Chapter 1-4 EVENTS Flashcards
(19 cards)
Church recognized that Gentiles did not need to become Jews to
follow Jesus Christ (Acts 15).
Jerusalem Council (AD 49 or 50)
Flames destroyed nearly three-fourths of capital city. Emperor Nero blamed and
persecuted the Christians.
Fire in Rome (AD 64)
After a Jewish revolt, Emperor Vespasian ordered his son,
Titus, to regain Jerusalem. Titus torched the city and leveled the temple.
Destruction of Jerusalem Temple (AD 70)
Pliny, governor of Pontus, asked Trajan how to
handle Christians. Trajan ordered Pliny not to pursue Christians. Only when people were accused of
being Christians were they to be hunted down.
Pliny’s Letter to Emperor Trajan (around AD 112)
Polycarp of Smyrna—modern Izmir, Turkey—was burned alive
because he would not offer incense to the emperor.
Martyrdom of Polycarp (AD 155)
The Gnostics’ false teachings first surfaced in the first century. By
AD 140, Gnostics outnumbered Christians in some areas.
Gnostic Controversy (AD 90-150)
Simon Bar Kokhba, claiming to be the Messiah, revolted
against the Romans. Jerusalem was destroyed again.
Second Jewish Rebellion (AD 132-135)
Montanists—also known as “New Prophets”—tried to return
churches to the New Testament’s emphasis on dynamic acts of the Spirit. Their harsh moral standards
and failed prophecies led many Christians to reject the movement.
Montanist Movement (AD 156-220)
The Muratorian Canon acknowledged
every New Testament book with the exception of Hebrews, James, and Peter’s epistles; decades passed
before these texts were universally acknowledged.
Books of the New Testament Recognized (before AD 190)
Emperor Diocletian issued a series of edicts that led to the harshest
Roman persecution of the church.
Era of Martyrs (AD 303-305)
Emperors Constantine and Licinius affirmed Galerius’ decision to legalize
Christianity
Edict of Milan (AD 313)
The Arian heresy remained popular until the late 300s. In AD 350,
Arians outnumbered Christians in some areas of the Eastern Empire.
Arian Controversy (AD 320-364)
Emperor Constantine invited every overseer in the Roman Empire to
deal with the Arian heresy. The Creed of Nicaea confessed the church’s belief in the Trinity and in the
full deity of Jesus Christ. The Council of Nicaea was later recognized as the first general council of the
church.
The Council of Nicaea (AD 325)
For members of churches under his guidance, Athanasius made a
list of authoritative Christian writings, including the same 27 books that appear in New Testaments
today. In AD 397, the Synod of Carthage confirmed Athanasius’ list.
Athanasius’ Easter Letter (AD 367)
The church’s second general council denounced Apollinarianism
and approved the Nicene Creed
First Council of Constantinople (381)
Declared Christianity the Official Religion of the Empire (391).
Emperor Theodosius
The church’s third general council accused Nestorius of teaching that Jesus
was two separate persons, one human and one divine.
Council of Ephesus (431)
At the church’s fourth general council more than 500 overseers
condemned the One-Nature (“Monophysite”) view of Christ. They agreed that, according to Scripture,
Christ was one person with two natures (one human, one divine). This became known as the TwoNature (“Dyophysite”) view.
Council of Chalcedon (451)
Around 542, One-Nature theology became popular again.
Justinian, emperor of the Eastern Empire, convened the church’s fifth general council to end the
controversy. The council denounced the Three Chapters—the writings of three Nestorians (all of whom
were dead anyway). The council also declared that Jesus’ mother remained a virgin throughout her life.
Second Council of Constantinople (553)
