Overview topics in the History of Christianity •
History of Christian theology – an overview of various ideas in the development of Christian theology. •
History of late ancient Christianity – traces Christianity during the Christian Roman Empire – the period from the rise of Christianity under Emperor Constantine (c. 313), until the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (c. 476). •
Timeline of Christian missions – chronicles the global expansion of Christianity through a listing of the most important missionary outreach events. •
List of Christian martyrs – Since its earliest days, hundreds of thousands of Christians have been killed for their faith. As such, this list can never be fully complete, and includes only the most notable martyrs. •
Outline of the Catholic ecumenical councils – When problems or issues arise for the Catholic Church, she gathers her bishops to an ecumenical council and together they choose the best course of action. Not all Christian sects agree with all the decisions of all the ecumenical councils. •
Role of the Christian Church in civilization – Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization. •
Crusading movement – the ideology and institutions that supported Christian warfare
History of Christianity by century •
Christianity in the 1st century – Jesus, Acts of the Apostles, development of Scripture and liturgy, split with Judaism, Apostolic Fathers, persecution •
Christianity in the 2nd century – Apostolic fathers, early Christian fathers, development of worship, various heresies, spread of Christianity, persecution •
Christianity in the 3rd century – defining Scripture, development of monasticism, ante-Nicene fathers, various heresies, spread of Christianity, persecution •
Christianity in the 4th century – Constantine, council of Nicaea, Nicene and post-Nicene fathers, Scripture, Bishops, controversies, heresies, spread of Christianity, persecutions begin to end •
Christianity in the 5th century – Ecumenical councils, schisms, post-Nicene fathers, pentarchy, Papacy, monasticism, spread of Christianity •
Christianity in the 6th century – Second council of Constantinople, Eastern church develops, Western theology before Charlemagne splinters, Gregory the Great, monasticism, spread of Christianity •
Christianity in the 7th century – Ecumenical councils, tensions between east and west, Western theology, monasticism, spread of Christianity, Byzantine and Muslim conflict •
Christianity in the 8th century – 2nd Nicene council, John of Damascus, spread of Christianity, Christianity and Islam •
Christianity in the 9th century – Carolingian Renaissance, Western theology preserved, spread of Christianity, tensions between east and west •
Christianity in the 10th century – pre-scholastic theology, spread of Christianity, tensions continues towards Great Schism •
Christianity in the 11th century – Great Schism, controversies, monasticism, knighthood, the foundation of the Crusading movement •
Christianity in the 12th century – Crusading movement, Inquisition, universities, scholasticism, monasticism •
Christianity in the 13th century – Religious orders, Crusading movement, 2nd Council of Lyon, Russian Orthodox Church •
Christianity in the 14th century – Inquisition, Crusading movement end, monasticism continues, Western or Papal schism •
Christianity in the 15th century – Eastern Orthodoxy, fall of Constantinople, Western schism continues, Protestant precursors •
Christianity in the 16th century – Protestant Reformation, the Catholic counter-reformation, Eastern Orthodox church •
Christianity in the 17th century – Changing attitudes, trial of Galileo, English Civil War •
Christianity in the 18th century – 1st great awakening, revivalism, America, French Revolution •
Christianity in the 19th century – Modernism, 2nd great awakening, Oxford movement, 1st Vatican Council •
Christianity in the 20th century – Soviet Union, Third Reich, Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, Fundamentalism, 2nd Vatican Council •
Christianity in the 21st century – Benedix XVI, Catholic-Orthodox dialogue
History of Christianity by era 33 – 1517 • Lifetime of Jesus •
Jesus – central figure of Christianity •
Cultural and historical background of Jesus – 1st century Galilee and Roman Judea, and the traditions of Second Temple Judaism. •
Chronology of Jesus – gospels do not provide enough details regarding exact dates, yet it is possible to draw from them a general picture of the life story of Jesus. •
Ministry of Jesus – begins with his baptism in the countryside of Judea, near the river Jordan and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples •
Good News – message of Jesus, the Christ or Messiah—God's ruler promised by the Scriptures—specifically, the coming Kingdom of God, his death on the cross and resurrection to restore people's relationship with God, the descent of the Holy Spirit on believers as the helper, the resulting promise and hope of being saved for any who believe and follow Jesus, and through this, a healing of the brokenness of the entire created universe. •
Crucifixion of Jesus – an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross. •
Resurrection of Jesus – Christian religious belief that Jesus Christ returned to bodily life on the Sunday following the Friday on which he was executed by crucifixion. •
Apostolic Age – period of the Twelve Apostles, dating from the Crucifixion of Jesus (c. 30–33) and the Great Commission in Jerusalem until the death of John the Apostle (c. 115) in Anatolia. •
Holy Spirit – third person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is Almighty God. •
Gospels – four gospels came to be accepted as part of the New Testament •
Acts of the Apostles – outlines the history of the Apostolic Age. •
Twelve Apostles – Jesus chose 12 disciples and appointed them as apostles or missionaries. •
Paul the Apostle – perhaps the most influential early Christian missionary. •
Council of Jerusalem – an Early Christian council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50.
