Church history

Year / Era Event

33 Pentecost (A.D. 29 is thought to be more accurate).

49 Council at Jerusalem (Acts 15) establishes precedent for addressing Church disputes in Council. James presides as bishop.

69 Bishop Ignatius consecrated in Antioch in heart of New Testament era-St. Peter had been the first bishop there.

93 Book of Revelation written, probably the last of the New Testament books.

150 St. Justin Martyr describes the liturgical worship of the Church, centered in the Eucharist. Liturgical worship is rooted in both the Old and New Testament.

325 The Council of Nicea settles the major heretical challenge to the Christian faith when the heretic Arius asserts Christ was created by the Father. St. Athanasius defends the eternality of the Son of God. The Arians continue their assault on true Christianity for years. Nicea is the first of Seven Ecumenical (Church-wide) Councils.

397 Synod of Carthage ratifies biblical canon.

451 Council of Chalcedon affirms apostolic doctrine of two natures in Christ.

589. In a synod in Toledo, Spain, the filioque, asserting that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the father and the Son is added to the Nicene Creed. This error is later adopted by Rome.

787. The era of Ecumenical Councils ends at Nicea, with the Seventh Council bringing the centuries-old use of icons back into the Church.

880 The Photian schism (880) further complicated the debate.

988 Conversion of Russia begins.

1054 The Great Schism occurs. Two major issues were Rome's claim to a universal papal supremacy and her addition of the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed.

1095 – 1291 The Crusades begun by the Roman Church.

1204. The Sack of Constantinople by Rome (1204) adds to the estrangement between East and West.

1333. St. Gregory Palamas defends the Orthodox practice of hesychast spirituality and the use of the Jesus prayer.

1453 Turks overrun Constantinople; Byzantine Empire ends.

1517 Martin Luther nails his 95 Thesis to the door of the Roman Church in Wittenberg, starting the Protestant Reformation.

1529. Church of England begins pulling away from Rome.

1854. Rome establishes the Immaculate Conception dogma.

1870. Papal Infallibility becomes Roman dogma.

The Seven Ecumenical Councils (325 – 787)

The era of the Seven Ecumenical Councils was a defining period for the early Christian faith. These church-wide assemblies were convened to resolve theological disputes, establish orthodox doctrine, and address heretical teachings.

  • 1. First Council of Nicaea (325)

    • The Issue: The council was called to settle a major heretical challenge from Arius, who asserted that Christ was a created being and not co-eternal with the Father.

    • The Outcome: St. Athanasius strongly defended the eternality of the Son of God. The council condemned Arianism, affirmed Christ's full divinity, and drafted the original Nicene Creed. This marked the very first of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.

  • 2. First Council of Constantinople (381)

    • The Issue: Continued debates over Arianism, as well as new disputes regarding the divinity of the Holy Spirit and the nature of Christ's humanity (Apollinarianism).

    • The Outcome: The council condemned Apollinarianism, affirmed the full divinity of the Holy Spirit, and expanded the creed from Nicaea into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which is still recited in churches today.

  • 3. Council of Ephesus (431)

    • The Issue: A dispute arose involving Nestorius, who objected to calling the Virgin Mary Theotokos (God-bearer or Mother of God), arguing that she only bore Christ's human nature.

    • The Outcome: The council condemned Nestorianism, affirming that Jesus is one unified person, not two separate persons sharing one body. Consequently, it upheld the title of Theotokos for Mary.

  • 4. Council of Chalcedon (451)

    • The Issue: A reaction to Nestorianism led to a new extreme (Monophysitism/Eutychianism), which argued that Christ's human nature was completely absorbed by his divine nature, leaving him with only one nature.

    • The Outcome: The council affirmed the apostolic doctrine of two natures in Christ. It defined the "hypostatic union," declaring that Christ is fully God and fully man, existing in two distinct natures without confusion, change, division, or separation.

  • 5. Second Council of Constantinople (553)

    • The Issue: The Church was still struggling to reconcile with the Monophysites. The Emperor Justinian attempted to bridge the gap by condemning the "Three Chapters"—writings by three theologians who were suspected of having Nestorian sympathies.

    • The Outcome: The council officially condemned the Three Chapters, reinforcing the theological decisions made at Ephesus and Chalcedon and emphasising the Church's stance against Nestorianism.

  • 6. Third Council of Constantinople (680–681)

    • The Issue: A new theological compromise called Monothelitism proposed that while Christ had two natures, he possessed only one divine will.

    • The Outcome: The council condemned Monothelitism, determining that because Christ has two complete natures, he must possess two corresponding wills (divine and human).

  • 7. Second Council of Nicaea (787)

    • The Issue: The Iconoclastic controversy tore through the Eastern Church, with critics arguing that the veneration of religious images (icons) was tantamount to idolatry.

    • The Outcome: This council brought the centuries-old use of icons back into the Church. It drew a strict theological distinction between the worship (latria) owed exclusively to God, and the veneration (dulia) given to icons. This event officially ends the era of the early Ecumenical Councils.