This timeline of Christian missions chronicles the global expansion of Christianity through a listing of the most significant missionary outreach events. Christian missions began from the earliest days of Christianity and its adherents believe that the mission will continue until Jesus Christ returns.Holyhead, V. (2006), Welcoming the Word in Year C: With Burning Hearts, p. 117, Liturgical Press
Apostolic Age
Earliest dates must all be considered approximate 33 – Great Commission of Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations;Barrett, p. 23 Pentecost, a day in which 3000 Jews from a variety of Mediterranean Basin nations are converted to faith in Jesus Christ. 34 – In Gaza, Philip baptizes a convert, an Ethiopian who was already a Jewish proselyte. 34 – Saul of Tarsus is converted. 39 – Peter preaches to a Gentile audience in the house of Cornelius in Caesarea Maritima. 42 – Mark goes to Alexandria in EgyptKane, p. 10 47 – Paul (also known as Saul of Tarsus) begins his first missionary journey to Western Anatolia, part of modern-day Turkey via Cyprus.Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, 1959, p. 26 50 – Council of Jerusalem on admitting Gentiles into the Church 51 – Paul begins his second missionary journey, a trip that will take him through modern-day Turkey and on into GreeceWalker, p. 27 52 – Thomas arrives in Malabar and Coromandel Coast in India and founds a church that subsequently becomes the Syrian Malabar NasranisNeill, pp. 44-45 54 – Paul begins his third missionary journey 60 – Paul sent to Rome under Roman guard, evangelizes on Malta after shipwreck
Early Christianity
100 – First Christians are reported in Monaco, Algeria; a missionary goes to Arbela, a sacred city of the Assyrians that the Christian church is katholikos ("universal") 112 – Pliny the Younger reports rapid growth of Christianity in BithyniaNeill, p. 28 140 – Hermas writes: "The Son of God ... has been preached to the ends of the earth" 150 – Gospel reaches Portugal and Morocco 166 – Bishop Soter writes that the number of Christians has surpassed the JewsNeill, p. 30 174 – First Christians reported in Austria 177 – Churches in Lyon and Vienne (southern France) report being persecutedNeill, p. 24 190 – Pataenus of Alexandria goes to India in response to an appeal for Christian teachersGlover, p. 20 196 – In Assuristan (Parthian ruled Assyria) Bar Daisan writes of Christians among the Assyrians, Parthians, Bactrians (Kushans), and other peoples in the Persian Empire 197 – Tertullian writes that Christianity had penetrated all ranks of society in North AfricaHerbermann, p. 385 200 – First Christians are reported in Switzerland and Belgium 206 – Abgar, the Syriac King of Edessa, embraces the Christian faithHerbermann, p. 282 208 – Tertullian writes that Christ has followers on the far side of the Roman wall in Britain where Roman legions have not yet penetratedNeill, p. 31 250 – Denis (or Denys or Dionysius) is sent from Rome along with six other missionaries to establish the church in ParisHerbermann, p. 481 270 – Death of Gregory Thaumaturgus, Christian leader in Pontus. It was said that when Gregory became "bishop" there were only 17 Christians in Pontus while at his death thirty years later there were only 17 non-Christians.Latourette, 1941, vol. I, p. 89 280 – First rural churches emerge in northern Italy; Christianity is no longer exclusively in urban areas 287 – Maurice from Egypt is killed at Agauno, Switzerland for refusing to sacrifice to pagan divinitiesWalsh, Martin de Porres. The Ancient Black Christians, Julian Richardson Associates, 1969, p. 5 300 – First Christians reported in Greater Khorasan; an estimated 10% of the world's population is now Christian; parts of the Bible are available in 10 different languagesBarrett, p. 24
304 – Armenia accepts Christianity as state religion 306 – The first bishop of Nisibis is ordainedBarrett, David B., Todd M. Johnson, Christopher R. Guidry, and Peter F. Crossing. World Christian Trends, AD 30-AD 2200, William Carey Library Publishers, 2001, p. 115 311 – The Edict of Serdica was issued in Serdica by the Roman emperor Galerius, officially ending the Diocletian persecution of Christianity in the East. 313 – Emperor Constantine issues Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity in the Roman EmpireKane, p. 33 314 – Tiridates III of Armenia and King Urnayr of Caucasian Albania converted by Gregory the Illuminator
Era of the seven Ecumenical Councils
327 – Georgian King Mirian III of Iberia converted by NinoFortescue, Adrian. The Eastern Churches Trilogy, Gorgias Press LLC, 2001, p. 17 330 – Ethiopian King Ezana of Axum makes Christianity an official religion 332 – Two young Roman Christians, Frumentius and Aedesius, are the sole survivors of a ship destroyed in the Red Sea due to tensions between Rome and Aksum. They are taken as slaves to the Ethiopian capital of Axum to serve in the royal court. 334 – The first bishop is ordained for Merv / Transoxiana (area of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and southwest Kazakhstan)Korolevsky, Cyril. Living Languages in Catholic Worship: An Historical Inquiry, Longmans, Green, 1957, p. 14 337 – Emperor Constantine baptized shortly before his deathAnderson, p. 149 341 – Ulfilas begins work with the Goths in present-day RomaniaNeill, p. 48 343 – The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Roman dominate Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in the East. It attempted to resolve the Arian controversy, and was attended by about 170 bishops. It was convened by the two augusti at the request of Pope Julius I. 350 – Bible is translated into the Sahidic dialect of the Egyptian Coptic language.Latourette, 1941, vol. I, p. 257 354 – Theophilus "the Indian" reports visiting Christians in India; Philostorgius mentions a community of Christians on the Socotra