Deësis Mosaic from the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul

History articles from American Catholic

• SAINTS Holy and Human
• Ten Achievements of Vatican II
• Tradition in the Catholic Church—Why It’s Still Important
• Treasures of Vatican II Our Compass for the Future
• Vatican II: The Vision Lives On Thirty years after the Council

Ancient and Medieval Church History Timeline Timelines and links on Church History

Athenaeum of Ohio Church History Resources

Catholic Encyclopedia Comprehensive information is provided on Popes, Jesus, Mother Teresa, Saints, Easter, Christmas and the Bible, to name a number of topics. This is a great site to have students research various topics from, or to find information for yourself. Those of you who are doing Web pages at your schools for parents, might like to post this site for them to take a look at. — Anne D’Andrea

Catholic Studies: Primary Sources and Special Collections (Seton Hall University)

Christian Classics Ethereal Library The mission of the CCEL is to build up the church by making classic Christian writings available and promoting their use.

Christianitytoday.com This site explores the first 2000 years of the Christian Church and Christian history. This site is a helpful resource for teachers, especially those teaching World Religions because it offers clear and organized facts. Furthermore, it can be useful for teachers because it includes recent articles from Christianity Today magazine examining everything from the early Church, the American experience, movements and traditions, heroes and leaders, and world Christianity. The site also includes a section titled ‘Behind the News’, which includes news, reviews, profiles, Christian holidays and readers’ responses. Viewers can also ask the editor any questions they are thinking about regarding Christianity. There are links which vary from a list of the 131 Christians, what happened this week in Christian history, and a store to purchase past issues, biographies and videos.–Angela Sambolec

Church History and Historical Theology
An index of primary and secondary sources to be used in the study of Church history.

Church History Institute This Protestant site is from the group that produces Church History magazine. An attractive and informative site. See particularly https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/  Anyone interested in knowing anything about Christian history can find a wealth of information here. There is a great list of important dates. This website is definitely worth your visit. — David Singh

Frontline: From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians This site is a resource to use with the PBS television show ” From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians.” It is four one-hour shows covering the following topics: how Judaism and the Roman Empire shaped Jesus’ life; the period after the crucifixion but before anything was actually called Christianity; the first attempts to write the Gospels; and, how the early church developed from 100 to 300 C.E. This is the most student friendly site that I came across. You don’t need the video to benefit from this site. Best for high school students, probably 11 to OAC. –Chris Dunlop

The Hall of Church History A map of Church history with links and resources that help you understand different facets of the Christian past. “The entrance is at the top center of the map. Watch your step, though. As you walk through The Hall of Church History, if you veer too far to the right or to the left, you’ll encounter people whose tendency has been to enshrine tradition over Scripture, or to pursue what is innovative and novel at the expense of what is sure and steadfast. These dark corners of The Hall of Church history can be interesting and informative. But we encourage guests to spend most of their time in the central hall, which takes you from the Church Fathers, through the Medieval Churchmen, down a narrow, treasure-filled hallway devoted to the Puritan and Reformed writers, to the more recent stalwarts of the faith.” From the website

The History Of Christianity: The Essential Resources

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Christian Origins This site contains information on early Church documents. It is divided into 8 sections: New Testament Canonical Information; Apostolic Fathers; Patristic Texts; Creeds and Canons; Later Texts; Related Documents; Miscellaneous Documents, and related Internet Sites. Each section is sub-divided into articles pertaining to the particular topic which offer a critical perspective and historical overviews of Church Documents. This site is very informative and would make a great resources for senior level secondary students writing research papers. — Dina Monaco

The Jesus Seminar This is the home site of the famous, or infamous if you wish, Jesus Seminar. It opens with its raison d’etre: ” We are going to inquire simply, rigorously, after the voice of Jesus, after what he really said.” The first section of this site deals with the seminar’s latest document entitled ” The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus”. That is followed by its first document: ” The Acts of Jesus: the Search for the authentic Deeds.” The site then explains how the members of the Seminar arrive at what is actually authentic, with a description of the colour coding of the New Testament, and how some sort of consensus is arrived at by the members. –Chris Dunlop

New Testament Gateway This site is maintained by Mark Goodacre, a Theology prof at the University of Birmingham. The site is based on a course he teaches at the university called ” the Historical Jesus “and is divided into four main sections: a list of general resources, a list of course materials, a list of discussion sites and a list of books and articles, all on-line. A good resource for secondary students. Perhaps the best part is the fourth part, where students have access to full books and articles, all on-line, regarding the historical Jesus. I think that most students would be amazed at the amount of discussion and scholarship that goes on in the everyday academic world on this topic.–Chris Dunlop

An Overview of Christian History compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.  Highlights from and Supplements to People of God: The History of Catholic Christianity by Anthony E. Gilles (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2000)

Resources for the Study of Early Christianity. “The purpose of the Southwestern Center for Early Christian Studies is to support the mission, vision, and values of Southwestern Seminary through committed research, teaching, and publication in the field of early Christian studies. The center will seek out ways to gather together groups of students and scholars to study of ancient church. The center will also assist students and pastors in becoming more historically, Biblically, and theologically informed.”

Theology Library Church History This site provides 125 links, some of which include general church history, early church history, western and eastern hemisphere church history and the history of other denominations. This site provides a great deal of information that would be appropriate for research assignments and presentations at the high school level. This website is wonderful because it originates at the high school level.

A Timeline of Church History This site provides a detailed timeline of church history dating back to Byzantine times from an Orthodox perspective. It reveals a general overview of the development and establishment of the Christian Church. Information on specific events or time periods can be easily accessed by clicking on a date located on the timeline. The site also provides prayer links to other sites. This would be a good resource for teachers who would like their students to explore the origins of the Christian Church and to understand church history.

Vatican Website – Saints This link provides pictures and biographies of Saints that were brought into sainthood since the reign of Pope John Paul II.–Lisa Falconi

While The Bible contains the tenets of Christianity and all of the important teachings of the faith, it is impossible for a student of theology to truly understand Christianity without studying it in historical context. There are many important events in the history of Christianity that are not reflected in The Bible, and studying the cultures that first embraced Christ, as well as the historic transformations and conflicts that came long after The Bible was written, are crucial for anyone hoping to grasp the current state of Christianity These sites offer historical perspectives on many of the major events in the development of Christianity, from the Ancient Near East to the crusades, schisms, and religious conflicts, as well as different interpretations of the historic significance of certain bible passages. This isn’t a ranking of these sites, but an attempt to recommend resources on a broad swath of important historic happenings in Christianity. -from their blog http://theologydegreesonline.com/christian-history/

Many thanks to York Catholic DSB teachers who helped to provide this links and annotations.