Timeline of Church History

The History of the Church is a vital part of the Orthodox Christian faith. Orthodox Christians are defined significantly by their continuity with all those who have gone before, those who first received and preached the truth of Jesus Christ to the world, those who helped to formulate the expression and worship of our faith, and those who continue to move forward in the unchanging yet ever-dynamic Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

Apostolic era (33-100)

• 33 The Holy Spirit descends on the day of Pentecost, filling the followers of Jesus Christ with power from on high.
• 34 St. Peter founds the See of Antioch.
• 37 St. Joseph of Arimathea travels to Britain and lands in Glastonbury.
• 49 Apostolic Council of Jerusalem rules that Gentiles do not have to become Jews before becoming Christians.
• 50 The Apostle Matthew finishes the Gospel of Matthew in Aramaic.
• 62 Martyrdom of Apostle James the Just, the Lord's brother and bishop of Jerusalem.
• 63 St. Aristobulus consecrated as first Bishop of Britain.
• 64-67 Persecution of Christians by Emperor Nero.
• 64 Martyrdom of the Apostle Paul in Rome.
• 67 Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter in Rome; Apostle Linus elected first bishop of Rome.
• 68 Suicide of Emperor Nero.
• 69 St. Ignatius of Antioch consecrated to the episcopacy in Antioch.
• 70 Apostle Mark writes his Gospel; the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Romans; expulsion of the Christians from the synagogues.
• 71 Apostle Mark introduces Christianity to Egypt.
• 75 Judea, Galilea and Samaria are renamed Palaestina by the Romans.
• 80 Gospel of Luke written by the Apostle Luke; Jewish historian (and former general) Josephus writes the Antiquities.
• 85 Acts of the Apostles is composed by the Apostle Luke.
• 95 Apostle John writes the Book of Revelation.
• 96-98 Persecution of Christians under Emperor Domitian.
• 96 Gospel of John written by that apostle as a supplement and further theological illumination of the Synoptic Gospels.
• 100 Death of the Apostle John the Theologian.

Ante-Nicene era (100-325)

• 107 Martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch.
• 130 Conversion of Justin Martyr.
• 132 Jews, led by Bar Kochba, whom some identify as the Messiah, revolt against Rome.
• 135 Christmas instituted as a holy day in Rome.
• 136 Emperor Hadrian crushes the Jewish resistance, forbids Jews from ever entering Jerusalem, and changes the name of the city to Aelia Capitolina; first recorded use of the title Pope for the bishop of Rome by Pope Hyginus.
• 144 Excommunication of Marcion for his heretical rejection of the Old Testament and for his semi-Gnostic teachings, particularly Docetism.
• 150 St. Justin Martyr describes the Divine Liturgy.
• 155 Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna.
• 156 Beginning of Montanism.
• 165 Martyrdom of Justin.
• 180 St. Irenaeus of Lyons writes Against Heresies.
• 190 Pantaenus founds the Catechetical School at Alexandria.
• 197 Quartodeciman controversy.
• 200 Martyrdom of St. Irenaeus of Lyons.
• 203 Emperor Septimus Severus issues an edict against Christianity and Judaism.
• 206 King Abgar IX converts Edessa to Christianity.
• 215 Conversion of Tertullian to Montanism.
• 225 Death of Tertullian.
• 232 Heraclas becomes Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria on the death of Demetrius.
• 246 Paul of Thebes retreats to the Egyptian desert and becomes the first Christian hermit.
• 249-251 Persecution under the Emperor Decius.
• 251-253 Persecution under Emperor Gaius.
• 253-260 Persecution under Emperor Valerian.
• 260 Paul of Samosata begins his heretical preaching against the divinity of Christ.
• 264 Excommunication of Paul of Samosata.
• 284 Diocletian ascends the Roman imperial throne, and begins the most severe persecution against the Christians. During his reign, an estimated 1 million martyrs are slain for Christ.
• 285 St. Anthony the Great flees to the desert to pursue a life of prayer.
• 301 St. Gregory the Illuminator converts King Tiridates I of Armenia to the Christian faith.
• 304 Alban, protomartyr of Britain, killed by Roman authorities.
• 310 Armenia becomes the first Christian nation.
• 311 Rebellion of the Donatists in Carthage.
• 312 Conversion of Constantine the Great, who defeats Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge and becomes Emperor of the West.
• 313 The Edict of Milan is issued by St. Constantine the Great and his co-emperor Licinius, officially declaring religious freedom in the Roman Empire and specifically naming toleration for Christianity.
• 314 Condemnation of Donatism as a heresy.
• 318 Publication of "De incarnatione" by St Athanasius. This influenced the conemnation of the teaching of Arius
• 318 St. Pachomius the Great, a disciple of Anthony the Great, organizes a community of ascetics at Tabennis in Egypt, founding cenobitic monasticism.
• 320 Expulsion of Arius by St. Alexander of Alexandria.
• 323 Constantine the Great builds a church on the site of the martyrdom of St. Peter in Rome.

