Timeline of The Catholic Church - Early Christianity

Early Christianity

• c. 34: St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is stoned to death in Jerusalem.
• c. 50: Council of Jerusalem determines that Gentile converts to Christianity do not have to abide by Mosaic Laws. This begins the separation between Christianity and Judaism.
• c. 52: Traditional arrival of St. Thomas, the Apostle in India.
• c. 64: Christian persecution begins under Emperor Nero after the great fire of Rome. Persecution continues intermittently until 313 AD.
• c. 70: Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple.
• c. 72: Martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle at Mylapore.
• c. 96: Traditional date of First Epistle of Clement attributed to Pope Clement I written to the church of Corinth.
• c. 100: St. John, the last of the Apostles, dies in Ephesus.
• c. 110: Ignatius of Antioch uses the term Catholic Church in a letter to the Church at Smyrna, one of the letters of undisputed authenticity attributed to him. In this and other genuine letters he insists on the importance of the bishops in the Church and speaks harshly about heretics and Judaizers.
• c. 150: Latin translations (the Vetus Latina) from the Greek texts of the Scriptures are circulated among non-Greek-speaking Christian communities.
• c. 155: The teachings of Marcion, the gnostic Valentinus and pentecostal Montanists cause disruptions in the Roman community. Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire continues.
• c. 180: Irenaeus's Adversus Haereses brings the concept of "heresy" further to the fore in the first systematic attempt to counter Gnostic and other aberrant teachings.
• c. 195: Pope Victor I, first African Pope, excommunicated the Quartodecimans in an Easter controversy.
• c. 200: Tertullian, first great Christian Latin writer, coined for Christian concepts Latin terms such as "Trinitas", "Tres Personae", "Una Substantia", "Sacramentum"
• c. 250: Pope Fabian is said to have sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges.
• January 20, 250: Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa.
• October 28, 312: Emperor Constantine leads the forces of the Roman Empire to victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Tradition has it that, the night before the battle, Constantine had a vision that he would achieve victory if he fought under the Symbol of Christ; accordingly, his soldiers bore on their shields the Chi-Rho sign composed of the first two letters of the Greek word for "Christ" (ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ).