CHRISTIAN HISTORY CENTER
Two thousand years of people, texts, arguments, revivals and mistakes.
Christian history is more than a list of famous preachers. Follow the early church, persecutions, councils, biblical manuscripts, schisms, Reformation, awakenings, abolition, missions and modern evangelical movements—and then open the original public-domain sources behind the story.
From Rome to the modern missionary era
Move through major events chronologically and see why each mattered.
PEOPLEWho shaped Christian history?
Biographies that include influence, tradition and controversy rather than hero worship.
DOCUMENTSCreeds, councils and confessions
See when they appeared, what they were trying to settle and where they fit historically.
PRIMARY SOURCESRead the Early Church itself
Search 19.6 million words of public-domain Fathers and council records.
People to know
Ignatius of Antioch
Bishop of Antioch and martyr
Ignatius wrote a series of letters while being taken under guard toward Rome for execution. The letters address unity, church order, the reality of Christ’s incarnation and suffering, and Ignatius’s expectation of martyr…Second CenturyIrenaeus of Lyons
Bishop, theologian and anti-Gnostic writer
Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, wrote Against Heresies against several Gnostic movements and emphasized the public apostolic proclamation, the unity of Scripture, creation, incarnation and resurrection.…Late AntiquityAugustine of Hippo
Bishop, theologian and author
Born in North Africa, Augustine moved through Manichaeism, philosophy and a long intellectual and moral search before his Christian conversion and baptism. As bishop of Hippo he wrote Confessions, City of God, On the Tri…ReformationMartin Luther
Reformer, pastor and Bible translator
Luther’s challenge to indulgence preaching in 1517 expanded into a broad dispute about authority, justification, sacraments and church reform. He translated the Bible into influential German and produced sermons, catechi…ReformationWilliam Tyndale
Bible translator and reformer
Tyndale translated the New Testament directly from Greek and substantial portions of the Old Testament from Hebrew, using the new possibilities of print to circulate English Scripture despite official opposition.…Evangelical RevivalJohn Wesley
Preacher, organizer and theologian
An Anglican priest, Wesley became the chief organizer of the Methodist revival, preaching across Britain and developing societies, classes and itinerant ministry.…Great AwakeningJonathan Edwards
Pastor, theologian and revival interpreter
Edwards served as a pastor in colonial New England, became a major interpreter of the First Great Awakening and wrote works including Religious Affections and Freedom of the Will.…Nineteenth CenturyCharles H. Spurgeon
Preacher, pastor and author
Spurgeon became pastor of New Park Street Chapel in London as a young man and later preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. His sermons were printed weekly, and his ministry also supported a pastors’ college, orphanage …