Timeline of Christian missions
Encyclopedia
This timeline of Christian missions chronicles the global expansion of Christianity
through a listing of the most important missionary outreach
events.
Earliest dates must all be considered approximate
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
through a listing of the most important missionary outreach
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
events.
Apostolic Age
.Earliest dates must all be considered approximate
- 33 - Great CommissionGreat CommissionThe Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...
of Jesus to go and make disciplesDisciple (Christianity)In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
of all nations; PentecostPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, a day in which 3000 Jews from a variety of Mediterranean BasinMediterranean BasinIn biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
nations are converted to faith in Jesus Christ. - 34 - In GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, PhilipPhilip the EvangelistSaint Philip the Evangelist appears several times in the Acts of the Apostles. He was one of the Seven Deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem . He preached and performed miracles in Samaria, converted Simon Magus, and met and baptised an Ethiopian man, an...
baptizes a convert, an EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n who was already a Jewish proselyteProselyteThe biblical term "Proselyte", derives from the Koine Greek προσήλυτος/proselytos, as used in the Septuagint for "stranger", i.e. a "newcomer to Israel"; a "sojourner in the land", and in the New Testament for a convert to Judaism from Paganism...
. - 39 - Peter preaches to a Gentile audience in the house of Cornelius in Caesarea Maritima.
- 42 - MarkMark the EvangelistMark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
goes to AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... - 47 - PaulPaul of TarsusPaul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
(formerly known as Saul of Tarsus) begins his first missionary journey to Western Anatolia, part of modern-day TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
via CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. - 50 - Council of JerusalemCouncil of JerusalemThe Council of Jerusalem is a name applied by historians and theologians to an Early Christian council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50. It is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later Ecumenical Councils...
on admitting Gentiles into the Church - 51 - Paul begins his second missionary journey, a trip that will take him through modern-day TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and on into GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... - 52 - Thomas arrives in MalabarMalabar CoastThe Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
and Coromandel CoastCoromandel CoastThe Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
in India and founds church that subsequently becomes the Syrian Malabar Nasranis - 54 - Paul begins his third missionary journey
- 60 - Paul sent to RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
under Roman guard, evangelizes on MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
after shipwreck - 66 - Thaddeus establishes the Christian church of ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
- 69 - AndrewSaint AndrewSaint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
is crucified in PatrasPatrasPatras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
on the PeloponnesePeloponneseThe Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
peninsula of GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... - 80 - First Christians reported in TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Early Christianity
- 100 - First Christians are reported in MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
; a missionary goes to ArbelaArbilArbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
, old sacred city of the Assyrians - 110 - Ignatius of AntiochIgnatius of AntiochIgnatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop of Antioch, and was a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
writes to the Smyrnaeans that the Christian church is katholikos ("universal") - 112 - Pliny the YoungerPliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
reports rapid growth of Christianity in BithyniaBithyniaBithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:... - 140 - Hermas writes: "The Son of GodSon of God"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
. . . has been preached to the ends of the earth" - 150 - Gospel reaches PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... - 166 - Bishop SoterPope SoterPope Saint Soter was the Bishop of Rome during the latter half of the 2nd Century with his pontificate, according to the Annuario Pontificio, beginning between 162 and 168 then ending between 170 and 177. Although his name is derived from the Greek word "σωτήρ" , meaning a "saviour" or...
writes that the number of Christians has surpassed the JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation... - 167 - At the request of Lucius of BritainLucius of BritainSaint Lucius is a legendary 2nd-century King of the Britons traditionally credited with introducing Christianity into Britain. Lucius is first mentioned in a 6th-century version of the Liber Pontificalis, which says that he sent a letter to Pope Eleuterus asking to be made a Christian...
, missionaries Fuganus (or Phagan) and Duvianus (or Deruvian) were sent by Pope EleuterusPope EleuterusPope Saint Eleuterus, or Eleutherius, was Bishop of Rome from about 174 to 189 . He was born in Nicopolis in Epirus. His name is Greek for free....
to convert the Britons to Christianity - 174 - First Christians reported in AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
- 177 - Churches in LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and VienneVienne, IsèreVienne is a commune in south-eastern France, located south of Lyon, on the Rhône River. It is the second largest city after Grenoble in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture. The city's population was of 29,400 as of the 2001 census....
(southern France) report being persecuted - 190 - Pataenus of Alexandria goes to India in response to an appeal for Christian teachers
- 196 - Bar DaisanBar DaisanBardaisan was an Assyrian gnostic, founder of the Bardaisanites, and an scientist, scholar, astrologer, philosopher and poet, also renowned for his knowledge of India, on which he wrote a book, now lost.-Biography:...
writes of Christians among the ParthiaParthiaParthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
ns, BactriaBactriaBactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
ns (Kushans), and other peoples in the Persian Empire - 197 - TertullianTertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
writes that Christianity had penetrated all ranks of society in North Africa - 200 - First Christians are reported in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... - 202 - Roman Emperor SeverusSeptimius SeverusSeptimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
issues an edict forbidding conversion to Christianity - 206 - Abgar, King of EdessaOsroeneOsroene, also spelled Osrohene and Osrhoene and sometimes known by the name of its capital city, Edessa , was a historic Syriac kingdom located in Mesopotamia, which enjoyed semi-autonomy to complete independence from the years of 132 BC to AD 244.It was a Syriac-speaking kingdom.Osroene, or...
, embraces the Christian faith - 208 - TertullianTertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
writes that Christ has followers on the far side of the Roman wall in BritainHadrian's WallHadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
where Roman legions have not yet penetrated - 241 - ManiMani (prophet)Mani , of Iranian origin was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct...
begins to preach in Seleucia-CtesiphonAl-Mada'inAl-Mada'in, meaning "The cities", is the name given to an ancient metropolis formed by Ctesiphon and Seleucia on opposite sides of the Tigris River in present-day Iraq...
in what is now IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.... - 250 - DenisDenisSaint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after A.D. 250...
(or Denys or Dionysius) is sent from RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
along with six other missionaries to establish the church in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... - 270 - Death of Gregory ThaumaturgusGregory ThaumaturgusGregory Thaumaturgus, also known as Gregory of Neocaesarea or Gregory the Wonderworker, was a Christian bishop of the 3rd century.-Biography:Gregory was born at Neo-Caesarea around 213 A.D...
, Christian leader in Pontus. It was said that when Gregory became "bishop" there were only 17 Christians in Pontus while at his death thirty years later there were only 17 non-Christians. - 280 - First rural churches emerge in northern Italy; Christianity is no longer exclusively in urban areas
- 287 - Maurice from EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
is killed at Agauno, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
for refusing to sacrifice to pagan divinities - 300 - First Christians reported in Greater KhorasanGreater KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
; an estimated 10% of the world's population is now Christian; parts of the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
are available in 10 different languages
- 304 - Armenia accepts Christianity as state religion
- 306 - The first bishop of NisibisNisibisNusaybin Nisêbîn) is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey, populated mainly by Kurds. Earlier Arameans, Arabs, and Armenians lived in the city. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009.-Ancient Period:...
is ordained - 313 - Emperor Constantine issues Edict of MilanEdict of MilanThe Edict of Milan was a letter signed by emperors Constantine I and Licinius that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire...
, legalizing Christianity in the Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.... - 314 - Tiridates III of ArmeniaTiridates III of ArmeniaTiridates III or Diritades III was the king of Arsacid Armenia , and is also known as Tiridates the Great ; some scholars incorrectly refer to him as Tiridates IV as a result of the fact that Tiridates I of Armenia reigned twice)...
and King Urnayr of Caucasian AlbaniaCaucasian AlbaniaAlbania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
converted by Gregory the IlluminatorGregory the IlluminatorSaint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church...
Era of the Seven Ecumenical Councils
- 327 - GeorgianGeorgia (country)Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
King Mirian III of IberiaMirian III of IberiaMirian III was a king of Iberia , contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine I .According to the early medieval Georgian annals and hagiography, Mirian was the first Christian king of Iberia, converted through the ministry of Nino, a Cappadocian female missionary...
converted by NinoSaint NinoSaint Nino , ), Equal to the Apostles in and the Enlightener of Georgia, was a woman who preached Christianity in Georgia.... - 330 - Ethiopian King Ezana of AxumEzana of AxumEzana of Axum , was ruler of the Axumite Kingdom located in present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, he himself employed the style "king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan"...
makes Christianity an official religion - 332 - Two young Roman Christians, Frumentius and Aedesius, are the sole survivors of a ship destroyed in the Red SeaRed SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
due to tensions between Rome and Aksum. They are taken as slaves to the Ethiopian capital of AxumAxumAxum or Aksum is a city in northern Ethiopia which was the original capital of the eponymous kingdom of Axum. Population 56,500 . Axum was a naval and trading power that ruled the region from ca. 400 BC into the 10th century...
to serve in the royal court. - 334 - The first bishop is ordained for MervMervMerv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
/ TransoxianaTransoxianaTransoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
(area of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and southwest Kazakhstan) - 337 - Emperor Constantine baptized shortly before his death
- 341 - UlfilasUlfilasUlfilas, or Gothic Wulfila , bishop, missionary, and Bible translator, was a Goth or half-Goth and half-Greek from Cappadocia who had spent time inside the Roman Empire at the peak of the Arian controversy. Ulfilas was ordained a bishop by Eusebius of Nicomedia and returned to his people to work...
begins work with the GothsGothsThe Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
in present-day Romania - 350 - Bible is translated into Saidic, an Egyptian language
- 354 - Theophilus "the Indian" reports visiting Christians in India; PhilostorgiusPhilostorgiusPhilostorgius was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Anomoeanism questioned the Trinitarian account of the relationship between God the Father and Christ and was considered a heresy by the Orthodox Church, which adopted the term "homoousia" in the Nicene Creed. Very little...
mentions a community of Christians on the SocotraSocotraSocotra , also spelt Soqotra, is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through...
islands, south of Yemen in the Arabian SeaArabian SeaThe Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India... - 364 - Conversion of VandalsVandalsThe Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
to Christianity begins during reign of Emperor ValensValensValens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne... - 370 - WulfilaUlfilasUlfilas, or Gothic Wulfila , bishop, missionary, and Bible translator, was a Goth or half-Goth and half-Greek from Cappadocia who had spent time inside the Roman Empire at the peak of the Arian controversy. Ulfilas was ordained a bishop by Eusebius of Nicomedia and returned to his people to work...
translates the Bible into GothicGothic languageGothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizable Text corpus...
, the first Bible translationBible translationsThe Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
done specifically for missionary purposes - 378 - JeromeJeromeSaint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
writes, "From India to Britain, all nations resound with the death and resurrection of Christ" - 380 - Roman Emperor Theodosius ITheodosius ITheodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
makes Christianity the official state religion - 382 - JeromeJeromeSaint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
is commissioned to translate the Gospels (and subsequently the whole Bible) into Latin (Price, p. 78 - 386 - Augustine of HippoAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
converted - 397 - NinianSaint NinianSaint Ninian is a Christian saint first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland...
evangelizes the Southern PictsPictsThe Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
of ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; three missionaries sent to the mountaineers in the TrentoTrentoTrento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
region of northern Italy are martyred - 400 - Hayyan begins proclaiming gospel in YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
after having been converted in Hirta on the Persian border; in starting a school for native Gothic evangelists, John Chrysostom writes, "'Go and make disciples of all nations' was not said for the Apostles onlyu, but for us also"
- 410 - New Testament translated into ArmenianArmenian languageThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
- 420 - A Pre-IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
Arabian BedouinBedouinThe Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribe under sheikh Peter-Aspebet is converted - 425 - The first bishops are ordained for HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
(Afghanistan) and SamarkandSamarkandAlthough a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
(Uzbekistan) - 432 - PatrickSaint PatrickSaint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
goes to IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as missionary - 450 - First Christians reported in LiechtensteinLiechtensteinThe Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
- 496 - Conversion of Clovis IClovis IClovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
, king of FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
in GaulGaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, along with 3,000 warriors - 499 - Persian king Kavadh IKavadh IKavad or Kavadh I was the son of Peroz I and the nineteenth Sassanid king of Persia, reigning from 488 to 531...
, fleeing his country, meets a group of Christian missionaries going to Central Asia to preach to the Turks - 500 - First Christians reported in North YemenNorth YemenNorth Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...
; Nairam becomes Christian center
- 508 - Philoxenus of MabugMabugManbij , formerly known as Hierapolis Bambyce, is an ancient city in the Aleppo Governorate, Syria.- History :In 1879, after the Russo-Turkish War, a colony of Circassians from Vidin was planted in the ruins, and the result has been the constant discovery of antiquities, which find their way into...
begins translation of the Bible into SyriacSyriac languageSyriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from... - 529 - Benedict of NursiaBenedict of NursiaSaint Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, about to the east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. There is no...
destroys pagan temple at Monte CassinoMonte CassinoMonte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
(Italy and builds a monastery - 535 - The HephthaliteHephthaliteThe Hephthalites or Hephthalite is a pre-Islamic Greek term for local Abdali Afghans, who's famous ruler was Nazak Abdali . Hephthalites were a Central Asian nomadic confederation of the AD 5th-6th centuries whose precise origins and composition remain obscure...
Huns - nomadNomadNomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
s living in northern China and Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, who were also known as the White Huns - are taught to read and write by NestorianNestorianismNestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
missionaries. - 542 - Julian (or Julianus) from ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
begins evangelizing NubiaNubiaNubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, accompanied by an Egyptian named Theodore - 563 - ColumbaColumbaSaint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
sails from Ireland to ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
where he founds an evangelistic training center on IonaIonaIona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats... - 569 - Longinus, church leader in NobatiaNobatiaNobatia or Nobadia was an ancient African Christian kingdom in Lower Nubia and subsequently a region of the larger Nubian Kingdom of Makuria...
, evangelizes AlodiaAlodiaAlodia or Alwa was the southernmost of the three kingdoms of Christian Nubia; the other two were Nobatia and Makuria to the north.Much about this kingdom is still unknown, despite its thousand year existence and considerable power and geographic size. Due to fewer excavations far less is known...
(in what is now SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
) - 578 - Conversion to Christianity of An-numan III, last of Lakhmids (Pre Islam Arab prince)
- 592 - Death of Celtic/Irish missionary Moluag (Old Irish: Mo-Luóc)
- 596 - Gregory the Great sends AugustineAugustine of CanterburyAugustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
and a team of missionaries to (what is now) England to reintroduce the Gospel. The missionaries settle in CanterburyCanterburyCanterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
and within a year baptize 10,000 people - 600 - First Christian settlers in AndorraAndorraAndorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
(between France and Spain)
- 604 - A church is reportedly planted on Thorney IslandThorney Island (London)Thorney Island was the eyot on the Thames, upstream of mediæval London, where Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster were built...
