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Period: 1 CE to 300
The Early Church
A period of rapid expansion, which Christian beliefs, teachings, customs and practices were first developed. Jewish authorities saw Christianity as heresy, which lead to the first persecution of Christianity. Even as being a Christian was dangerous, Christianity continued to develop and grow, and spread out of Jerusalem and Israel, around the Roman Empire. People were inspired by the lives of Christians and decided to also become Christian. -
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Pentecost
50 days after the Resurrection, the disciples become Apostles. The disciples and Mary were all gathered in a room The winds of heaven rushed into the room and tongs of fire were places upon all the disciples heads. The disciples were then given the ability to preach to all people, which allowed the disciples to preach Christianity. -
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St Paul
Saul was one of the biggest persecutors of Christianity. On the road to Damascus, Saul was blinded, which Jesus told Saul he was able to become one of the Apostles. Saul was then converted to Christianity and changed his name to Paul. Paul then preached to lead the gentiles(non-Jews) to become Christians -
Period: 300 to 1100
Constantine’s Conversion to the East-West Schism
The conversion of Roman Empire Constantine in 313AD was significant for the Empire and Christianity. Christianity became legal and eventually the official religion of the Empire. Many people converted to Christianity, with Christian leaders becoming administrators of the Roman Empire. Eastern Empire spoke in Greek, Latin in Western Empire, which lead to the spilt between both Empires. This caused a split in the church in 1054 -
312
Constantine
Constantine became the Western Roman Emperor in 312, and the Roman Emperor in 324. Constantine entered a battle and had a vision, which told him to paint crosses on his soldiers shields, and won, converting to Christianity. He issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which legalised Christianity and freedom of worship. Constantine made a new capital of the Roman Empire in the East, which would be removed of any pagan history and be a truly Christian City. -
313
Edict of Milan
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Period: 800 to
Western Church in Middle Ages
The Roman Empire moved toward the East, which allowed the Western Empire to be attacked. The Western Empire collapsed, governments and civil institutions collapsed. This allowed the Church to step in and take a more direct role in government. This lead to Christian leaders abusing their position. This corruption to problems in leadership grew. Even with the challenges of being Christian grew, the Christian faith changed the lives of people and made a good contribution to society. -
1095
The Crusades
Were a series of battles between the Christians and Muslims, as they fought over sacred sites important to both religions. The Turkish tribes had been invading the Western Empire, which the Pope Urban II sent soldiers to reclaim the sacred land the Turkish forces has taken (November 1095)mIn 1291, the last Christian City fell, giving the Muslims the victory over the Christians. The goal for Christians were to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims and other Christian territory. -
1181
St. Francis of Assisi
Was born in Italy in 1181. He was captured in a battle between Assisi and Perugia, which he was imprisoned for a year. Francis saw visions of God in prison, which God told him to rebuild the Church and live a life of poverty. Later on in his life, he was given a vision, which left him with stigmata of Jesus’ wounds, the first person to have it. Francis developed a deep love with animals and nature, which he became the patron of the environment and animals. -
1483
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest which belonged to a religious order. He confronted the corruptions of the Church, and decided to break away from the Church. Luther turned to the Scriptures in time of personal and public struggles, this lead to Luther to wonder the Christian understandings of grace and free will, which he developed different ideas about the Church and the sacraments. His ideas accelerated the division from Roman Catholicism to Protestant Religions. -
1545
Council of Trent
Called by Pope Paul III, called bishops of the Church to a council to discuss radical reforms of the Church and ‘Reformers’ such as Luther. Met multiple times between 1545 and 1563. Disputes developed a systematic outline of beliefs and practices that expressed the teachings of the Apostles, which lead to the renewal of the Catholic faith. These disputes also discussed the errors of the ‘Reformers’, and reaffirmed the Christian faith from the earliest times in the Sacraments. -
Period: to
The Reformation
Some Christians reacted to the corruption of the Church by leaving the Catholic Church and forming new expressions of Christianity in the West. This led to leaders called ‘Reformers’, which formed new expressions of Christianity such as Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Evangelical and Pentecostal. The Church then tried to renew the Church through a counter-reformation, which these two events played a major role in shaping the attitudes and thoughts of the Church. -
Period: to
Post Reformation and the Modern Church
Humanity entered a new era called enlightenment in the 18th century, which lead to scientific discoveries, European political changes and philosophic ideas. People began to think that old traditions and authorities should be replaced by human reason. This lead to people rejecting religious beliefs, leaving the Church. Atheism and Agnosticism gained popularity due to these ideas. Modern communications in the 21st century allowed the Church to display human weakness, and guide people towards God. -
Mary MacKillop
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Second Vatican Countil
Pope John XXIII called the second Vatican Council which approximately 2500 bishops participated. The council was to solve problems within the Church to attract followers to attend Church and to play the role Christ intended the Church to be. The council produced 16 documents which these changes addressed problems in the church which improved participation in mass and Christian ideas. These changes caused the Church to grow rapidly, growing by 40% between 1978-2001.
