Major Religious Events
Mosaic LawThe Law of Moses generally refers to the first five books of the Bible which are traditionally thought to have been authored by Moses. In addition to ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Babylonian CaptivityThis phrase is used to describe three events: 1) the captivity of ancient Israel and exile to Babylon as related in the Old Testament; 2) the years wh... more I
Please share if you found this post informative.
Maccabean Revolt(167–160 B.C.) A Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Empire which resulted in an independent Judean state which sought to diminish Hellenistic inf... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Paul’s Epistles(A.D. 50–64) The Apostle Paul writes letters which become the earliest writings recorded in the New Testament.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Jerusalem(c. A.D. 50) This council was called to resolve a dispute regarding the obligations of the burgeoning numbers of Gentile converts. After hearing from ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Gospel of Mark(A.D. 65) The earliest date that scholars believe the book of Mark was written, which is generally regarded as the first of the Four Gospels. Some sch... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Jerusalem Temple Destroyed(A.D. 70) The Roman Army destroys the Jerusalem and the temple while quashing the Great Jewish Revolt.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Gospels of Matthew, Luke & John(A.D. 75–95) The timeframe scholars generally allocate for the composition of the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Justin Martyr’s 1st ApologyJustin Martyr writes his First Apology and his Dialogue with Trypho.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Justin Martyr’s 2nd ApologyJustin Martyr writes his Second Apology.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Donatist Controversyinvolves a controversy arising in Carthage at the beginning of the 4th century and lasted until the 6th century. The dispute centered on the legitimac... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Edict of Milan(A.D. 313) Emperor Constantine I and Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan which expanded on the Edict of Toleration (Edict of Serdica) and grant... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of ArlesThe first Council of Arles was held in 314 to deal with the Donatist controversy regarding the right of local churches to reject bishops due to allege... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Arian ControversyAn extension of Logos subordinational theology advocated by Arius, a 4th century priest in Alexandrian, which asserted that Christ was simply a creati... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
First Council of Nicaea(A.D. 325) The First Council of Nicaea (the first ecumenical council) condemns the teaching of Arius and approves a creed containing the homoousios cl... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
First Council of Constantinople(A.D. 381) The First Council of Constantinople (the second ecumenical council) approves an expanded version of the creed of Nicaea, which is today cal... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Constantinople Creed(A.D. 381) Adopted at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed expands and elaborates upon the original Ni... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Augustine begins writing(A.D. 385) Thirty-one-year-old Augustine converts to Christianity and begins writing Christian theological works.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Chalcedona council held in Chalcedon in A.D. 451 to deal with the Nestorian controversy regarding the nature and incarnation of Christ. Some eastern churches o... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Second Council of Constantinople(A.D. 553) The Second Council of Constantinople which is generally accepted as the fifth ecumenical council, follows a Cyrillian interpretation of the... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Third Council of Constantinople duel nature of Christ(A.D. 681) The Third Council of Constantinople, which is generally accepted to be the sixth ecumenical council, rejects the teaching that there is onl... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Second Council of Nicaea & Veneration of icons(A.D. 787) The Second Council of Nicaea, which is generally accepted to be the seventh ecumenical council, rejects iconoclasm and declares that people... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Great Divorce Eastern & Western Church(A.D. 1054) Western and Eastern churches official split resulting in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Anselm becomes the archbishop of Canterbury(A.D. 1093)
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Clermont(A.D. 1095) Led by Pope Urban II, this council included the call to arms for the First Crusade and reaffirmed several ongoing matters within the Weste... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
England a fief of the pope(A.D. 1213) King John of England makes England a fief of the pope after Pope Innocent III excommunicates him and places the country under interdict.
Please share if you found this post informative.
4th Lateran council(A.D. 1215) The fourth Lateran council meeting at Rome establishes the medieval sacramental system, including the obligation of private confession and... more & the Sacraments
Please share if you found this post informative.