Ante-Nicene Church, 100 AD – 313 AD History of early Christianity •
Justin Martyr – an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. •
Ignatius of Antioch – third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. •
Persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire – began during the Ministry of Jesus and continued intermittently over a period of about three centuries until the time of Constantine when Christianity was legalized. •
Church Fathers – early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. •
Irenaeus of Lyons – an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. •
Marcionism – an Early Christian dualist belief system that originated in the teachings of Marcion of Sinope at Rome around the year 144; see also Christianity in the 2nd century. •
Development of the New Testament canon – set of books Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible. •
Tertullian – prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. •
Montanism – an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus, but originally known by its adherents as the New Prophecy. •
Origen of Alexandria – an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church.
Christian Empire (313 AD – 590 AD) •
Constantine – first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity •
Christian monasticism – practice which began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament, but not mandated as an institution in the scriptures. •
First seven Ecumenical Councils – first seven Ecumenical Councils, from the First Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Council of Nicaea (787) •
First Council of Nicaea – council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. •
Nicene Creed – creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. •
Athanasius of Alexandria – 20th bishop of Alexandria. •
Arian controversy – several controversies between the Christian Church fathers Arius and Athanasius related to Christology which divided the Christian church from before the Council of Nicaea in 325 to after the Council of Constantinople in 381. •
Jerome – Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. •
Augustine of Hippo – was Bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria). •
First Council of Constantinople – first Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople and was called by Theodosius I in 381. •
First Council of Ephesus – third ecumenical council of the early Christian Church, held in 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus, Asia Minor. •
Council of Chalcedon – church council held from October 8 to November 1, 451 AD, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), on the Asian side of the Bosporus.
590 AD – 1517 AD •
Middle Ages – period of European history encompassing the 5th to the 15th centuries. •
Pelagianism – belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special Divine aid. •
Pope Gregory I – (c. 540 – 12 March 604), better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death. •
Christendom – In a historical or geopolitical sense the term usually refers collectively to Christian majority countries or countries in which Christianity dominates or nations in which Christianity is the established religion. •
Celtic Christianity – refers to certain features of Christianity that are held to have been common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. •
Germanic Christianity – Germanic people underwent gradual Christianization in the course of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. •
Christianization of Scandinavia – Christianization of Scandinavia took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. •
Investiture Controversy – was a conflict over whether secular authorities such as kings, counts, or dukes, had any legitimate role in appointments to ecclesiastical offices such as bishoprics. •
Anselm of Canterbury – Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the Church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. •
Peter Abelard – medieval French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician. •
Bernard of Clairvaux – French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order. •
Crusading movement – the ideology and institutions that enabled religious warfare blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church, with the stated goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem. •
Inquisition – "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice system of the Roman Catholic Church. •
Scholasticism – •
Dominic – method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics (scholastics, or schoolmen) of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500 •
Francis of Assisi – an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women's Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. •
Bonaventure – an Italian medieval scholastic theologian and philosopher. •
Thomas Aquinas – an Italian Dominican priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism •
John Wycliffe – an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher,[1] translator, reformer and university teacher at Oxford in England, who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. •
Avignon Papacy – period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day France. • Western Schism or
Papal Schism – split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. •
Jan Hus – Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague; a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. •
Conciliarism – reform movement in the 14th-, 15th- and 16th-century Roman Catholic Church which held that final authority in spiritual matters resided with the Roman Church as a corporation of Christians, embodied by a general church council, not with the pope.
