Timeline of Church History

By WillJago
  • 51 BCE

    Council of Jerusalem

    Council of Jerusalem
    conference of the Christian Apostles in Jerusalem that Gentile Christians did not have to observe the Mosaic Law of the Jews.
  • 313

    Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine

    Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine
    A decision that officially established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire.
  • 325

    First Council of Nicea

    First Council of Nicea
    Their statement of compromise, which would come to be known as "The Nicene Creed," formed the basis for Christian ideology. The bishops also used the Council of Nicea to set in stone some church rules that needed clarification, and those canons were the reference point after which all future laws were modeled.
  • 451

    Council of Chalcedon

    Council of Chalcedon
    The Council was the fourth of the Ecumenical Councils that are accepted by Chalcedonian churches which include the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and most Protestant churches.
  • 1054

    East West Division

    The beginning of the schism between the Latin and the Greek churches, a division that still separates Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox
  • 1054

    East West division

    East West division
    The beginning of the schism between the Latin and the Greek churches, a division that still separates Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.
  • 1095

    First Crusade

    It was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to capture the Holy Land
  • 1095

    First Crusade

    First Crusade
    The first of a number of crusades that attempted to capture the Holy Land, called for by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095.
  • 1378

    Western Schism

    Western Schism
    A split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which three men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope.
  • 1517

    Martin Luther begins Protestant Reformation

    Martin Luther begins Protestant Reformation
    16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era.
  • 1534

    Henry VIII establishes Church of England

    Henry VIII establishes Church of England
    The English church renounced papal authority when Henry VIII failed to secure an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1534.
  • 1544

    Council of Trent

    Council of Trent
    It was an council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.

  • First Vatican Council

    First Vatican Council
    Twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Convened by Pope Pius IX to refute various contemporary ideas associated with the rise of liberalism and materialism, it is chiefly remembered for its declaration of papal infallibility.

  • Second Vatican Council

    Second Vatican Council
    21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church (1962–65), announced by Pope John XXIII on Jan. 25, 1959, as a means of spiritual renewal for the church and as an occasion for Christians separated from Rome to join in search for reunion.