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Issue 28 : 100 Most Important Events in Church History

Originally published in 1990

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Table of Contents

From the Editor: Welcome to this Special Issue

Important information before you begin

Kevin A. Miller
A.D. 70 Titus Destroys Jerusalem

When the Roman general sacked the temple, the Jews were forced into a new era—and so were the Christians.
313 The Edict of Milan

The agreement shifted Christianity from being an illicit, persecuted sect to being a welcome—and soon dominant—religion of the Roman Empire.

David F. Wright
325 The First Council of Nicaea

At stake in the church's first general council was the simplest, yet most profound, question: Who is Jesus Christ?

Bruce L. Shelley
367 Athanasius Defines the New Testament

His letter is the earliest authoritative statement to fix the New Testament as we know it today.

Carsten Peter Thiede
386 Augustine Converts to Christianity

A brilliant, profligate professor of rhetoric became the church's leading theologian for centuries to come.
405 Jerome Completes the Vulgate

This Latin translation stood as the preeminent Bible text for centuries—and set the standard for future translators.
The Council of Chalcedon

If Jesus was truly God, how could he be truly human as well? Leo the Great helped guide a critical council to a clear answer.

Tony Lane
540 Benedict Writes His Monastic Rule

His flexible, compassionate guidelines for Christian community forever shaped monastic life—and influenced Western society.

Bennett D. Hill
How Christianity Came to Ukraine and Russia

The pagan prince of Kievan Rus' embraces a new faith
1054 The East-West Schism

Long-standing differences between Western and Eastern Christians finally caused a definitive break, and Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox still remain separate.

George T. Dennis
1095 Pope Urban II Launches the First Crusade

Waves of pilgrims and soldiers embarked for the Holy Land, beginning an era of exploration, conquest, defeat, and folly.
1272 Thomas Aquinas Concludes His Word on Summa Theologiae

The massive treatise set forth a theological system so influential it has been declared eternally valid.
1378 The Great Papal Schism

When two popes, and later three popes, vied for supremacy, the medieval church entered a dramatic, forty-year crisis of authority.

Francis Oakley
1455 Gutenberg Produces the First Printed Bible

Using his revolutionary invention—printing from movable type—he made the Scriptures potentially accessible to every person.
Important Events in Church History: Christian History Timeline
Important Events in Church History

A selective chronological listing
1517 Luther Posts the 95 Theses

An obscure monk invited debate on a pressing church issue—and touched off a history-shattering reform movement.

Eric W. Gritsch
1521 The Diet of Worms

Was the wayward Luther free to dissent? A German council rendered a judgment.

Eric W. Gritsch
1525 The Anabaptist Movement Begins

Hated by Protestants and Catholics alike, these "radical reformers" wanted to not merely reform the church but restore it.
1534 The Act of Supremacy

Breaking from Rome, the English Parliament declared King Henry VIII "the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England."
1536 John Calvin Publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion

Either adored or abhorred, the reformer and his teachings live on in his monumental work.
1545 The Council of Trent Begins

Responding to the Reformation, the council charted the Catholic church's course for the next 400 years.
1611 Publication of the King James Bible

A team of scholars produced an English Bible translation unsurpassed in linguistic beauty and longevity.
1738 John & Charles Wesley Experience Conversions

They were ordained ministers and missionaries. Then their hearts were "strangely warmed," and their changed lives gave rise to a worldwide movement.

Roger J. Green
1740 The Great Awakening Peaks

A mighty wave of revival washed across North America, forever altering the religious landscape.

Mark A. Noll
1962 The Second Vatican Council

In an epochal council, the Catholic Church undertook its most searching self-examination ever and renewed itself for a modern world.

Joseph A. Komonchak
1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. Leads the March on Washington

A Baptist preacher had a dream that guided one of the most profound social movements of our times.

Wesley A. Roberts
75 Other Important Events in Church History

A brief listing of significant dates that also earn a place in the "Christian History 100"

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May 15, 1265: Poet and politician Dante Alighieri, author of "The Divine Comedy," is born in Florence, Italy. Dante finished the epic poem just before his death, and it was quickly recognized as brilliant. His epitaph begins: "Dante the theologian, skilled in every branch of knowledge that philosophy may cherish in her illustrious bosom" (see issue 70: Dante's Guide to Heaven and Hell).

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