(where Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
now stands) - 627 - Conversion of King Edwin of Northumbria
- 629 - Amandus of ElnonSaint AmandSaint Amand or Amandus was a French Christian saint, one of the great Christian Saints of Flanders.-Biography:...
is consecrated a missionary bishop. He evangelized the region around GhentGhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and went on missions to Slavs along the DanubeDanubeThe Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and to BasquesBasque peopleThe Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
in NavarreNavarreNavarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France... - 630 - Conversion of the East AnglesAnglesThe Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
(one of the seven kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon HeptarchyHeptarchyThe Heptarchy is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of south, east, and central Great Britain during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, conventionally identified as seven: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex...
) - 635 - First Christian missionaries (NestorianNestorianismNestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
monks, including AlopenAlopenAlopen is the first recorded Christian missionary to reach China, during the Tang Dynasty. He was a Nestorian, and probably a Syriac-speaker from Persia...
, from Asia MinorAsia MinorAsia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and PersiaIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
arrive in China; Aidan of LindisfarneAidan of LindisfarneKnown as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria , was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the Anglicised form of the original Old...
begins evangelizing in the heart of NorthumbriaNorthumbriaNorthumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
(England) - 637 - LombardsLombardsThe Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, a German people living in northern Italy, become Christians - 638 - A church building is erected in Ch'ang-an, then perhaps the largest city in the world (see Daqin PagodaDaqin PagodaDaqin Pagoda in Chang'an, Shaanxi Province, located about two kilometres to the west of Louguantai temple, is the remnant of the earliest surviving Christian church in China. The church and the monastery were built in 640 by early Nestorian missionaries...
) - 647 - Amadeus, bishop of Maastricht, carries out missionary work in FrisiaFrisiaFrisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
(Netherlands) and among the SlavsSlavic peoplesThe Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain... - 650 - First church organized in NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- 673 - IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
monk Maol Rubha founds a training center at AprochrosanApplecrossThe Applecross peninsula is a peninsula in Wester Ross, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1300 years old and is not used locally to refer to the 19th century village with the pub and post office, lying on the small Applecross Bay, facing the Inner Sound, on...
that would serve as a base for missionary outreach into ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... - 680 - First translation of Christian Scriptures into Arabic
- 687 - Conversion of Sussex
- 689 - Pagans kill Irish missionary KilianSaint KilianSaint Kilian, also spelled Killian , was an Irish missionary bishop and the apostle of Franconia , where he began his labours towards the end of the 7th century.-Background:...
near WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
in what is now Germany. - 692 - WillibrordWillibrord__notoc__Willibrord was a Northumbrian missionary saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands...
and 11 companions cross the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
to become missionaries to the FrisiaFrisiaFrisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
ns (modern day Netherlands) - 697 - Muslims overrun CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, capital of North AfricaNorth AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
- 720 - Caliph Umar IIUmar IIUmar ibn Abd al-Aziz was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 to 720. He was also a cousin of the former caliph, being the son of Abd al-Malik's younger brother, Abd al-Aziz. He was also a great-grandson of the companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Umar bin Al-Khattab.-Lineage:Umar was born around...
puts heavy pressure on the Christian BerbersBerber peopleBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
to convert to Islam - 716 - Boniface begins missionary work among Germanic tribes
- 724 - Boniface fells pagan sacred oak of ThorThorIn Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
at GeismarGeismarGeismar is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany....
in HesseHesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
(Germany) - 740 - Irish monks reach Iceland
- 771 - CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
becomes king and will decree that sermons be given in the vernacularVernacularA vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
. He also commissioned Bible translations. - 781 - Nestorian SteleNestorian SteleThe Nestorian Stele is aTang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of history of early Christianity in China. It is a 279-cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China...
erected near Xi'anXi'anXi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
(China) to commemorate the propagation in China of the Luminous Religion, thus providing a written record of a Christian presence in China - 787 - LiudgerLudgerSaint Ludger was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia....
begins missionary work among the pagans near the mouth of the Ems river (in Germany)
Middle Ages
- 822 - Mojmír IMojmír IMojmir I or Moimir I was the first known ruler of the Moravian Slavs . In modern scholarship, the creation of the early medieval state known as "Great" Moravia is attributed either to his or to his successors' expansionist policy...
of Great MoraviaGreat MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
, converts to Christianity - 826 - AnsgarAnsgarSaint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar, was an Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a "Mission to bring Christianity to the North", and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North".-Life:After his mother’s early death Ansgar was brought up in Corbie Abbey, and made rapid...
from FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
is sent by papal authority to DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
as a royal chaplain and missionary; Harald Klak is baptized along with 400 of his followers at Mainz - 828 - First Christian church in present-day SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
is built in NitraNitraNitra is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. With a population of about 83,572, it is the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Nitra is also one of the oldest cities in Slovakia and the country's earliest political and cultural center...
; First missionaries reach the area that is now the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... - 830 - Scotch-born Erluph is evangelizing in (what is now) Germany when he is killed by the VandalsVandalsThe Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
- 859 - Execution of Eulogius, proponent of confrontational Christian witness in Spain and other Muslim-dominated societies. Opposed to any feeling of affinity with Muslim cultureMuslim cultureIslamic culture is a term primarily used in secular academia to describe the cultural practices common to historically Islamic peoples. As the religion of Islam originated in 7th century Arabia, the early forms of Muslim culture were predominantly Arab...
, Eulogius advocated using a missiology of martyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
dom to confront IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. - 863 - CyrilSaints Cyril and MethodiusSaints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they...
and Methodius are invited by RastislavRastislavRastislav or Rostislav was the second known ruler of Moravia . Although he started his reign as vassal to Louis the German, king of East Francia, he consolidated his rule to the extent that after 855 he was able to repel a series of Frankish attacks...
to evangelize in Great MoraviaGreat MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
and the Balaton PrincipalityBalaton PrincipalityThe Principality of Lower Pannonia was a Slavic principality located in the western part of the Pannonian plain, between the rivers Danube to its east The Principality of Lower Pannonia (also called Pannonia, Lower Pannonia, Pannonian Principality, Transdanubian Principality, Slavic Pannonian... - 864 - Conversion of Prince BorisBoris I of BulgariaBoris I, also known as Boris-Mihail and Bogoris was the Knyaz of First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III...
of BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east... - 867 - All SerbianSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
tribes are fully Christianized - 878 - Last definite reference to Christians in China before the Mongol era
- 880 - First Slavic archbishopric established in Great MoraviaGreat MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
with Methodius as its head; Bible translated into Slavonic - 900 - Missionaries from the archdiocese of Bremen-Hamburg reach NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
- 912 - The NormansNormansThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
become Christian - 948 - The leader of the Magyars converts to Christianity
- 957 - Princess OlgaOlga of KievSaint Olga , or Olga the Beauty, hypothetically Old Norse: Helga In some Scandinavian sources she was called other name. born c. 890 died 11 July 969, Kiev) was a ruler of Kievan Rus' as regent Saint Olga , or Olga the Beauty, hypothetically Old Norse: Helga In some Scandinavian sources she was...
of KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition... - 965 - Harold I of Denmark converts to Christianity and smooths the way for the acceptance of Christian faith by the Danish people
- 966 - Mieszko I of PolandMieszko I of PolandMieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
converts to Christianity and begins the period of Christian PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... - 987 - NestorianNestorianismNestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
monks visiting China find no traces of Christian community left - 988 - Baptism of Kievan Rus'Baptism of Kievan Rus'The Christianization of Kievan Rus took place in several stages. In early 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople announced to other Orthodox patriarchs that the Rus', baptised by his bishop, took to Christianity with particular enthusiasm...
under Vladimir IVladimir I of KievVladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty... - 995 - Christian missionaries from NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
begin working in IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... - 997 - Adalbert of PragueAdalbert of PragueThis article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
dies as a martyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
in PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
1000 to 1499
- 1000 - Christianity accepted by common consent in Iceland by parliament (Alþingi). Leif the Lucky introduces the Gospel to GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, possibly VinlandVinlandVinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
(Newfoundland) - 1003 - The Hungarian king sends evangelists to Transylvania
- 1008 - Sigfrid (or Sigurd), English missionary, baptizes King Olof of Sweden
- 1009 - Bruno of QuerfurtBruno of QuerfurtSaint Bruno of Querfurt , also known as Brun and Boniface, is a sainted missionary bishop and martyr, who was beheaded near the border of Kievan Rus and Lithuania while trying to spread Christianity in Eastern Europe...
is beheaded in PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
where he had gone as a missionary - 1015 - RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is said to have been "comprehensively" converted to the Orthodox faithEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
; Olaf II Haroldsson becomes the first king of the whole of Norway. Over the next 15 years he would organize Norway's final conversion and its integration into Christian Europe. - 1017 - Günther tries to convert the inhabitants of Vorpommern; the mission is not successful.
- 1122 - Bernhard, later bishop of LebusBishopric of LebusThe Bishopric of Lebus was a Roman Catholic diocese and later an ecclesiastical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed from 1125 until 1598...
launches an unsuccessful mission in the Duchy of PomeraniaDuchy of PomeraniaThe Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania .... - 1124/28 - Otto von Bamberg succeeds in the Conversion of PomeraniaConversion of PomeraniaMedieval Pomerania was converted from Slavic paganism to Christianity by Otto von Bamberg in 1124 and 1128 , and in 1168 by Absalon .Earlier attempts, undertaken since the 10th century, failed or were short-lived...
Bishopric of Cammin established in Pomerania in 1140. - 1168 - AbsalonAbsalonAbsalon was a Danish archbishop and statesman, who was the Bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and Archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and churchfather of Denmark in the second half of the 12th century, and was the closest advisor of King Valdemar I of...
subdues and converts the Principality of Rügen - 1200 - The Bible is now available in 22 different languages
- 1210 - FranciscanFranciscanMost Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Order established
- 1216 - Dominican OrderDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
established - 1219 - Francis of AssisiFrancis of AssisiSaint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
presents the Gospel to the SultanSultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of Egypt - 1227 - Prince Bort converted and baptized in the Ukraine
- 1244 - Christians are reported in LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
with King MindaugasMindaugasMindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...
being baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in 1251 - 1253 - Franciscan William of RubruckWilliam of RubruckWilliam of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. His account is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo....
begins his journey to the Mongols - 1266 - Mongol leader KhanKublai KhanKublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
sends Marco PoloMarco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
's father and uncle, Niccolo and Matteo Polo, back to Europe with a request to the PopePopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
to send 100 Christian missionaries (only two responded and one died before reaching Mongol territory) - 1276 - Ramon LlullRamon LlullRamon Llull was a Majorcan writer and philosopher, logician and tertiary Franciscan. He wrote the first major work of Catalan literature. Recently-surfaced manuscripts show him to have anticipated by several centuries prominent work on elections theory...
opens training center to send missionaries to North AfricaNorth AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and... - 1291 - Appointment of first indigenous bishop in Finland
- 1294 - Franciscan Giovanni di Monte Corvino arrives in China
- 1303 - Arnold of CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
arrives in China to assist Giovanni di Monte Corvino - 1321 - JordanusJordanusJordanus or Jordan Catalani was a French Dominican missionary and explorer in Asia known for his Mirabilia describing the marvels of the East.-Travels:He was perhaps born at Sévérac-le-Château in Aveyron, north-east of Toulouse...
, a DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
monk, arrives in India as the first resident Roman Catholic missionary - 1322 - Odoric of PordenoneOdoric of PordenoneOdoric of Pordenone was an Italian late-medieval traveler...
, a Franciscan monk from ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, arrives in China - 1323 - Franciscans make contacts on SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Java, and BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia.... - 1326 - Chaghatayid Khan Ilchigedai grants permission for a church to be built in SamarkandSamarkandAlthough a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, UzbekistanUzbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south.... - 1329 - Nicaea falls to Muslim Ottoman TurksOttoman TurksThe Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
- 1334 - Chaghatayid Khan Buzun allows Christians to rebuild churches and permits Franciscans to establish a missionary episcopate in Almaliq, AzerbaijanAzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
- 1368 - Collapse of the Franciscan mission in China as Ming DynastyMing DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
abolishes Christianity - 1379 - Stephen of PermStephen of PermSaint Stephen of Perm was a fourteenth century missionary credited with the conversion of the Komi Permyaks to Christianity and the establishment of the Bishopric of Perm'. Stephen also created the Old Permic script, which makes him the founding-father of Permian written tradition...
travels north toward the White SeaWhite SeaThe White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
and settles as a missionary among the UralicUralic languagesThe Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
-speaking Komi peoplesKomi peoplesThe Komi people is an ethnic group whose homeland is in the north-east of European Russia around the basins of the Vychegda, Pechora and Kama rivers. They mostly live in the Komi Republic, Perm Krai, Murmansk Oblast, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the Russian...
living between PechoraPechora RiverThe Pechora River is a river in northwest Russia which flows north into the Arctic Ocean on the west side of the Ural Mountains. It lies mostly in the Komi Republic but the northernmost part crosses the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is 1,809 km long and its basin is 322,000 square kilometers...
and VychegdaVychegda RiverVychegda is a river in the European part of Russia, tributary to the Northern Dvina. Its length is about . Its source is approximately west of the northern Ural Mountains. It flows roughly in western direction, through Komi Republic and Arkhangelsk Oblast. The largest city along the Vychegda is...
Rivers at Ust-Vim - 1382 - Bible translated into EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
by John Wycliff - 1386 - JogailaJogailaJogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
(baptized - Wladyslaw II), king of the LithuaniansLithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
, is baptized - 1389 - Large numbers of Christians march through the streets of Cairo, denouncing Islam and lamenting that they had abandoned the religion of their fathers from fear of pesecution. They were beheaded, both men and women, and a fresh persecution of Christians followed
- 1400 - Scriptures translated into Icelandic
- 1408 - Spanish Dominican Vincent Ferrer begins a ministry in Italy in which it is said that thousands of Jews and Muslims were won to faith in Christ
- 1410 - Bible is translated into HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
- 1420 - Franciscan missionaries accompany Portuguese expedition to Madeira
- 1431 - Franciscan missionaries accompany Portuguese expedition to the Azores
- 1435 - Forced conversion of JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Palma de MallorcaPalma de MallorcaPalma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - 1445 - First Christians reported in Guinea Bissau
- 1448 - First Christians reported in MauritaniaMauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
- 1450 - Franscian missionaries accompany Portuguese expedition to the Cape Verde Islands
- 1453 - ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
falls to the MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Ottoman TurksOttoman TurksThe Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
who make it their capital. An Islamic service of thanksgiving is held in the church of Saint Sophia - 1455 - With the bullPapal bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Romanus PontifexRomanus PontifexRomanus Pontifex is a papal bull written January 8, 1455 by Pope Nicholas V to King Afonso V of Portugal. As a follow-up to the Dum Diversas, it confirmed to the Crown of Portugal dominion over all lands discovered or conquered during the Age of Discovery. Along with encouraging the seizure of the...
the patronage of missions in new countries behind Cape BojadorCape BojadorCape Bojador or Cape Boujdour is a headland on the northern coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W. , as well as the name of a nearby town with a population of 41,178.It is shown on nautical charts with the original Portuguese name "Cabo Bojador", but is sometimes...
is given to the Portuguese (see "PadroadoPadroadoThe Padroado , was an arrangement between the Holy See and the kingdom of Portugal, affirmed by a series of treaties, by which the Vatican delegated to the kings of Spain and Portugal the administration of the local Churches...
