Early Christianity
The first Christian centuries, from Jesus's followers and Paul's mission to the formation of the New Testament canon and the church councils of late antiquity.
Category: Culture
- c. 5 BCEThe birth of Jesus (traditional)
Matthew places Jesus's birth in the reign of Herod, so before 4 BCE; scholars give a range of 7 to 2 BCE. Luke links it to the census of Quirinius, in 6 CE, which most critical scholars take as an error. Both put it in Bethlehem; the Gospels give no year.
- c. 28John the Baptist preaches and is killed
About 28-29 CE John the Baptist preaches and baptizes; Jesus's baptism by him is among the events scholars accept most widely. Herod Antipas has John killed, around 30. The Gospels cite his rebuke of Antipas's marriage; Josephus says Antipas feared revolt.
- c. 30The crucifixion of Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is crucified in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate, most likely at Passover in 30 or 33 CE. Tacitus mentions it, and the baptism and crucifixion are the points scholars accept most widely. The Gospels differ over how much blame falls on Pilate.
- c. 48 – c. 62Paul writes the earliest surviving Christian texts
From c. 48 CE the apostle Paul writes letters to early Christian communities, among them Galatians, 1 Thessalonians and Romans. They are the oldest writings of the New Testament.
- c. 70The Gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel, is written
Around 70 CE, near the First Jewish–Roman War and the destruction of the Temple, the Gospel of Mark is composed. Most scholars see it as the first gospel; its place of writing is debated.
- c. 140Marcion proposes the first Christian canon
Around 140 CE the teacher Marcion offers a canon of ten Pauline letters and an edited Gospel of Luke, rejecting the Hebrew scriptures. His list is often seen as prompting the church to define its own.
- c. 240Origen compiles the Hexapla
By about 240 CE the scholar Origen of Alexandria sets out the Hebrew Bible in six parallel columns: Hebrew, its Greek transliteration and four Greek versions, including the Septuagint. Only fragments survive.
- 331Constantine orders fifty Bibles for Constantinople
In 331 the emperor Constantine commissions Eusebius of Caesarea to supply fifty Bibles for the churches of his new capital, Constantinople, an early sign of large-scale Bible production.
- c. 350Codex Sinaiticus, an early complete Greek Bible, is copied
In the mid-4th century (c. 325–360) a Greek Old and New Testament is copied in one codex. Codex Sinaiticus includes deuterocanonical books such as Tobit, Judith and Sirach, plus the Epistle of Barnabas.
- 367Athanasius lists the 27 books of the New Testament
In his Easter letter of 367, Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria names the same 27 New Testament books Christians use today, the earliest known list of exactly that set.
- c. 370The Bible is translated into Gothic
In the 4th century the Arian bishop Wulfila, probably with a team, translates much of the Bible into Gothic, in the Balkans. The best-known manuscript is the Codex Argenteus, now in Uppsala.
- 382 – 405Jerome translates the Bible into Latin: the Vulgate
Commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382, Jerome revises the Latin Gospels and later translates the Old Testament from Hebrew, finishing by 405 in Bethlehem. He doubted the status of the deuterocanonical books.
- 393The Synod of Hippo accepts a Christian canon
In 393 a North African church synod at Hippo Regius, in the circle of Augustine, probably becomes the first council to accept the Catholic canon of Old and New Testament books, deuterocanonical books included.
- 397The Council of Carthage confirms the canon of Scripture
In 397 the Council of Carthage accepts a summary of the Synod of Hippo's decisions and its list of biblical books. A further council in 419 repeats it, shaping the canon of Latin Christianity.
- c. 405 – c. 434Mesrop Mashtots and the Armenian Bible
Around 405 Mesrop Mashtots creates the Armenian alphabet. A first Bible translation from Syriac follows (c. 411), then a revision from Greek completed c. 434.
- February 4, 1859Tischendorf secures Codex Sinaiticus at Mount Sinai
On 4 February 1859 Constantin von Tischendorf is shown the 4th-century Codex Sinaiticus at Saint Catherine's Monastery. It goes to Russia, and in 1933 the Soviet state sells it to the British Museum.
- 1935The Rylands fragment of John, a very early New Testament papyrus, is published
In 1935 C. H. Roberts publishes in Manchester a small papyrus fragment of John 18, bought in Egypt in 1920. Dated probably to the 2nd century (c. 125 or later, debated), it is among the earliest New Testament manuscripts.
- 1945The Nag Hammadi library is found in Egypt
In late 1945 a cache of twelve papyrus codices, plus loose leaves of a thirteenth, is found near Nag Hammadi. The Coptic texts include Gnostic works and the only complete Gospel of Thomas.