1517 – present The Roman Catholic Church •
History of the Roman Catholic Church – Catholic doctrine teaches that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ at the Confession of Peter. •
Historical development of the doctrine of Papal Primacy – doctrines of primacy of Simon Peter and primacy of the Roman pontiff are perhaps the most contentiously disputed in the history of Christianity. •
History of the Papacy – spans from the time of Saint Peter to present day. •
Timeline of the Roman Catholic Church – As the oldest branch of Christianity, along with Eastern Orthodoxy, the history of the Catholic Church plays an integral part of the History of Christianity as a whole. This article covers a period of just under 2,000 years. •
Fourth Council of the Lateran – convoked by Pope Innocent III with the papal bull of April 19, 1213, and the Council gathered at Rome's Lateran Palace beginning November 11, 1215. •
Council of Trent – 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. •
Counter-Reformation – period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation. •
Thomas More – an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. •
Pope Leo X – Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest (only a deacon) to be elected Pope. •
Our Lady of Guadalupe – Virgin of Guadalupe (Virgen de Guadalupe) is a Roman Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary. •
Jesuits – Christian male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. •
Francis Xavier – pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre (now part of Spain) and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. •
Dissolution of the Monasteries – set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided for their former members. •
European wars of religion – series of wars waged in Europe from ca. 1524 to 1648, following the onset of the Protestant Reformation in Western and Northern Europe. •
Teresa of Avila – prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. •
First Vatican Council – convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. •
Second Vatican Council – addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. •
Modernism (Roman Catholicism) – refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past.
Other churches 1517 AD – 1648 AD •
Protestant Reformation – 16th-century schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants sparked by the 1517 posting of Luther's Ninety-five theses. •
History of Protestantism – summary of the history of Protestantism •
Desiderius Erasmus – Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian. •
Five Solas – five Latin phrases that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers' basic theological beliefs in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. •
Eucharistic theologies contrasted – views of a number of churches regarding Eucharistic theology, contrasted. •
History of Calvinist-Arminian debate – dispute between Dutch Protestants in the early seventeenth century. •
Arminianism – school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic followers, the Remonstrants. •
Synod of Dort – National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. •
European wars of religion – series of wars waged in Europe from ca. 1524 to 1648, following the onset of the Protestant Reformation in Western and Northern Europe. •
Lutheranism – major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. •
Martin Luther – German monk, priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. •
The Ninety-Five Theses – On the eve of All Saint's Day, October 31, 1517, Luther posted the ninety-five theses, which he had composed in Latin, on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg, according to university custom. •
Diet of Worms – diet (a formal deliberative assembly, specifically an Imperial Diet) that took place in Worms, Germany, and is most memorable for the Edict of Worms (Wormser Edikt), which addressed Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation. •
Philipp Melanchthon – German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems. •
Lutheran Orthodoxy – an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the Book of Concord and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. •
Sacramental union – Lutheran theological doctrine of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Christian Eucharist. •
Book of Concord – historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century. •
Reformed churches – group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. •
Theology of Huldrych Zwingli – based on the Bible, taking scripture as the inspired word of God and placing its authority higher than human sources such as the Ecumenical councils and the church fathers. •
Reformation in Switzerland – promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate (Mark Reust) and population of Zürich in the 1520s. •
John Calvin – an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. •
Calvinism – Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life. •
History of Calvinism – Calvinism began as part of the Magisterial Reformation branch of the Protestant Reformation. •
Scottish Reformation – was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. •
John Knox – Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. •
TULIP – five points of Calvinism, also called the doctrines of grace, which are a point-by-point response to the five points of the Arminian Remonstrance •
Synod of Dort – National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. •
English Reformation – series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. •
Timeline of the English Reformation – This is a timeline of the Protestant Reformation in England. •
Henry VIII of England – was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. •
Thomas Cranmer – leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. •
Elizabethan Religious Settlement – was Elizabeth I's response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. •
Thirty-Nine Articles – historically defining statements of doctrines of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. •
Book of Common Prayer – short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. •
Puritanism – significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, including, but not limited to, English Calvinists. •
English Civil War – series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians (Roundheads) and Royalists (Cavaliers). •
Westminster Assembly – was appointed by the Long Parliament to restructure the Church of England. •
Anabaptism – are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, although some consider Anabaptism to be a distinct movement from Protestantism. •
Radical Reformation – 16th century response to what was believed to be both the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. •
Conrad Grebel – son of a prominent Swiss merchant and councilman, was a co-founder of the Swiss Brethren movement and is often called the "Father of Anabaptists". •
Swiss Brethren – branch of Anabaptism that started in Zürich, spread to nearby cities and towns, and then was exported to neighboring countries •
Müntzer – an early Reformation-era German theologian, who became a rebel leader during the Peasants' War. •
Martyrs' Synod – took place in Augsburg, Germany, from 20 to 24 August 1527. •
Menno Simons – an Anabaptist religious leader from the Friesland region of the Low Countries. •
John Smyth (Baptist minister) – an early Baptist minister of England and a defender of the principle of religious liberty.