"). - 1462 - Johannes Gutenberg begins printing the Bible with his movable-type printing process; Pope Pius IIPope Pius IIPope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
assigns the evangelization of the Portuguese GuineaPortuguese GuineaPortuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...
Coast of Africa to the Franciscans led by Alfonso de Bolano - 1485 - After having come into contact with the Portuguese, the King of BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
requests that a church be planted in his kingdom - 1486 - DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
become active in West AfricaWest AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, notably among the Wolof peopleWolof peopleThe Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
in Senegambia. - 1489 - BaptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of WolofWolof peopleThe Wolof are an ethnic group found in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania.In Senegal, the Wolof form an ethnic plurality with about 43.3% of the population are Wolofs...
king Behemoi in SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north... - 1491 - The CongoKingdom of KongoThe Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
sees its first group of missionaries arrive. Under the ministry of these Franciscan and DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
priests, the king would soon be baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and a church built at the royal capital. - 1492 - Birth of the church in AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
- 1493 - Pope Alexander VIPope Alexander VIPope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
commandsInter caeteraInter caetera was a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on , which granted to Spain all lands to the "west and south" of a pole-to-pole line 100 leagues west and south of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands.It remains unclear to the present whether the pope was issuing a...
Spain to colonize the New World with Catholic missions; Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
takes Christian priests with him on his second journey to the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle... - 1494 - First missionaries arrive in Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
- 1495 - The head of a convent in Seville, Spain, MercedarianOrder of the Blessed Virgin Mary of MercyThe Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives also known as Our Lady of Ransom is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1218 by St...
Jorge, makes a trip to the West Indies. - 1496 - First Christian baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s in the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
take place when Guaticaba along with other members of his household are baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
on the island of HispaniolaHispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt... - 1497 - Forced conversion of Jews in Portugal
- 1498 - First Christians are reported in KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
- 1499 - Portuguese AugustinianAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
missionaries arrive at ZanzibarZanzibarZanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
. Their missionMission (Christian)Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
will end in 1698 due to the OmanOmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
-Arab conquest.
1500 to 1600
- 1500 - Franciscans enter BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
with CabralPedro Álvares CabralPedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it... - 1501 - Pope Alexander VIPope Alexander VIPope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
grants to the crown of Spain all the newly-discovered countries in the AmericasAmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, on condition that provision be made for the religious instruction of the native populationsIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans... - 1502 - Bartolomé de las CasasBartolomé de Las CasasBartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
, who will later become an ardent defender of the indigenous peoples of the AmericasIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, goes to CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. For his military services there he will be given an encomiendaEncomiendaThe encomienda was a system that was employed mainly by the Spanish crown during the colonization of the Americas to regulate Native American labor....
, an estate that included the services of the Indigenous Peoples of the AmericasIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
living on it. - 1503 - Mar Elijah, Patriarch of the East Syrian churchIndian Orthodox ChurchThe Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as the Indian Orthodox Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church centred in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the churches of India's Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas...
, sends three missionaries "to the islands of the sea which are inside Java and to China." - 1506 - Mission work begun in MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
- 1508 - Franciscans begin evangelizing in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
- 1509 - First church building constructed on Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
- 1510 - DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
begin work in HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island... - 1511 - Martin de Valencia came to believe that Psalm 58 prophesied the conversionReligious conversionReligious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
of all unbelievers. While reflecting on the Scripture passage, he asked, "When will this be? When will this prophecy be filled . . . we are already in the afternoon, at the end of our days, and the world's final era." Later that same week, while reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah, he reportedly saw a vision of vast multitudes being converted and baptised. He began to pray to be chosen to preach and convert all heathen. He would die 20 years later as a missionary to Mexico. - 1512 - Dominican missionaryDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
Antonio de Montesino returns to Spain to try to convince King FerdinandFerdinand II of AragonFerdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
that all is not as it should be in the new western colonies. He reported that on the islands of HispaniolaHispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
(now Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
) and CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the indigenous peoples were rapidly dying out under the system of slavery used by the colonists. - 1513 - In CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Bartolomé de las CasasBartolomé de Las CasasBartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
is ordained (possibly the first ordination in the New World). Soon thereafter, Las Casas will renounce all claims to his Indian serfs - 1514 - Franciscans begin missionary work in California
- 1515 - Portuguese missionary Francisco ÁlvaresFrancisco ÁlvaresFrancisco Álvares was a Portuguese missionary and explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Ethiopian ambassador Matheus. The embassy arrived only in 1520 to Ethiopia where he joined long sought Portuguese envoy...
is sent on a diplomatic mission to Dawit IIDawit II of EthiopiaDawit II , enthroned as Emperor Anbasa Segad , better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
, the Negus or Emperor of Abyssinia (an old name for EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
) - 1515 - Portuguese missionaries begin work in Benin, NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
- 1517 - The Mughal RulersMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
of DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
opened the door of BengalBengalBengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
to Christian missionaries - 1518 - Don Henrique, son of the king of the Congo, is consecrated by Pope Leo XPope Leo XPope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
as the first indigenousIndigenous peoplesIndigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
bishop from sub-Saharan Black Africa - 1519 - Two Franciscans accompany Hernán CortésHernán CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
in his expedition to Mexico - 1520 - German missionary Maximilian Uhland, also known as Bernardino de San Jose, goes to HispaniolaHispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
with the newly appointed Bishop Alessandro GeraldiniAlessandro GeraldiniAlessandro Geraldini was a Renaissance humanist scholar at the Spanish court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of Christopher Columbus. He served as tutor to the royal children and later accompanied the Infanta Catharine of Aragon to England, as her confessor...
. - 1521 - Pope Leo XPope Leo XPope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
grants Franciscan Francis Quiñones permission and faculties to go as a missionary to the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
together with Juan Clapión - 1522 - Portuguese missionaries establish presence on coast of Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and begin moving inland in the wake of Portuguese military units - 1523 - Martin LutherMartin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
writes a missionary hymn based on Psalm 67Psalm 67Psalm 67 is part of the biblical Book of Psalms.-Anglican Church:It may be recited as a canticle in the Anglican liturgy of Evening Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer as an alternative to the Nunc dimittis, when it is referred to by its incipit as the Deus misereatur .The main hymn...
, May God Bestow on Us His Grace. It has been called "the first missionary hymn of ProtestantismProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
." - 1524 - Martin de Valencia goes to New SpainNew SpainNew Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
with 12 Franciscan friars - 1525 - Italian Franciscan missionary Giulio Zarco is sent to MichoacánMichoacánMichoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
on the western coast of Mexico where he will become very proficient in some of the indigenous languages - 1526 - Franciscans enter Florida; Twelve DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
friars arrive in the Mexican capital - 1527 - Martyrs' SynodMartyrs' SynodThe Martyrs' Synod took place in Augsburg from 20 to 24 August, 1527. The purpose of this meeting, attended by about sixty representatives from different Anabaptist groups, was to come to an agreement over the differences related to the central Anabaptist teachings among the Swiss and south German...
— organized by AnabaptistAnabaptistAnabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
s, it is the first Protestant missionary conference - 1528 - Franciscan missionary Juan de PadillaJuan de PadillaFather Juan de Padilla , born in Andalusia, was a Spanish Roman Catholic missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado....
arrives in Mexico. He will accompany CoronadoFrancisco Vásquez de CoronadoFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
's expedition searching for the Seven CitiesQuivira and CíbolaQuivira is a place first mentioned by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1541, who visited it during his searches for the mythical "Seven Cities of Gold". The location and identity of the "Quivirans" has been much debated over a wide area, including Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri...
and eventually settle among the Quivira (now called the WichitaWichita (tribe)The Wichita people are indigenous inhabitants of North America, who traditionally spoke the Wichita language, a Caddoan language. They have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas...
) - 1529 - Franciscan Peter of Ghent writes from Latin America that he and a colleague had baptized 14,000 people on one day
- 1531 - Franciscan Juan de PadillaJuan de PadillaFather Juan de Padilla , born in Andalusia, was a Spanish Roman Catholic missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado....
begins a series of missionary tours among Indian tribes southeast of Mexico City - 1532 - Evangelization of PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
begins when missionaries arrive with Francisco Pizzaro's military expedition - 1533 - The Pechenga MonasteryPechenga MonasteryThe Pechenga Monastery was for many centuries the northernmost monastery in the world. It was founded in 1533 at the influx of the Pechenga River into the Barents Sea, 135 km west of modern Murmansk, by St...
is founded in the Extreme North of Russia to preach Gospel to the Sami peopleSami peopleThe Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
; Augustinian order arrives in Mexico; First Christian missionaries arrive in TonkinTonkinTonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
, what is now VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... - 1534 - The entire caste of ParavasParavasParava or Paravar , also known as Parathavar , Bharathar , Bharathakula Pandyar or Bharathakula Kshathriyar is a caste in southern India that in ancient times were subordinate Tamil chiefs and coastal fishermen, as well as, according at least to one modern writer, "ferocious...
on the Coromandel CoastCoromandel CoastThe Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
are baptized -- perhaps 20,000 people in all - 1536 - Northern Italian Anabaptist missionary Hans Oberecker is burned at the stake in Vienna.
- 1537 - Pope Paul IIIPope Paul IIIPope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
orders that the Indigenous peoples of the AmericasIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of the New World be brought to Christ "by the preaching of the divine word, and with the example of the good life." - 1538 - Franciscans enter ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
- 1539 - The PueblosPueblo peopleThe Pueblo people are a Native American people in the Southwestern United States. Their traditional economy is based on agriculture and trade. When first encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century, they were living in villages that the Spanish called pueblos, meaning "towns". Of the 21...
of what is now the U.S. Southwest are encountered by Spanish Franciscan missionary Marcos de NizaMarcos de NizaFray Marcos de Niza was a Franciscan friar. He was born in Nice , which was at that time under the control of the Italian House of Savoy.... - 1540 - Franciscans arrive in Trinidad and are killed by cannibals
- 1541 - Franciscans begin establishing missions in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- 1542 - Francis XavierFrancis XavierFrancis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
goes to Portuguese colony of GoaGoaGoa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
in West IndiaWest IndiaWest India or the Western region of India consists of the states of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra, along with the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It is highly industrialized, with a large urban population. Most of Western India was part of the Maratha Empire before...
; - 1543 - AnabaptistAnabaptistAnabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
Menno SimonsMenno SimonsMenno Simons was an Anabaptist religious leader from the Friesland region of the Low Countries. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and his followers became known as Mennonites...
leaves the Netherlands and begins planting churches in Germany - 1544 - Franciscan Andrés de Olmos, leads group of Indian converts to TamaulipasTamaulipasTamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
- 1545 - Testifying to the power that letters back home from missionaries have had, Antonio Araoz writes about Francis Xavier: "No less fruit has been obtained in Spain and Portugal through his letters than has been obtained in the Indies through his teaching."
- 1546 - Xavier travels to the Indonesian islands of MorotaiMorotaiMorotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
, AmbonAmbon IslandAmbon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
, and TernateTernateTernate is an island in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It is located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera, the center of the powerful former Sultanate of Ternate.... - 1547 - Wealthy Spaniard Juan FernándezJuan Fernández (missionary)Juan Fernández was a Spanish Jesuit lay brother and missionary. He was the first European to a grammar and lexicon of the Japanese language.-Life:...
becomes a Jesuit. He will go to Japan as a missionary. - 1548 - Xavier founds the College of the Holy Name of God in Baçaim on the northwest coast of India
- 1549 - DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
Luis CancerLuis CancerFather Luis Cancer or Fray Luis de Cancer was a Dominican priest and pioneer Spanish missionary to the New World.He was born at Barbastro, in Aragon...
, who had worked among the MayansMaya civilizationThe Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
of GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Mexico, lands at Tampa BayTampa BayTampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
(Florida) with two companions. They are immediately killed by the CalusaCalusaThe Calusa were a Native American people who lived on the coast and along the inner waterways of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region; at the time of European contact, the Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture...
. - 1549 Jesuit missionaries led by Xavier arrive in Japan and built a base in Kyushu. Their aggressive proselytizing was most successful in Kyushu, with about 100,000 to 200,000 converts, including many daimyo.
- 1550 - Printed Scriptures are available in 28 languages
- 1551 - Dominican Jerome de Loaysa founds the National University of San MarcosNational University of San MarcosThe National University of San Marcos is the most important and respected higher-education institution in Peru. Its main campus, the University City, is located in Lima...
in LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
(Peru) as well as a hospital for indigenous peoples - 1553 - Portuguese missionaries build a church in Malacca TownMalacca TownMost tourist attractions are concentrated in its small city centre which encompasses Jonker Walk which houses Malacca's traditional Chinatown that exhibits Peranakan architecture. A Famosa Fort, St. Paul Hill are among the tourist attractions located in the Bandar Hilir, old city area. There are...
, Malaysia - 1554 - 1,500 converts to Christianity are reported in Siam (now called ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
) - 1555 - John CalvinJohn CalvinJohn Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
sends HuguenotHuguenotThe Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s to Brazil - 1555 - The first, failed, attempt to set up a Christian mission in CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, by Dominican Gaspar da CruzGaspar da CruzGaspar da Cruz was a Portuguese Dominican friar born in Évora, who traveled to Asia and wrote one of the first detailed European accounts about China.-Biography:Gaspar da Cruz was admitted to the Order of Preachers convent of Azeitão...
. - 1556 - Gaspar da CruzGaspar da CruzGaspar da Cruz was a Portuguese Dominican friar born in Évora, who traveled to Asia and wrote one of the first detailed European accounts about China.-Biography:Gaspar da Cruz was admitted to the Order of Preachers convent of Azeitão...
spends a month preaching in GuangzhouGuangzhouGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, China. - 1557 - Jesuit bishop André de Oviedo arrives in EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
with five priests to convert the local Ethiopian ChristiansEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchThe Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
to Catholicism. - 1558 - The KabardKabardKabarda or Kabard ; are terms referring to a people of the northern Caucasus more commonly known by the plural term Kabardin . Originally they Kabarda or Kabard ; are terms referring to a people of the northern Caucasus more commonly known by the plural term Kabardin (or Kebertei as they term...
ian duke Saltan Idarov converts to Orthodox ChristianityEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,... - 1559 - Missionary Vilela settles in KyotoKyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan - 1560 - Goncalo da SilveiraGonçalo da SilveiraGonçalo da Silveira was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary in southern Africa.-Life:Gonçalo da Silveira was born at Almeirim, Portugal, about from Lisbon. He was the tenth child of Dom Luís da Silveira, first count of Sortelha, and Dona Beatriz Coutinho, daughter of Dom Fernando Coutinho, Marshal of...
, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, visited the Munhumutapa EmpireMunhumutapa EmpireThe Kingdom of Mutapa, sometimes referred to as the Mutapa Empire was a Shona kingdom which stretched between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of southern Africa in the modern states of Zimbabwe and Mozambique...
