First Century
People & Events
30 or 33 Death and resurrection of Christ
32 or 34 Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr
40-45 Simon Magus, sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24) and, according to tradition, founder of Gnosticism, is active in Samaria
44 James the son of Zebedee is executed by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-2)
47-64 Paul of Tarsus undertakes his missionary travels
60-100 Menander, a Gnostic teacher and disciple of Simon Magus, is active
62 James, the brother of Jesus, is stoned
64 The Great Fire destroys much of Rome; Nero blames the Christians; Peter and Paul possibly executed
95 [?] Christians may have been persecuted under Emperor Domitian
90-100 John, the last of the apostles, dies
Scriptures & Writings
43-62 James
48 or 54-57 Galatians
50-51 I, II Thessalonians
50-70 Jude
55-63 I Timothy
55-56 I Corinthians
55-70 Gospel of Mark
56-57 II Corinthians
57-58 Romans
57-63 Titus
58-62 Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon
60-63 I Peter
60-69 Hebrews
60-80 Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Luke
62-80 Acts
63-65 II Timothy
64-65 II Peter
64-70 or 90-96 Revelation
80-95 Gospel of John, I, II, III John
95-97 I Clement
Second Century
People & Events
100-120 Saturninus, a Gnostic teacher and disciple of Menander, is active
108-117 Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, writers seven letters to churches on his way to Rome, where he is martyred
125 Quadratus (earliest Christian apologist) is active
130-150 Gnostic teacher Basilides is active in Alexandria
135 Christian apologist Justin Martyr debates Trypho (a Jewish teacher); refers to the “memoirs” of the apostles (Gospels)
140-165 Gnostic teacher Valentinus is active in Rome
143 Marcion of Sinope creates his own “canon” of Scripture
144 Marcion is expelled from the church in Rome, begins missionary activity in Asia Minor and Syria
145 Aristides (Christian apologist) is active
156 Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, is martyred
165 Justin Martyr is martyred
170-180 Gnostic teacher Heracleon is active
172 The Montanist movement emerges in Asia Minor
177 Christians are martyred in Lyons and Vienne
178 Irenaeus becomes bishop of Lyons
178 Celsus writes True Reason, the first systematic intellectual critique of Christianity
180 Melito, the bishop of Sardis, travels “to the east” (Palestine?) to investigate the number and order of the “books of the Old Testament” (earliest reference to this phrase) and provides the first Christian list of the contents of the Jewish Scriptures
180-200 [?] Muratorian Canon is the earliest surviving attempt to list the New Testament canon
180-200 Christian teacher Clement of Alexandria is active
185 Irenaeus, in Against Heresies, cites a “core collection” of 20 documents acknowledged as Scripture (four Gospels, Acts, 13 letters of Paul, James, 1 Peter)
180-200 Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, writes against the Gnostics
190-220 Christian theologian Tertullian is active
190-200 The phrase “New Testament” begins to be used
Scriptures & Writings
100 [?] Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)
108-117 Letters of Ignatius
109-118 Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians
early 2nd c. [?] Gospel of Peter (Gnostic?)
120-140 Papias’s Expositions on the Sayings of the Lord
120-140 [?] II Clement
125 Quadratus’s Apology
130-132 [?] Epistle of Barnabas
143 Marcion’s Antitheses (declared heretical)
145 Aristides’ Apology
150 [?] Epistle to Diognetus
150 [?] Shepherd of Hermas
mid 2nd c. [?] Gospel of Truth (Gnostic)*
mid 2nd c. [?] Gospel of Thomas (Gnostic)*
156 Martyrdom of Polycarp
155 Justin Martyr’s First Apology
160 Justin Martyr’s Second Apology
160 Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho
165 Ptolemy’s Letter to Flora (Gnostic)
165-175Gospel of Judas (Gnostic)
2nd c.Gospel of Mary (Gnostic)*
180-185 Irenaeus’s Against Heresies
190-95 Irenaeus’s Proof of the Apostolic Preaching
170-190 Concerning the Passover (Peri Pascha) by Melito of Sardis
late 2nd c. Treatise on the Resurrection* (Gnostic)
late 2nd c. First Thought in Three Forms* (Gnostic)
late 2nd c. Gospel of the Savior (Gnostic)
Third Century
People & Events
200 Naassenes (a Gnostic sect) flourish
202-206 Christians are persecuted in Rome, Corinth, Antioch, Alexandria, and North Africa (including Perpetua and Felicitas)
203 Christian theologian Origen becomes head of the Catechetical School in Alexandria; he later writes the apologetic work Against Celsus
216-276 Manes/Mani, founder of Manichaeism (an offshoot of Persian Gnosticism), is active
249-251 First empire-wide persecution is initiated by Emperor Decius
257-260 Christians are persecuted under Emperor Valerian
Scriptures & Writings
207 Tertullian’s Against Marcion
3rd c. Gospel of Philip (Gnostic)*
3rd c. Apocalypse (or Revelation) of Peter* (Gnostic)
3rd c. The Second Treatise of the Great Seth* (Gnostic)
Fourth Century
People & Events
303-312 Great Persecution begins, instituted by Emperor Diocletian
313 Constantine’s Edict of Milan grants religious toleration, brings persecution to a close
325 Council of Nicaea produces creed affirming that Christ is “of the same substance” as the Father and condemns the teaching of Arius
325 Eusebius (in his Church History) discusses the “state of the question” regarding the contents and boundaries of the New Testament
367 Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, in his Easter Letter gives first list of 27 books that matches the New Testament as recognized today
Scriptures & Writings
375 Epiphanius’s Refutation of All Heresies against the Gnostics
The Dating Game
When it comes to ancient documents, there is no one-size-fits-all criterion for determining their date. There are, however, general principles, based on two types of evidence: external and internal.
External evidence refers to clues outside the document that can either pinpoint a date or help give us a window. For example, if a given document is clearly cited in another dateable text, then the established text provides a “no later than” cut-off date for our text. Alternatively, an external source may give explicit verification of a document’s authorship and/or dating. The only questions are (1) whether there is any reason for the source to have distorted or fabricated this report, and, if not, (2) whether there is good reason to doubt its accuracy.
Internal evidence includes any signs within the text itself that may give a clue to its date. Many of these can provide a “no earlier than” cut-off date. Internal evidence includes:
- An explicit statement of audience, authorship (assuming that the named author is not a pseudonym), or time of writing.
- Allusion to any dateable events, figures, movements, ideas, practices, texts, or other material culture.
- The original language of composition.
- The style, word choice, and genre of the document, which may be traceable to a particular author or setting.
- The substantive concerns of the document, which may be traceable to a particular author or setting.
The more external and internal evidence there is, the greater likelihood of a consensus for a proper dating. The less evidence, the more we are left to an educated guess.
—Nicholas Perrin
*Indicates Gnostic texts included in the Nag Hammadi collection.
Most of the dates in this timeline are approximations due to the difficulties of dating events and texts in the first two centuries.
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