Early Church Timeline

This foldout timeline covers 200 years of early church history, highlighting 50 key events and people with brief descriptions for each. See the growth of the church from the end of the era of the apostles in the first century to the time of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.

Did you know?

• Christians used the fish as a symbol as early as the 2nd century.
• An aspiring philosopher named Justin became one of the first Christian apologists.
• The first church building was constructed in Syria around AD 232.
• A prison diary from a noblewoman and martyr named Perpetua became an inspiration to other Christians facing persecution.
• A North African theologian named Tertullian was the first to use the word "Trinity" to describe God.
• By AD 300, Christianity spread as far as France, Spain, Ethiopia, and Armenia.

The Christian faith rapidly expanded throughout the Roman Empire, and the early church faced backlash from those who viewed this strange new movement as dangerous and subversive. Bishops, martyrs, and theologians gave shape to church doctrine and provided inspiration for Christians facing oppression for aligning their lives not to the pagan gods of their neighbors, but to Jesus Christ alone.