, where he rapidly made converts - 1562 - Diego de LandaDiego de LandaDiego de Landa Calderón was a Spanish Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán. He left future generations with a mixed legacy in his writings, which contain much valuable information on pre-Columbian Maya civilization, and his actions which destroyed much of that civilization's...
burns the libraries of the Maya civilizationMaya civilizationThe Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican... - 1563 - Jesuit missionary Luis Frois, who will later write a history of Jesuit activity in Japan, arrives in that country; Omura SumitadaOmura SumitadaŌmura Sumitada Japanese daimyo lord of the Sengoku period. He achieved fame throughout the country for being the first of the daimyo to convert to Christianity following the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries in the mid-16th century. Following his baptism, he became known as "Dom Bartolomeu"...
becomes the first daimyo (feudal landholder) to convert to Christianity - 1564 - Legaspi begins Augustinian work in PhilippinePhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
Islands - 1565 - Jesuits arrive in MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
. - 1566 - The first Jesuit to enter what is now the United States, Pedro Martinez, is clubbed to death by fearful IndiansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
on the sands of Fort George Island, Florida - 1567 - Missionaries Jeronimo da Cruz and Sebastiao da Canto, both DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, arrive at AyutthayaAyutthaya (city)Ayutthaya city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya...
, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... - 1568 - In the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Diego de Herrera baptizes Chieftain Tupas of CebuCebu IslandCebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
and his son - 1569 - Jeronimo da Cruz is murdered along with two newly-arrived missionaries
- 1570 - Ignacio Azevedo and 39 other Jesuit missionaries are killed by piratesPiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
near Palma, one of the Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, while on their way to BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... - 1571 - Capuchin friars of the 'Strict Observance' arrive on the island of Trinidad with conquistador Don Juan Ponce of Seville.
- 1572 - Jesuits arrive in Mexico
- 1573 - Large-scale evangelization of the FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Indian nations and tribesIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
begins with the arrival of Franciscan friars; Augustinian order enters EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border... - 1574 - AugustinianAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
Guillermo de Santa Maria writes a treatise on the illegitimacy of the war the Spanish government was waging against the ChichimecaChichimecaChichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
in the Mexican state of MichoacánMichoacánMichoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia... - 1575 - Church building constructed in KyotoKyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. Built in Japanese architectural style, it was popularly called the "temple of the South Barbarians" - 1575 - Spanish Augustinians Martín de RadaMartín de RadaMartín de Rada was one of the first members of the Order of Saint Augustine to evangelize the Philippines, as well as one of the first Christian missionaries to visit the Ming China.-Early years:When he was twelve years old, de Rada's parents sent him and his older brother to study at the...
and Geronimo Martín spend four months in FujianFujian' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, China, trying to arrange for long-term missionary work there. The attempt ends in failure due to unrelated events in the Philippines. - 1577 - DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
enter MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and penetrate inland, burning Muslim mosqueMosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s as they go - 1578 - King of Spain orders the bishop of Lima not to confer Holy OrdersHoly OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
on mestizoMestizoMestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s - 1579 - Jesuit Alessandro ValignanoAlessandro ValignanoAlessandro Valignano, , was a Jesuit missionary born in Chieti, back then part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the introduction of Catholicism to the Far East, and especially to Japan....
arrives in Japan where, as "Visitor of Missions", he formulates a basic strategy for Catholic proselytism in that country. Valignano's adaptationism attempted to avoid cultural frictions by covering the gap between certain Japanese customs and Roman Catholic values. - 1580 - Japanese DaimyoDaimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
(feudal landholder) Arima Harunobu becomes Christian and takes the name Protasio - 1582 - Jesuits, with Michele RuggieriMichele RuggieriMichele Ruggieri was an Italian Jesuit priest. One of the founding fathers of the Jesuit China missions, and a co-author of the first Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, he can be described as the first European sinologist.-Formation years in Europe:Before entering the Society of Jesus Michele...
and Matteo RicciMatteo RicciMatteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
as the pioneers, begin mission work in mainland ChinaMainland ChinaMainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
; introduce Western science, mathematics, astronomy - 1583 - Five Jesuit missionaries are murdered near GoaGoaGoa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
(India) - 1584 - Matteo RicciMatteo RicciMatteo Ricci, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest, and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission, as it existed in the 17th-18th centuries. His current title is Servant of God....
and a Chinese scholar translate a catechismCatechismA catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
into Chinese under the title Tian Zhu Shi Lu（天主實録） (A True Account of God) - 1585 - CarmeliteCarmelitesThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
leader Jerome Gracian meets with Martin Ignatius de Loyola, a Franciscan missionary from China. The two sign a vinculo de hermandad misionera -- a bond of missionary brotherhood—by which the two orders would collaborate in missionary work in EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, China, the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and the East and West Indies. - 1586 - Portuguese missionary João dos SantosJoão dos SantosJoão dos Santos was a Portuguese Dominican missionary in India and Africa.-Life:On 13 August 1586, four months after leaving Lisbon, dos Santos arrived in Mozambique. He was at once sent to Sofala, where he remained four years with Father João Madeira...
reports that locals kill elephants to protect their crops in SofalaSofalaSofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
, Mozambique. - 1587 - All foreigners ordered out of Japan when shogun fears they are as divisive and might present the Europeans with an opportunity to disrupt Japan. They stay but persecution escalates.
- Manteo becomes the first American IndianNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
to be baptized by the Church of England - 1590 - A book by Belgian pastor Hadrian à SaraviaHadrian à SaraviaHadrian à Saravia, sometimes called Hadrian Saravia, Adrian Saravia, or Adrianus Saravia was an English prebend and theologian and a member of the First Westminster Company, charged by James I of England to produce the King James Version of the Bible.-Early years:Saravia was born in Hesdin , then...
has a chapter arguing that the Great CommissionGreat CommissionThe Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...
is still binding on the church today because the Apostles did not fulfill it completely - 1591 - First Catholic church built in TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
; First Chinese admitted as members of the Jesuit orderSociety of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a... - 1593 - The Franciscans arrive in Japan and establish St. Anna's hospital in KyotoKyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
; they dispute with the Jesuits. - 1594 - First Jesuit missionaries arrive in what is today PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
- 1595 - Dutch East India CompanyDutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
chaplains expand their ministry beyond the European expatriates - 1596 - Jesuit missionaries travel across the island of Samar in the Philippines to establish mission centers on the eastern side
- 1597 - Twenty-six Japanese Christians are crucified for their faith by General Toyotomi HideyoshiToyotomi Hideyoshiwas a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
in Nagasaki, Japan. Full-scale persecution destroys the Christian community by the 1620s. Converts who did not reject Christianity were killed. Many Christians went underground, but their communities died out. Christianity left no permanent imprint on Japanese society. - 1598 - Spanish missionaries push north from Mexico into what is now the state of New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. - 1599 - Jesuit Francisco Fernandez goes to what is now the Jessore DistrictJessore DistrictJessore is a district located in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west.The district produces a variety of crops year-round. Date-sugar called patali is made from the sap of locally grown date trees that is cooked, thickened and crystallised using a...
of BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and builds a church there
1600 to 1699
- 1600 - French missionaries arrive in the area of what is now Sault Ste. Marie, MichiganSault Ste. Marie, MichiganSault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
- 1601 - First ordination of Japanese priests
- 1602 - Chinese scientist and translator Xu GuangqiXu GuangqiXu Guangqi , was a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and they translated several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of...
is baptized - 1603 - The Jesuit Mission Press in Japan commences publication of a Japanese- Portuguese dictionary
- 1604 - Jesuit missionary Abbè Jessè Flèchè arrives at Port Royal, Nova ScotiaPort Royal, Nova ScotiaPort Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
- 1605 - Roberto de NobiliRoberto de NobiliRoberto de Nobili was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not contrary to Christianity.Born in Montepulciano, Tuscany in September 1577, Roberto de Nobili arrived...
goes to India - 1606 - Japanese ShogunShogunA was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasuwas the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
bans Christianity - 1607 - Missionary Juan Fonte establishes the first Jesuit mission among the TarahumaraTarahumaraThe Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability...
in the Sierra Madre MountainsSierra Madre OccidentalThe Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...
of Northwest MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... - 1608 - A missionary expedition into the CearáCearáCeará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
area of BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
fails when the Tacariju kill the Jesuit leader - 1609 - Missionary Nicolas TrigaultNicolas TrigaultNicolas Trigault was a Flemish Jesuit, and a missionary to China. He was also known by his latinised name Trigautius or Trigaultius, and his Chinese name Jīn Nígé .-Life and work:...
goes to China; he will soon (1615) publish Ricci's journalsDe Christiana expeditione apud SinasDe Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu is a book based on an Italian manuscript written by the most important founding figure of the Jesuit China mission, Matteo Ricci , expanded and translated into Latin by his colleague Nicolas Trigault...
in Europe - 1610 - Chinese mathematician and astronomer Li Zhizao is baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
- 1611 - Two Jesuits begin work among Mi'kmaq Indians of Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
- 1612 - Jesuits found a mission for the Abenakis in MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
- 1613 - Missionary Alvarus de Semedo goes to China
- 1614 - Anti-Christian edicts issued in Japan] with over 40,000 Christians being massacred
- 1615 - French missionaries in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
open schools in Trois-RivièresTrois-Rivières, QuebecTrois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
and TadoussacTadoussac, QuebecTadoussac is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Saguenay rivers. It was France's first trading post on the mainland of New France and an important trading post in the seventeenth century, making it the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in...
to teach First NationsFirst NationsFirst Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
children with the hopes of converting them - 1616 - Nanjing Missionary Case in which the clash between Chinese practice of ancestor worship and CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
doctrine ends in the deportation of foreign missionaries. Missionary Johann Adam Schall von BellJohann Adam Schall von BellJohann Adam Schall von Bell was a German Jesuit and astronomer. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China and became an adviser to the Chinese emperor.- Life :...
arrives in China - 1617 - Portuguese missionary Francisco de Pina arrives in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
- 1618 - Portuguese CarmelitesCarmelitesThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
go from Persia to PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to establish a church in ThattaThattaThatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...
(near KarachiKarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
) - 1619 - DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
missionaries found the University of St. Tomas in the Philippine islands - 1620 - CarmelitesCarmelitesThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
enter GoaGoaGoa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its... - 1621 - The AugustiniansAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
establish themselves in ChittagongChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading... - 1622 - Pope Gregory VIPope Gregory VIPope Gregory VI , born John Gratian , was Pope from 1 May 1045 until his abdication at the Council of Sutri on 20 December 1046....
founds the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. This becomes the major Papal agency for coordinating and directing missionary work - 1623 - A stone monument (Nestorian SteleNestorian SteleThe Nestorian Stele is aTang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of history of early Christianity in China. It is a 279-cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China...
) is unearthed in Xi'anXi'anXi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
(Si-ngan-fu), China. Its inscription, written by a Syrian monk almost a thousand years earlier and in both Chinese characters and Persian script, begins with the words, "Let us praise the Lord that the [Christian] faith has been popular in China"; it told of the arrival of a missionary, A-lo-pen (Abraham), in AD 625. Alvaro SemedoAlvaro SemedoÁlvaro de Semedo , was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary in China.Alvaro Semedo was born in Niza, Portugal in 1585 or 1586...
and other Jesuits soon publicize the stele's discovery in Europe. - 1624 - Persecution intensifies in Japan with 50 Christians being burned alive in EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(now called Tokyo) - 1625 - VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
expels missionaries - 1626 - After entering Japan in disguise, Jesuit missionary Francis Pacheco is captured and executed at Nagasaki
- 1627 - Alexander de RhodesAlexander de RhodesFather Alexander de Rhodes was a French Jesuit missionary and lexicographer who had a lasting impact on Christianity in Vietnam. He wrote the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum, the first trilingual Vietnamese-Portuguese-Latin dictionary published in Rome in 1651.- Biography...
goes to VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
where in three years of ministry he baptizes 6,700 converts - 1628 - Congregation for the Evangelization of PeoplesCongregation for the Evangelization of PeoplesThe Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...
established in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to train "native clergy" from all over the world - 1629 - Franciscan missionary Alonzo Benavides founds Santa Clara de Capo on the border of ApacheApacheApache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
Indian country in what is now New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S... - 1630 - An attempt is made in the El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
area to establish a mission among the Mansos Indians - 1631 - Dutch missionary Abraham Rogerius (anglicized as Roger), who authored Open Door to the Secrets of Heathendom, begins 10 years of ministry among the Tamil peopleTamil peopleTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
in the Dutch colony of PulicatPulicatPulicat is a historic seashore town in Thiruvallur District, of Tamil Nadu state, South India. It is about 60 km north of Chennai and 3 km from Elavur, on the barrier island of Sriharikota, which separates Pulicat Lake from the Bay of Bengal. Pulicat lake is a shallow salt water lagoon...
near Madras, India - 1632 - Zuni Indians murder a group of Franciscan missionaries who had three years earlier established the first mission to the Zunis at Hawikuh in what is now New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
- 1633 - Emperor FasilidesFasilides of EthiopiaFasilides was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
expels the Jesuit missionaries in EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
; the German Lutheran Church sends Peter Heyling as the first ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
missionary to Ethiopia. - 1634 - Jesuit missionary Jean de Brèbeuf travels to the Petun nation (in Canada) and baptizes a 40 year old man.
- 1635 - An expedition of Franciscans leaves QuitoQuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, to try to penetrate into AmazoniaAmazon BasinThe Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
from the west. Though most of them will be killed along the way, a few will manage to arrive two years later on the Atlantic coast. - 1636 - The DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
of ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
(the Philippines) organize a missionary expedition to Japan. They are arrested on one of the Okinawa islandsOkinawa Prefectureis one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
and will be eventually condemned to death by the tribunal of Nagasaki. - 1637 - When smallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
kills thousands of Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, tribal medicine menMedicine man"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...
blame European missionaries for the disaster - 1638 - Official ban of Christianity in Japan with death penalty; The Fountain Opened, a posthumous work of the influential PuritanPuritanThe Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
writer Richard SibbesRichard SibbesRichard Sibbes was an English theologian. He is known as a Biblical exegete, and as a representative, with William Perkins and John Preston, of what has been called "main-line" Puritanism.-Life:...
is published, in which he says that the gospel must continue its journey "til it have gone over the whole world." - 1639 - The first women to New FranceNew FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
as missionaries—three UrsulineUrsulinesThe Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
Nuns—board the "St. Joseph" and set sail for New FranceNew FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
- 1640 - Jesuit missionaries arrive on the CaribbeanCaribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
island of MartiniqueMartiniqueMartinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados... - 1641 - Jesuit missionary Cristoval de Acuna describes the Amazon RiverAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
in a written report to the king of SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - 1642 - Catholic missionaries Isaac JoguesIsaac JoguesIsaac Jogues was a Jesuit priest, missionary, and martyr who traveled and worked among the native populations in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawks near ...
and Rene GoupilRené GoupilRené Goupil was a French missionary and one of the first North American martyrs of the Roman Catholic Church....
are captured by Mohawk IndiansMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
as they return to Huron country from QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Goupil was tomahawked to death while Jogues will be held for a period of time as a slave. He used his slavery as an opportunity for missionary work - 1643 - John CampaniusJohn CampaniusJohn Campanius , also known as John Campanius Holm, was a Swedish Lutheran clergyman assigned to the New Sweden colony.-Background:...
, LutheranLutheranismLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
missionary to the IndiansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, arrives in America on the Delaware RiverDelaware RiverThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
; Reformed pastor Johannes Megapolensis begins outreach to Native AmericansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
while pastoring at Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River... - 1644 - John EliotJohn Eliot (missionary)John Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
begins ministry to AlgonquianAlgonquian peoplesThe Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
Indians in North America - 1645 - After thirty years of work in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the Jesuits are expelled from that country - 1646 - After being accused of being a sorcerer, Jesuit missionary Isaac JoguesIsaac JoguesIsaac Jogues was a Jesuit priest, missionary, and martyr who traveled and worked among the native populations in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawks near ...
is killed by the IroquoisIroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America... - 1647 - The Discalced CarmelitesCarmelitesThe Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
begin work on MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa... - 1648 - BaptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of Helena and other members of the emperial Ming familyMing DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic... - 1649 - Society for the Propagation of the Gospel In New England formed to reach the Indians of New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
- 1650 - The destruction of Huronia by the IroquoisIroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
puts an end to the Jesuits' dream of making the Huron Indians the focal point of their evangelismEvangelismEvangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity.... - 1651 - Count Truchsess of Wetzhausen, prominent LutheranLutheranismLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
layman, asks the theological faculty of WittenbergWittenbergWittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
why Lutherans are not sending out missionaries in obedience to the Great CommissionGreat CommissionThe Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism... - 1652 - Jesuit Antonio Vieira returns to BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
as a missionary where he will champion the cause of exploited indigenous peoplesIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
until being expelled by Portuguese colonists - 1653 - A MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
war party captures Jesuit Joseph PoncetJoseph PoncetJoseph Anthony de la Rivière Poncet was a French Jesuit missionary to Canada.-Life:He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Paris at nineteen, as a student in rhetoric and philosophy...
near MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He is tortured and will be finally sent back with a message about peace overtures - 1654 - John Eliot publishes a catechismCatechismA catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
for American IndiansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as... - 1655 - Jinga or Zinga, princess of Matamba in AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
is converted; later she will write to the PopePopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
urging that more missionaries be sent - 1656 - First QuakerReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
missionaries arrive in what is now Boston, Massachusetts - 1657 - Thomas Mayhew, Jr., is lost at sea during a voyage to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that was to combine an appeal for missionary funds with personal business - 1658 - After the flight of the FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
missionaries from his area, chief Daniel Garakonthie of the OnondagaOnondaga (tribe)The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
Indians, examines the customs of the French colonists and the doctrines of the missionaries and openly begins protecting Christians in his part of what is now New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... - 1659 - Jesuit Alexander de RhodesAlexander de RhodesFather Alexander de Rhodes was a French Jesuit missionary and lexicographer who had a lasting impact on Christianity in Vietnam. He wrote the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum, the first trilingual Vietnamese-Portuguese-Latin dictionary published in Rome in 1651.- Biography...
establishes the Paris Foreign Missions SocietyParis Foreign Missions SocietyThe Society of Foreign Missions of Paris is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious order, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons dedicated to missionary work in foreign lands.... - 1660 - Christianity is introduced into CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
- 1661 - George FoxGeorge FoxGeorge Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
, founder of the Religious Society of FriendsReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers) sends 3 missionaries to China (although they never reached the field) - 1662 - French Jesuit missionary Julien GarnierJulien GarnierJulien Garnier was a French Jesuit missionary to Canada.-Life:He entered the Society of Jesus in 1660, and, in October, 1662, sailed for Canada...
sails for CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - 1663 - John Eliot's translation of the BibleBible translationsThe Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
into one of the Algonquian languagesAlgonquian languagesThe Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
is published (the New Testament came out two years earlier). This Bible was the first complete Bible to be printed in the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle... - 1664 - Justinian Von Welz authors three powerful pamphlets on the need for world missions; he will go to Dutch Guinea (now called Surinam) where he will die after only three months
- 1665 - Japanese feudal landholders (called DaimyoDaimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
) were ordered to follow the shogunate's example and to appoint inquisitors to do a yearly scutiny of Christians - 1666 -John Eliot publishes his The Indian Grammar, a book written to assist in conversion work among the IndiansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Described as "some bones and ribs preparation for such a work", Eliot intended his Grammar for missionaries wishing to learn the dialect spoken by the MassachusettMassachusettThe Massachusett are a tribe of Native Americans who lived in areas surrounding Massachusetts Bay in what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in particular present-day Greater Boston; they spoke the Massachusett language...
Indians. - 1667 - The first missionary to attempt to reach the HuaoraniHuaoraniThe Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate name Auca is a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua Indians, and commonly adopted by...
(or Aucas), Jesuit Pedro Suarez, is slain with spears - 1668 - In a letter from his post in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
missionary Jacques Bruyas laments his ignorance of the OneidaOneida tribeThe Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
language: "What can a man do who does not understand their language, and who is not understood when he speaks. As yet, I do nothing but stammer; nevertheless, in four months I have baptized 60 persons, among whom there are only four adults, baptized in periculo mortis. All the rest are little children." - 1669 - Eager to compete with the Jesuits for conversion of the Indian NationsNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
on the western Great LakesGreat LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
, SulpilcianSociety of Saint-SulpiceThe Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
missionaries François Dollier de CassonFrançois Dollier de CassonFrançois Dollier de Casson was born in France into a wealthy bourgeois and military family. He began his adult life in the army which he left after three years to continue his studies and become a priest....
and René Bréhant de GalinéeRené Bréhant de GalinéeRené Bréhant de Galinée was a member of the Society of Saint-Sulpice at Montreal and an explorer and missionary to the Native Americans. In 1670, he and François Dollier de Casson were the first Europeans to make a recorded transit of the Detroit River...
set out from MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
with twenty-seven men in seven canoeCanoeA canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s led by two canoes of Seneca IndiansSeneca nationThe Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in... - 1670 - Jesuits establish missions on the OrinocoOrinocoThe Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...
River in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south... - 1671 - QuakerReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
missionaries arrive in the CarolinasThe CarolinasThe Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida... - 1672 - A chieftain on GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
kills Jesuit missionary Diego Luis de San Vitores and his Visayan assistant, Pedro CalungsodPedro CalungsodBlessed Pedro Calungsod is a Filipino Roman Catholic martyr who was killed while doing missionary work in Guam in 1672. He was beatified on March 5, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. As a skilled sacristan and teacher of cathecism, he was a companion of Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores to the Marianas...
, for having baptized the chief's daughter without his permission (some accounts do say the girl's mother consented to the baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
) - 1673 - FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
trader Louis JollietLouis JollietLouis Jolliet , also known as Louis Joliet, was a French Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America...
and missionary Jacques MarquetteJacques MarquetteFather Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...
visit what is now the state of IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where the latter establishes a mission for Native Americans - 1674 - VincentianSociety of Saint Vincent de PaulThe St Vincent de Paul Society is an international Roman Catholic voluntary organization dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need. Active in England & Wales since 1844, today it continues to address social and material need in all...
mission to MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
collapses after 25 years of abortive effort - 1675 - An uprising on the islands of MicronesiaMicronesiaMicronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
leads to the death of three Christian missionaries - 1676 - Kateri TekakwithaKateri TekakwithaKateri Tekakwitha or Catherine Tekakwitha was a Mohawk-Algonquian woman from New York and an early convert to Catholicism, who has been beatified in the Roman Catholic Church.-Her life:...
, who became known as the Lily of the MohawksMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
, is baptizedBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
by a Jesuit missionary. She, along with many other Native Americans, joins a missionary settlement in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where a syncretistic blend of ascetic indigenous and Catholic beliefs evolves. - 1678 -French missionaries Jean La Salle and Louis HennepinLouis HennepinFather Louis Hennepin, O.F.M. baptized Antoine, was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order and an explorer of the interior of North America....
discover Niagara FallsNiagara FallsThe Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has... - 1679 - Writing from ChangzhouChangzhouChangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the...
, newly arrived missionary Juan de Yrigoyen describes three Christian congregations flourishing in that Chinese city - 1680 - The Pueblo RevoltPueblo RevoltThe Pueblo Revolt of 1680, or Popé's Rebellion, was an uprising of several pueblos of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonization of the Americas in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.-Background:...
begins in New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
with the killing of twenty-one Franciscan missionaries - 1681 - After arriving in New SpainNew SpainNew Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, Italian Jesuit Eusebio KinoEusebio KinoEusebio Francisco Kino S.J. was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who became famous in what is now northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States in the region then known as the Pimaria Alta...
soon becomes what one writer described as "the most picturesque missionary pioneer of all North America." A bundle of evangelistic zeal, Kino was also an explorer, astronomer, cartographer, mission builder, ranchman, cattle king, and defender of the frontier - 1682 - 13 missionaries go to "remote cities" in East SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
- 1683 - Missionary Louis HennepinLouis HennepinFather Louis Hennepin, O.F.M. baptized Antoine, was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order and an explorer of the interior of North America....
returns to FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after exploring MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and being held captive by the DakotaSiouxThe Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
to write the first book about Minnesota, Description de la Louisiane - 1684 - Louis XIV of FranceLouis XIV of FranceLouis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
sends Jesuit missionaries to China bearing gifts from the collections of the LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
and the Palace of VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles.... - 1685 - Consecration of first CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
bishop of Chinese origin - 1686 - Russian OrthodoxRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
monks arrive in China as missionaries - 1687 - FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
activity begins in what is now Côte d'IvoireCôte d'IvoireThe Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
when missionaries land at AssinieAssinieAssinie is a resort town in Côte d'Ivoire, 80 km East of Abidjan on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.... - 1688 - New Testament translated into the Malay languageMalay languageMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
(the first Bible translationBible translationsThe Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
into a language of southeast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
) - 1689 - CalusaCalusaThe Calusa were a Native American people who lived on the coast and along the inner waterways of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region; at the time of European contact, the Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture...
Indian chief from what is the state of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
visits CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to discuss idea of having missionaries come to his people - 1690 - First Franciscan missionaries arrive in TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- 1691 - Christian Faith Society for the West Indies was organized with a focus on evangelizing African slaves
- 1692 - Chinese Kangxi EmperorKangxi EmperorThe Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
permits the Jesuits to freely preach Christianity, converting whom they wish - 1693 - Jesuit missionary John de Britto is publicly beheaded in India
- 1694 - Missionary and explorer Eusebio KinoEusebio KinoEusebio Francisco Kino S.J. was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who became famous in what is now northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States in the region then known as the Pimaria Alta...
becomes the first European to enter the Tucson, ArizonaTucson, ArizonaTucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
basin and create a lasting settlement - 1695 - China's first Russian Orthodox churchRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
building is consecrated - 1696 - Jesuit missionary Francois Pinet founds the Mission of the Guardian Angel near what is today Chicago, Illinois. The mission was abandoned in 1700 when missionary efforts seemed fruitless
- 1697 - To evangelize the English colonies, Thomas BrayThomas BrayThe Reverend Dr Thomas Bray was an English clergyman, who spent time in Maryland as an Anglican representative.-Life:...
, an AnglicanAnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
preacher who made several missionary trips to North America, begins laying the groundwork for what will be the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts - 1698 - Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge organized by AnglicansAnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
- 1699 - Priests of the Quebec Seminary of Foreign Missions establish a mission among the TamaroaTamaroa (tribe)The Tamaroa were a Native American tribe in the central Mississippi River valley of North America, and a member of the Illiniwek or Illinois Confederacy of twelve to thirteen tribes....
Indians at CahokiaCahokiaCahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...
in what is now the state of Illinois
1700 to 1799
- 1700 - After a Swedish missionary's sermon in PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, one Native American posed such searching questions that the episode was reported in a 1731 history of the Swedish church in America. The interchange is noted in Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
's Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (1784). - 1701 - Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts officially organized
- 1702 - George KeithGeorge KeithGeorge Keith was a Scottish missionary.-Life:Born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to a Presbyterian family, he received an M.A. from the University of Aberdeen...
, returns to America as a missionary of the newly-organized Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts - 1703 - The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts expands to the West Indies
- 1704 - French missionary priests arrive to evangelize the ChitimachaChitimachaThe Chitimacha are a Native American federally recognized tribe that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. Mary Parish. They currently number about 720 people. The Chitimacha language is a language isolate.- History :The Chitimacha's historic home was the southern Louisiana coast...
living along the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in what is now the state of LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties... - 1706 Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, missionary, arrives in TranquebarTranquebarTharangambadi is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 15 km north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Its name means "place of the singing waves"...
- 1706- Irish-born Francis MakemieFrancis MakemieThe Rev. Francis Makemie was an Irish clergyman, considered to be the founder of Presbyterianism in United States of America.Makemie was born into the Ulster-Scots community in Ramelton, County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. He went on to become a clergyman and...
, who has been an itinerant Presbyterian missionary among the colonists of America since 1683, is finally able to organize the first American presbytery - 1707 - Italian CapuchinOrder of Friars Minor CapuchinThe Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
missionaries reach Kathmandu in NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Maillard de Tournon makes public, in NanjingNanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, the VaticanHoly SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
decisions on rites, including the stipulations against the veneration of ancestors and of ConfuciusConfuciusConfucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
. - 1708- Jesuit missionary Giovanni Battista SidottiGiovanni Battista SidottiGiovanni Battista Sidotti was an Italian Jesuit priest. During the Edo period, he entered Japan illegally and was arrested, whereupon he was confined until his death....
is arrested in Japan. He is taken to EdoEdo, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(now called Tokyo) to be interrogated by Arai HakusekiArai Hakusekiwas a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name... - 1709 - Experience Mayhew, missionary to the Martha's VineyardMartha's VineyardMartha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
Indians, translates the PsalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
and the Gospel of JohnGospel of JohnThe Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
into the MassachusettMassachusettThe Massachusett are a tribe of Native Americans who lived in areas surrounding Massachusetts Bay in what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in particular present-day Greater Boston; they spoke the Massachusett language...
language. It will be a work considered second only to John Eliot's Indian Bible in terms of significant Indian-language translations in colonial New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut... - 1710 - First modern Bible Society founded in Germany by Count Canstein
- 1711 - Jesuit Eusebio KinoEusebio KinoEusebio Francisco Kino S.J. was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who became famous in what is now northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States in the region then known as the Pimaria Alta...
, missionary explorer in southern ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and northern Sonora, dies suddenly in northern MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Kino, who has been called "the cowboy missionary", had fought against the exploitation of IndiansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
in Mexican silver mines. - 1712- Using a press sent by The Society for Promoting Christian KnowledgeSPCKThe Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge is the oldest Anglican mission organisation. It was founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray , and a small group of friends. The most important early leaders were Anton Wilhelm Boehm and court preacher Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen...
