Eastern Orthodox Church Timeline

(33 AD - Present)

The Eastern Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian traditions, tracing its roots to the earliest Christian communities in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. It developed a distinct identity through theological, liturgical, and cultural differences with the Western Church, culminating in the Great Schism of 1054. Today it is the second-largest Christian communion in the world, centered on self-governing national and regional churches united in doctrine and sacramental life. More Less

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Schisms and Councils

First Council of Nicaea

325

Emperor Constantine convened the first ecumenical council at Nicaea to address the Arian controversy. The council produced the original Nicene Creed and established a shared doctrinal foundation for Christianity, later central to Orthodox theology.

Image source: First Council of Nicaea

First Council of Constantinople

381

The second ecumenical council expanded the Nicene Creed into its full form still used by the Orthodox Church today and affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit, while granting Constantinople honorary precedence after Rome.

Image source: First Council of Constantinople

Council of Ephesus

431

The third ecumenical council condemned Nestorianism and proclaimed Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer), a title of profound importance in Orthodox devotion and Christology.

Image source: Council of Ephesus

Council of Chalcedon

451

The fourth ecumenical council defined Christ as having two natures, divine and human, in one person. Its decisions were accepted by the churches that became Eastern Orthodoxy but rejected by Oriental Orthodox churches.

Image source: Council of Chalcedon

Photian schism between Rome and Constantinople

863 - 867

A dispute over the patriarchate of Constantinople and papal authority led to mutual excommunications between Pope Nicholas I and Patriarch Photios, foreshadowing the later East-West schism.

Image source: Photian schism

Great Schism divides Eastern and Western Christianity

1054

Mutual excommunications between Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Cerularius formalized the split between Rome and Constantinople over issues including papal supremacy and the filioque clause, creating the enduring divide between Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Image source: East–West Schism

Great Schism divides Eastern and Western Christianity

Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade

Apr 12, 1204

Crusader forces captured and brutally sacked Constantinople, establishing the Latin Empire and deepening Orthodox resentment toward the West, making reconciliation between the churches far more difficult.

Image source: Sack of Constantinople

Council of Florence attempts reunion of the churches

1438 - 1445

Byzantine delegates, seeking Western military aid against the Ottomans, signed a decree of union with Rome at Florence, but the union was overwhelmingly rejected by Orthodox clergy and laity back home.

Image source: Council of Florence

Early Church and Byzantine Era

Edict of Thessalonica makes Nicene Christianity the state religion

Feb 27, 380

Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica, declaring Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire, greatly elevating the status of the church that would become the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Justinian builds Hagia Sophia

537

Emperor Justinian I completed the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, an architectural marvel that served for nearly a thousand years as the cathedral of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the spiritual heart of Byzantine Orthodoxy.

Image source: Hagia Sophia

Hesychast controversy and victory of Gregory Palamas

1341 - 1351

The theological disputes surrounding hesychasm, defended by Gregory Palamas with his distinction between God's essence and energies, were resolved in favor of Palamas at councils in Constantinople, shaping Orthodox mystical theology.

Image source: Gregory Palamas

Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire

May 29, 1453

Ottoman forces captured Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire. Sultan Mehmed II allowed the Orthodox Church to continue functioning under Ottoman rule, making Christians a protected but subordinate millet.

Image source: Fall of Constantinople

Slavic and Global Expansion

Mission of Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs

863

The brothers Cyril and Methodius began their mission to Great Moravia, devising the Glagolitic alphabet and translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic, laying the groundwork for Slavic Orthodox Christianity.

Image source: Cyril and Methodius

Baptism of Kievan Rus' under Prince Vladimir

988

Prince Vladimir the Great converted to Orthodox Christianity and had the population of Kiev baptized in the Dnieper River, bringing Kievan Rus' into the Byzantine Orthodox world and founding Russian Orthodoxy.

Image source: Christianization of Kievan Rus'

Establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate

1589

Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II elevated Metropolitan Job of Moscow to patriarchal rank, creating an independent autocephalous Russian Patriarchate and affirming Moscow's role as a leading center of Orthodoxy.

Image source: Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'

Union of Brest creates Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

1596

Part of the Kyivan metropolitanate entered into communion with Rome while retaining Byzantine rites, splitting Orthodox believers in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and sparking centuries of religious conflict in Eastern Europe.

Image source: Union of Brest

Patriarch Nikon's reforms spark the Old Believer schism

1654 - 1667

Patriarch Nikon's liturgical reforms, intended to align Russian practice with Greek usage, provoked fierce resistance. Those who rejected the reforms, the Old Believers, were anathematized and endured persecution for centuries.

Image source: Old Believers

Orthodox mission reaches Alaska

1794

Monks from Valaam Monastery arrived on Kodiak Island to minister to Russian fur traders and native Alaskans, marking the beginning of Orthodoxy in North America and producing saints like Herman of Alaska.

Image source: Russian Orthodox Church

Modern Era

Abolition of the Moscow Patriarchate by Peter the Great's successors

1721

Peter the Great abolished the Russian Patriarchate and replaced it with the Most Holy Synod, placing the Russian Church under state control for nearly two hundred years until the patriarchate was restored in 1917.

Image source: Most Holy Synod

Greek War of Independence begins

1821 - 1830

The Greek revolt against Ottoman rule, blessed by figures such as Patriarch Gregory V who was executed in retaliation, led to the establishment of an independent Greece and eventually an autocephalous Church of Greece.

Image source: Greek War of Independence

Autocephaly of the Church of Greece declared

1833

The newly independent Kingdom of Greece declared its church autocephalous, separating it from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, though full recognition came only in 1850.

Image source: Church of Greece

Restoration of the Moscow Patriarchate

Nov 1917

Amid the Russian Revolution, a local council restored the Moscow Patriarchate and elected Tikhon Bellavin as patriarch, just before the Bolshevik regime launched decades of persecution against the Church.

Image source: Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow

Soviet persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church intensifies

1922 - 1991

Under Soviet rule, thousands of Orthodox priests, monks, and laypeople were executed or imprisoned, churches were destroyed or closed, and the Church survived only under severe restrictions until the fall of communism.

Image source: Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union

Joint declarations between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras

Jan 1964

Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I met in Jerusalem in 1964, the first meeting of a pope and ecumenical patriarch in over five hundred years, leading to the mutual lifting of the anathemas of 1054 in 1965.

Image source: Catholic–Eastern Orthodox relations

Founding of the Orthodox Church in America's autonomy

1970

The Moscow Patriarchate granted autocephaly to the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America, which renamed itself the Orthodox Church in America, becoming the first autocephalous Orthodox church in North America.

Millennium of the Baptism of Rus' celebrated

1988

The thousandth anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus' was celebrated widely across the Soviet Union, marking a turning point in which the Soviet state relaxed restrictions and the Russian Church experienced a dramatic revival.

Fall of the Soviet Union revives Orthodox life in Eastern Europe

Dec 26, 1991

The collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe allowed the reopening of thousands of churches and monasteries, a surge in monasticism and pilgrimage, and renewed public influence for Orthodox churches throughout the region.

Image source: Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church convenes in Crete

Jun 19, 2016 - Jun 26, 2016

For the first time in over twelve hundred years, most autocephalous Orthodox churches gathered for a pan-Orthodox council in Crete, issuing documents on topics such as fasting, marriage, and relations with other Christians, though several churches declined to attend.

Image source: Pan-Orthodox Council

Moscow breaks communion with Ecumenical Patriarchate over Ukraine

Oct 15, 2018

After Constantinople moved toward recognizing an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, producing the most serious internal split in modern Orthodoxy.

Image source: 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism

Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine established

Jan 5, 2019

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew signed the tomos granting autocephaly to the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine, uniting previously competing jurisdictions and reshaping the ecclesiastical landscape of Ukraine.

Image source: Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Key Facts

The Eastern Orthodox Church traces its origins to Pentecost around 33 AD, when Christians believe the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in Jerusalem.
The Great Schism of 1054 formally divided Christianity into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, driven by disputes over papal authority, the filioque clause, and cultural differences.
Orthodox theology is grounded in the first seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787 AD), which defined core doctrines such as the Trinity and the nature of Christ.
The church is organized as a communion of autocephalous (self-governing) churches, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which holds honorary primacy.
Eastern Orthodox worship centers on the Divine Liturgy, richly adorned with icons, chant, and sacraments, with Easter (Pascha) as the most important feast of the liturgical year.

Source

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