Christianity in History to 1550

Who we are is very much a product of our personal history and experiences. The same can be said of families, people groups, even whole countries. As Christians, we have a shared collective history of thought and experiences that make up who the church is today. Christian History not only helps us to understand ourselves, but it also reminds us how God has sovereignly worked throughout the centuries.

In this unit, we’ll examine how the first generations of Christians lived and thrived as a persecuted minority in the wealthy, secular society of the Roman Empire. We’ll follow in the footsteps of the first Celtic missionaries who shared the gospel to the far ends of their known world. We’ll look at how the position and office of the Pope emerged, and investigate how, with the command to love our neighbours, the Crusades could possibly have occurred. Finally, we’ll observe how God brought together events and people to bring about the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century.