Medieval InquisitionThe first of the primary inquisitions was the medieval, which began in 13th century).
Please share if you found this post informative.
Thomas Aquinas begins teaching(A.D. 1256) Thomas Aquinas begins teaching at the University of Paris.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Bull Unam SanctamIs the title of a bull issued by Boniface VIII (A.D. 1302) that declared the superiority of the pope over all powers (secular as well as spiritual) on... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Babylonian CaptivityThis phrase is used to describe three events: 1) the captivity of ancient Israel and exile to Babylon as related in the Old Testament; 2) the years wh... more II
Please share if you found this post informative.
Avignon Papacy(A.D. 1309–1377) The pope moves to resides in the French city of Avignon rather than Rome creating the period known as the “Babylonian Captivity... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Great Schismrefers to the period between A.D. 1378 and 1417 when multiple individuals claimed to be the rightful pope, which ended with the Council of Constance.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Constance(A.D. 1414 – 1418) This council was held between 1414 and 1418 that finally ended the Great Schism. The council deposed two of the three popes and a... more ends the Great Schismrefers to the period between A.D. 1378 and 1417 when multiple individuals claimed to be the rightful pope, which ended with the Council of Constance.
A.D. 1414–1418 The Council of Constance(A.D. 1414 – 1418) This council was held between 1414 and 1418 that finally ended the Great Schismrefers to the period between A.D. 1378 and 1417 when multiple individuals claimed to be the rightful pope, which ended with the Council of Constance.. The council deposed two of the three popes and a... more ends the Great Schismrefers to the period between A.D. 1378 and 1417 when multiple individuals claimed to be the rightful popeThe Roman Catholic bishop of Rome who is regarded as the successor of the chief apostle, Peter, and as the Vicar of Christ is the holder of the Aposto... more, which ended with the Council of Constance(A.D. 1414 – 1418) This council was held between 1414 and 1418 that finally ended the Great Schism. The council deposed two of the three popes and a... more. of rival popes by appointing a new popeThe Roman Catholic bishopA person holding the ecclesiastical office that exerciseds authority over the laity and priests in a geographical area called a “diocese” where th... more of Rome who is regarded as the successor of the chief apostle, PeterPeter (c. A.D. 1–65) was a Jewish fisherman, chosen by Jesus to be one of his 12 Apostles. Peter was a critical witness to many events in Jesus’ l... more, and as the Vicar of ChristDerived from a Greek term meaning anointed and is equivalent to the word “messiah” from Hebrew roots. The anointing references the act of installi... more is the holder of the Aposto... more, condemns…
Council of Florence defines sacraments(A.D. 1439) The Council of Florence further defines the medieval sacramental system specifies all seven sacraments.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Spanish Inquisition(A.D. 1478) Ferdinand and Isabella begin the Spanish Inquisition to establish and maintain Catholic orthodoxy in the Iberian Peninsula.
Please share if you found this post informative.
ReformationA revolutionary religious movement during the 16th century Europe that initially sought to reform the Roman Catholic Church but led to the emergence o... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Julius II “the Terrifying”(A.D. 1503–1513) Reign of Pope Julius II who was called the "warrior pope" and "the Terrifying" ("il Terribile").
Please share if you found this post informative.
Indulgences(A.D. 1506) Pope Julius II lays the foundation of a new St. Peter’s basilica in the Vatican, which was funded in part by indulgences sold in Germany... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Erasmus New Testament(A.D. 1516) Erasmus publishes the first printed edition of the New Testament that is critical of the official Vulgate translation. Luther uses it in h... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Luther posts his 95 Theses(October 31, 1517) Luther posts his Ninety-five Theses on the church door in Wittenberg announcing an academic disputation (debate) about the theology... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Zwingli begins Preaching(January 1519) Huldrych Zwingli begins preaching in Zurich (January).
Please share if you found this post informative.