, the Tranquebar Mission in India begins printing books in the Portuguese languagePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... - 1713 - Jesuit Ippolito DesideriIppolito DesideriIppolito Desideri was an Italian Jesuit missionary in Tibet and the first European to have successfully studied and understood Tibetan language and culture.-Biography:...
goes to TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
as a missionary - 1714 - New Testament translated into TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
(India); a missionary training college is established in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region... - 1715 - Eastern Orthodox ChurchEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
missionary outreach is renewed in ManchuriaManchuriaManchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
and Northern China - 1716 - The establishment of the Alamo Mission in San AntonioAlamo Mission in San AntonioThe Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas....
is authorized by the viceroyViceroyA viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The mission was to be an educational center for Native Americans who converted to Christianity. - 1717 - Chen Mao writes to the Chinese Emperor about his concerns over CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
missionaries and Western traders. He urgently requested an all-out prohibition of Catholic missionaries in the Qing provincesQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. - 1718 - Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg constructs a church building in India that is still in use today
- 1719 - Isaac WattsIsaac WattsIsaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
writes missionary hymnHymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
"Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun" - 1720- Missionary Johann Ernst Gruendler dies in India. He had arrived there in 1709 with the sponsorship of the Danish Mission Society
- 1721 - Mission San Juan Bautista Malibat in Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
is abandoned due to the hostility of the Cochimi Indians, as well as to the decimation of the local population by epidemics and a water shortage. Chinese Kangxi EmperorKangxi EmperorThe Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
bans Christian missionaries as a result of the Chinese Rites controversyChinese Rites controversyThe Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church from the 1630s to the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry...
. - 1722 - Hans EgedeHans EgedeHans Poulsen Egede was a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact...
goes to GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for... - 1723 - Robert MillarRobert MillarRobert Millar is a former Scottish professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains” competition in the 1984 Tour de France and finished fourth overall – sharing the highest Tour position for a British cyclist with Bradley Wiggins, and the first time a Briton had won a major Tour...
publishes A History of the Propagation of Christianity and the Overthrow of Paganism advocating prayer as the primary means of converting non-Christians - 1724 - Yongzheng EmperorYongzheng EmperorThe Yongzheng Emperor , born Yinzhen , was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the third Qing emperor from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, Yongzheng's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, Yongzheng used military...
bans missionary activities outside the BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
area - 1725 - Knud Leem arrives as a missionary to the Sami peopleSami peopleThe Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
of FinnmarkFinnmarkor Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
(Norwegian Arctic) - 1726 - John Wright, a QuakerReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
missionary to the Native AmericansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, settles in southeastern PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... - 1728 - Institutum Judaicum founded in Halle as first ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
mission center for Jewish evangelism - 1729 - Roman CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
missionary Du Poisson becomes the first victim in the Natchez massacre. On his way to New Orleans, he had been asked to stop and say Mass at the NatchezNatchez, MississippiNatchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
post. He was killed in front of the altar - 1730- Lombard, French missionary, founds a Christian village with over 600 Indians at the mouth of Kuru river in French GuianaFrench GuianaFrench Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
. A Jesuit, Lombard has been called the most successful of all missionaries in converting the Indians of French GuianaFrench GuianaFrench Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west... - 1731 - A missionary movement is born when Count Nicolaus Ludwig ZinzendorfNicolaus Ludwig ZinzendorfNikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, Imperial Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, , German religious and social reformer and bishop of the Moravian Church, was born at Dresden....
attends the coronation of King Christian VI of DenmarkChristian VI of DenmarkChristian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...
. By the following year, the movement with which Zinzendorf was associated, the Moravian Church, would launch missionary outreach in the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. - 1732 - Alphonsus LiguoriAlphonsus LiguoriSaint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, scholastic philosopher and theologian, and founder of the Redemptorists, an influential religious congregation...
founds the Roman Catholic religious orderRoman Catholic religious orderCatholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
known as the Redemptorist FathersCongregation of the Most Holy RedeemerThe Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer is a Roman Catholic missionary Congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, near Amalfi, Italy for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people in the neighbourhood of Naples.Members of the Congregation, priests and brothers,...
with the purpose of doing missionary work among rural people - 1733 - Moravians go to GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
- 1734 - A missionary convinces a Groton, ConnecticutGroton, ConnecticutGroton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
church to lend its building to the Mashantucket Pequot TribeMashantucket Pequot TribeThe Mashantucket Pequot are a small Native American tribal nation of the Algonquian language community in the state of Connecticut. Within the tribe's Reservation, in Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot operate Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world's largest resort...
for Christian worship services. - 1735 - John WesleyJohn WesleyJohn Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
goes to Indians in Georgia as missionary with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts - 1736 - Anti-Christian edicts in China; Moravian missionaries at work among Nenets peopleNenets peopleThe Nenets are an indigenous people in Russia. According to the latest census in 2002, there are 41,302 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Nenets Autonomous Okrug...
of ArkhangelskArkhangelskArkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river... - 1737 - Rev. Pugh, a missionary in Pennsylvania with The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts begins ministering to blacks. He noted that the masters of the slaves were prejudiced against them becoming Christian.
- 1738 - Moravian missionary George Schmidt settles in Baviaan Kloof (Kloof of the Baboons) in the Riviersonderend valley of South Africa. He begins working with the KhoikhoiKhoikhoiThe Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
people, who were practically on the threshold of extinction. - 1739 - The first missionary to the MahicanMahicanThe Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...
(Mohegan) Indians, John Sergeant, builds a home in Stockbridge, MassachusettsStockbridge, MassachusettsStockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
that is today a museum. - 1740 - Moravian David ZeisbergerDavid ZeisbergerDavid Zeisberger was a Moravian clergyman and missionary among the Native Americans in the Thirteen Colonies...
starts work among Creek peopleCreek peopleThe Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
of Georgia - 1740 Johann Phillip FabriciusJohann Phillip FabriciusJohann Phillip Fabricius was a German Christian missionary and a Tamil scholar in later part of his life. He arrived in South India in 1740 to take charge of a small Tamil Lutheran congregation in Madras and expanded it during his stay...
, missionary, arrives in South India - 1741 - Dutch missionaries start building Christ Church building in Malacca TownMalacca TownMost tourist attractions are concentrated in its small city centre which encompasses Jonker Walk which houses Malacca's traditional Chinatown that exhibits Peranakan architecture. A Famosa Fort, St. Paul Hill are among the tourist attractions located in the Bandar Hilir, old city area. There are...
, Malaysia. It will take 12 years to complete. - 1742 - Moravian Leader Count ZinzendorfNicolaus Ludwig ZinzendorfNikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, Imperial Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, , German religious and social reformer and bishop of the Moravian Church, was born at Dresden....
visits Shekomeko, New York and baptizes six Indians - 1743 - David BrainerdDavid BrainerdDavid Brainerd was an American missionary to the Native Americans who had a particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. During his short life he was beset by many difficulties...
starts ministry to North American IndiansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans... - 1744 - Thomas Thompson resigns his position as dean at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
to become a missionary. He was sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Taking a special interest in the slave population there, he would later request to begin mission work in Africa. In 1751, Thompson would become the first S.P.G. missionary to the Gold Coast (modern-day GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) - 1745 - David BrainerdDavid BrainerdDavid Brainerd was an American missionary to the Native Americans who had a particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. During his short life he was beset by many difficulties...
, after preaching to Native Americans in December, wrote about the response: "They soon came in, one after another; with tears in their eyes, to know, what they should do to be saved. . . . It was an amazing season of power among them, and seemed as if God had bowed the heavens and come down ... and that God was about to convert the whole world." - 1746 - From Boston a call is issued to the Christians of the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
to enter into a seven-year "Concert of Prayer" for missionary work - 1747 - Jonathan Edwards appeals for prayer for world missions
- 1748 - Roman Catholic Pedro Sanz and four other missionaries are executed, together with 14 Chinese Christians. Prior to his death, Sanz reportedly converted some of his prison guards to Christianity.
- 1749 - Spanish Franciscan priest Junipero SerraJunípero SerraBlessed Junípero Serra, O.F.M., , known as Fra Juníper Serra in Catalan, his mother tongue was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain—present day California, United States. Fr...
(1713-1784 arrives in Mexico as a missionary. In 1767 he would go north to what is now CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, zealously building missions and converting Native Americans. - 1750 - Jonathan Edwards, preacher of the First Great AwakeningFirst Great AwakeningThe First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
, having been banished from his church at Northampton, MassachusettsNorthampton, MassachusettsThe city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
goes as a missionary to the nearby HousatonicHousatonic RiverThe Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...
Indians. Christian Frederic Schwartz goes to India with Danish-Halle Mission - 1751 - Samuel Cooke arrives in New Jersey as a missionary for the SPGFP
- 1752 - Thomas Thompson, first Anglican missionary to Africa, arrives in the Gold Coast (now GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) - 1753 The disappearance of Erhardt and six companions leads to temporary abandonment of Moravian missionary initiatives in LabradorLabradorLabrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
. - 1754 - Moravian John Ettwein arrives in America from GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a missionary. Preaching to Native Americans and establishing missions, Ettwein will travel as far south as Georgia. - 1755 - The MahicanMahicanThe Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...
Indian settlement at Gnadenhutten, Pa. is attacked and destroyed. Moravian missionary Johann Jacob Schmick remains with the Mahicans through exile and captivity despite almost constant threats from white neighbors. Schmick will join his IndianIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
congregation as they seek refuge in Bethlehem, follow them as captives to Philadelphia, and remain with them after they settle in Wyalusing, PennsylvaniaWyalusing, PennsylvaniaWyalusing is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 564 at the 2000 census.- History :The history of Wyalusing dates back centuries and was originally known as M'chwihilusing. Before 1750 the settlement was known as Gahontoto and was home to the native...
. - 1756 - Civil unrest forces Gideon Halley away from his missionary work among the Six NationsIroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
on the Susquehanna RiverSusquehanna RiverThe Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
where he has been working for four years under the supervision of Jonathan Edwards with an appointment from the Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians. - 1757 - Lutherans begin ministering to Blacks in the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
- 1758- John WesleyJohn WesleyJohn Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
baptizes two slaves, thus breaking the skin color barrier for Methodist societies - 1759 - Native American Samson Occom, direct descendant of the great MahicanMahicanThe Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...
chief Uncas, is ordained by the Presbyterians. Occom became the first American Indian to publish works in English. These included sermons, hymns and a short autobiography. - 1760 - Adam Voelker and Christian Butler arrive in TranquebarTranquebarTharangambadi is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 15 km north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Its name means "place of the singing waves"...
as the first Moravian missionaries to India - 1760 - Methodists first reach the West Indies.
- 1761 - The first Moravian missionary in Ohio, Frederick Post, settles on the north side of the Muskingum.
- 1762 - Moravian Missionary John HeckewelderJohn Heckewelderright|thumb|350px|sketch by [[Henry Howe]]John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder was an American missionary.He was born in Bedford, England. He came to Pennsylvania in 1754, and, after finishing his education, was apprenticed to a cooper. After a visit to Ohio with Christian F...
confers with Koquethagacton ("White Eyes") at the mouth of the Beaver River (Pennsylvania)Beaver River (Pennsylvania)The Beaver River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States with a length of approximately 21 mi . It flows through a historically important coal-producing region north of Pittsburgh... - 1763 - The Presbyterian Synod of New York orders that a collection for missions be taken. In 1767 the Synod asks that this collection be done annually.
- 1764 - The Moravians make a decision to expand and begin publicizing their missionary activity, particularly in the British colonies; Moravian Jens Haven makes the first of three exploratory missionary journeys to GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
- 1765 - SurinameSurinameSuriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
Governor General Crommelin convinces three Moravian missionaries to work near the head waters of the Gran Rio. They settle among the SaramakaSaramakaThe Saramaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon peoples in the Republic of Suriname. The word "Maroon" comes from the Spanish cimarrón, itself derived from an Arawakan root; by the early 16th century it was used throughout the Americas to designate slaves who successfully escaped from slavery.-...
near the Senthea Creek in Granman Abini's village where they are received with mixed feelings. - 1766 - Philip Quaque, a Fetu youth from the Cape Coast area of GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
who spent twelve years studying in England, returns to Africa. Supported as a missionary by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Quaque is first non-European ordained priest in the Church of England - 1767 - Spain expels the Jesuits from Spanish colonies in the New World
- 1768 - Five United Brethren missionaries from Germany, invited by the Danish Guinea Company, arrive in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), to teach in the Cape Coast Castle schools
- 1769 - Junípero SerraJunípero SerraBlessed Junípero Serra, O.F.M., , known as Fra Juníper Serra in Catalan, his mother tongue was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain—present day California, United States. Fr...
founds Mission San Diego de AlcaláMission San Diego de AlcaláMission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, in San Diego, California, was the first Franciscan mission in the Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was founded in 1769 by Spanish friar Junípero Serra in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians...
, first of the 21 Alta California missions (Habermann, p. 370 - 1770 - John Marrant, a free black from New York City, begins ministering cross-culturally, preaching to the American Indians. By 1775 he had carried the gospel to the CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and CreekCreek peopleThe Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
Indians as well as to groups he called the Catawar and Housaw peoples. - 1771 - Methodist Francis AsburyFrancis AsburyBishop Francis Asbury was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now The United Methodist Church in the United States...
arrives in America; David Avery is ordained as missionary to the Oneida tribeOneida tribeThe Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York... - 1772 - After visiting Scilly Cove in Newfoundland, Canada, missionary James Balfour describes it as a "most Barbarous Lawless Place"
- 1773 - Pope Clement XIVPope Clement XIVPope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...
dissolves the Jesuit OrderSociety of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
; two Dominican orderDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
missionaries beheaded in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... - 1775 - John Crook is sent by Liverpool Methodists to the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
- 1776 - Cyril Vasilyevich Suchanov builds first church among EvenksEvenksThe Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
of TransbaikalTransbaikalTransbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia , or Dauria is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" Lake Baikal in Russia. The alternative name, Dauria, is derived from the ethnonym of the Daur people. It stretches for almost 1000 km from north to south from the Patomskoye Plateau and North...
(or Dauria) in (Siberia); The first baptism of an EskimoEskimoEskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
by a Lutheran pastor takes place in Labrador. - 1777 - Portuguese missionaries build a church at Hashnabad, BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
- 1778 - Theodore Sladich is martyred while doing missionary work to counter Islamic influence in the western BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
- 1780 - August Gottlieb Spangenberg writes An Account of the Manner in Which the Protestant Church of the Unitas Fratrum, or United Brethren, Preach the Gospel, and Carry On Their Missions Among the Heathen. Originally written in German, the book will be translated into English in 1788.
