CHRONOLOGY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE MID-5TH CENTURY
ca. 7 B.C. - 30 A.D. - Life of Jesus
30 A.D. - Crucifixion of Jesus
ca. 3-64 A.D. - Saul of Tarsus, or St. Paul
35 A.D. - Conversion of Saul, a Pharisee persecuting Christians, on the road to Damascus.
64 A.D. - Possible deaths of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome.
70 - 100 A.D. - 4 Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John written
62 A.D. - Nero blames fire in Rome on Christians. First persecutions in Rome.
112 A.D - Emperor Trajan's policy of not searching out Christians, but punishing them if accused and convicted. The convicted could be pardoned if he / she objected Christianity and worshipped Rome's gods.
249 - 251 A.D. - Emperor Decuis persecuted Christians for not worshipping Roman gods publicly
257 - 260 A.D. - Emperor Valerian persecuted Christians
303 - 313 A.D. - Emperor Diocletian tries to suppress Christianity.
311 A.D. - Emperor Galecius, a persecutor of Christians, grants toleration permitting Christian worship.
313 A.D. - Edict of Milan - Emperor Constantine granted religious toleration to Christianity, converting to Christianity himself before he died.
325 A.D. - Council of Nicaea - Called by the Emperor Constantine, who attended it, it declared the doctrine of the Trinity (God, the father, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit). Jesus was coeternal with the Father and of the same substance. NICENE CREED.
394 A.D. - Emperor Theodosius closed the pagan temples and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Heresy outlawed.
3 Latin Doctors, or Fathers of the Church
340 - 397 A.D. - St. Ambrose
374 - 397 A.D. - Bishop of Milan. He introduced the allegorical interpretation of the Bible.
390 A.D. - Ambrose excommunicated the Emperor Theodosius, who had massacred the citizens of Thessalonica for rebelling against Rome. Theodosius did penance. AMBROSE INSISTED THAT THE CHURCH MUST BE INDEPENDANT OF DIRECTION BY THE EMPEROR. BISHOPS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE RULERS. This was different from the Byzantine or Eastern Empire. In the West, the Church was independent of the emperors. In the East, the Church developed under the control of the emperors (CAESAROPAPISM).
340 - 420 A.D. - St. Jerome translated the Old and New Testaments from Greek into Latin. His Vulgate version was the basis for Christianity in Europe in the Middle Ages.
354 - 430 A.D. - St. Augustine. Born in N. Africa, he became bishop of Hippo in N. Africa. He wrote THE CITY OF GOD to refute the accusation that Alaric's sack of Rome in 410 was caused by the Romans abandoning paganism. He provided a Christian view of history. He also wrote THE CONFESSIONS, an autobiography, emphasizing his conversion from paganism to Christianity. He was converted by the influence of St. Ambrose in Milan in 386. He also wrote the ENCHIRIDION, a Manual for Christians. In it, he developed the Pauline theology of Original Sin, and Predestination.
451 A.D. - COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON - It declared that Jesus was one person with 2 natures joined in union. He was both true man and true god. As God, he was coequal with God the Father and had reigned with him and would reign with him eternally. As man, he was truly the son of Mary and hence a fitting representative of the human race.
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