The history of the Catholic Church is integral to the history of Christianity as a whole. It is also, according to church historian Mark A. Noll, the "world's oldest continuously functioning international institution."The New Shape of World Christianity, Mark A. Noll (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009), 191. This article covers a period of just under two thousand years.

Over time, schisms have disrupted the unity of Christianity. The Catholic Church considers that major divisions occurred in c. 144 with Marcionism,: "...they were perhaps the most dangerous foe Christianity has ever known." 318 with Arianism, 451 with the Oriental Orthodox, 1054 to 1449 (see East–West Schism) during which time the Orthodox Churches of the East parted ways with the Western Church over doctrinal issues (see the filioque) and papal primacy, and in 1517 with the Protestant Reformation, of which there were many divisions, resulting in over 200 denominations.

The Catholic Church has been the driving force behind some of the major events of world history including the Christianization of Western and Central Europe and Latin America, the spreading of literacy and the foundation of the universities, hospitals, the Western tradition of monasticism, the development of art and music, literature, architecture, contributions to the scientific method, just war theory and trial by jury. It has played a powerful role in global affairs, including the Reconquista, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Investiture Controversy, the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 20th century.

Ministry of Jesus and founding

4 BC: Nativity of Jesus. According to the Gospel of Luke, his birth occurred in the town of Bethlehem during the reigns of King Herod the Great of Judaea and the Roman Emperor Augustus, and he was the son of the Virgin Mary, who conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the Divine Son of God incarnate or God the Son.

The calculations of Dionysius Exiguus put the birth of Jesus in the year that in consequence is called 1 AD; most historians place his birth between 6 and 4 BC.

28–29 AD: Jesus' baptism, start of ministry, and selection of the Apostles. The Gospel of Luke indicates that Jesus was baptized during the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar which is dated in 28 AD (found in Luke 3:1,21,22). Christian Gospels strongly suggest Peter as leader and spokesman of the Apostles of Jesus, being mentioned the most number of times in the Gospels. Peter and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, constitute the inner circle of the Apostles of Jesus, being witnesses to specific important events of the life of Jesus: preachings of Jesus such as the Sermon on the Mount and performance of miracles mainly involving cures and driving out demons, inaugurating the Messianic Age. 30-33 AD: Peter declares and other followers believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Jewish Messiah promised by Yahweh according to the Jewish Scriptures and the predictions of the Hebrew prophets. Entry into Jerusalem, start of Passion of Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is crucified in Jerusalem under Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea during the reign of Tiberius and Herod Antipas, after the Sanhedrin, under the High Priest Caiaphas, accuse Jesus of blasphemy. He was then crucified under Pontius Pilate. According to his followers, three days later, He rose from the dead. Forty days after his resurrection (Ascension), the Christian Gospels narrate that Jesus instructed his disciples thus: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of time." (Matthew 28:18–20). Ten days later (Pentecost) Peter makes the first sermon, converting 3,000 to be baptized.

First millennium Apostolic Catholic Church Dates in the Apostolic Age are mostly approximate, and all AD, mostly based on tradition or the New Testament.

34 AD: Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is stoned to death in Jerusalem according to the New Testament. 40: Traditional date of Our Lady of the Pillar showing up to James the Great in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 46: Paul begin his missionary journeys, with Barnabas. 50: Council of Jerusalem determines that Gentile converts to Christianity do not have to abide by Mosaic Laws. This will gradually lead to the separation of Christianity from Judaism.Chadwick, Henry, pp. 23–24. 50–58: Paul's seven undisputed epistles written 52: Traditional arrival of Thomas the Apostle in Kerala, marking the founding of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

