33 Pentecost - The Holy Spirit descends on
the Apostles and gives birth to the Church.
33-100 Apostolic age - Rapid spread of the Church
throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.
49 Apostolic Council at Jerusalem abolishes
the Mosaic law. Gradually Sunday (called
the Lord's Day) replaces the Sabbath
as the day of worship.
45-80 Apostles Paul, Peter, James, John and
Judas write their epistles. About the same time the Gospels of Matthew, Mark
and Luke are written.
64-67 Persecution of Christians in Rome under
Emperor Nero. Sts. Peter and Paul become
70 Destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold by
Jesus (Matt. ch. 24).
96-98 Persecution of Christians under Emperor
Domitian. Apostle John is exiled to Patmos where he writes the Book of Revelation. Later, circa 100-105 A.D., he writes his
60-180 Several Gnostic sects appear which
attempt to infiltrate Christian communities.
†110 St. Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, the
author of several important epistles, is (†) martyred at Rome.
150 St. Justin Martyr writes books in defense
of the Christian faith, describes how
Baptism and Liturgy were performed in his time.
†202 St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, author of
several books against heresies is martyred.
215-290 The rise of Christian schools in
Alexandria and Antioch.
244-49 The Roman Emperor Decius persecutes
†258 St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, author
and theologian, is martyred.
300 Christianization of Britain; †303 St.
Alban is martyred.
300-305 The Emperor Diocletian vows to
vanquish Christianity. Thousands of
Christians, including St. George, St. Barbara, and St. Catherine are martyred.
313 Emperor Constantine ends persecution of
Christians and gives them the right to
freely exercise their faith.
325 The First Ecumenical Council in Nicea
defends the coeternality of the Son with the Father, condemns Arius and
promulgates the Creed.
326 Empress Helena finds the Cross of Jesus
Christ in Jerusalem. Later she builds the Church of the Resurrection on the
place of Christ's Resurrection, where each year on the
Orthodox Pascha (Easter) the Holy Fire
330 Beginning and spread of monasticism in
Egypt: St. Anthony and Pachomius.
†343 St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia.
330-410 Period of the great Fathers of the
Church: Sts. Athanasius, Basil the Great,
Gregory the Theologian, Ambrose of Milan,
John Chrysostom and others.
381 The Second Ecumenical Council in
Constantinople reaffirms the need to have five Patriarchates: Rome,
Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.
410 Alaric, leader of the Germanic Visigoths,
451 The Fourth Ecumenical Council affirms
apostolic doctrine of two natures in
563 The Great Church, Hagia Sofia,
consecrated in Constantinople.
484 St. Sabba founds his monastery in the
Judean wilderness, where later the
Typicon for church services is developed.
589 A local synod of the Roman Catholic
Church in Toledo, Spain, adds filioque to the Nicene Creed. This error
causes division between the Eastern and the Western Churches.
630 First the Persians, then the Arabs
threaten the Byzantine Empire, persecute Christians and destroy churches.
685 The spread of monasticism on Mt. Athos
726 Emperor Leo the Isaurian starts his
campaign against the veneration of ikons.
†780 St. John Damascene the author of the Exact
Exposition of the Orthodox Faith and of many canticles for Sundays
771 Arabs invade Spain.
787 The Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicea
sanctions the veneration of ikons.
864 The Prince Boris of Bulgaria is baptized.
About this time Sts. Cyril and Methodius
spread the Orthodox faith among Slavic
988 Prince Vladimir is baptized and begins
conversion of the Rus (Russians) to Christianity.
1051 Sts. Anthony and Theodosius found their
monastery near Kiev.
1054 The Great Schism between the Eastern and
Western Churches begins.
1095 The Crusades, begun by the Roman Church,
weaken the Eastern Orthodox churches in Palestine and Syria. Constantinople is
sacked by the Crusaders in 1204, further estranging the East and the West.
†1263 Russian Prince St. Alexander Nevsky,
the great defender of the Orthodox faith.
†1392 St. Sergius of Radonezh, famous founder
of the Holy Trinity's monastery near Moscow.
1438 St. Mark of Ephesus defends the Orthodox
faith at the Council of Florence.
1453 Turks overrun Constantinople; Byzantine
1455 Gutenberg prints the first Bible.
1517 Protestant Reformation starts with
Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the church in
1529 Church of England begins pulling away
1794 Russian missionaries, St. Herman and
others, arrive on Kodiak Island in Alaska; introduce Orthodoxy to North
†1833 St. Seraphim of Sarov.
†1879 St. Bishop Innocenty, Apostle of
†1891 St. Ambrosy, elder of Optina.
†1908 St. John of Kronstadt, great Saint and
†1911 St. Bishop Nicholas, Apostle of Japan.
1917 The revolution in Russia begins.
Christians are persecuted and martyred. Emigres from Russia and Eastern
countries spread Orthodoxy throughout the
1918 Bishop Tikhon of San Francisco becomes
Patriarch of Russia.
†1966 St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco.
1988 The millennium of the Baptism of the Rus
1990 Beginning of renewal of Orthodox Christianity in Russia.
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