1095-1270

Pope Urban II responds to a request from the Byzantine Emperor in 1095 to save Christians from Muslim invaders in the Holy Land. This is the first of a series of eight separate Crusades that conclude in failure in 1270.

1208

Francis of Assisi (see Chapter 18) commits himself to following Jesus’ commands as strictly as is humanly possible. He gives up literally all his possessions and works among the poor in cities and towns. In the process, he accumulates numerous followers who become an order of monks (or friars), known as the Franciscans, though they call themselves the “friars minor,” or the “little brothers.”

1382

John Wycliffe becomes the first person to translate the Bible into English. After a number of years of work, he finishes the New Testament by 1380 and the entire Bible by 1382. The authorities in England don’t welcome his Bible, so he has to translate it in France and then smuggle it into England.

1382-1415

While translating some of John Wycliffe’s works from English into Czech, John Huss – a Catholic priest from Bohemia – becomes convinced of many of the same doctrinal issues that later inspire Martin Luther to lead the Protestant Reformation. Religious authorities imprison Huss in 1414 and burn him at the stake for his radical beliefs in 1415.

1427

Thomas a Kempis, a German monk, writes one of the most popular Christian books of all time: The Imitation of Christ. He was also part of The Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life, a group that took no formal vows but lived a life of poverty and strict obedience.

1457

The Moravian Brethren Church is founded by followers of John Huss, who died 42 years before. The Moravians focus on many of the same issues that later characterize the Protestants (such as justification by grace through faith alone and the need to be born again).

1517

Martin Luther, a German monk, nails his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Wittenburg Cathedral to protest what he believes to be corruption in the Catholic Church. This act is the spark that ignites the Protestant Reformation.

1525

William Tyndale (see Chapter 18) translates the Bible into English and, like John Wycliffe a century and a half before him, begins to smuggle copies into England. The British authorities finally catch up with him while he’s living in Brussels, Belgium; they send him back to England and execute him.

1532-1534

Because of his failure to secure approval from the pope for a divorce, King Henry VIII of England breaks from the Catholic Church and forms the Church of England. In 1534, the Parliament passes an Act of Supremacy, which makes this action official and binding.

1536

John Calvin (see Chapter 18) publishes his influential Institutes of the Christian Religion and later moves to Geneva to accept a position of leadership as Professor of Sacred  Scripture.