Nicene era (325-451)

• 325 First Ecumenical Council held in Nicea, condemning Arianism, setting the Paschalion, and issuing the first version of the Nicene Creed.
• 326 Discovery of the True Cross by the Empress St. Helena.
• 326 King Miraeus of Georgia becomes Christian.
• 328 Athanasius the Great becomes bishop of Alexandria.
• 329 St. Athanasius ordains St. Frumentius (Abba Selama) to the priesthood and commissions him to apostolic work in Ethiopia.
• 330 Amoun and Macarius the Great found monasteries in the Egyptian desert.
• 336 St Athanasius the Great of Alexandria goes into exile in Treves until 338. He told the Europeans about the rule of St Pachomius the Great, thus awakening interest in monasticism in Europe
• 340 Conversion of Wulfila to Arianism, subsequently missionizing the Goths with his heretical doctrine.
• 348 Death of St. Pachomius the Great.
• 350 St. Ninian establishes the church Candida Casa at Whithorn in Galloway, Scotland, beginning the missionary effort to the Picts.
• 356 Death of St. Anthony the Great.
• 358 Basil the Great founds the monastery of Annesos in Pontus, the model for Eastern monasticism.
• 360 St. Martin of Tours founds first French monastery at Liguge.
• 361 Julian the Apostate becomes Roman emperor.
• 367 St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes his Paschal letter, listing for the first time the canon of the New Testament of the Holy Scriptures.
• 373 Death of St Athanasius the Great, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria.
• 374 Election of Ambrose to the episcopacy of Milan.
• 375 St. Basil the Great writes On the Holy Spirit, confirming the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
• 376 Visigoths converted to Arian Christianity.
• 380 Christianity established as the official faith of the Roman Empire by Emperor St. Theodosius the Great.
• 381 Second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, condemning Macedonianism/Pneumatomachianism and Appollinarianism, declaring the divinity of the Holy Spirit, confirming the previous Ecumenical Council, and completing the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
• 395 St. Augustine becomes bishop of Hippo.
• 398 St. John Chrysostom becomes Archbishop of Constantinople.
• 400 Translation of the Holy Scriptures into Latin as the Vulgate by St. Jerome.
• 401 St. Augustine of Hippo writes the Confessions.
• 403 Abduction of Patrick to Ireland to serve as a slave; he escapes a while later and returns to Britain.
• 407 Death of John Chrysostom in exile.
• 410 Fall of Rome to the Visigoths.
• 411 Pelagius condemned at a council in Carthage.
• 412 St Cyril succeeds his uncle Theophilus as Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria.
• 415 Pelagius cleared at a synod in Jerusalem and a provincial synod in Diospolis (Lydda); St. John Cassian founds convent at Marseilles.
• 416 Councils in Carthage and Milevis condemn Pelagius and convince Pope Innocent I of Rome to excommunicate him.
• 418 A council in Carthage anathematizes Pelagianism by way of endorsing Augustinian anthropology.
• 426 St. Augustine of Hippo writes The City of God.
• 428 Nestorius becomes patriarch of Constantinople.
• 431 Third Ecumenical Council held in Ephesus, condemning Nestorianism and Pelagianism, confirming the use of the term Theotokos to refer to the Virgin Mary; the council also grants autocephaly to the Church of Cyprus; Palladius is sent by the Pope of Rome as a missionary bishop to Ireland.
• 432 Return of Patrick to Ireland to begin missionary work.
• 433 The Formulary of Peace completes the work of the Third Ecumenical Council by reconciling Cyril of Alexandria with John of Antioch.
• 444 Death of St Cyril, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria.
• 445 Founding of the monastery at Armagh in northern Ireland.
• 449 The "robber synod" of Ephesus. Dioscurus was chairman, with an order from the Emperor to acquit Eutyches.
• 450 First monasteries established in Wales.

