Church history

Church history is the study of Christianity’s development over time, including its institutions, doctrines, movements, and communities.

Early Christianity: The diverse Christian communities and beliefs that developed from the first century through late antiquity. Its first communities and changing beliefs form the starting point of church history.
Ecumenical council: An assembly of church leaders whose decisions are recognized as authoritative across a broad Christian communion. Councils repeatedly settled disputes and defined doctrine across historical periods.
Protestant Reformation: A sixteenth-century movement that challenged Roman Catholic authority and produced enduring Protestant churches. It transformed Western Christianity and ended the unity of medieval Latin Christendom.
Eusebius of Caesarea: A fourth-century bishop and author of an influential history of the early Christian church. His surviving narrative became a foundational source for later accounts of early Christianity.
Historical Jesus: The figure of Jesus reconstructed through historical methods applied to ancient sources. Debates about reconstructing Jesus distinguish historical inquiry from later doctrinal claims.
Paul the Apostle: An early Christian missionary and author of letters that became part of the New Testament. His missions and letters helped establish Christian communities across the Roman world.
Papacy: The office and institutional authority of the bishop of Rome in the Catholic Church. The papacy became a central institution in Western church governance and reform.
Council of Trent: A Catholic council held from 1545 to 1563 that clarified doctrine and enacted reforms. Its decrees shaped Catholic identity in response to Reformation challenges.
Augustine of Hippo: A North African bishop and theologian whose writings profoundly shaped Western Christianity. His theology influenced debates and institutions across centuries of church history.
Biblical criticism: The study of biblical texts using historical, literary, and linguistic methods. It tests how texts formed and were interpreted within changing Christian communities.

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