Timeline of the Catholic Church

Last updated

The history of the Catholic Church is integral to the history of Christianity as a whole. It is also, according to church historian Mark A. Noll, the "world's oldest continuously functioning international institution." [1] This article covers a period of just under two thousand years.

Contents

Over time, schisms have disrupted the unity of Christianity. The Catholic Church considers that major divisions occurred in c. 144 with Marcionism, [2] 318 with Arianism, 451 with the Oriental Orthodox, 1054 to 1449 (see East–West Schism) during which time the Orthodox Churches of the East parted ways with the Western Church over doctrinal issues (see the filioque) and papal primacy, and in 1517 with the Protestant Reformation, of which there were many divisions, resulting in over 200 denominations.

The Catholic Church has been the driving force behind some of the major events of world history including the Christianization of Western and Central Europe and Latin America, the spreading of literacy and the foundation of the universities, hospitals, the Western tradition of monasticism, the development of art and music, literature, architecture, contributions to the scientific method, just war theory and trial by jury. It has played a powerful role in global affairs, including the Reconquista, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Investiture Controversy, the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 20th century.

Ministry of Jesus and founding

Byzantine image depicting Jesus as Christ pantocrator Christ pantocrator daphne1090-1100.jpg
Byzantine image depicting Jesus as Christ pantocrator
  • The calculations of Dionysius Exiguus put the birth of Jesus in the year that in consequence is called 1 BC; most historians place his birth between 6 and 4 BC.

First millennium

Early Christianity

Dates in the Apostolic Age are mostly approximate, and all AD, mostly based on tradition or the New Testament.

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) by Caravaggio Martirio di San Pietro September 2015-1a.jpg
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) by Caravaggio

313–476

Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICEA.jpg
Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea
Constantine the Great summoned the bishops of the Christian Church to Nicaea to address divisions in the Church (mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), ca. 1000). Byzantinischer Mosaizist um 1000 002.jpg
Constantine the Great summoned the bishops of the Christian Church to Nicaea to address divisions in the Church (mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), ca. 1000).

477–799

Justinian I depicted on a mosaic in the church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy Mosaic of Justinianus I - Basilica San Vitale (Ravenna).jpg
Justinian I depicted on a mosaic in the church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy

800–1001

Blessed Charlemagne Charlemagne denier Mayence 812 814.jpg
Blessed Charlemagne

Second millennium

1001-1453

Notre-Dame Cathedral - designed in the Gothic architectural style. Paris Notre-Dame, July 2001.jpg
Notre-Dame Cathedral – designed in the Gothic architectural style.

1454–1599

Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City Michelangelo's Pieta 5450 cropncleaned edit.jpg
Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
Pope Paul III Titian - Pope Paul III - WGA22962.jpg
Pope Paul III

1600–1699

Louis XIV of France Louis XIV of France.jpg
Louis XIV of France

1700–1799

John Carroll John Carroll Gilbert Stuart.jpg
John Carroll

19th century

Napoleon Bonaparte Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project.jpg
Napoleon Bonaparte

20th century

Karl of Austria. Charles I of Austria.jpg
Karl of Austria.
Pope Pius XI Papst Pius XI. 1JS.jpg
Pope Pius XI

Third millennium

21st century

Benedict XVI, first Pope elected in 21st century Pope Benedictus XVI january,20 2006 (20).JPG
Benedict XVI, first Pope elected in 21st century

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope</span> Head of the Catholic Church

The pope, also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome, head of the worldwide Catholic Church, and has also served as the head of state or sovereign of the Papal States and later the Vatican City State since the eighth century. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope John XXIII</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963

Pope John XXIII was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 1963. He was among 13 children born to Marianna Mazzola and Giovanni Battista Roncalli in a family of sharecroppers who lived in Sotto il Monte, a village in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, as nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was unexpectedly elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after eleven ballots. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the first session opening on 11 October 1962, which is now his feast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Paul VI</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978

Pope Paul VI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, he flew to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This was the first time a reigning pontiff had flown on an airplane, the first papal pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and the first time a Pope had left Italy in more than a century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditionalist Catholicism</span> Catholic religious movement

Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement encompassing members of the Catholic Church and offshoot groups of the Catholic Church that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). Traditionalist Catholics particularly emphasize the Tridentine Mass, the Roman Rite liturgy largely replaced in general use by the post-Second Vatican Council Mass of Paul VI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College of Cardinals</span> Body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church

The College of Cardinals, more formally called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. As of 16 January 2024, there are 239 cardinals, of whom 132 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appointed by the pope for life. Changes in life expectancy partly account for historical increases in the size of the college.