Byzantine era (451-843)

• 451 Fourth Ecumenical Council meets at Chalcedon, condemning Eutychianism and Monophysitism, affirming that Christ has two natures; this eventually led to a schism, with the Church of Alexandria being divided into Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian factions, with a similar schism occurring in the Church of Antioch along with it.
• 452 Proterios, who was appointed Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria to replace Dioscuros (who had been deposed at the Council of Chalcedon) convened a synod in Alexandria to try to reconcile the Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian groups.
• 466 Church of Antioch elevates the bishop of Mtskheta to the rank of Catholicos of Kartli, thus rendering the Church of Georgia autocephalous.
• 477 Bishop Timothy ("the Wild Cat") of Alexandria, who opposed the Council of Chalcedon, exiled the Orthodox bishops from Egypt.
• 484 Founding of the Monastery of St. Sabbas in the Judean wilderness; Synod of Beth Papat in Persia declares the Nestorian doctrine as the official theology of the Assyrian Church of the East, centered in Edessa.
• 488 Death of Peter the Fuller, the non-Chalcedonian Patriarch of Antioch.
• 490 St. Brigid founds the monastery of Kildare in Ireland.
• 521 St. Columba is born.
• 529 The pagan University of Athens is closed, and replaced by a Christian university in Constantinople.
• 529 St. Benedict of Nursia founds the monastery of Monte Cassino and codifies Western monasticism; Council of Orange condemns Pelagianism.
• 533 Mercurius is elected Pope of Rome and takes the name of John II, the first pope to change his name upon election.
• 533 Foundation of the Diocese of Selefkia in Central Africa by the Emperor Justinian.
• 534 Roman Empire destroys the Arian kingdom of the Vandals.
• 537 Construction of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople begun by Emperor St. Justinian the Great.
• 541 Jacob Baradeus, bishop of Edessa, organizes the Non-Chalcedonian Church in western Syria (the "Jacobites"), which spreads to Armenia and Egypt (the "Copts").
• 544 Founding of the monastery at Clonmacnoise in Ireland by St. Ciaran.
• 546 St. Columba founds the monastery of Derry in Ireland.
• 553 Fifth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in an attempt to reconcile the Chalcedonians with the non-Chalcedonians— the Three Chapters of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa are condemned for their pro-Nestorian nature, and Origen and his writings are also condemned.
• 556 St. Columba founds the monastery of Durrow in Ireland.
• 563 Consecration of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople; St. Columba arrives on Iona and establishes his monastery there.
• 569 Final schism between the Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians in Egypt. Henceforth there were two Popes and Patriarchs of Alexandria: the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch. The Coptic Patriarch later moved to Cairo. The Chalcedonians (Greek Orthodox) were also called "Melkites".
• 570 Birth of Mohammed, founder of Islam.
• 580 Monte Cassino is sacked by the Lombards and the monks flee to Rome.
• 589 At the Council of Toledo in Spain, the Filioque is added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in an attempt to combat Arianism.
• 590 Irish missionary St. Columbanus founds monasteries in France (Luxeuil in Burgundy).
• 596 St. Gregory the Dialogist sends St. Augustine along with forty other monks to southern Britain to convert the pagans.
• 601 Augustine of Canterbury converts King St. Ethelbert of Kent and establishes the see of Canterbury.
• 615 Death of Columbanus in Italy.
• 627 Pope St. Gregory the Dialogist sends Paulinus to found the see of York and convert King St. Edwin of Northumbria.
• 635 Lindisfarne sees the establishment of the monastery that would convert northern England by the missionary saint Aidan, a monk from Iona; Cynegils, king of Wessex, converts to Christianity.
• 636 Capture of Jerusalem by the Muslim Arabs.
• 638 Arabs allow Jews to return to Jerusalem.
• 639 Muslim conquest of Syria.
• 641 The capture of the great city of Alexandria by Muslim Arabs.
• 642 Muslim conquest of Egypt.
• 650 Final defeat of Arianism as Lombards convert to Orthodox Christianity.
• 657 Founding of Whitby Abbey in Yorkshire, England.
• 663 Emperor Constans II is the last Eastern emperor to set foot in Rome.
• 664 Synod of Whitby held in northern England, harmonizing Celtic and Roman liturgical practices in England; Ionian monk Wilfrid appointed as Archbishop of York.
• 668 St. Theodore of Tarsus is appointed as archbishop of Canterbury.
• 670 Composition of Caedmon's Hymn by St. Caedmon of Whitby.
• 680-681 Sixth Ecumenical Council is held in Constantinople, condemning Monothelitism and affirming the Christology of St. Maximus the Confessor, affirming that Christ has both a natural (human) will and a divine will. Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople and Pope Honorius of Rome are both explicitly anathematized for their support of the Monothelite heresy.
• 685 First monastics come to Mount Athos.
• 687 Destruction of Whitby Abbey by Danish raiders.
• 692 Quinisext Council (also called the Penthekte Council or the Council in Trullo) is held in Constantinople, issuing canons which are seen as completing the work of the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils, and declaring the Church of Jerusalem to be a patriarchate.
• 698 Muslim conquest of Carthage.
• 716 Monastery at Iona conforms to Roman liturgical usage.
• 716 St Boniface's first missionary journey to Frisia.
• 726 Emperor Leo the Isaurian starts his campaign against the icons.
• 731 The Venerable Bede completes the Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
• 732 Muslim invasion of Europe is stopped by the Franks at the Battle of Tours.
• 754 Iconoclastic Council is held in Constantinople under the authority of Emperor Constantine V Copronymus, condemning icons and declaring itself to be the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
• 754 Death of St Boniface, the Apostle of Germany.
• 787 Seventh Ecumenical Council is held in Nicea, condemning Iconoclasm and affirming the veneration of the holy icons, declaring that worship is due to God alone, and that the honor paid to icons passes to its prototype.
• 800 Charlemagne is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Leo III of Rome on Christmas day.
• 793 Sack of Lindisfarne. Viking attacks on England begin.
• 826 St. Ansgar arrives in Denmark and begins preaching; King Harald Klak of Denmark converts to Christianity.
• 836 Death of St Theodore the Studite.
• 843 The Triumph of Orthodoxy occurs on the first Sunday of Great Lent, restoring the icons to the churches.

