Medieval & Religion site on Churches~Cathedrals,Castles

           What is the history of the Catholic Church?

Catholics believe that our Lord Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church in the year 33.Jesus appointed the apostle Peter as the first Vicar or Pope.
Mathew 16:18-19 are the scriptural references Catholics give to support this.
And I say unto thee,That thou art Peter,and upon this rock,I will build my church;and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven:and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shalt be loosed in heaven.

Around the year A.D.45 Peter went to Rome and assumed control of the church.During the persecution of Christians by the emperor Nero,Peter was imprisoned and scourged.
He gave his farewell blessing to all of his flock,
and espcially to Saint Paul,wo was going to be beheaded the same day outside Rome.
He was then led to the top of Vatican Mount to be executed by crucifixion.
Deeming himself to be unworthy to die in the same position as our Lord.
He asked to be crucifixed upside down.He received his eternal reward on June 29 in the year 67.
Two hundred & sixty six popes succeeded Peter since.

For the next 300 years,Rome would begin a serious persecution against the truth.
Christians began to meet behind closed doors & gradual changes were made.
Elders of the church were called Bishops,and close to the third century;each congregation of any size had a bishop as its head,with a group of elders under him.
No work was to be done on a Sunday.

In 306,Constantine became soul emperor of Rome.His mother Helena became a Christian and urged Constantine to ease up on persecution on Christians.
He decided that Christianity would now be the state religion.
Finding much division in the church,he decided to call a meeting to be held in Nicaea in May 325 A.D.to discuss and unite over the issues that divided the church.
Three hundred eighteen bishops assembled and established the Nicene Crede.

Several doctrines were decreed. (1) The oneness of Deity (2) Easter to be celebrated on the same day (3) Preachers not to be married (4) Certain meats not to be eaten by bishops on Sundays (5) A greater recognition given to the bishops of Antioch,Constantinople,Alexandria,Rome,and Jerusalem.
These bishops would be patriarchs,and all authority would be under them.

In A.D.606,Boniface 111 was given the title "universal bishop" the pope of Rome.
The word "Pope" means father.This marked the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church.

Today there are an estimated 1.038 billion Catholics in the world.
They make up almost 18 percent of the world population.
The Pope still heads the church,and the priests are urged to remain celibate.
 

                Church History:Why its important to us?

Church history is vital to our understanding of the instituation of the Christian church.
Much is to be gleaned from the events between the time of the Apostles and the present.In (1) Corinthians 10:1-13,the apostle Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to learn from the examples of Israel past,lest they make the same mistakes.
Like the history of ancient Israel, the history of the Christian church is to be rememered and learnt from.
For instance,many who are skeptical of the Christian faith often associate Christainity with the violence and imperialism of the crusades.
But an objective look at church history will show that the crusades happened at a time when the papacy was a political institution corrupted by power and greed.
The crusades took advantage of Christianity,but had nothing to do with the underlying gospel of grace.
Today our culture is often confronted with new and bizarre religious philosophies,some of which, present themselves under the banner of Christianity.This is nothing new.
History is littered with heresies that have tried to infiltrate the church,including false ideas such as Arainism,Gnosticism,Montanism and Marcionism.
Understanding Christian doctrine in light of church history helps us to seperate fiction and fads from the facts and doctrine of the true Christian faith.
                                             

                                        A Simple Chronology

(30-70 AD) The Time of Jesus and the Apostles
* The death and resurrection of Christ.
* The Christian faith is rebirthed and the gospel of grace is preached.(70-312) The age of Catholic Christianity.
* The spread of the Christian faith;martyrdom of the early believers.
* Early heresies sprouted;first church councils and the canonizing of scripture. (312-590) The Age of the Christian Empire.
* Constantine declares Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire; Age of great councils.
* Christianity became a faith for the masses; start of Monasticism.(590-1517) The Middle Ages.
* The fall of Rome and the byzantine empire.
* Benedictine monks deployed as missionaries;the pope becomes the "ruler" of the church.
* The crusades: The church gains the world but looses its soul.(1517-1648 The Age of Reformation.
* Martin Luther and the protestant movement.
* The start of denominationalism - Examples: Lutheran,Reformed,Anabaptist and Anglican
* The papacy looses its power and influence. (1648-1789) The Age of Reason and Revival.
* Secularism - The mind becomes God; people begin to ask,who needs God?
* Revivals such as pietism,methodism and the Great Awakening seek to restore God back to public life. (1789-1914) The Age of Progress.
* The message of Christ is carried to distant lands,but the faith continues to leave public life.
* Pluralistic and totalitarian societies see no relevance for Christianity
(1912 - current) The age of Ideologies