The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or Schism of 1054, is the ongoing lack of communion between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches since 1054. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West preceded the formal split that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the pentarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church</span> Major Christian church based in Rome

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.378 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2021. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The Diocese of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small independent city-state enclave within the Italian capital city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melkite Greek Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church, or Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief pastor is Patriarch Youssef Absi, headquartered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus, Syria. The Melkites, who are Byzantine Rite Catholics, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, formerly part of Syria and now in Turkey, of the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by Saint Peter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ignatius Moses I Daoud</span> Head of the Syriac Catholic Church from 1998 to 2001

Ignatius Basile Moses I Daoud was Patriarch of Antioch for the Syrian Catholic Church, a Cardinal Bishop, and Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregorio Pietro Agagianian</span> Head of the Armenian Catholic Church from 1937 to 1962

Gregorio Pietro XV Agagianian was an Armenian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the head of the Armenian Catholic Church from 1937 to 1962 and supervised the Catholic Church's missionary work for more than a decade, until his retirement in 1970. He was considered papabile on two occasions, in 1958 and 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the papacy</span> History of the office held by the pope as head of the Catholic Church

According to Roman Catholicism, the history of the papacy, the office held by the pope as head of the Catholic Church, spans from the time of Peter to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church and ecumenism</span> Dialogue between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations

The Catholic Church has engaged in the modern ecumenical movement especially since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the issuing of the decree Unitatis redintegratio and the declaration Dignitatis humanae. It was at the Council that the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was created. Those outside of the Catholic Church were categorised as heretics or schismatics, but in many contexts today, to avoid offence, the euphemism "separated brethren" is used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papal name</span> Regnal name taken by a pope

A papal name or pontificial name is the regnal name taken by a pope. Both the head of the Catholic Church, usually known as the pope, and the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria choose papal names. As of 2013, Pope Francis is the Catholic pope, and Tawadros II or Theodoros II is the Coptic pope. This article discusses and lists the names of Catholic popes; another article has a list of Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Koch</span> Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1950)

Kurt Koch is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since November 2010 and president of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity since 1 July 2010. He was the bishop of Basel from 1996 until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic ecumenical councils</span> Ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church

According to the Catholic Church, a Church Council is ecumenical ("world-wide"), if it is "a solemn congregation of the Catholic bishops of the world at the invitation of the Pope to decide on matters of the Church with him". The wider term "ecumenical council" relates to Church councils recognised by both Eastern and Western Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papal infallibility</span> Dogma of the Catholic Church

Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ex cathedra is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apostolic Church and handed down in Scripture and tradition". It does not mean that the pope cannot sin or otherwise err in most situations. This doctrine, defined dogmatically at the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870 in the document Pastor aeternus, is claimed to have existed in medieval theology and to have been the majority opinion at the time of the Counter-Reformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Benedict XVI and ecumenism</span> Ecumenism discourse

Pope Benedict XVI, who led the Roman Catholic Church as Pope from 2005 to 2013, continued manouevring the Church through the dynamics of modernity, which the Church had begun engaging in with the Second Vatican Council. Because the question of religious pluralism is a key issue raised by modernity, ecumenism, the establishment of harmony and dialogue between the different Christian denominations, is a significant concern of a post Second Vatican Council Church. Pope Benedict XVI's approach has been characterised as leaning toward the conservative while still being expansive and engaged, involving the full breadth of Christendom, including the Orthodox Churches and Protestant churches, as well as freshly engaging with other Christian bodies considered by Roman Catholics to be more heterodox, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in the 21st century</span> Christianity-related events during the 21st century

Christianity in the 21st century is characterized by the pursuit of church unity and the continued resistance to persecution and secularization.

In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body for the pope, is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office. It is described in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as "a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world."

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:

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Further reading