Late Byzantine era (843-1453)

• 846 Muslim raid of Rome.
• 852 St. Ansgar founds the churches at Hedeby and Ribe in Denmark.
• 858 St. Photius the Great becomes patriarch of Constantinople.
• 861 Ss. Cyril and Methodius depart from Constantinople to missionize the Slavs; council presided over by papal legates held in Constantinople which confirms St. Photius the Great as patriarch.
• 862 Ratislav of Moravia converts to Christianity.
• 863 First translations of Biblical and liturgical texts into Church Slavonic by Ss. Cyril and Methodius.
• 863 The Venetians steal relics of St Mark from Alexandria.
• 864 Prince Boris of Bulgaria is baptized.
• 867 Council in Constantinople held, presided over by Photius, which anathematizes Pope Nicholas I of Rome for his attacks on the work of Greek missionaries in Bulgaria and the use by papal missionaries of the heretical Filioque; Pope Nicholas dies before hearing the news of his excommunication; Basil the Macedonian has Emperor Michael III murdered and usurps the Imperial throne, reinstating Ignatius as patriarch of Constantinople.
• 869-870 The Robber Council of 869-870 is held, deposing St. Photius the Great from the Constantinopolitan see and putting the rival claimant Ignatius on the throne, declaring itself to be the "Eighth Ecumenical Council."
• 870 Conversion of Serbia.
• 877 Death of St. Ignatius I of Constantinople, who appoints St. Photius to succeed him.
• 879-880 The Eighth Ecumenical Council is held in Constantinople, confirming Photius as Patriarch of Constantintople, anathematizing additions to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and declaring that the prerogatives and jurisdiction of the Roman pope and the Constantinopolitan patriarch are essentially equal; this council is reluctantly accepted by Pope John VIII of Rome.
• 883 Muslims burn the monastery of Monte Cassino.
• 885 Mount Athos gains political autonomy.
• 912 Normans become Christian.
• 962 Denmark becomes a Christian nation with the baptism of King Harald Blaatand ("Bluetooth").
• 963 St. Athanasius of Athos establishes the first major monastery on Mount Athos, the Great Lavra.
• 988 Baptism of Rus' begins with the conversion of St. Vladimir of Kiev.
• 995 St. Olaf of Norway proclaims Norway to be a Christian kingdom.
• 1000 Christianization of Greenland and Iceland.
• 1008 Conversion of Sweden.
• 1009 Patriarch Sergius II of Constantinople removes the name of Pope Sergius IV of Rome from the diptychs of the Church of Constantinople, because the pope had written a letter to the patriarch including the Filioque; Muslims destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
• 1014 Filioque used for the first time in Rome by Pope Benedict VIII at the coronation of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1017 Danish king Canute converts to Christianity.
• 1051 Monastery of the Kiev Caves founded.
• 1054 Cardinal Humbert excommunicates Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Consantinople, a major centerpoint in the formation of the Great Schism between East and West.
• 1066 Normans invade England flying the banner of the Pope of Rome, defeating King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings, beginning the reformation of the church and society there to align with Latin continental ecclesiology and politics.
• 1071 Turkish capture of Jerusalem.
• 1073 Hildebrand becomes Pope Gregory VII and launches the "Gregorian" reforms (celibacy of the clergy, primacy of the papacy over the empire, right of the Pope to depose emperors).
• 1088 Founding of monastery of St. John the Theologian on Patmos.
• 1095 Launching of the First Crusade.
• 1096 Persecution of Jews by Crusaders.
• 1098 Crusaders capture Antioch.
• 1099 Crusaders capture Jerusalem.
• 1144 Bernard of Clairvaux calls for a Second Crusade to rescue the besieged Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, and Louis VII of France and Konrad III of Germany join the Crusaders, but they are defeated by the Muslims.
• 1180 Last formal, canonical acceptance of Latins to communion at an Eastern altar in Antioch.
• 1187 Saladdin retakes Jerusalem.
• 1189 Third Crusade is led by King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England, King Philip Augustus II of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
• 1204 Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople, laying waste to the city and stealing many holy relics and other items; Great Schism generally regarded as having been completed by this act.
• 1268 Egyptian Mamelukes capture Antioch.
• 1336 Meteora in Greece is established as a center of Orthodox monasticism.
• 1341-1351 Three sessions of the Ninth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, affirming the hesychastic theology of St. Gregory Palamas and condemning the rationalistic philosophy of Barlaam of Calabria.
• 1379 Western "Great Schism" ensues, seeing the simultaneous reign of three Popes of Rome.
• 1389 Serbs are defeated by Ottoman Turks of Sultan Murad I.
• 1396 First English Bible translated by John Wyclif.
• 1417 End of Western "Great Schism" at the Council of Constance.
• 1439 Ecclesiastical reunion with the West is attempted at the Council of Florence, where only St. Mark of Ephesus refuses to capitulate to the demands of the delegates from Rome.
• 1448 Church of Russia declares its independence from the Church of Constantinople.
• 1453 Constantinople falls to the invasion of the Ottoman Turks.

Post-Imperial era (1453-1821)

