Church History Final

Term: 50 CE (Peter and Paul)

Definition: Council of Jerusalem — Decided Gentile converts didn't have to follow Jewish law to be Christian.

Term: 202 CE (Perpetua and Felicity)

Definition: Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity — Showed the strength of early Christian faith during Roman persecution.

Term: 313 CE (Constantine)

Definition: Edict of Milan — Legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, ending persecution.

Term: 325 CE (Athanasius / Constantine)

Definition: First Council of Nicaea — Defeated Arianism and wrote the Nicene Creed, declaring Jesus is fully God.

Term: 367 CE (Athanasius)

Definition: Easter Letter of Athanasius — First time the 27 books of the New Testament were officially listed together.

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Term: 381 CE (Theodosius I)

Definition: First Council of Constantinople — Defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit and made Christianity the official state religion.

Term: 382 CE (St. Jerome / Pope Damasus I)

Definition: Commissioning of the Latin Vulgate — Translated the Bible into Latin, making it accessible to the Western Church.

Term: 386 CE (St. Augustine)

Definition: Conversion of St. Augustine — His theology on grace and sin shaped Western Christian thought for centuries.

Term: 451 CE (Pope Leo I)

Definition: Council of Chalcedon — Defined that Jesus is fully divine and fully human in one person.

Term: 560 CE (Columba / Columbanus)

Definition: Rise of Irish Monasticism — Monks preserved Christian texts and re-evangelized Europe during the Dark Ages.

Term: 1054 CE (Pope Leo IX / Patriarch Michael Cerularius)

Definition: The Great Schism — The formal split between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Term: 1095 CE (Pope Urban II)

Definition: Call for the First Crusade — Launched military campaigns to reclaim the Holy Land, impacting Christian-Muslim relations.

Term: 1151 CE (Hildegard of Bingen)

Definition: Completion of Scivias — Showcased the powerful role and intellectual impact of women mystics in the medieval Church.

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Term: 1183 CE (St. Francis of Assisi)

Definition: Life of St. Francis — Founded the Franciscan order, embracing radical poverty and reforming Church corruption.

Term: 1272 CE (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Definition: Writing of the Summa Theologiae — Combined philosophy with theology to form the basis of Catholic intellectual thought.

Term: 1376 CE (St. Catherine of Siena)

Definition: Letters to Pope Gregory XI — Convinced the Pope to move back to Rome, ending the Avignon Papacy.

Term: 1517 CE (Martin Luther)

Definition: Ninety-five Theses — Sparked the Protestant Reformation and divided Western Christianity.

Term: 1521 CE (St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Definition: Conversion of Ignatius at Loyola — Led to the founding of the Jesuits to defend and spread Catholic education.

Term: 1531 CE (St. Juan Diego)

Definition: Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe — Led to massive conversions in the Americas, making the Church truly global.

Term: 1540 CE (Pope Paul III)

Definition: Papal Approval of the Jesuits — Officially sent the Jesuits out as missionaries and educators to fight the Reformation.

Term: 1545 CE (Pope Paul III)

Definition: Opening of the Council of Trent — Launched the Catholic Counter-Reformation, correcting abuses and defining Catholic dogma.

Term: 1789 CE (French Revolutionaries)

Definition: Outbreak of the French Revolution — Forced the Church to face severe secularization, land seizures, and a modernizing world.

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Term: 1869 CE (Pope Pius IX)

Definition: First Vatican Council (Vatican I) — Defined Papal Infallibility when teaching officially on faith and morals.

Term: 1885 CE (American Catholic Bishops)

Definition: Publication of the Baltimore Catechism — Became the standard school text that shaped American Catholic identity for decades.

Term: 1891 CE (Pope Leo XIII)

Definition: Rerum Novarum — Set up modern Catholic Social Teaching by defending workers' rights against capitalism and communism.

Term: 1910 CE (Protestant Missionaries)

Definition: Edinburgh World Missionary Conference — Started the modern ecumenical movement to bring different Christian groups closer together.

Term: 1947 CE (Bedouin Shepherds)

Definition: Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls — Found ancient biblical texts that proved the historical accuracy of modern Scripture.

Term: 1962 CE (Pope John XXIII)

Definition: Opening of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) — Modernized Church practices, including changing the Mass from Latin to local languages.

Term: 1965 CE (Pope Paul VI / Patriarch Athenagoras)

Definition: Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration — Healed historical wounds by removing the mutual excommunications from the Schism of 1054.

Term: 2025 CE (Pope Francis)

Definition: The Jubilee Year of Hope — Called a global Holy Year focusing on global forgiveness, solidarity, and spiritual renewal.