64: The Neronian Persecution begins under Nero after the Great Fire of Rome. Martyrdom of Peter. Persecution of Christians continues intermittently until 313 AD. 67: Martyrdom of Paul outside of Rome. Pope Linus, according to Catholic tradition, becomes the next pope. 68: Neronian Persecution ends with the suicide of Nero. 70: Fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. 70: Earliest possible date for the completion of the Gospel of Mark 72: Martyrdom of Thomas the Apostle at Mylapore. 76: Martyrdom of Pope Linus. 80s Gospel of Matthew completed. 80s: Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles completed 90–96 Persecution of Christians under Emperor Domitian 95 Book of Revelation written. (2nd). 96: Traditional date of First Epistle of Clement attributed to Pope Clement I written to the church in Corinth. 100: Gospel of John completed 100: John, the last of the apostles, dies in Ephesus.St. John the Evangelist, ewtn.com, retrieved September 30, 2006 110: Ignatius of Antioch uses the term Catholic Church in a letter to the church at Smyrna, in one of the letters of undisputed authenticity attributed to him. In this and other genuine letters he insists on the importance of the bishops in the church and speaks harshly about heretics and Judaizers. 150: Latin translations (the Vetus Latina) from the Greek texts of the Scriptures are circulated among non-Greek-speaking Christian communities. 154: The teachings of Marcion, the gnostic Valentinus and pentecostal Montanists cause disruptions in the Roman community. Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire continues. 155: Justin Martyr composes his First Apology in Rome.EARLY CHRISTIAN FATHERS, ed., Cyril C. Richardson (New York: Touchstone, 1996), 230. 156: Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, disciple of John, and teacher of Irenaeus, is martyred.THE STUDY OF SPIRITUALITY. eds., Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, S.J. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 102–3. 177: Irenaeus becomes bishop of Lyon, France.Jones, Wainwright and Yarnold, 107. 180: Irenaeus's Adversus Haereses brings the concept of "heresy" to the fore in the first systematic attempt to counter Gnostic and other aberrant teachings. In the same work, he taught that the most reliable source of apostolic guidance was the episcopacy of Rome. 195: Pope Victor I, first African pope, excommunicated the Quartodecimans in an Easter controversy. 200: Tertullian, first great Christian Latin writer, coined for Christian concepts Latin terms such as "Trinitas", "Tres Personae", "Una Substantia", "Sacramentum" 248: Origen of Alexandria writes Contra Celsum, the most important apologetic writing of antiquity alongside Augustine's The City of God. 249: Pope Fabian is said to have sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges. 250: Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa. 312: Emperor Constantine leads the forces of the Roman Empire to victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Tradition has it that, the night before the battle, Constantine had a vision that he would achieve victory if he fought under the symbol of Christ; accordingly, his soldiers bore on their shields the Chi-Rho sign composed of the first two letters of the Greek word for "Christ" (ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ).

313–476

313: The Edict of Milan declares the Roman Empire neutral towards religious views, in effect ending the persecution of Christians.McMullen, p. 44. 318: Arius condemned and excommunicated by a council convened by Alexander, bishop of Alexandria.De Imperatoribus Romanis – Constantine I, retrieved February 23, 2007 321: Granting the church the right to hold property, Constantine donates the palace of the Laterani to Pope Miltiades. The Lateran Basilica (Basilica of Our Savior) becomes the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Rome. November 3, 324: Constantine lays the foundations of the new capital of the Roman Empire in Byzantium, later to be known as Constantinople. 323 Pope Sylvester I in his calendar lists Sunday (rather than the Jewish Saturday) as the first day of the week, names it "the Lord's day", and commands church members to keep it as a holy day.S.R.E. Humbert, Adversus Graecorium calumnias 6, in Patrologie Cursus Completus, series Latina, e.d. J.P.Migne, 1844, p.143 325: The Arian controversy erupts in Alexandria, causing widespread violence and disruptions among Christians. 325: The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, convened as a response to the Arian controversy, establishes the Nicene Creed, declaring the belief of orthodox Trinitarian Christians in the Trinity.Duffy, p. 29. November 18, 326: Pope Sylvester I consecrates the Basilica of St. Peter built by Constantine the Great over the tomb of the Apostle. 336: Date of the first recorded celebration of Christmas in Rome.New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, volume 3 (Washington: Catholic University Press, 2002), 556–557 345: Pope Julius I officially sets the date of December 25 for the celebration of the Nativity or Christmas. 360: Julian the Apostate becomes the last non-Christian Roman Emperor. February, 380: Emperor Theodosius I issues an edict, De Fide Catolica, in Thessalonica, published in Constantinople, declaring Catholic Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.Duffy, p. 30. 381: First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople. 382: The Council of Rome under Pope Damasus I sets the canon of the Bible, listing the accepted books of the Old Testament and the New Testament. No others are to be considered scripture. July, 387: Ambrose, bishop of Milan, baptizes Augustine of Hippo, along with his son, Adeodatus, in Milan. 391: The Theodosian decrees outlaw most pagan rituals still practiced in Rome, thereby encouraging much of the population to convert to Christianity. 400: Jerome's Vulgate Latin Bible translation is published, declared "authentic" by the Council of Trent. This remained the standard text in the Catholic world until the Renaissance, and was standard in Catholic services until the Second Vatican Council. August 24, 410: Sack of Rome. Alaric and his Visigoths burst in by the Porta Salaria on the northeast of the city of Rome. 431: The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus declares that Jesus existed both as Man and God simultaneously, clarifying his status in the Holy Trinity. The meaning of the Nicene Creed is also declared a permanent holy text of the church. October 8, 451: Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon opens. November 1, 451: The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, closes. The Chalcedonian Creed is issued, which re-asserts Jesus as True God and True Man and the dogma of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. The council excommunicates Eutyches, leading to the schism with Oriental Orthodoxy. 452: Pope Leo I (the Great) meets Attila the Hun and dissuades him from sacking Rome.