Christianity

Q: Who started Christianity?

The movement was started by Jesus of Nazareth in 1st-century Israel. His followers proclaimed him the predicted messiah of the prophets and became known as Christians (Christianoi, "followers of the Christ).

Q: Do Christians believe Jesus is God?

The Council of Nicaea (325 CE) voted that God and Christ were identical as to essence (sharing the same ethereal substance), and they had existed from the very beginning of time. When God emanated the logos (as Christ), he became manifest in the earthly Jesus.

Rebecca Denova

Definition

Christianity is the world's largest religion, with 2.8 billion adherents. It is categorized as one of the three Abrahamic or monotheistic religions of the Western tradition along with Judaism and Islam. 'Christian' is derived from the Greek christos for the Hebrew messiah ("anointed one"). Christianoi, "followers of the Christ," became the name of a group who followed the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in 1st-century Israel and proclaimed him the predicted messiah of the prophets.

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Timeline

c. 73 BCE - 4 BCE
Life of Herod the Great, king of Judea.
c. 6 BCE - c. 30 CE
Life of Jesus Christ.
26 CE - 36 CE
Jesus of Nazareth is crucified during the reign of Pontius Pilate in Judea.
c. 36 CE - c. 40 CE
Call of Paul, the apostle.
42 CE - 62 CE
Paul the Apostle goes on missionary journeys across Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome.
c. 49 CE
Paul the Apostle visits Philippi in Macedon.
c. 50 CE - c. 70 CE
The early Christian document the Didache is composed.
c. 50 CE - c. 60 CE
Establishment of various Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece, Egypt, and at least the city of Rome.
c. 50 CE - c. 60 CE
Letters of Paul.
60 CE
An early Christian community is established at Gortyn, Crete.
64 CE
Unofficial persecution of Christians in Rome.
64 CE
The great fire in Rome.
c. 65 CE - c. 100 CE
The tales of the life and work of Jesus (gospels) composed.
66 CE - 73 CE
The Jewish Revolt against Rome.
c. 69 CE - c. 70 CE
The Gospel of Mark.
70 CE
The city of Jerusalem is besieged and captured by Rome; the Second Temple destroyed.
c. 85 CE
The Gospel of Matthew.
c. 95 CE
The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles.
202 CE
The earliest record of a Christian church at Edessa.
c. 239 CE - c. 330 CE
Life of Saint Gregory the Illuminator who is credited with bringing Christianity to Armenia (dates disputed).
249 CE
10 Christians are famously martyred at Gortyn in a wild animal hunt.
c. 300 CE - c. 350 CE
Christian Basilica built at Nemea.
c. 300 CE - c. 400 CE
Christianization of Lutetia.
23 Feb 303 CE
Roman Emperor Diocletian orders the church at Nicomedia razed to the ground, all documents held there burned, and anything of value seized, beginning eight years of the Great Persecution (Diocletianic Persecution) of Christians in the Roman Empire.
312 CE
Roman emperor Constantine I tolerates Christianity.
28 Oct 312 CE
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge is fought between emperors Constantine I and Maxentius for control of the Roman Empire, ending in a victory for Constantine I who, in gratitude for a vision of victory he claimed to have received from God the night before, ends the persecution of Christians and, eventually, paves the way for Christianity to become the state religion.
c. 314 CE
Armenia adopts Christianity as the state religion.
7 Mar 321 CE
Roman Emperor Constantine I declares "The Venerable Day of the Sun" a day of rest, thereby establishing Sunday and the tradition of not working on the first day of the week.
c. 330 CE - c. 379 CE
Life of Basil Great, one of the founding fathers of the Eastern Christian Church and Byzantine Monasteries.
19 Feb 356 CE
Roman Emperor Constantius II issues his decree ordering the closure of all pagan temples in the Roman Empire and prohibiting pagan rites associated with the former state religion of Rome. Contrary to popular opinion, this decree did not result in the immediate closure of pagan sites which took some time to go into effect.
391 CE
Emperor Theodosius I closes pagan temples.
c. 397 CE
Saint Ninian brings Christianity to Scotland, rise of literacy and written history.
1 Jan 404 CE
Christian Roman Emperor Honorius bans gladiatorial games after Saint Telemachus is stoned to death in an amphitheater when he tries to break up a fight between gladiators. Honorius' ban ends the traditional games in the Roman Empire.
c. 418 CE
Completion of Orosius' famous work Seven Books of History Against the Pagans.
8 Oct 451 CE - 1 Nov 451 CE
Fourth Ecumenical Council takes place in Chalcedon, determining that Jesus Christ had two distinct natures and wills, perfectly united.
500 CE
Amphipolis becomes an important Christian centre and has four basilicas.
503 CE
Clovis I converts to Christianity.
506 CE
First Council of Dvin establishes that the Armenian Church did not recognize the Fourth Ecumenical Council.
532 CE - 537 CE
Hagia Sophia is built anew in Constantinople.
608 CE
The Pantheon in Rome is converted into a Christian church.
691 CE - 692 CE
Byzantine emperor Justinian II convenes the Council in Trullo to decide on rules for Christians.
862 CE
Council of Sirakawan between the Armenian and Byzantine Orthodox Churches discuss Christological issues in an effort to reunify, although ultimately unsuccessful.
2 Jan 1492 CE
The Spanish Reconquista, a 770-year military effort by Christian monarchs in Spain to drive out the Muslim Moors, ends with a Christian victory at the fall of Granada. The Moors are forced to leave Spain or convert to Christianity.
5 Feb 1597 CE
The 26 Martyrs of Japan are executed by crucifixion under the decree of Chancellor Toyotomi Hideyoshi to deter the spread of Christianity which he felt would undermine Japanese culture. The 26 were Catholic missionaries and laypeople who were tied to crosses and killed with spears. They were canonized by the Church in 1862.
17 Oct 1850 CE
The Massacre of Aleppo begins as Muslim rioters in Aleppo, Syria, begin killing Christians in the city, destroying or damaging homes and churches and leading to the deaths of 5,000 Christians by the time order was restored in November.