Important Eras in the History of the Catholic Church

Eras in the Catholic Church

Catholic Church history is composed of many eras. Listed below is a brief outline of these eras and how each one highlighted both favorable and unfavorable events.

From the historical Jesus to the rescript of Milan

We have in this historical period many events. Here is a list with brief descriptions or enumerations.

• The historical existence of Jesus up to His passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven
• The birth of the Church at Pentecost and the forming of the first Christain communities
• The spread of Christianity through the missions of St. Paul
• The leadership of the Church Fathers
• Beginnings of crises, schisms and heresies: Gnostic systems, Manichaeism, Marcionism, The Encratius, Montanism and others
• Beginnings and prevalence of Christian persecutions in the Roman Empire
• The conversion of the Emperor Constantine to Christianity and his eventual proclamation of a rescript (the rescript of Milan, 313), that makes Christianity an official religion in the Roman Empire

From Constantine the great to Gregory the great

• Due to certain dogmatic (truths about the faith) controversies, the General Councils in the East were held
• Doctrines on the Trinity and on Christology were being established
• Great forerunners of various doctrines were: St. Ambrose, St. Augustine (in relation to his struggle for the doctrine of grace and justification), St. Jerome and Pope Gregory the Great
• This was also the era of monasticism; many founders of monasteries led this movement towards an intense prayer life and seclusion from the world

The Middle Ages from 604-700 AD

• The first missionary wave: in German lands, Irish country, and the Anglo-Saxon continent
• The Church becomes a champion of the developing West

The Middle Ages from 700-1050 AD

• The veritable foundation of the Christian West
• The League of the papacy with the Frankish kingdom
• Leadership of Charlemagne in the Western Empire
• The Carolingian empire starts to decline
• Otto the Great and the rejuvenation of the Western empire

The Middle Ages from 1050-1300 AD

• The flowering of the Church in the High Middle Ages through Cluny and the monastic reform movement
• The great Eastern Schism of 1054: the Church is fully divided between the East (with its center at Constantinople) and the West (with its center at Rome)
• The Crusades start as a result of the Holy Land being overran by Islam (Knightly Orders are founded to battle Islamic dominion of the Holy Land)
• The Imitation of Christ becomes popular
• The Inquisition examines all those who do not conform to Church teaching; some are condemned
• The Great Mendicant Orders are born: St. Francis of Assisi and his followers, and St. Dominic and the Dominicans
• The flowering of theology and the universities; scholasticism and its adherents teach a lot about the faith
• The Church is at its height of dominion and rule through the papacy of Innocent III

The Middle Ages from 1300-1500 AD

• The Papacy becomes divided: one at Avignon, France and one at Rome, Italy (St. Catherine of Siena was instrumental in solving this problem
• This is also the era of the Renaissance Popes like Alexander VI and Julius II

The Modern Church from 1500-1789 AD

• Abuses in the late Medieval Church led to the demand for reforms; Martin Luther and others were at the forefront of this movement
• Aside from Martin Luther, there was Ulrich Zwingli and the Anabaptists, and John Calvin and the reformation in Geneva
  
• Eventually, these reformers were led to break away from the Catholic Church and form their own communities


• England also broke away because of dispute between Henry VIII and Thomas More on the matter of divorce


• Attempts at ecclesiastical reforms were made before the eventual calling of the Council of Trent in 1545-1563


• The Catholic Church was reconstructed after the Council in terms of: the Papacy, the Episcopate, and the birth of loyal religious orders like the Society of Jesus


• This was also the era of world mission, the age of geographical discoveries, the birth of Christianity in Latin America, the missions to India and China and more
• The Enlightenment in Europe becomes a strong influential intellectual force

The Modern Church from 1789-1918 AD

• The French Revolution and Secularization started this era in the Church
• The Catholic Church was restored in nineteenth century Germany, France and Spain
• The Church still remained in England and also spread to the United States
• The First Vatican Council was held during this era

The Modern Church from 1918 AD to present

• This is an era marked by two world wars
• Three popes remarkably led the Church during this modern age: John XXIII and his call to begin the Second Vatican Council - the Council that led to much liturgical change and new theology in the Church; Paul VI - a Pope who continued the Vatican Council after John XXIII died before its culmination and was instrumental in keeping the moral ideal of no contraception among Catholics; and John Paul II - the Pope who was the most missionary, and stressed the importance of holiness in the Church by beatifying and canonizing numerous blesseds and saints
• Pope emeritus Benedict succeeded the long 26-year papacy of St. John Paul II and directed the Church towards a post-John Paul II theology and spirituality