• 1455 Gutenberg makes the first printed Bible.
• 1480 Spanish Inquisition.
• 1517 Martin Luther nails his Ninety-Five Theses to the door at Wittenburg, sparking the Protestant Reformation; Ottomans conquer Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria, when Joakim the Athenian was Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria.
• 1534 King Henry VIII declares himself supreme head of the Church of England.
• 1547 Council of Trent held to answer the Protestant Reformation.
• 1575 Church of Constantinople grants autonomy to Church of Sinai.
• 1582 Institution of the Gregorian Calendar by Pope Gregory XIII.
• 1589 Autocephaly of the Church of Russia recognized; the primate of the Church of Russia is styled as "patriarch."
• 1596 At the Union of Brest-Litovsk, several million Ukrainian and Byelorussian Orthodox Christians, living under Polish rule, leave the Church of Russia and recognize the Pope of Rome, without giving up their Byzantine liturgy and customs, creating the Uniate church.
• 1627 Pope and Patriarch Cyril Lukaris of Alexandria presented the famous "Codex Alexandrinus" to King Charles I of England for "safe keeping".
• 1642 The Council of Jassy (Iaşi) revises Peter Moghila's confession to remove overtly Roman Catholic theology. Also confirms the canonicity of certain of the deuterocanonical books.
• 1652-1658 Patriarch Nikon of Moscow revises liturgical books to bring them into conformity with the Greek liturgical customes, leading to the excommunication of dissenters, who become known as the Old Believers.
• 1647 An Orthodox Church is erected in Tunisia.
• 1652 A school and hospital were established in Old Cairo by Patriarch Joannikios.
• 1685 Orthodoxy introduced in Beijing, China by the Church of Russia.
• 1715 Metropolitan Arsenios of Thebaid sent to England by Pope and Patriarch Samuel of Alexandria to negotiate with non-juror Anglican bishops (those who had refused to take the oath to William and Mary).
• 1724 Melkite schism, many faithful from the Church of Antioch become Uniates.
• 1767 A community of Orthodox Greeks establishes itself in New Smyrna, Florida.
• 1768 Jews are massacred during riots in Russia-occupied Poland.
• 1782 First publication of the Philokalia; autonomy of Church of Sinai confirmed by Church of Constantinople.
• 1794 Missionaries, including St. Herman of Alaska, arrive at Kodiak Island, bringing Orthodoxy to Russian Alaska.
• 1811 Autocephaly of the Church of Georgia revoked by the Russian imperial state after Georgia's annexation, making it subject to the Church of Russia.

Modern era (1821-present)

