Church History 1

Timeline

Resources

Shelly, History of the Church in Plain Language

Chapter 9 – Constantine
Chapter 10 – First Council of Nicea
Chapter 13 – Augustine
Chapter 14 – Papacy
Chapter 15 – Eastern Orthodoxy

Some People and Events

306 – 337	Constantine the Great	Issued the Edict of Milan in 313, tolerating Christianity Created a new Roman Capital, Constantinople in 330 Demanded obedience from the Christian Bishops Supported the Church financially
325	First Council of Nicea	First general council of the Catholic Church, called by Constantine Discussed and settle the Arian dispute on the deity of Jesus Developed the idea of Trinity Wrote the first Nicene Creed
434 –	Barbarian Invasions	Huns Vandals Goths Visigoths Ostrogoths
384 – 430	Augustine	Born in Tagaste, North Africa His mother, St. Monica a devout Christian guided his development First drawn to Manicheanism, then NeoPlatonism Child's voice in the garden lead him to pick up Bible, read Romans 13:13 As Bishop of Hippo, wrote The City of God
381, 382	Emperor Theodosius, Bishop of Rome Damasus	General Council at Constantinople Synod in Rome Disputing Primacy
440 – 461	Pope Leo I	Established Papal primacy in Rome (still disputed by Constantinople) Ascended to political leadership with death of Maximus Negotiated with Vandals to spare Rome
527 – 565	Justinian	Roman emperor and Christian emperor Established Codex Constitutionum, the basis of Roman Law Rebuilt Hagai Sophia
717 –	Iconoclasts	Pope Leo III launched an attack on the use of icons Iconoclasts wanted to replace icons with traditional Christian symbols: the cross, the Book, the Elements Seventh Council of Nicea (787) condemned the iconoclasts
1054	East – West Schism	Papal Infallibility Filioque dispute Mutual excommunication

The City of God

For all time, two cities vie for dominance. One is human and material. The other is divine.
Pax Romana was the City of Man, a spiritual desert. Even if Christianity was the official religion, the State was not holy.
An individual does not create Truth, rather he finds it by listening to an inward teacher - Christ - who reveals the Word of God.
The City of God is not earthly, rather it rests within the heart of every individual.
Influenced thinking for centuries with a central question: Is there one Truth for both Cities, or two distinct truths? If the latter, which one is more important?

510 - Boethius, Pseudo Dionysius
980 - Avicenna
1079 - Peter Abelard, Benard of Clairvaux
1224 - Thomas Aquinas

Church History – The Eastern and Western Churches

Timeline

Resources

Some People and Events

The City of God

Comparison of Western and Eastern Churches

Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (Scottsdale, AZ)