrims access to the holy land holy sites under Muslim control. But perhaps a deeper motive may have been to unite the Eastern and Western branches of Christendom, separated by the Great Schism of 1054, and to establish himself as the head of the unified Church. The Crusade initially established the first four Crusader States in the Middle East. Participants received a plenary indulgence from the Pope. In the course of the Crusade many Jews as well as Muslims were killed.
1215	4th Lateran / 12th Ecumenical Council	Called by Pope Innocent III. Placed Roman Church as supreme; commanded annual confession; tithes take precedence over taxes; called for the Fifth Crusade; participants were promised forgiveness of sins.
1287-1347	William of Ockham	He rejected papal or conciliar authority as the final say on theology and ethics.
1302	Unam Sanctam	Papal Bull issued by Pope Boniface VIII. It proclaims papal supremacy. It concludes "that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff." This, of course, is pure fiction. Nowhere does the NT state this to be true. It is absolutely necessary for salvation that one believes in Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 36; 14:6).
1309	Papacy begins "Babylonian exile" in Avignon.	The Avignon Papacy was the time period in which the Roman Catholic pope resided in Avignon, France, instead of in Rome, from approximately 1309 to 1377. The Avignon Papacy is sometimes referred to as the Babylonian Captivity of the Church because it lasted nearly 70 years, which was the length of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews in the Bible (Jeremiah 29:10).
1378	Great Papal Schism begins	Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy from Avignon back to Rome. However, when he died, his successor, Urban VI, was rejected by many in Christendom. Cardinals selected a second pope, who took up his reign in Avignon. The pro-Vatican faithful called the rival Avignon popes "antipopes." At one point there were three different popes reigning at the same time! The Great Schism was healed in 1417.
1384	John Wycliffe's English Bible translation completed.	This was the first translation of the Bible into the English vernacular. Up to this point, the Bible in the Western wing of Christendom appeared only in the Latin Vulgate. Wycliffe's translation of the Bible into English gave the common person the privilege of reading it for himself. This made the RCC furious. Though he had already died, at the Council of Constance Wycliffe was declared a heretic. His works were to be burned; his remains were exhumed, burned, and cast into the Swift River. Anyone who read the Bible in English would forfeit his life, land, cattle and goods forever. Praise God, we can now read the Bible for ourselves!
1415	Martyrdom of John Hus. KSL, pp. 666-669	Highly ethical, he denounced the evils of the RCC from priest to Pope. Held the church was founded on Christ, not Peter. Denounced the Crusade of the Pisan Pope against King of Naples and the indulgences being sold to finance the military venture. Council of Constance condemned Hus. Turned him over to the secular authorities who burned him alive at the stake.
1414-1418	Council of Constance (16th Ecumenical)	Called by King Sigismund, eventually (1434) Holy Roman Emperor. Ended the Great Schism. Decreed the condemnation and the murder by burning of John Hus.
1439	Sacraments fixed at seven	The RCC errs in its belief that sacraments grant grace, and that there are seven. Christ left us only two ordinances -- baptism and communion (the Lord's Table or Eucharist). Both are symbolic.
1516	Erasmus' first edition of the Greek NT	Prior to this time the Latin Vulgate had been the authoritative NT text in the West. Erasmus' editions improved on the accuracy of the Greek original. After Erasmus' death a final copy of his Greek NT was  published in 1633, 22 years after the 1611 KJV. The publisher's preface of this 1633 edition contained the words (in Latin) from which we derive the term "Textus Receptus."
1517	Martin Luther posted 95 Theses. These points of debate primarily inveighed against the abuse of indulgences.	Began the Protestant Reformation, which made significant progress in purifying the Church Universal of corruption and false teaching. The hallmarks of the Reformation were (1) The Scripture alone is authoritative; (2) Salvation is by grace alone; (3) Salvation is by faith alone; (4) Salvation is in Christ alone; (5) Salvation is for the glory of God alone.
