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27 BCE
Pax Romana begins
The Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, was a rare period of relative peace throughout the Roman
Empire. It lasted until about AD 180. -
Period: 27 BCE to 32
Pax Romana
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33
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
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33
Pentecost
Pentecost is the birth of the Church. On this day, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to Mary and the
Apostles, inspiring them to preach the Good News. Thousands were baptized -
33
The Apostles spread the Gospel
The Apostles James and John were among the leaders of these groups, as were Paul, Barnabas, Titus, and Timothy. They traveled extensively, gathering followers of Jesus into
small communities, which were the beginnings of local churches -
34
The Conversion of St. Paul. 33-42 St. Stephen martyred.
A martyr is one who is killed for bearing witness to the -
42
St. John the Apostle travels to Ephesus with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
tells of how, from the Cross, Jesus charged St. John with the care of His mother -
42
St. James the Apostle is martyred
his body is secretly buried in Spain.
Christians stole his body and brought it in a boat to Spain, to a place that would become known as Santiago de Compostela -
42
St. Paul begins missionary journeys to Galatia
Greece, Syria, and other places. Council of Jerusalem. This council affirms that the New Covenant in Christ means that Christians are not bound
by Mosaic Law and that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to Jew and Gentile alike -
64
Persecution of Christians begins under Roman emperor Nero,
Romans burn the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Didache written All the writings that will become part of the New Testament have been written -
250
Persecution under Roman emperor Decius
Decius required all to worship the gods of the state, or be tortured and killed -
251
Council of Carthage
This council allowed people who lapsed in their faith during the persecution to be brought
back into the Church after a period of penance -
303
Persecution under Roman emperor Diocletian
Diocletian ordered the destruction of all Christian churches, imprisonment of bishops and priests, and the execution of all who refused to participate in the public worship of pagan
gods -
313
Emperor Constantine issues the Edict of Milan
This edict granted religious toleration to Christians and unleashed the spread of
Christianity -
325
Council of Nicaea
This council, called by Emperor Constantine, set forth the Nicene Creed and affirmed that
Jesus and the Father are consubstantial – of the same substance -
330
Emperor Constantine divides the Roman Empire into East and West
and West.
The West was centered in Rome, and the East was centered in Constantinople (present-day
Instanbul, Turkey) -
330
Construction of the first St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
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354
Birth of St. Augustine
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360
Books begin to replace scrolls
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382
Pope Damasus asks St. Jerome to translate the Gospels into Latin.
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397
The Councils of Hippo and Carthage determine which books will become part of the New Testament
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405
St Jerome complete his translation of the Old Testament
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410
The Visigoths destroy the city of Rome
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410
St. Augustine begins writing The City of God
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431
Council of Ephesus
Hypostatic Union This council condemned a heresy that said that Jesus was two persons in one body, and the council declared that the Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God (Theotokos). -
432
St. Patrick sets out to spread the Gospel in Ireland
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451
Council of Chalcedon.
This council affirmed that Christ is fully human and fully divine (the hypostatic union -
476
The Western Roman Empire collapses
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480
Birth of St. Benedict
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496
Clovis, the King of the Franks, coverts to Catholicism
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529
St. Benedict founds his first monastery
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590
St. Gregory the Great becomes pope
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596
Pope St. Gregory the Great sends St. Augustine of Canterbury to England to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons.
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597
St. Augustine baptizes the King of Kent
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716
St. Boniface leaves England to evangelize Germania
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754
With St. Boniface’s help, the pope allies with the kings of the Franks
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1000
Muslims control two thirds of the ancient Christian world
-
1000
Muslims control two thirds of the ancient Christian world
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1054
The Great Schism
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1073
St. Gregory VII elected pope
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1073
St. Gregory VII elected pope
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1073
The Great Schism
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1073
Pope St. Gregory VII excommunicates the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV
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1088
First universities founded
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1094
The Byzantine emperor in Constantinople asks the West for aid against Muslim armies
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1095
Pope Urban II calls for a Crusade, and Christians temporarily capture Jerusalem
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1144
First Gothic cathedral completed
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1147
Second and Third Crusades
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1204
Crusaders from the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople
-
1209
Franciscan Order is founded by St. Francis of Assisi
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1216
Dominican Order founded by St. Dominic
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1229
The Inquisition is founded
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1275
St. Thomas Aquinas write the Summa Theologica
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1300
The Renaissance begins
-
1347
Bubonic plague arrives in Europe
-
1386
St. Catherine of Siena cares for the sick and buries the dead when the plague strikes Siena
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1440
Printing Press invented
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1492
Christopher Columbus sails for North America
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1513
Ponce de Leon of Spain founds St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine, named for St. Augustine of Hippo, was the first European settlement in what is now the United States.
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1517
Martin Luther presents the 95 Theses In this document, Luther presented what he saw as abusive practices in the Catholic Church.
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1520
Luther denies the authority of the pope to interpret Scripture
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1521
Luther is excommunicated
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1522
Luther translates the Bible into German
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1545
The Council of Trent (input to Timetoast Timeline as “Timespan”)
-
The King James Bible becomes the Bible of the Church of England
-
The Mayflower sets sail from England to North America
Separatists wishing to further “purify” the Church of England of Catholic influence leave for North America on the Mayflower. They hoped their colony would be a “city on a hill”--an example to the Church of England of the need for further reform. In the New World, many would be persecuted for their faith. Most of the first British colonies in North America legally exclude Catholics, Quakers, and others from participation in public life -
The Colony of Maryland is established
-
England overthrows its Catholic king and bans any future Catholic monarchs
-
Maryland outlaws the public practice of Catholicism in the colony
-
Period: to
The Enlightenment
-
British colonies in North America declare their independence
-
The French Revolution begins
-
The US Constitution prevents religious tests for national office
-
The First Amendment protects free religious exercise in the US
prevents national government from establishing a religion.
States were free to keep their established churches, and many did into the early 1800s