• 1821 Greek independence declared on the Day of Annunciation (March 25).
• 1829 The Treaty of Adrianople ends the Greek War of Independence, culminating in the creation of the modern Greek state.
• 1832 Church of Serbia becomes de facto autocephalous.
• 1833 Church of Greece declares its autocephaly, making it independent of the Church of Constantinople.
• 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs sent by the primates and synods of the four ancient patriarchates of the Orthodox Church, condemning the Filioque as heresy, declaring the Roman Catholic Church to be heretical, schismatic, and in apostasy, repudiating Ultramontanism and referring to the Photian Council of 879-880 as the "Eighth Ecumenical Council."
• 1850 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Greece.
• 1854 Immaculate Conception declared dogma by Roman Catholic Church.
• 1870 Papal Infallibility declared Roman Catholic dogma necessary for salvation by the First Vatican Council.
• 1864 First Orthodox parish established on American soil in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Greeks.
• 1865 Church of Romania declares its independence from the Church of Constantinople.
• 1871 Nikolai Kasatkin establishes Orthodox mission in Japan.
• 1872 Council in Jerusalem declares phyletism to be a heresy; Church of Bulgaria gains de facto autocephaly by a decree of the Sultan.
• 1879 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Serbia.
• 1881 Wave of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia causes mass migrations of Jews (2.5 million Jews settle in the United States, thousands settle in Palestine).
• 1885 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Romania.
• 1898 Last Greek patriarch of Antioch deposed.
• 1899 Restoration of Arabs to the Patriarchal throne of Antioch.
• 1908 Fr Nikodemos Sarikas sent to Johannesburg, Transvaal, by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as the first Orthodox priest there. After a short time he left for German East Africa (later Tanzania) because of the opposition of Johannesburg Greeks to mission among Africans.
• 1917 Church of Georgia's autocephaly restored de facto by the political chaos in Russia.
• 1918 The Bolshevik Revolution throws the Church of Russia into chaos, effectively stranding the fledgling Orthodox mission in America; St. Nicholas Romanov, Tsar of Russia is martyred together with his wife St. Alexandra and children.
• c1921 The Church of Constantinople renounces all claims to jurisdiction in any part of Africa, and the Patriarch of Alexandria is henceforth known as the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa.
• 1922 Church of Albania declares its independence from the Church of Constantinople.
• 1923 Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia granted autonomy by the Church of Constantinople.
• 1924 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Poland.
• 1924 Bishop Daniel William Alexander convenes a meeting in Kimberley, South Africa, which decides to secede from the African Church (a Protestant denomination) and affiliate with the African Orthodox Church in New York under George McGuire.
• 1925 Church of Romania becomes a patriarchate.
• 1925 First Africans in sub-Saharan Africa baptised in Tanganyika by Fr Nikodemos Sarikas.
• 1927 Daniel William Alexander travels from South Africa to America to be consecrated a bishop of the African Orthodox Church. Orthodox Archbishopric of Johannesburg established.
• 1932 Daniel William Alexander travels to Uganda to meet Reuben Spartas, and establish African Orthodox Church there.
• 1934 Daniel William Alexander travels to Kenya, and establishes African Orthodox Church led by Arthur Gathuna.
• 1937 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Albania.
• 1938 St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York) and St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania) founded.
• 1943 Church of Russia recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Georgia.
• 1943 First constitution of the African Orthodox Church in East Africa signed by Reuben Spartas and Arthur Gathuna.
• 1945 Church of Bulgaria's autocephaly generally recognized; library of early Christian texts is discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt; Soviet Union annexes Czechoslovakia; Church of Russia claims jurisdiction over the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
