The Early Church in the Apostolic Period: 35-120

Ignatius, Nero, Clement of Rome, and Ireneaus

35 b. Ignatius. His letters to churches and to Polycarp are widely quoted in the early church
51 The Jewish persecution of Christians in Rome becomes so disruptive that the Jews are expelled from the city
60 b. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor. "He was a man of long ago and the disciple of one 'John' and a companion of Polycarp," according to Irenaeus
64 Emperor Nero blames the fire that destroys much of Rome on the Christians. He persecutes the church ruthlessly, and uses Christians as candles to light his garden. It is likely that both Peter and Paul were executed during this persecution
68 The end of Nero's reign
69 b. Polycarp, in Smyrna. He was a strong defender of the faith in Asia Minor combating the Marcionites and the Valentinians. Irenaeus reported that Polycarp had communication with John the Apostle and 'others who had seen the Lord'
81 Domitian becomes Emperor. As Emperor, he persecuted both Jews and Christians
96 The end of Domitian's reign
96 d. Clement of Rome. He wrote influential epistles to Corinth
98 Trajan becomes Emperor. Trajan eventually instituted a policy toward Christians that staid in effect until the time of Aurelius. His policy was not to seek Christians out, but if they were brought before the authorities they were to be punished, usually executed, for being Christians
By the end of the first century it is possible to document congregations in almost every city that Paul visited on his three missionary journeys. There are also a few churches in Egypt and along the coast of Northern Africa
107 Ignatius led to Rome and martyred
115 b. Ireneaus, the first great Catholic theologian and author of Against Heresies, a treatise against the gnostics

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Broken into three sections, this authoritative collection of writings by the Early Church Fathers is essential for understanding patristic thought. Series I of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers consists of eight volumes of the writings of St. Augustine, the greatest and most influential of the early Fathers, as well as six volumes of the treatises and homilies of St. Chrysostom. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series II contains in fourteen volumes the works of the Greek Fathers from Eusebius to John of Damascus and the Latin Fathers from Hilary to Gregory the Great. The Ante-Nicene Fathers represent the first primary sources of Christian history following the canon of the New Testament, and include writings from the Apostolic Fathers as well as various third and fourth century sources.