The history of the Church records the continuing work of Christ throughout human history.
In the Orthodox Christian understanding, history has profound theological significance because of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Just as God chose to enter the world as a real, living, and breathing human being, He also chooses to work within and through human history to bring about the salvation of mankind. The history of the Church is therefore a sacred history—not in the same sense as the biblical history that reveals God’s saving work, but as a record of that saving work continuing in the lives of people and communities throughout the ages.
Through the lives of the Apostles and the early Christians, the witness of the martyrs, the teachings of the Church Fathers, and the councils that defended the Orthodox Faith, we see how the Gospel has been proclaimed, preserved, and lived from one generation to the next. These articles invite us to explore this history and to discover how the life of the Church bears witness to Christ’s continuing presence and work in the world.
| Article | Read Time | Hit Count | Written by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descent of the Holy Spirit | 5 mins | 5,282 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| The Royal Ministry of Christ in His Church | 6 mins | 4,359 | Archbishop Dmitri |
| Life of the First Christians | 2 mins | 4,099 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Church History 1 – The Apostolic Church | 8 mins | 10,181 | Timothy Ware ( Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia) |
| Persecution of the Christians by the Jews. The First Martyr St. Stephen | 2 mins | 5,176 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Conversion of Saul | 2 mins | 4,913 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Dormition of the Mother of God | 5 mins | 6,503 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Apostolic Council in Jerusalem | 3 mins | 6,625 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Revelation to St John | 7 mins | 4,024 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |
| Preaching Labors of the Apostles | 3 mins | 4,154 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Lives of the Apostles | 4 mins | 8,407 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| First Century | 3 mins | 4,456 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |
| Worldwide Persecution of Christians – Destruction of Jerusalem | 3 mins | 5,087 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Second Century | 7 mins | 4,981 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |
| Third Century | 10 mins | 4,913 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |
| End of Persecutions – Finding of the Cross | 5 mins | 6,063 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Fourth Century | 6 mins | 4,535 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |
| Church History 2 – The Establishment of the Imperial Church (312 AD) | 31 mins | 14,246 | Timothy Ware ( Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia) |
| New Enemies of Christianity | 3 mins | 5,613 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Ecumenical Councils | 2 mins | 5,101 | Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy |
| Fifth Century | 5 mins | 4,647 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |
| A Brief History of the Irish Orthodox Church | 14 mins | 4,114 | Monk Nicodemus |
| Historical Background of the Council Chalcedon | 4 mins | 4,771 | Fr. Alexander Schmemann |
| Sixth Century | 6 mins | 5,133 | Fr. Thomas Hopko |