• 1946 Reuben Spartas of the African Orthodox Church visits Alexandria. The Holy Synod of the Church of Alexandria officially recognises and accepts the African Greek Orthodox Church in Kenya and Uganda.
• 1947 Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered near Qumran in Egypt.
• 1948 Church of Russia re-grants autocephaly to the Church of Poland (after having revoked it in the aftermath of World War II).
• 1951 Church of Russia grants autocephaly to the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
• 1957 Church of Russia grants autonomy to the Church of China.
• 1958 Creation of Western Rite Vicariate in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America with the reception of multiple Western Rite parishes into Orthodoxy.
• 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council held in Rome, initiating major liturgical and theological reforms for the Roman Catholic Church, including the abolition of the ancient Tridentine Mass and the introduction of the Novus Ordo.
• 1965 Pope Paul VI of Rome and Patriarch Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople mutually nullify the excommunications of 1054.
• 1967 Church of Macedonia declares its autocephaly, making it independent of the Church of Serbia. To date, this declaration has not been recognised by any other Orthodox Church.
• 1970 Orthodox Church in America reconciles with the Church of Russia and is granted autocephaly. The Church of Russia grants autonomy to the Church of Japan.
• 1975 Division in the Antiochian church in North America overcome by the uniting of the two Antiochian archdioceses into one by Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of New York and Archbishop Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo.
• 1989 Church of Constantinople recognizes the autocephaly of the Church of Georgia.
• 1994 Ligonier Meeting in Western Pennsylvania at the Antiochian Village held by the majority of Orthodox hierarchs in North America votes to do away with the notion of Orthodox Christians in America being a "diaspora."
• 1998 Church of Constantinople, not recognizing Russia's right to issue a tomos of autocephaly in 1951, issues its own tomos for the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
• 2003 The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is granted "self-rule" (similar but not identical to autonomy) by the Church of Antioch.
• 2004 Pope John Paul II returns the relics of Ss. John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian to the Church of Constantinople.

Notes

• Some of these dates are necessarily a bit vague, as records for some periods are particularly difficult to piece together accurately.
• The division of Church History into separate eras as we do here will always be to some extent arbitrary, though we have tried to group periods according to major watershed events.
• This timeline is necessarily biased toward the history of the Orthodox Church, though a number of non-Orthodox events are mentioned for their importance in history related to Orthodoxy.

See also

• Timeline of Orthodoxy in America
• Timeline of Orthodoxy in Australia
• Timeline of Orthodoxy in New Zealand
• Timeline of Orthodoxy in Japan

External links

• A Timeline of Church History provided by St. Ignatius of Antioch Orthodox Christian Church

History of Orthodox Christianity

A 3-part series by GOTelecom - QuickTime format

• Part 1: Beginnings - Journey begins with the founding of the Church, the spread of Christianity to "nations" by the Apostles, the Gospel and the institution of Sacraments
• Part 2: Byzantium - After the stabilization of the Church, the journey continues through the period of the Nicene Creed, Patristic Scriptures, Divine Liturgy and Icons. During this same period, however, the official division of East and West is witnessed and concludes with a gradual rift in matters of faith, dogma, church customs, politics and culture
• Part 3: A Hidden Treasure - The Church becomes the only institution perceived by Greeks as the preserver of their national identity during 400 years of Turkish rule. By the end of the 19th century, a worldwide Orthodox community is born and the Church expands its influence to major social and philanthropic concerns