Summarizing twenty centuries of the Catholic Church on one page is, by definition, simplifying. But there is real benefit in having the big map before diving into the details: without it, each episode, a crusade, a council, a reformation, seems loose and arbitrary. With him, everything finds its place. Here is the entire story in one thread, by periods.
The early Church (1st to 4th centuries)
It all starts with a small and persecuted community, born from the preaching of the apostles within the Roman Empire. For almost three hundred years, being a Christian could cost your life: it is the era of martyrs and catacombs. The turning point comes at the beginning of the 4th century, when the Edict of Milan (313) puts an end to the persecutions. From a clandestine sect, Christianity became a tolerated and, later, official religion of the Empire.
The era of the Fathers and councils (4th to 8th centuries)
Freed from persecution, the Church faces a new task: defining precisely what it believes. It is the era of great councils, like Nicaea (325), and of the Fathers of the Church, thinkers like Augustine who combine the Christian faith with the best of Greek philosophy. Here a good part of the doctrine is established and theology is born as a rigorous discipline.
The Middle Ages (9th to 15th centuries)
With the fall of Rome, the Church becomes the backbone of Europe. Monasteries preserved ancient culture, the first universities were founded, Gothic cathedrals were built. It is the time of Thomas Aquinas and the great synthesis between faith and reason. It is also the time of the Crusades and tensions with political power, with its lights and shadows, which good history does not hide.
The Middle Ages were not the dark interval of the cliché: they were the construction site of Western civilization.
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation (16th to 17th centuries)
In the 16th century, Western Christianity broke apart. The Protestant Reformation, initiated by Luther in 1517, broke the religious unity of Europe. The Catholic response comes at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which reorganizes the Church from within: it is the Counter-Reformation. The religious map of the West that we know today is born from this fracture.
The modern era (18th to 20th centuries)
The French Revolution opens a new clash between the Church and the modern, secular and increasingly distant world. The following centuries were of adaptation and resistance, until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the Church's great attempt to dialogue with modernity without giving up itself. This is where most of the stories stop.
From abstract to study
A summary serves to guide, not replace. Anyone who wants to go through this story in the detail it deserves can be found in the collection History of the Church of Christ, by Daniel Rops, the most complete path: ten volumes that range from the Roman Empire to the 20th century. To avoid going through such an extensive work alone, there is guided reading, which comments on each chapter with historical, philosophical and theological context.
Estudo aprofundado
Curso História da Igreja, com o Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Bitencourt
Leitura aprofundada da obra de Daniel Rops, a história da Igreja contada com rigor e narrativa, do Império Romano ao Vaticano II.
Conhecer o curso de História da IgrejaFrequently asked questions
How many periods does Church History have?
It is usually divided into five great eras: the early Church, the era of the Fathers and councils, the Middle Ages, the Reformation and the modern era up to the Second Vatican Council.
When does Church History begin?
In the 1st century, with the Christian community born from the preaching of the apostles in the Roman Empire, still under persecution.
Which work covers all of Church History?
The History of the Church of Christ collection, by Daniel Rops, in ten volumes, is the most complete and readable reconstruction, from the Roman Empire to the 20th century.
Continue: What is Church History? · History of the Church of Christ, from Daniel Rops: the 10 volume guide · Who was it Daniel Rops?