Luther debates Eck(June-July 1519) Luther debates Johann Eck at the Leipzig Disputation who pushes Luther toward the doctrine of scripture alone (“sola scriptura”) ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Babylonian CaptivityThis phrase is used to describe three events: 1) the captivity of ancient Israel and exile to Babylon as related in the Old Testament; 2) the years wh... more III
Please share if you found this post informative.
Luther’s major Treatises(A.D. 1520) Luther publishes his four most important theological treatises laying out the theological basis for protestant doctrine and his dispute wi... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Luther breaks with Rome(A.D. 1520) Luther publicly breaks with Rome in December when he burns the papal bull, together with papal decretals and canon law.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Diet of Worms(A.D. 1521) Luther testified before the emperor Charles V (the Civil authority who could execute physical penalties for heresy) at the Diet of Worms i... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Luther’s German New Testament(A.D. 1522) Luther publishes his German translation of the New Testament in September.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Reformed Theology(A.D. 1522) Ulrich Zwingli begins publishing his writings in Zürich and begins the Reformed tradition of theology.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Zurich accepts Reformed Theology(A.D. 1523) Following the First Zurich Disputation in January and a Second Disputation in October, the Zurich city accepts Zwingli’s Protestantism a... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Great Peasant War in Germany(A.D. 1524–1525)
Please share if you found this post informative.
Erasmus Freedom of the Will(A.D. 1524) Erasmus publishes his book, Freedom of the Will, against Luther’s doctrines.
Please share if you found this post informative.
First Adult Baptism(A.D. 1525) In January, the first adult baptisms occur in Zurich in defiance with city law and marks the beginning of the Anabaptist (re-baptism) move... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Anabaptists executed(A.D. 1525) The first Anabaptists are executed in Switzerland.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Luther’s Bondage of the Will(A.D. 1525) Luther publishes Bondage of the Will, his response to Erasmus’s Freedom of the Will.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Tyndale’s English New Testament
Please share if you found this post informative.
Schleitheim Articles(A.D. 1527) Michael Sattler publishes the most important confessional document of the early Anabaptists, the Schleitheim Articles that articulate the ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Protestant Title(A.D. 1529) At the Diet of Speyer, Lutheran princes lodge a formal protest against the enforcement of the Edict of Worms, thus giving birth to the nam... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Marburg ColloquyMeetings held between Luther and Zwingli and their respective supporters in 1529 in an attempt to the unify doctrinal beliefs of the Protestant moveme... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Diet of Augsburg(A.D. 1530) The Diet, resembling a form of Medieval Great Council for the Holy Roman Empire, was convened irregularly at different locations. Notably,... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Schmalkald League(A.D. 1531) Protestant princes form the political and military alliance in Germany called the “Schmalkald League” for a defense against the likeli... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Act of SupremacyAct passed in 1534 by Parliament under Henry VIII’s direction declaring the king to be, “the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England,...
Please share if you found this post informative.
Ignatius Loyola begins(A.D. 1534) Ignatius Loyola assembles his first followers in Paris.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Affair of the Placards(A.D. 1534) The Affair of the Placards turns King of France against his previous open-minded approach to religious reforms and leads to intensified me... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
City of Münster(A.D. 1534–1535) Revolutionary Anabaptists take over the city of Münster in an attempt to create a utopia in anticipation of the second coming of C... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
royal supremacy(A.D. 1534) A law enacted by the English Parliament in 1534 at Henry VIII’s behest that made the king the supreme head of the Church in England. The... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
John Calvin(A.D. 1509-1564) French Protestant theologian who lived most of his adult life in Geneva. He was the most influential figure in Reformed theology and ... more<Calvin begins his work(A.D. 1536) John Calvin begins his work as a reformed pastor, teacher, and theologian in Geneva, shortly after he publishes his first edition of Insti... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Wittenberg ConcordMartin Bucer works out a compromise (A.D. 1536) regarding the Lord’s Supper known as the Wittenberg Concord between Luther and the Reformed Traditio... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Menno Simons is baptized(A.D. 1536) Menno Simons is baptized and begins ministering among the surviving Dutch Anabaptists after the Anabaptist fiasco in the city of Münster ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Jesuits order(A.D. 1540) Pope Paul III formally approves of The Jesuits order.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Calvin back in Geneva(A.D. 1541) Calvin is invited back to Geneva and publishes his treatise, Institutes, in French. Geneva city council accepts his Ecclesiastical Ordinan... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Roman Inquisition(A.D. 1542) refers to the final primary inquisition known as the Roman Inquisition which commenced in 1542.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Trent(A.D. 1545–1563) The Roman Catholic council of bishops held in the city of Trent near the border Austria and Italy over two decades between 1543 and... more begins
Please share if you found this post informative.