1648 AD – 1789 AD •
Christian revival – term that generally refers to a specific period of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or many churches, either regionally or globally. •
17th century denominations in England – large number of religious denominations emerged during the early-to-mid-17th century in England. •
Baptists – Christians who comprise a group of denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers (believer's baptism, as opposed to infant baptism), and that it must be done by immersion (as opposed to affusion or sprinkling). •
Congregational church – Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. •
First Great Awakening – Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. •
Methodism – movement of Anglican Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. •
Millerites – followers of the teachings of William Miller who, in 1833, first shared publicly his belief in the coming Second Advent of Jesus Christ in roughly the year 1843. •
Pietism – movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. •
Neo-Lutheranism – 19th century revival movement within Lutheranism which began with the Pietist driven Erweckung, or Awakening, and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and pietism. •
Old Lutherans – those German Lutherans who refused to join the Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church) in the 1830s and 1840s. •
Restoration Movement – Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. •
History of Jehovah's Witnesses – had its origins in the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s among followers of Christian Restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell. •
History of the Latter Day Saint movement – religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century •
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church – had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1840s
1789 AD – 1914 AD •
Industrial Revolution – period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. •
Camp meeting – form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in Britain and once common in some parts of the United States, wherein people would travel from a large area to a particular site to camp out, listen to itinerant preachers, and pray. •
Holiness movement – set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. •
Independent Catholic Churches – are Catholic congregations that are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or any other churches whose sacraments are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church (such as the Eastern Orthodox and some Oriental Orthodox churches) •
Second Great Awakening – Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870.
1914 AD – present Age of Ideologies •
Azusa Street Revival – historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California and is the origin of the Pentecostal movement. •
Ecumenism – mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. •
Evangelicalism – Protestant Christian movement which began in the 17th century and became an organized movement with the emergence around 1730 of the Methodists in England and the Pietists among Lutherans in Germany and Scandinavia. •
Jesus movement – movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. •
Mainline (Protestant) – are certain Protestant churches in the United States that comprised a majority of Americans from the colonial era until the early 20th century. •
Pentecostalism – renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. •
Charismatic movement – an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt beliefs and practices similar to Pentecostals. •
Emerging church – Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries
History of Christianity by denomination These articles contain histories of the denominations they reference. •
History of the Anglican Communion •
History of Calvinism •
History of Calvinist-Arminian debate •
History of the Eastern Orthodox Church •
History of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Ottoman Empire •
History of Eastern Orthodox Churches in the 20th century •
History of the Russian Orthodox Church •
History of Oriental Orthodoxy •
History of Protestantism •
History of the Puritans •
History of the Quakers •
History of the Roman Catholic Church •
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church History of Christianity by region These articles detail the history of Christianity in the regions they reference. •
History of Arab Christians •
History of the Church of England •
Baptism of Poland •
Christianization of Hungary •
Germanic Christianity •
Gothic Christianity •
History of Christianity in the United States •
History of Church activities in Zambia •
History of Eastern Christianity •
History of Eastern Christianity in Asia •
Christianisation of Iceland •
Christianization of Lithuania •
Christianity among the Mongols •
Christianity in Eastern Arabia •
History of Christianity in Romania •
History of Christianity in Scotland •
Conversion of Pomerania •
Christianization of Kievan Rus' •
Christianization of Scandinavia •
History of Christianity in Ukraine •
History of Christianity in the United States ==Texts==