islands, south of Yemen in the Arabian Sea 364 – Conversion of Vandals to Christianity begins during reign of Emperor ValensHerbermann, p. 268 370 – Wulfila translates the Bible into Gothic, the first Bible translation done specifically for missionary purposes 378 – Jerome writes, "From India to Britain, all nations resound with the death and resurrection of Christ" 380 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the official state religionWalker, pp. 117-118 382 – Jerome is commissioned to translate the Gospels (and subsequently the whole Bible) into Latin.Price, p. 78 386 – Augustine of Hippo convertedLatourette, 1953, p. 97 397 – Ninian evangelizes the Southern Picts of Scotland; three missionaries sent to the mountaineers in the Trento region of northern Italy are martyredLatourette, 1941, vol. I, p. 199 400 – Hayyan begins proclaiming gospel in Yemen after having been converted in Hirta on the Persian border; in starting a school for native Gothic evangelists, John Chrysostom writes, "'Go and make disciples of all nations' was not said for the Apostles only, but for us also"
410 – New Testament translated into Armenian 420 – A Pre-Islam Arabian Bedouin tribe under sheikh Peter-Aspebet is converted 425 – The first bishops are ordained for Herat (Afghanistan) and Samarkand (Uzbekistan) 432 – Patrick goes to Ireland as missionaryNeill, p. 49 450 – First Christians reported in Liechtenstein 496 – Conversion of Clovis I, king of Franks in Gaul, along with 3,000 warriorsNeill, pp. 51, 95 499 – Persian king Kavadh I, fleeing his country, meets a group of Christian missionaries going to Central Asia to preach to the Turks 500 – First Christians reported in North Yemen; Nairam becomes Christian center
508 – Philoxenus of Mabug begins translation of the Bible into SyriacPrice, Ira Maurice. The Ancestry of Our English Bible. Harper, 1956, p. 193. 529 – Benedict of Nursia destroys a pagan temple at Monte Cassino (Italy) and builds a monasteryLatourette, 1953, p. 333 535 – The Hephthalite Huns – nomads living in northern China and Central Asia, who were also known as the White Huns – are taught to read and write by Church of the East missionaries. 542 – Julian (or Julianus) from Constantinople begins evangelizing Nubia, accompanied by an Egyptian named TheodoreAnderson, p. 347 563 – Columba sails from Ireland to Scotland where he founds an evangelistic training center on IonaGailey, p. 41 569 – Longinus, church leader in Nobatia, evangelizes Alodia (in what is now Sudan) 578 – Conversion to Christianity of An-numan III, last of Lakhmids (Pre Islam Arab prince) 585 – Irish missionary Columbanus arrives with twelve fellow missionaries in Brittany, France 592 – Death of Celtic/Irish missionary Moluag (Old Irish: Mo-Luóc) 596 – Gregory the Great sends Augustine and a team of missionaries to (what is now) England to reintroduce the Gospel. The missionaries settle in Canterbury and within a year baptize 10,000 peopleNeill, pp. 58-59; Tucker, p. 46 600 – First Christian settlers in Andorra (between France and Spain)
604 – A church is reportedly planted on Thorney Island (where Westminster Abbey now stands) 610 – Saint Columbanus and Saint Gall flee from Luxeuil (France) to Alemannia and preach the Gospel in Tuggen and Bregenz 627 – Conversion of King Edwin of Northumbria 629 – Amandus of Elnon is consecrated a missionary bishop. He evangelized the region around Ghent and went on missions to Slavs along the Danube and to Basques in NavarreAnderson, p. 16 630 – Conversion of the East Angles (one of the seven kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy) 635 – First Christian missionaries (Church of the East monks, including Alopen, from Asia Minor and Persia arrive in China;Neill, p. 81 Aidan of Lindisfarne begins evangelizing in the heart of Northumbria (England)Anderson, p. 8 637 – Lombards, a German people living in northern Italy, become Christians 638 – A church building is erected in Chang'an, then perhaps the largest city in the world (see Daqin Pagoda) 647 – Amadeus, bishop of Maastricht, carries out missionary work in Frisia (Netherlands) and among the Slavs 650 – First church organized in Netherlands 673 – Irish monk Maol Rubha founds a training center at Aprochrosan that would serve as a base for missionary outreach into ScotlandGaelic Society of Inverness. Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, The Society, 1985, p. 161 680 – First translation of Christian scriptures into Arabic 687 – Conversion of Sussex 689 – Pagans kill Irish missionary Kilian near Würzburg in what is now Germany.Herbermann, p. 639 692 – Willibrord and 11 companions cross the North Sea to become missionaries to the Frisians (modern-day Netherlands)Kane, p. 41 697 – Muslims overrun Carthage, capital of North AfricaGailey, p. 43
720 – Caliph Umar II puts heavy pressure on the Christian Berbers to convert to Islam 716 – Boniface begins missionary work among Germanic tribes 724 – Boniface fells pagan sacred oak of Thor at Geismar in Hesse (Germany)Neill, p. 64 732 – Muslim advance from Spain and southern France stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours and Poitiers 740 – Irish monks reach IcelandMoreau, p. 467 771 – Charlemagne becomes king and decree that sermons will be given in the vernacular. He also commissioned Bible translations.Herzog, p. 351 781 – Xi'an Stele erected near Xi'an (China) to commemorate the propagation in China of the Luminous Religion, thus providing a written record of a Christian presence in ChinaNeill, p. 82 787 – Liudger begins missionary work among the pagans near the mouth of the Ems river (in Germany)Herbermann, p. 415
Middle Ages
822 – Mojmír I of Great Moravia, converts to Christianity 826 – Ansgar from France is sent by papal authority to Denmark as a royal chaplain and missionary; Harald Klak is baptized along with 400 of his followers at MainzNeill, p. 69