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Period: 27 BCE to 180
Pax Romada
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33
The Reserrection of Jesus Christ
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33
Pentecost
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33
The Apostles spread the Gospel
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33
St. Stephen is martyred
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34
The Conversion of St. Paul
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42
St. John the Apostle travels to Ephesus to the Blessed Virgin Mary
In John 19:25-27 tells of how, from the cross, Jesus charged St. Paul with the care of His mother. -
44
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 Spantiago (St. James) de Compostela (field of stars) -
46
St. Paul begins missionary journeys to Galatia, Greece, Syria, and other places
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49
Council of Jerusalem
The council affirms that the New Covenant of 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
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64
Persecution of Christians begins under Roman emperor Nero
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70
Romans burn the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
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80
Didache written
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99
All the writing sthat will become part of the New Testament have been written by this date
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100
Muslims control two thirds of ancient Christian world
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Period: 100 to 500
AD 100-500
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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
The 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
The West was centered in Rome, and the East was centered in Constantinople (present-day Instanbul, Turkey). -
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
This council condemned a hersey that said that Jesus was two persons in one body, and the council declared that the Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God (Hypostiatc Union). -
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, converts to Catholicism
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Period: 500 to 1000
AD 500-1000
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507
Clovis' army drives Visigoths out of France
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527
Justinian I becomes emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
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529
St. Benedict founds the first monastery
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529
St.Benedict founds his moastery
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537
Construction of Hagia Sophia (current structure) begins in Constantinople
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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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632
Death of Mohammad
Mohammad, whom Muslims call the Prophet Mohammad, is the founder of Islam. By the time of his death, all of Arabia is Muslim. -
637
Muslims attack Constantinople
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638
Muslims capture Jerusalem
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698
Muslims take Carthage
End of Eastern Roman rule in North Africa. -
711
Muslims invade and occupy Spain
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716
St. Boniface leaves England to evangelize Germania
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732
France halts Muslim invasion
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754
With St. Boniface’s help, the pope allies with the kings of the Franks
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793
Vikings attack England
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800
Gunpowder invented
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800
Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III
Eastern Christians in Constantinople did not approve of Charlemagne's coronation, and the new title bestowed by the pope caused further division between East and West. -
885
Vikings attack Paris
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997
Muslims occupy Santiago de Compostela in Spain, burial of St. James the Apostle
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1054
The Great Schism
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1073
St. Gregory VII elected pope
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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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Period: 1147 to 1192
Second and Third Crusades
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1204
Crusaders from the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople
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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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Period: 1265 to 1274
St. Thomas Aquinas write the Summa Theologica
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1300
The Renaissance begins
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1347
Bubonic plague arrives in Europe
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1377
St. Catherine of Siena convinces the pope to return the papacy to Rome
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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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1453
Muslims conquer Constantinople and tun Hagia Sophia into a mosque
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1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
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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. -
1517
Martin Luther presents the 95 Theses
In this document, Luther presented what he saw as abusive practices in the Catholic Church. -
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
Luther removed seven Old Testament books: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. He also tried to change the New Testament by moving the letter of James, the letter to the Hebrews, the letters of John, and the book of Revelation into an appendix. -
1526
Franciscan missionaries arrive in what is now Florida
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1534
St. Ignatius of Loyola founds the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
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1534
King Henry VIII of England breaks England from the Catholic Church after the pope refuses to allow him a divorce
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1535
St. Thomas More is executed by Henry VIII
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1536
Henry VIII dissolves all monasteries and convents in England and ireland
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1541
First Franciscan explorations in what is now California
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Period: 1545 to 1563
Council of Trent
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1549
Jesuit missionaries arrive in the Far East
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Period: 1562 to 1582
St. Teresa of Avila founds Discalced Carmelite convents throughout Spain
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The King James Bible becomes the Bible of the Church of England
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St. Peter Claver arrives in Colombia
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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
Maryland will be the first colony to allow religious freedom for Catholics. Jesuit priests there will offer the first Holy Mass in the British colonies. -
England overthrows its Catholic king and bans any future Catholic monarchs
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Maryland outlaws the public practice of Catholicism in the colony
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Period: to
The Enlightenment
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The French Revolution begins
One of the goals of the revolution was to turn France into a completely secular nation and rid it of Christianity. Church property was seized, and many priests and religious were persecuted, imprisoned, and killed. -
The US Constitution prevents religious tests for national office
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The First Amendment protects free religious exercise in the US and prevents national government from establishing a religion.
States were free to keep their established churches, and many did into the early 1800s. -
Karl Marx writes the Communist Manifesto
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Period: to
Ecumencial Council of the Vatican (known as Vatican I)
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Bolshevik party formed in Russia
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World War I begins
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Three children at Fatima, Portugal, are granted visions of the Virgin Mary
Our Lady asked the children to pray the Rosary every day to stop the spread of Russia’s errors and for world peace. She asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. -
Mexico outlaws Catholicism
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Soviet Union is formed
Lenin was its first leader; Stalin took power two years after Lenin’s death. -
The first Catholic bishops in China are ordained
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Servant of God Dorothy Day converts to Catholicism
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Bl. Miguel Pro is killed by the Mexican government
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Day founds the Catholic Worker newspaper
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Hitler beomes chancellor of Germany; first Nazi concentration camp is opened
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Word War II begins
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Communist governments begin persecutions and mass murder across Europe and Asia
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St. Maximilian Kolbe is killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz
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Pope St. John XXIII calls the Church council that will become known as Vatican II
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Period: to
Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (now known as Vatican II)
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The US Supreme Court rules that the Constitution protects the right ot an abortion
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Pope St. John Paul II survives an assassination attempt ordered by the KGB (the Soviet intelligence agency)
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The Soviet Union begins to fall
The end of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of communism in Europe would come in 1991.