Schmalkaldic war(A.D. 1547) Emperor Charles V defeats Protestant princes of Germany in the Schmalkaldic war. John Frederick, the Electoral Saxony and protector of Lut... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Augsburg InterimCharles V imposes the oppressive Augsburg Interim (A.D. 1548) on the subjugated Lutheran principalities in Germany and restores the Roman Catholic Chu... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Book of Common PrayerThe official prayer book of the Church of England and is the basis for their common beliefs. It was first published under King Edward VI in 1549, with... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Mary Tudor becomes Queen of EnglandMary Tudor becomes queen of England (A.D. 1553) and restores Roman Catholicism after the death of Edward VI.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Peace of AugsburgIs the treaty reached between the emperor Charles V and the German princes in A.D. 1555 that allowed for the existence of Lutheran churches under the ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Calvinist Churches in France and the Netherlands(A.D. 1555) The first organized Calvinist Reformed churches are established in France and the Low Countries.
Please share if you found this post informative.
John Knox(A.D. 1513–24 Nov 1572) Scottish minister who introduced Calvinist Reformed Protestant movement to Scotland, which became the Presbyterian Church.Knox publishes(A.D. 1558) Scotland’s John Knox publishes several treatises in Geneva.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England(A.D. 1558) Mary Tudor dies and Elizabeth I becomes queen of England.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Elizabethan Settlement(A.D. 1559–1663) Refers to Queen Elizabeth I’s rejection of Roman Catholicism while limiting the reformation of the English Church essentially cre... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Massacre of Vassy(A.D. 1562) The Massacre of Vassy inaugurates the French Wars of Religion.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Trent reconvenesThe Council of Trent reconvenes in March but is suspended a year later.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Counter-Reformation(A.D. 1563) The efforts of the Catholic Church to counter-act, denounce and undo the changes brought about by the Protestant Reformation.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Council of Trent concludes its work(A.D. 1563)
Please share if you found this post informative.
39 Articles(A.D. 1563) Queen Elizabeth I issues the 39 Articles, the official confessional document of the Church of England.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Theresa of Avila(A.D. 1572) Theresa of Avila discusses how she realized the ultimate state of inner union with God that is possible in this life. John of the Cross ac... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Religious Tolerance in the Netherlands(A.D. 1577) William I of Orange provides for Anabaptists to be tolerated in the Netherlands.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Book of Concord(A.D. 1580) The Formula of Concord is published as the Book of Concord together with other Lutheran confessional documents, including The Augsburg Con... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Formula of Concord(A.D. 1580) refers to The Formula of Concord which is a Luthern statement of faith written in 1580 that settled various doctrinal disputes within the ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Molinists and Thomists(A.D. 1598–1607) Catholics debate Molinists and Thomists positions on the help of grace without conclusion and appeal to the pope who allows both po... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Arminianism(A.D. 1618–1619) Reformed theologians reject Arminianism and formulate the five points of Calvinism at the Synod of Dordt in Holland. A Protestant t... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Defenestration of Prague(A.D. 1618) The Defenestration of Prague triggers the Thirty Years’ War.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Synod of Dordtwas a conference of Dutch Reformed theologians held in A.D. 1619 to address Arminianism and formulated the five points of classic Calvinism, represent... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Presbyterian church(A.D. 1646) England establishes a Presbyterian church order after the parliamentarian victory in the first civil war.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Westminster Confession accepted(A.D. 1647) Parliament accepts the Westminster Confession which becomes the most important Reformed confessional document originally written in Englis... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Cambridge Platform(A.D. 1648) The Cambridge Platform in New England establishes the Congregationalist form of church governance.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Peace of Westphalia(A.D. 1648) The Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years’ War in Germany. It reinstitutes the Peace of Augsburg and includes various forms of the R... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Charles I is executed(A.D. 1649) England is proclaimed a Republic when King Charles I is executed by order of the Rump Parliament.