1525	Anabaptist movement began	Anabaptists believed that adult believers' baptism was the only baptism recognized in the New Testament. But they also disagreed with Ulrich Zwingli and the City Council of Zurich in matters of government-imposed tithe, usury, and military service. On January 21, 1525 the Zurich Council forbade the Anabaptists from disseminating their views. The Anabaptists defied the edict and baptized one another. They were then persecuted by both Protestants and Catholics.
1526-1534	William Tyndale published a Bible in the English language, the Tyndale Bible.	Gave the English the opportunity to read the Bible for themselves in their own language. Tyndale was arrested for heresy, strangled, and burned alive in 1536.
1536	John Calvin published Institutes of Christian Religion, 1st Edition	Calvin's masterpiece was first published in Latin in 1536, and in French in 1541. It is regarded as one of the most influenctial works of Protestant theology. It is highly regarded by those in the Reformed Churches. Broadly speaking, his work promotes what came to be known as "Calvinism."
1536	Menno Simons baptized as an Anabaptist	Menno Simons was one of the three Anabaptists most noted for systemizing Anabaptist belief. Simons' followers became known as "Mennonites."The other two were Jacob Hutter (founder of the Hutterites) and Jacob Ammann (founder of the Amish). All three practice pacifism. The Mennonites, in particular, have moved around the world into countries who would not require their young men to serve in the military. My ancestors were Mennonites (JTB).
1545-1563	Council of Trent	In reaction to the Protestan Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church refused to be reformed and regulate its views by Scripture. Instead, it doubled down on its dogma. In the process the Church hurled 151 "Anathemas" against all who disagreed with the Church, in effect telling them to go to hell unless they repented.
1611	Initial version of King James Version	Revisions began immediately. There were fourteen minor revisions, but there were two larger overhauls, one in 1629 and another in 1638. The King James Version has been called" the single greatest monument to the English language."
1646	Westminster Confession of Faith drafted	This confession of faith was drawn up in the 1640's by a group of 151 theologians, most of whom were Presbyterians and Puritans. It is the standard doctrine for the Church of Scotland and many Presbyterians throughout the world. As the name suggests, the scholars met at Westminster Abbey.
1648	Peace of Westphalia	Ended Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)
1780	Robert Raikes began his Sunday Schools
1827	John Nelson Darby founded Plymouth Brethren.
1833	Beginning of the Oxford Movement	There were a number in the Church of England who yearned for a reunification with RCC -- at least for a return "to its heritage of apostolic order, and to the catholic doctrines of the early church fathers." The fears of loyal Anglicans were realized when numbers affected by the movement, mostly priests and young men, defected from Anglicanism and joined the RCC. Notable among them was John Henry Newman, who joined the RCC in 1845.
1845	John Henry Newman left the Church of England and joined the RCC
1848	Karl Marx published Communist Manifesto.
1854	Immaculate conception of Mary made a Roman Catholic dogma
1859	Charles Darwin published Origin of Species
1870	First Vatican Council	Declared Papal Infallibility
1881	New Testament in the Original Greek	Published by Westcott and Hort, this edition of the Greek New Testament greatly advanced the accuracy of the Greek Text when compared to the earlier King James Version.
1886	Founding of Moody Bible Institute.
1906	Albert Schweitzer wrote Quest of the Historical Jesus.
1910	Publication of "The Fundamentals."
1917	Bolshevist Revolution began.
1924	Founding of Dallas Theological Seminary
1934	Founding of Wycliffe Bible Translators.
1942	Formation of National Association of Evangelicals.
1947	Discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls
1948	Founding of World Council of Churches	Seeks to unite all Christian faiths; makes overtures to Roman Catholicism and even to Islam and Buddhism. Tragically, it is a source of much unbiblical dogma. Moreover it is pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli.
1949	Los Angeles Crusade of Billy Graham.	Graham gained national prominence and embarked on national and global evangelistic crusades.
1954	Methodists ordained women.
1962	Vatican II opened.
1974	Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization