TIME LINE OF CRISTIANITY


New Testament
40 BCEHerod the Great was appointed King of Judea by Marc Antony in Rome.
30 BCEAntony and Cleopatra committed suicide because, in the previous year, Cleoptra's forces lead by Antony were defeated by the Roman general Octavian in the Battle of Actium. Herod, like many others, quickly shifted his allegiance to Octavian.
27 BCEThe Roman Empire was founded by Octavian and the last vestiges of the old Republic were swept away. Renamed Augustus Caesar, he ruled for 41 years and became a significant influence on the development of the Mediterranean world.
20 BCEHerod began to rebuild the Great Temple in Jerusalem in an attempt to restore it to its former splendor.
c. 8 BCEJesus of Nazareth born in Roman Palestine (by some estimates).
6Herod the Great deposed by Augustus.
14 - 37Tiberius I, stepson of Augustus, became emperor of Rome (b. 42 BCE).
18Roman poet Ovid died.
18Caiaphas became high priest in Jerusalem (until 36).
c. 24 - 26Jesus is believed to have begun his ministry.
26 - 36Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea.
27 - 28John the Baptist wandered and preached. Jesus would have been baptized. [Luke 3:1-2] (15th year of Tiberius).
28John the Baptist was executed on orders from Herod Antipas.
c. 30Jesus of Nazareth is believed to have been crucified in Jerusalem.
c. 31Saint Stephen became the first Christian martyr when he was stoned to death for blasphemy. One of those present at his execution was the Pharisee Saul.
c. 34-35Saul of Tarsus, formerly a rabbi and enemy of Christianity, converts to the new Christian faith and became known as Paul. [Acts 9].
c. 37-40Paul first visited Jerusalem as a Christian.
37 - 41Gaius Caligula, nephew of Tiberius, became emperor of Rome and declared himself a god. In the year 41 he would be assassinated and Claudius, a crippled son of Tiberius, would take command.
40Paul went to Jerusalem to consult with Peter [Gal 1, 18-20].
c. 40 - 51Paul traveled to Asia Minor and Cyprus, establishing churches and writing the earliest epistles which would became part of the New Testament canon.
43Romans under Aulus Plautius invaded Britain.London was founded.
44James, brother of John, was executed by Herod Agrippa I [Acts 12, 1-3].
47First recorded use of the term "Christian" occurred in Antioch, Syria, home of one of the earliest Christian churches .
47 - 48Paul and Barnabas were on Cyprus [Acts 13, 4-12].
48 - 49Council of Jerusalem, 1st Christian Council, doctrines on circumcision and dietary law was agreed to by apostles and presbyters, written in a letter addressed to "the brothers of Gentile origin in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia" [Acts 15]
c. 49Paul composed his epistle to theThessalonians - the earliest known New Testament writing
49Emperor Claudius ordered all Jewish Christians expelled from Rome.
c. 51Paul wrote epistle to the Galatians.
54Empress Agrippina had Emperor Claudius murdered and installed her 16-year-old son Nero as the new emperor.
c. 55Paul wrote epistles to the Corinthians.
c. 55Peter traveled to Rome where his leadership over the church of Rome established the tradition of the papacy. He has come to be regarded as the first bishop of Rome (pope).
57Paul's last visit to Jerusalem [Acts 21].
58Paul was arrested and imprisoned in Caesarea [Acts 25:4].
58Emperor Ming-Ti of China introduced Buddhisminto his country.
c. 60Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans.
61Human sacrifices in religious celebrations were prohibited by Roman law.
62Paul was held under house arrest in Rome, but then was allowed to resume his travels.
64Roman emperor Nero (37 - 68) accused the Christians of having started the fire which destroyed large sections of Rome, initiating widespread persecution.
65Famous and influential Roman philosopherSeneca committed suicide on orders from Emperor Nero.
c. 65Q was possibly written, (German: Quelle, meaning "source") a hypothetical Greek text used in writing of Matthew and Luke.
66Jews revolted against Roman government (through 70).
c. 67Nero ordered the execution of both Peter andPaul.
68Qumran (Essenes?) community was destroyed by Rome. The site of their "Dead Sea Scrolls" would be found in 1949.
69Vespian, a Roman general, attacked to Rome in order to quell a Jewish uprising. A coup by other generals causes him to be made emperor.
70Titus, son of Roman emperor Vespasian, captured and destroyed Jerusalem and suppressed a Jewish revolt, destroying the Temple in the process.
c. 70Mark, earliest known gospel, was probably composed.
73Masada, last remaining stronghold of JewishZealots, fell to Roman assault.
79Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae.
c. 85 - 95Gospel of Luke and Book of Acts were probably composed.
c. 90Old Testament books, called "The Writings," were established as part of Christian canon:PsalmsProverbsJobSong of Songs,RuthLamentationsEcclesiastesEsther,DanielEzra, and Chronicles.
c. 95Book of Revelations was probably composed.
c. 95Clement of Rome (c. 30 - 100), one of the earliest popes, wrote a letter arguing that church leaders possess a divine authority inherited from Christ and his apostles.
c. 95- 105Composition of the "Pastoral Epistles," falsely attributed to Paul: HebrewsI and II TimothyTitus, and I Peter.
c. 80 - 100Gospel of Matthew was probably composed.
98 - 116Trajan was emperor of Rome. Around this time the Roman empire reached maximum size.
c. 100Christian churches were established in Greece, North Africa, Italy, and Asia Minor.
c. 100 - 125Gospel of John was probably composed.
100 - 165St. Justin Martyr lived and was one of the first Christian apologists to offer a defense of Christianity.
c. 100The Romans built the first London Bridgeacross the Thames.
122Roman emperor Hadrian visited Britain and began construction of a wall and fortifications between northern England and Scotland.
132Shimeon Bar-Kokhba and Rabbi Akiba Ben-Joseph led Jews in a revolt against Roman rule. They captured Jerusalem and created an independent state of Israel.
135Julius Severus, formerly governor of Britain, crushed a revolt in Palestine. Final Diaspora(dispersion) of the Jews occurs.
c. 140Shepherd of Hermas was written, describing a highly developed system of bishops, deacons, and priests.
c. 144Marcion founded an influential Christian sect which argued for the existence of two gods (one good, one evil) and for the rejection of the Old Testament.
c. 150The four "canonical" gospels were collected together.
c. 150The School of Alexandria was founded in Egypt, quickly becoming a major center for both Christian theology and Greek philosophy. Among its prominent teachers were the theologians Clement and Origen.
166Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius sent gifts to Chinese Emperor Huan Ti.
c. 180Irenaeus (125 - c. 202), Catholic theologian, wrote Against Heresies in an attempt to fight the spread of Gnosticism. He claimed that "every church must agree" with the church of Rome because of its apostolic authority.
180First African Christians were martyred at Scillium.
190Christian council established "official" date ofEaster.
197First recorded usage of the term "catholic" appeared in the writings of Apollonius in reference to 1 John.
200New Testament canon was mostly fixed in currently known form.
268Goths sacked Athens, Corinth, and Sparta.
286Emperor Diocletian divided the empire - he ruled the east and Maximilian ruled the west.
301Armenia became the first country to make Christianity its state religion.
303Diocletian ordered a general persecution of all Christians.
312Constantine, emperor of the Eastern Empire defeated and kills Maxentius, emperor of the Western Empire. Constantine converted to Christianity after being inspired by a vision of a cross in the sky and the words: In hoc signo vinces.
325First Ecumenical Council of Nicea was convened by emperor Constantine: established the Nicene Creed as the fundamental statement of Christian faith.
336Arius, priest at Alexandria and founder ofArianism, died. Arianism was one of the most widespread and divisive heresies in the history of Christianity.
350Christianity first reached Ethiopia.
351Emperor Julian attempted to reintroduce paganism in the place of Christianity.
367Festal Epistle of St. Athanasius offered earliest known list of the New Testament canon in its current form.
372Buddhism was introduced into Korea.
380Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire under the reign of Theodosius I.
381First Council of Constantinople. Convened by Theodosius I, then emperor of the East and a recent convert, to confirm the victory overArianism, the council drew up a dogmatic statement on the Trinity and defined Holy Spirit as having the same divinity expressed for the Son by the Council of Nicaea 56 years earlier.
395The Roman Empire was divided again between East and West, setting the stage for the eventual division of the Christian Church. Latin Christianity was based in Rome under the leadership of the popes, while Eastern Orthodoxy develops in the east in Constantinople under the leadership of patriarchs.
401Innocent I became Pope (until 417) and claims universal jurisdiction over the Roman Church.
c. 405St. Jerome completed the Vulgate - a Latin translation of both the Old and New Testaments. This remains the Latin Bible of the Roman Catholic Church.
410Lead by Alaric, the Goths sacked Rome.
418British monk Pelagius was excommunicated. Pelagius denied original sin and the need for baptism, asserting that if God asked men to do good, then they must be capable of doing good on their own. He was condemned byAugustine.
431Ecumenical Council of Ephesus denounced the teachings of Nestorius (d. 451), who argued that Christ had completely separate human and divine natures.
433Attila became ruler of the Huns (until 453).
451Attila invaded Gaul but was repulsed by joint forces of Franks, Alemanni and Romans at battle of Chalons. Attila invaded Italy the next year.
c. 1380John Wycliffe began the first English translation of the Bible.
1520Martin Luther created his German translation of the New Testament.
1526William Tyndale created his English version of the Pentateuch.
1560The Geneva Bible was created. This version was the one used by Shakespeare and also by the Pilgrims who came to the United States on the Mayflower.
1582Douay Version of the New Testament (English translation) was completed. After the Old Testament translation was completed in 1610, this became the first English translation of the Bible authorized by and for Roman Catholics
1604King James (1566 - 1625) of England commissioned the "King James" translation of the Bible
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/christian/blchron_xian_nt.htm

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More