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Timeline: Important Dates in A.D. Christian History

Updated Oct 22, 2014
Timeline: Important Dates in A.D. Christian History

0 - 29 c.  Jesus
Defined:  The period of Jesus' human life on earth during which he fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies regarding the promised Messiah. 

29 c. John the Baptist began his ministry in the "15th year of Tiberius" (Luke 3:1-2)
Jesus began his ministry after his baptism by John         
Last Supper, arrest of Jesus, his trial, and crucifixion on Good Friday
Resurrection of Jesus three days after crucifixion

30 c. - 100 Apostolic Age  
Defined:  Some of Christ's original apostles were still alive and helping to spread the gospel.  This period ended with the death of last apostle.

47-57 c. Missionary travels of Paul

67 Paul Martyred

70 The Romans under Titus destroy Jerusalem, after a long siege; 1.5 million Jews die.

Additional Resources:
First Persecutions written by John Foxe

100 - 590 Post Aposolic Age

190 Date of Easter determined

200-300 Appearance of Earliest Bible Translations

313-337 Constantine

325 Council of Nicaea - Called by the Roman Emperor Constantine, it was the first ecumenical conference of bishops of the church.

399 The last showing of the ancient Olympic Games - After Emperor Theodosius the Great bans it and there are no games again until 1896.

400 Vulgate                                   

431 - 451 Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon         

590 - early 1300s The Medieval Church

625 Mohammad begins the Koran

1095 - 13th century The Crusades
A series of several military campaigns. Originally, they were Roman Catholic endeavors to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims, but some were directed against other Europeans.

1163 Notre Dame de Paris - beginning of construction

1215 King John of England and his nobles sign the Magna Carta.

Early 1300s - 1517 The Renaissance

1378-1410 The Great Schism - a time of division in the Roman Catholic Church due to disagreements concerning papal succession. 

1382 John Wycliffe translates First English Bible John Wycliffe was an English theologian and early proponent of reform in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century

1431 Joan of Arc Martyred - Inspired and directed by religious visions, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc), organized the French resistance that forced the English to end their siege of Orléans (1429).  Her claims of visions led to a trial for heresy which resulted in execution by burning at the stake.

1450s Gutenberg Bible - first printed Bible

1453 The Christian kingdom of Constantinople finally falls to the Muslims.

1478 Spanish Inquisition established by Pope Sixtus IV  

1517 - 1648 The Reformation - European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

1517 Martin Luther's 95 Theses - a document written by Martin Luther that challenged the teachings of the Catholic Church on penance, the authority of the pope, and indulgences. It sparked a theological debate that fueled the Reformation. 

1525 Bible translated into English from Greek by William Tyndale

1530 Augsburg Confession - Primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the Reformation. It was presented by a number of German rulers and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg.

1536 John Calvin writes The Institutes of the Christian Religion.

1536 -1541 Michelangelo paints "The Last Judgment"

1560 Geneva Bible

1563 Foxe's Book of Martyrs first published

1582-1609 Douay-Rheims Bible

1611 King James Version

1648 - 1789 The Enlightenment
Defined:  When man began to look beyond superstition and began to use his reason to discover the world.  The effort to discover the naturals which governed the universe led to scientific, political and social advances. 

1633 Galileo is forced by the Catholic Church to renounce his teachings that the Earth revolves around the sun.

1678 John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress published

1730s - 1740s The Great Awakening -- A religious movement among American colonial Protestants. Key figures: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield.

1741 George Frideric Handel writes his most famous work, Messiah. 

1764 John Newton writes hymn "Amazing Grace"

1776 British colonies in America declare independence from England,

1780 The Sunday School movement is pioneered in England by Robert Raikes

1789 - 1799 The French Revolution

1789 -1970 The Modern Church

1794
London Missionary Society founded in England - a non-denominational missionary society with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa.

1800-1840s Second Great Awakening
    
1807 British Parliament votes to abolish the slave trade. 

1844 Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) founded in London, England by Sir George Williams.

1837-1901 Victoria Queen of England

1854 Charles H. Spurgeon, only 19-years-old, called to the pastorate of London's famed New Park Street Chapel.

1855 D.L. Moody Converted to Christianity

1859 Charles Darwin publishes Origin of Species

1861 - 1865 American Civil War

1863 - 1885 Fanny Crosby writes more than 8,000 hymns including "Blessed Assurance"

1865 - Rev. William Booth founded Open Christian Mission in East London (in 1878 its name is changed to Salvation Army)

1880 First Northfield Conference led by D.L. Moody

1870/81 Revised Standard

1885 English Revised Version

1896 First Modern Olympics

1899 Gideons International founded - ministry dedicated to distributing copies of the Bible in over 80 languages and more than 180 countries of the world to those who might not otherwise encounter it.

1901 American Standard Version

1906 Azusa Street Revival - Revival that took place in Los Angeles, California and was led by preacher William J. Seymour. It launched Pentecostalism as a world wide movement. 

1909 Scofield Bible

1912 Titanic Sinks

1914 - 1918 World War I

1929 Great Depression begins in the U.S.

1933 - 1944 Rise of Nazism in Germany

1935 Oswald Chamber's book My Utmost for His Highest published post-mortem

1939 - 1945 World War II

 1942 Wycliffe Bible Translators founded by William Cameron Townsend with the goal of making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world.

1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer pastor and leader of the underground church of Germany martyred

1947 Dead Sea Scrolls found

1949 First Billy Graham Crusade, held in Los Angeles, CA

1949 - 1954 C.S. Lewis writes The Chronicles of Narnia

1950 All missionaries are forced to leave China

1952 U.S. Congress designates a National Day of Prayer

1952 Revised Standard Version

1965 Amplified Bible

1963 Martin Luther King Jr. leads a civil rights march in Washington, D.C.

1966 Jerusalem Bible

1967 Israel recaptures Jerusalem

1970 New American Bible

1970 Hal Lindsey writes the book Late Great Planet Earth.

1970's Jesus Movement

The Postmodern Church

1971
New American Standard Bible

1971 The Living Bible

1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case rules in favor of legalizing abortion

1974 Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization

1976 The Good News Bible

1977 Focus on the Family founded by James Dobson

1978 New International Version

1979 Mother Teresa wins the Nobel Peace Prize for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress in the world

1982 New King James Version

1989 New Revised Standard Version

1990 - 1991 Gulf War

1995 Updated New American Standard Bible

1999 Columbine Shooting  

2001 English Standard Version

2001 On September 11 - terrorist suicide bombers attack the United States in New York, Northern Virginia, and Pennsylvania

2002 The Message

2003 Dan Brown writes The Da Vinci Code, made into a film in 2006; both the book and the film are criticized because of historical inaccuracy of the life of Jesus and history of the early Church.

2004 Holman Christian Standard Version

2004 Updated New Living Translation

2004 The film Passion of the Christ is released

2005 Death of Pope John Paul II, election of Pope Benedict XVI

2006 Together for the Gospel inaugural conference

2008 ESV Study Bible published

2009 The Gospel Coalition inaugural conference

2010 The Lausanne Movement will hold the Third Congress on World Evangelisation in Cape Town, South Africa, 16-25 October 2010

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Christianity / Church / Church History / Timeline: Important Dates in A.D. Christian History



About Church History

This timeline covers from the birth of Jesus through the 21st century and covers all important dates that impacted Christianity and the Christian Church.