Please share if you found this post informative.
EnlightenmentA broad term for 18th century European intellectual developments, including deism and other movements critical of orthodox Christianity, that are char... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Quakers(A.D. 1650) The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, form in England based on the preaching of George Fox.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Pope condemns Jansenism(A.D. 1653) The Jansenist controversy comes to a head in France when the pope condemns five propositions based on Jansen’s book, Augustinus.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Tolerant state church in England(A.D. 1654) Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, establishes an inclusive and tolerant state church.
Please share if you found this post informative.
English Monarchy reestablished(A.D. 1660) The English Republic falls and the monarchy and the Church of England are restored to their prerevolutionary positions.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Halfway Covenant(A.D. 1662) Puritan Congregationalist churches in 1662 modified their policy of only allowing baptized individuals who could adequately demonstrate th... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Pietist movement(A.D. 1675) Lutheran pastor Philipp Jakob Spener inaugurates the Pietist movement in Germany when he publishes his book Pia Desideria (“Pious Desire... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Quietism condemned(A.D. 1687) The Roman Catholic Church condemns Quietism that sprung out of the teachings of John the Cross and Theresa of Avila.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Act of Toleration(A.D. 1689) The Act of Toleration in England legalizes Protestant churches that dissent from the established Church of England.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Deism begins
Please share if you found this post informative.
John Wesley begins(A.D. 1739) John Wesley begins his career as itinerant preacher of revival and leader of the Methodist movement in England.
Please share if you found this post informative.
First Great Awakening(A.D. 1740) The influential revival movement known as the First Great Awakening begins to spread throughout New England and endures in various forms f... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Liberal TheologyIs a major theological movement beginning in German universities in the early 19th century that is critical of orthodox dogmas and turned to experienc... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Second Great Awakening(A.D. 1824) Charles Finney replaces some of Jonathan Edwards’s Revivalist theology with “new measures” based on Wesleyan’s increased emphasis ... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Dispensationalist theologyA theological movement popular among conservative, evangelical Christians in the 19th and 20th centuries that divides history into a series of time pe... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Spanish Inquisition Ends(A.D. 1834) The Spanish Inquisition is definitively ended after a decline in local support over an approximate 50 year period.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Holiness tradition(A.D. 1836) Methodist teacher Phoebe Palmer inaugurating the Holiness by holding Tuesday Night Meetings in her home in New York City.
Please share if you found this post informative.
Immaculate ConceptionA Roman Catholic tradition that that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin. This doctrine was formally accepted by Pope Pius IX in A.D. 1... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Syllabus of Errors(A.D. 1864) Pope Pius IX publishes the Syllabus of Errors, which denounce many modern beliefs such as freedom of religion.
Please share if you found this post informative.
National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness(A.D. 1870) The First Vatican Council officially adopts the doctrine of papal infallibility as well as the doctrine that God can be known through natu... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Aeterni Patris(A.D. 1879) Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Aeterni Patris promotes “the restoration of Christian philosophy according to the mind of Saint Thomas Aqui... more
Please share if you found this post informative.
Quest of the Historical Jesus(A.D. 1906) Albert Schweitzer publishes The Quest of the Historical Jesus, and claims that the historical Jesus was simple an eschatological prophet b... more
Please share if you found this post informative.