istoryworld
Events relating to religion
Greece begins to find a new and influential role in a Christian context, through the Byzantine empire
St Martin founds the first monastery in western Europe, at Ligugé near Poitiers
Julian, the new emperor in Constantinople, plans to reinstate the pagan cult of the ancient Roman empire
An apocryphal story states that Julian the Apostate, dying at Tarsus, acknowledges the victory of the Galilean, Jesus Christ
A document is distributed by the bishop of Alexandria, formally establishing the contents of the New Testament
The Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete New Testament, is copied out - probably in Egypt
St Jerome settles in Bethlehem, where his holy women organize a monastery for his residence and a nearby convent for themselves
St Ambrose asserts the authority of the church, refusing communion to the emperor Theodosius in Milan until he does penance for a massacre
The earlier of the two Talmuds, consisting of commentaries on the Mishnah, is collected by rabbis in Palestine
The Yamato clan adapt Shinto to their own purposes, and claim imperial descent from the sun
St Augustine reveals that as a young man, studying and teaching in Carthage, he often prayed for 'chastity and continence, but not yet'
St Jerome, in Bethlehem, completes the Latin translation of the Bible which later becomes known as the Vulgate
Prompted by the fall of Rome to the Visigoths, St Augustine undertakes a great work of Christian philosophy, the City of God
A council is convened at Ephesus to consider the theology of Nestorius, which is judged to be heretical
St Patrick creates a strong tradition of Celtic Christianity in Ireland, from his base in Armagh
The Syrian desert is full of hermits living on pillars, following the example of St Simeon Stylites
Monks in Ireland live in stone beehive cells on rocky islands, to achieve maximum discomfort
Small ivory panels, with Gospel scenes carved in relief, provide a delicate beginning to the story of Christian sculpture
A phallic figure, the Cerne Giant, is cut on a Dorset hillside at Cerne Abbas
The scribes known as Masoretes safeguard the ancient Hebrew of the Torah by their careful copying of the text
Clovis and some 3000 of his soldiers are baptized in a massive ceremony at Reims
Dionysius Exiguus, commissioned by the pope to improve chronology, makes an error of at least four years in his selected event for AD 1
St Benedict gathers fellow hermits at Subiaco into a series of small monasteries
The monastery of St Catherine's in Sinai is founded by Justinian, and will accumulate one of the world's greatest collections of icons
St Finnian founds the first of Ireland's great Celtic monasteries, at Clonard