- 1781 - In the midst of the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the British so feared Moravian missionary David ZeisbergerDavid ZeisbergerDavid Zeisberger was a Moravian clergyman and missionary among the Native Americans in the Thirteen Colonies...
and his influence among the LenapeLenapeThe Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
(also called Delaware) and other Native Americans that they arrested him and his assistant, John Heckewelder, charging them with treason, - 1782 - Freed slave George Lisle (Baptist)George Lisle (Baptist)George Liele Liele, or Leile, or George Sharp was an African American and emancipated slave who became the founding pastor of the First African Baptist Church, in Savannah, Georgia . He became the first American missionary, leaving in 1782 for Jamaica; this is twenty years before Adoniram Judson...
goes to JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
as missionary - 1783 - Moses Baker and George Gibbions, both former slaves, leave the U.S. to become missionaries in the West Indies
- 1784 - Thomas Coke (Methodist) submits his Plan for the Society for the Establishment of Missions Among the Heathen. Methodist missions among the "heathen" will begin in 1786 when Coke, destined for Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, is driven off course by a storm and lands at AntiguaAntiguaAntigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
in the British West IndiesBritish West IndiesThe British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
. - 1785 - Joseph White's sermon titled "On the Duty of Attempting the Propagation of the Gospel among our Mahometan and Gentoo Subjects in India" is published in the second edition of his book Sermons Containing a View of Christianity and Mahometanism, in their History, their Evidence, and their Effects. The sermon was first preached at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. - 1786 - John MarrantJohn MarrantJohn Marrant was one of the first African-American preachers and missionaries. He wrote three books about his experiences as a preacher.-Early life and career:...
, a free black from New York City, writes in his journal that he preached to "a great number of Indians and white people" at Green's Harbor, Newfoundland. Marrant's cross-cultural ministry led him to take the Gospel to the CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Creek, CatawbaCatawba (tribe)The Catawba are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. They live in the Southeast United States, along the border between North and South Carolina near the city of Rock Hill...
(he called them the Catawar, and Housaw Indians. - 1787 - William Carey is ordained in England by the Particular BaptistsStrict BaptistStrict Baptists, also known as Particular Baptists, are Baptists who believe in a Calvinist or Reformed interpretation of Christian soteriology. The Particular Baptists arose in England in the 17th century and took their namesake from the doctrine of particular redemption.-Further reading:*History...
and soon begins to urge that worldwide missions be undertaken. - 1788 - Dutch missionaries begin preaching the Gospel among fishermen in BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
- 1789 - The Jesuits establish Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
as the first US Catholic college - 1790 - Prince Williams, a freed slave from South Carolina, goes to Nassau, BahamasNassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, where he will start Bethel Meeting House - 1791 - One hundred and twenty Korean Christians are tortured and killed for their faith. It began when Paul Yun Ji-Chung, a noble who had become a Christian, decided not to bury his mother according to traditional Confucian custom.
- 1792 - William Carey writes An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of the heathen and forms the Baptist Missionary SocietyBaptist Missionary SocietyrightBMS World Mission is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. It was originally called the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen, but for most of its life was known as the Baptist Missionary Society...
to support him in establishing missionary work in India - 1793 - Stephen BadinStephen BadinReverend Fr. Stephen Theodore Badin was ordained a priest by Bishop John Carroll on May 25, 1793. His was the first Roman Catholic priest ordination in the United States.-Early life:...
ordained in U.S. Although much of Badin's ministry was pastoral work among his own countrymen, he did some outreach among the PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
Indians - 1794 - Eight Russian OrthodoxRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
missionaries arrive on Kodiak Island in Alaska. Within a few months several thousand people have been baptized - 1795 - The London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
is formed to send missionaries to TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous... - 1796 - Scottish and Glasgow Missionary Societies established; In India, Johann Philipp Fabricius' translation of the Bible into TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
is revised and published - 1797 - Netherlands Missionary Society formed; The Duff, carrying 36 lay and pastoral missionaries, sails to three islands of the South Pacific; The first Christian missionary (from the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
) visits Hiva on the Pacific island of TahuataTahuataTahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelais, called Ha‘ava in Marquesan.-Administration:Administratively,...
; he is not well received. - 1798 - The Missionary Society of Connecticut is organized by the Congregationalists to take the gospel to the "heathen lands" of Vermont and Ohio. Its missionaries evangelized both European settlers and Native Americans.
- 1799 - The Church Missionary Society (Church of England) is formed; John Vanderkemp, Dutch physician goes to Cape ColonyCape ColonyThe Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, Africa
1800 to 1849
- 1800 - New York Missionary Society formed; Johann Janicke founds a school in Berlin to train young people for missionary service
- 1801 - John Theodosius van der Kemp moves to Graaff ReinetGraaff ReinetGraaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Swellendam.-History:...
to minister to the KhoikhoiKhoikhoiThe Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
(Hottentots) people. Earlier he had helped found the Netherlands Missionary SocietyNetherlands Missionary SocietyNetherlands Missionary Society was a Dutch Protestant missionary society that was involved in sending workers to countries such as China during the Qing Dynasty. The most famous of which was Karl Gützlaff....
. In 1798, he had gone to South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to work as a missionary among the Xhosa. - 1802 - Henry MartynHenry MartynHenry Martyn was an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia. Born in Truro, Cornwall, he was educated at Truro Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. A chance encounter with Charles Simeon led him to become a missionary...
hears Charles Simeon speak of William Carey's work in India and resolves to become a missionary himself. He will sail for India in 1805 - 1803 - The Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society votes to publish a missionary magazine. Now known as The American Baptist, the periodical is the oldest religious magazine in the U.S.
- 1804 - British and Foreign Bible SocietyBritish and Foreign Bible SocietyThe British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
formed; Church Missionary Society enters Sierra Leone - 1805 - The first Christian missionaries arrive in NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, brothers Abraham and Christian Albrecht from the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa... - 1806 - Haystack Prayer MeetingHaystack Prayer MeetingThe Haystack Prayer Meeting, held in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in August 1806, is viewed by many scholars as the seminal event for the development of Protestant missions in the subsequent decades and century. Missions are still supported today by American churches.Five Williams College students...
at Williams CollegeWilliams CollegeWilliams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
; Andover Theological Seminary founded as a missionary training center; ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
missionary work begins in earnest across southern Africa - 1807 - First ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
missionary to China, Robert Morrison, begins work in GuangzhouGuangzhouGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
(formerly called Canton) - 1809 - London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews (now known as the Church's Ministry Among Jewish PeopleChurch's Ministry Among Jewish PeopleChurch's Ministry Among Jewish People is an Anglican missionary society founded in 1809.-History:...
) founded - 1809 - National Bible Society of Scotland organized
- 1810 - The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsThe American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
is formed - 1811 - English WesleyansMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
enter Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4... - 1812 - First American foreign missionaries, Adoniram JudsonAdoniram JudsonAdoniram Judson, Jr. was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma...
and Luther RiceLuther RiceLuther Rice , was a Baptist minister and missionary to India, who helped form a missionary-sending body that became the modern Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention...
, arrive in SeramporeSeramporeSerampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
and Judson soon goes to Burma - 1813 - The Methodists form the Wesleyan Missionary Society.
- 1814 - First recorded baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of a Chinese convert, Cai Gao; American Baptist Foreign Mission Society formed; Netherlands Bible Society founded first missionaries arrive in New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
led by Samuel Marsden - 1815 - American Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsThe American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
open work on Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka through American Ceylon MissionAmerican Ceylon MissionThe American Ceylon Mission to Jaffna, Sri Lanka started with the arrival in 1813 of missionaries sponsored by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions . The British colonial office in India and Ceylon restricted the Americans to the relatively small Jaffna Peninsula for...
; Basel Missionary SocietyBasel MissionThe Basel Mission is a Christian missionary society active from 1815 to 2001, when it was merged into Mission 21, the successor organization of Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione founded in 2001....
organized; Richmond African Missionary Society founded - 1816 - Robert MoffatRobert MoffatRobert Moffat was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa, and father in law of David Livingstone....
arrives in Africa; American Bible SocietyAmerican Bible SocietyThe American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
founded - 1816 - Barnabas Shaw opens the first Wesleyan mission in South Africa: Liliefontein, in the Khamiesberg Mountains (Namaqualand), among the Khoisan peoples in the northern Cape Colony.
- 1817 - James Thompson, agent for British and Foreign Bible Society, begins distributing Bibles throughout Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
- 1818 - Missionary work begins in MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
with the reluctant approval of the king - 1819 - John Scudder, Sr.John Scudder, Sr.Rev. Dr. John Scudder, Sr. , M.D., D.D., founded the first Western Medical Mission in Asia at Ceylon and later became the first American medical missionary in India...
, missionary physician, joins the American Ceylon MissionAmerican Ceylon MissionThe American Ceylon Mission to Jaffna, Sri Lanka started with the arrival in 1813 of missionaries sponsored by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions . The British colonial office in India and Ceylon restricted the Americans to the relatively small Jaffna Peninsula for...
; Wesleyan Methodists start work in Madras, India; Reginald HeberReginald HeberReginald Heber was the Church of England's Bishop of Calcutta who is now remembered chiefly as a hymn-writer.-Life:Heber was born at Malpas in Cheshire...
writes words to missionary classic "From Greenland's Icy Mountains" - 1820 - Hiram BinghamHiram Bingham IHiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham I , was leader of the first group of Protestant missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands.-Life:...
goes to HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
(Sandwich IslandsHawaiian IslandsThe Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
) - 1821 - African-American Lott Carey, a BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
missionary, sails with 28 colleagues from Norfolk, VANorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
to Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
; Protestant Episcopal Church mission board established - 1822 - African American Betsy Stockton is sent by the American Board of Missions to Hawaii. She thus becomes the first single woman missionary in the history of modern missions.
- 1823 - Scottish Missionary Society workers arrive in Bombay, India; Liang Fa, first Chinese ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
evangelist, is ordained by Robert Morrison; Colonial and Continental Church Society formed - 1824 - Berlin Mission Society formed
- 1825 - George BoardmanGeorge BoardmanGeorge Dana Boardman was born in Livermore, Maine, the son of the Rev. Sylvanus Boardman. He attended Colby College, and was the school's first graduate in 1822. He served as tutor for a year at Colby, then continued his education at Andover Theological Seminary. On February 16, 1825, he was...
goes to Burma - 1826 - American Bible SocietyAmerican Bible SocietyThe American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
sends first shipment of Bibles to MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... - 1827 - Missionary Lancelot Edward Threlkeld reports in The Monitor that he was "advancing rapidly" in his efforts to disseminate Holy Scripture among Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
of the HunterHunter RiverThe Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major port....
and ShoalhavenShoalhaven RiverThe Shoalhaven River is a river rising from the Southern Tablelands and flowing into the ocean near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...
Rivers. - 1828 - Basel Mission begins work in the Christiansborg area of AccraAccraAccra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
; Karl GützlaffKarl GützlaffKarl Friedrich August Gützlaff , anglicised as Charles Gutzlaff, was a German missionary to the Far East, notable as one of the first Protestant missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand and for his books about China. He was one of the first Protestant missionaries in China to dress like a Chinese...
of the Netherlands Missionary Society lands in BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
; Rhenish Missionary SocietyRhenish Missionary SocietyThe Rhenish Missionary Society was one of the largest missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and its first missionaries were ordained and sent off to South Africa by the end of the year.The...
formed - 1829 - George MüllerGeorge MüllerGeorge Müller , a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, cared for 10,024 orphans in his life...
, a native of PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, goes to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as a missionary to the Jews; Anthony Norris GrovesAnthony Norris GrovesAnthony Norris Groves has been described as the "father of faith missions". He launched the first Protestant mission to Arabic-speaking Muslims, and settled in Baghdad, now the capital of Iraq, and later in southern India. His ideas influenced a circle of friends who became leaders in the Plymouth...
, an ExeterExeterExeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
dentist, sets off as a missionary to BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
accompanied by John KittoJohn KittoJohn Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.-Biography:Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three... - 1830 - Church of ScotlandChurch of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
missionary Alexander Duff arrives in KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
(formerly Calcutta); William Swan, missionary to SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, writes Letters on Missions, the first ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
comprehensive treatment of the theory and practice of missions; BaptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of Taufa'ahau Tupou, King of TongaTongaTonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, by a western missionary;arrival of John WilliamsJohn Williams (missionary)John Williams was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Born near London, England, he was trained as a foundry worker and mechanic...
of the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
in SamoaSamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, landing in Sapapali'iSapapali'iSapapali'i is a village on the north east coast of Savai'i island in Samoa. It is the village where John Williams, the first missionary to bring Christianity to Samoa landed in 1830. Sapapali'i is in the Fa'asaleleaga political district....
on Savai'iSavai'iSavaii is the largest and highest island in Samoa and the Samoa Islands chain. It is also the biggest landmass in Polynesia outside Hawaii and New Zealand. The island of Savai'i is also referred to by Samoans as Salafai, a classical Samoan term used in oratory and prose...
island - 1831 - American Congregational missionaries arrive in ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, withdrawing in 1849 without a single convert; four Native AmericansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
from beyond the Rocky MountainsRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
come east to St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
seeking information on the "palefaces' religion" - 1832 - Teava, former cannibalCannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
and pioneer Pacific Islander missionary, is commissioned by John WilliamsJohn Williams (missionary)John Williams was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Born near London, England, he was trained as a foundry worker and mechanic...
to work on the SamoaSamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
n island of ManonoManono IslandManono is an island of Samoa, situated in the Apolima Strait between the main islands of Savai'i and Upolu, 3.4 km WNW off Lefatu Cape, the westernmost point of Upolu.... - 1833 - Baptist work in ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
begins with John Taylor Jones; the first American MethodistMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
missionary, Melville Cox, goes to LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
where he dies within four months. His dying appeal was: "Let a thousand fall before Africa be given up"; Free Will Baptist Foreign Missionary SocietyFree Will Baptist ChurchFree Will Baptist is a denomination of churches that share a common history, name, and an acceptance of the Arminian theology of free grace, free salvation, and free will. Free Will Baptists share similar soteriological views with General Baptists, Separate Baptists and some United Baptists...
begins work in India - 1834 - American Presbyterian Mission opens work in India in the PunjabPunjab regionThe Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
; Peter ParkerPeter Parker (physician)Peter Parker was an American physician and a missionary who introduced Western medical techniques into Qing Dynasty China. It was said that Parker "opened China to the gospel at the point of a lancet."- Early life :...
MD, associated with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsThe American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
, first American Medical Missionary to China opens Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton - 1835 - Rhenish Missionary Society begins work among the DayakDayak peopleThe Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...
s on BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
(IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
); Daniel Wilson, Bishop of CalcuttaDaniel Wilson, Bishop of CalcuttaDaniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta , born in Spitalfields, London, 2 July 1778, died in Calcutta, 2 January 1858.He was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford ; was ordained, and became curate of Richard Cecil at Cobham and Bisley in Surrey, where he developed into a strong Evangelical preacher; was...
calls India's casteCasteCaste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
system "a cancer." - 1836 - Plymouth BrethrenPlymouth BrethrenThe Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
begin work in MadrasChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, India; George MüllerGeorge MüllerGeorge Müller , a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, cared for 10,024 orphans in his life...
begins his work with orphans in Bristol, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
;Gossner Mission formed; Leipzig Mission Society established; Colonial Missionary Society formed; The Providence Missionary Baptist District Association is formed, one of at least six national organizations among African American Baptists whose sole objective was missionary work in Africa. - 1837 - Evangelical Lutheran Church mission board established; First translation of BibleBible translationsThe Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
into Japanese (actual translation work done in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) - 1838 - Church of ScotlandChurch of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
Mission of Inquiry to the JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
; four Scottish ministers including Robert Murray M'CheyneRobert Murray M'CheyneRobert Murray M'Cheyne was a minister in the Church of Scotland from 1835 to 1843. He was born at Edinburgh, was educated at the University of Edinburgh and at the Divinity Hall of his native city, where he was taught by Thomas Chalmers. He first served as an assistant to John Bonar in the parish...
and Andrew BonarAndrew BonarAndrew Alexander Bonar was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland and youngest brother of Horatius Bonar....
journey to PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
; AugustiniansAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
enter AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - 1839 - Entire Bible is published in language of TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
; three French missionaries martyred in KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
; English Protestant missionaries, including John Williams, murdered on ErromangoErromangoErromango is the largest island in Tafea Province, the southernmost province of Vanuatu. Its highest point is Mount Santop, at 886 m. Its largest villages are Port Narvin and Dillons Bay . The former main village was Ipota...
(Vanuatu, South Pacific) - 1840 - David LivingstoneDavid LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
is in present-day MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
(Africa) with the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
; American Presbyterians enter ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and labor for 18 years before seeing their first Thai convert; Irish Presbyterian Missionary Society formed; Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Missionary Society founded - 1841 - Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society formed; Welsh Methodists begin working among the Khasi people of India
- 1842 - Methodist Missionary, Thomas Birch Freeman arrives in Badagry, Nigeria;
- 1842 - Church Missionary Society enters Badagry, Lagos
- 1842 - Gossner Mission Society receives royal sanction; Norwegian Missionary Society formed in StavangerStavangerStavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
- 1842 - Christian Mission to the Jews (CMJ) establishes Christ Church, first Anglican church in the Old City of Jerusalem
- 1843 - Baptist John Taylor Jones translates New Testament into the Thai languageThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
; British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews formed - 1844 - GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Ludwig Krapf begins work in MombasaMombasaMombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
on the Kenya Coast; first Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) formed by George Williams; George Smith and Thomas McClatchie sail for China as the first two CMS missionaries to that country - 1844 Hans Paludan Smith SchreuderHans Paludan Smith SchreuderHans Paludan Smith Schreuder was a Norwegian 19th century missionary to Zulu who developed a close relationship with the Zulu and British authorities.- Early life :Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder was born in Sogndal, Norway, in 1817...
, missionary, arrives in Port Natal, South Africa - 1845 - Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
mission organization founded - 1846 - The London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
establishes work on NiueNiueNiue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
, a South PacificAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
island which westerners had named the "savage island" - 1847 - Presbyterian William BurnsWilliam Chalmers BurnsWilliam Chalmers Burns was a Scottish Evangelist and Missionary to China with the English Presbyterian Mission who originated from Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire. He was the coordinator of the Overseas missions for the English Presbyterian church...
goes to China, translates The Pilgrim's ProgressThe Pilgrim's ProgressThe Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been...
into Chinese; Moses White sails to China as a MethodistMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
medical missionary - 1847 John Christian Frederick HeyerJohn Christian Frederick HeyerJohn Christian Frederick Heyer was the first missionary sent abroad by Lutherans in the United States. He founded the Guntur Mission in Andhra Pradesh, India...
, missionary, arrives in Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, India - 1848 - Charles Forman goes to PunjabPunjab (British India)Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
; German missionaries Johannes Rebmann and Johann Ludwig KrapfJohann Ludwig KrapfJohann Ludwig Krapf was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro...
arrive at KilimanjaroMount KilimanjaroKilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
. Initially, their story of a snow-covered peak near the equatorEquatorAn equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
was scoffed at. - 1849 - Just weeks after arriving on the MelanesiaMelanesiaMelanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
n island of AnatomAnatomAnatom is the southernmost island of Vanuatu. It is in the province of Tafea. The largest village is Anelghowhat , on the south side. The island is 159.2 km² in size...
, missionary John Geddie wrote in his journal: "In the darkness, degradation, pollution and misery that surrounds me, I will look forward in the vision of faith to the time when some of these poor islanders will unite in the triumphant song of ransomed souls, 'Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.'"
1850 to 1899
- 1850 - On the occasion of Karl GützlaffKarl GützlaffKarl Friedrich August Gützlaff , anglicised as Charles Gutzlaff, was a German missionary to the Far East, notable as one of the first Protestant missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand and for his books about China. He was one of the first Protestant missionaries in China to dress like a Chinese...
's visit to Europe, the Berlin Ladies Association for China is established in conjunction with the Berlin Missionary Association for China. Work in China will commence in 1851 with the arrival of Hermandine Neumann in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Rev. Thomas Valpy FrenchThomas Valpy FrenchThomas Valpy French was an English Christian Missionary in India and Persia, who became the first Bishop of Lahore, in 1877, and also founded the St...
, came to India in 1850, founded St. John's College, Agra, and became first Bishop of LahoreLahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in 1877. - 1851 - Allen Gardiner and six missionary colleagues die of exposure and starvation at PatagoniaPatagoniaPatagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
on the southern tip of South America because a re-supply ship from England arrives six months late. - 1852 - Zenana (women) and Medical Missionary Fellowship formed in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to send out single women missionaries - 1853- The Hermannsburg Missionary Society, founded in 1849 by Louis Harms, has finished training its first group of young missionaries. They are sent to Africa on a ship (the Kandaze) which had been built entirely from donations.
- 1854 - New York Missionary Conference, guided by Alexander Duff, ponders the question: "To what extent are we authorized by the Word of God to expect the conversion of the world to Christ?"; Henry Venn, secretary of the Church Missionary Society, sets out ideal of self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating churches; Hudson TaylorHudson TaylorJames Hudson Taylor , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission . Taylor spent 51 years in China...
arrives in China - 1855 - Henry Steinhauer is ordained as a Canadian MethodistMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
missionary to North American IndiansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and posted to Lac La Biche, Alberta. Steinhauer's missionary work had actually begun 15 years earlier in 1840 when he was assigned to Lac La Pluie to assist in translating, teaching and interpreting the OjibwaOjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
and CreeCreeThe Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
languages. - 1856 - PresbyteriansPresbyterianismPresbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
start work in ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
with the arrival of Henry Pratt - 1857 - Bible translated into Tswana languageTswana languageTswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
; Board of Foreign Missions of Dutch Reformed ChurchDutch Reformed ChurchThe Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
set up; four missionary couples killed at the FatehgarhFatehgarhFatehgarh is a cantonment town in Farrukhabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located on the right bank of the Ganges River. It is the administrative headquarters of Farrukhabad District. Fatehgarh derives its name from an old fort. It is a small city with no significant...
mission during the Indian Mutiny of 1857; Publication of David LivingstoneDavid LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
's book Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa - 1858 - John G. Paton begins work in New HebridesNew HebridesNew Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
; Basel Evangelical Missionary Society begins work in western SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
(Indonesia) - 1859 - Protestant missionaries arrive in Japan; Revivals in North America and the British Isles generate interest in overseas missions; Albert Benjamin SimpsonAlbert Benjamin SimpsonAlbert Benjamin "A.B." Simpson was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance , an evangelical Protestant denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism....
(founder of Christian and Missionary AllianceChristian and Missionary AllianceThe Christian and Missionary Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian...
) is converted by the revival ministry of Henry Grattan GuinnessHenry Grattan GuinnessHenry Grattan Guinness D. D. was an Irish Protestant Christian preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 which drew thousands to hear him... - 1861 - Protestant Stundism arises in the village of Osnova of modern-day UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
; Sarah Doremus founds the Women's Union Missionary Society; Episcopal Church opens work in HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
; Rhenish Mission goes to IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
under Ludwig NommensenLudwig Ingwer NommensenLudwig Ingwer Nommensen was a German Lutheran missionary to Sumatra who also translated the New Testament into the native Batak language. Stephen Neill, a historian of missions, considered Nommensen one of the greatest missionaries of all time... - 1862 - Paris Evangelical Missionary Society opens work in SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
; the first dictionary of the Samoan languageSamoan languageSamoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...
published, written by Rev George PrattGeorge Pratt (missionary)Reverend George Pratt was a missionary with the London Missionary Society who lived in Samoa for forty years from 1839–1879, mostly on the island of Savai'i. Pratt was from Portsea in Hampshire, England....
of the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
. - 1863 - Robert MoffatRobert MoffatRobert Moffat was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa, and father in law of David Livingstone....
, missionary to Africa with the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, publishes his book Rivers of Water in a Dry Place, Being an Account of the Introduction of Christianity into South Africa, and of Mr. Moffat's Missionary Labours - 1865 - The China Inland MissionChina Inland MissionOMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
is founded by James Hudson Taylor; James Laidlaw MaxwellJames Laidlaw MaxwellJames Laidlaw Maxwell Senior was the first Presbyterian missionary to Taiwan . He served with the English Presbyterian Mission....
plants first viable church in TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Salvation ArmySalvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
founded in London by William BoothWilliam BoothWilliam Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General... - 1866 - Charles Haddon Spurgeon invents The Wordless Book, which is widely used in cross-cultural evangelism; Theodore Jonas Meyer (1819-1894), a converted Jew serving as a Presbyterian missionary in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, nurses those dying in a choleraCholeraCholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic until he himself falls prey to the disease. Barely surviving, he becomes a peacemaker between CatholicsRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and ProtestantsProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
; Robert Thomas, the first Protestant martyr in KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, is beheaded giving a Bible to his executioner. - 1867 - MethodistsMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
start work in ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
; Scripture UnionScripture UnionScripture Union is an international, inter-denominational, evangelical Christian movement. It was founded in 1867, and works in partnership with individuals and churches across the world...
established; Lars Olsen SkrefsrudLars Olsen SkrefsrudLars Olsen Skrefsrud was a Norwegian missionary and language researcher in India. Together with Hans Peter Børresen he is regarded as the founder of the Norwegian missionary organization Santalmisjonen...
and Hans Peter Børresen begin working among the SantalsSantalsThe Santhal , are the largest tribal community in India, who live mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Assam. There is also a significant Santal minority in neighboring Bangladesh, and a small population in Nepal....
of India. - 1868 - Robert Bruce goes to IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Canadian Baptist missionary Americus Timpany begins work among the Telugu peopleTelugu peopleThe Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
in India. - 1869 - The first MethodistMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
women's missionary magazine, The Heathen Women's Friend, begins publication. ; Riot in YangzhouYangzhouYangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
, China destroys China Inland MissionChina Inland MissionOMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
house and nearly leads to open war between Britain and China. - 1870 - Clara Swain, the very first female missionary medical doctor, arrives at BareillyUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, India; Orthodox Missionary Society founded - 1871 - William Sloan went to Faeroe Islands commended from a brethren assembly
- 1871 - Henry StanleyHenry Morton StanleySir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
finds David LivingstoneDavid LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
in central Africa - 1872 - First All-India Missionary Conference with 136 participants; George Leslie MackayGeorge Leslie MackayGeorge Leslie Mackay was the first Presbyterian missionary to northern Formosa . He served with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission. Mackay is among the best known Westerners to have lived in Taiwan.-Early life:...
plants church in northern TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
; Lottie MoonLottie MoonCharlotte Digges "Lottie" Moon was a Southern Baptist missionary to China with the Foreign Mission Board who spent nearly forty years living and working in China...
appointed as missionary to China - 1873 - Regions Beyond Missionary Union founded in London in connection with the East London Training Institute for Home and Foreign Missions; first Scripture portion (Gospel of LukeGospel of LukeThe Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
) translated into PangasinanPangasinanPangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...
, a language of the Philippines, by Alfonso Lallave - 1874 - Lord Radstock's first visit to St. Petersburg, Russia, and the beginning of an evangelical awakening among the St. Petersburg nobility; Albert Sturges initiates the Interior Micronesia Mission in the Mortlock Islands under the leadership of MicronesiaMicronesiaMicronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
n students from Ohwa - 1875 - The Foreign Christian Missionary Society organized within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
and Church of ChristChurch of ChristChurches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
movements; Clah, a Canadian Indian convert, brought Christianity to natives at Ft. Wangel, Alaska. He assumed the name of Philip McKay. - 1876 - In September, a rusty ocean steamer arrives at a port on the Calabar RiverCalabar RiverThe Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of ....
in what is now NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. That part of Africa was then known as the White Man's Grave. The only woman on board that ship is 29-year-old Mary SlessorMary SlessorMary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish missionary to Nigeria.Her determined work and strong personality allowed her to be trusted and accepted by the locals, spreading Christianity and promoting women's rights.-Early life:...
, a missionary. - 1877 - James ChalmersJames Chalmers (missionary)James Chalmers was a Scottish-born missionary, active in New Guinea.-Early life:James Chalmers was born in a small town called Ardrishaig, Argyleshire, Scotland, the only son of an Aberdonian stonemason. The family moved to Inverary when James was seven. There he went to the local school, and then...
goes to New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
; Presbyterians Sheldon Jackson and missionary-widow Amanda McFarland arrive at Ft. Wrangel, Alaska where they join Philip McKay (née Clah) to start missionary work. McFarland was the first white woman in Alaska, and renowned as "Alaska's Courageous Missionary." - 1878 - Mass movement to Christ begins in Ongole, India
- 1880 - Woman missionary doctor Fanny Butler goes to India; Missionary periodical The Gospel in All Lands is launched by A. B. SimpsonAlbert Benjamin SimpsonAlbert Benjamin "A.B." Simpson was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance , an evangelical Protestant denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism....
; Justus Henry NelsonJustus Henry NelsonThe Revd Justus Henry Nelson established the first Protestant church in the Amazon basin and was a self-supporting Methodist missionary in Belém, Pará, Brazil for 45 years.-Early years:...
and Fannie Bishop Capen Nelson begin 45 years of service in BelémBelémBelém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
, ParáParáPará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, establishing the first Protestant Church in Amazonia in 1883 - 1881 - Methodist work in LahoreLahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
starts in the wake of revivals under Bishop William Taylor; North Africa Mission (now Arab World Ministries) founded on work of Edward Glenny in AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab... - 1881 - Home & Foreign Mission Fund (now known as Interlink) was established in Glasgow as a missionary service group for brethren missionaries from Scotland
- 1882 - James Gilmour, London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
missionary to MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, goes home to EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for a furlough. During that time he published a book: Among the Mongols. It was so well-written that one critic wrote, "Robinson CrusoeRobinson CrusoeRobinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
has turned missionary, lived years in Mongolia, and wrote a book about it." Concerning the author, the critic said, "If ever on earth there lived a man who kept the law of Christ, and could give proof of it, and be absolutely unconscious that he was giving it to them, it is this man whom the Mongols called 'our Gilmour.'" - 1883 - Salvation ArmySalvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
enters West PakistanWest PakistanWest Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
; A.B. SimpsonAlbert Benjamin SimpsonAlbert Benjamin "A.B." Simpson was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance , an evangelical Protestant denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism....
organizes The Missionary Union for the Evangelization of the World. The first classes of the Missionary Training College are held in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Zaire Christian and Missionary AllianceChristian and Missionary AllianceThe Christian and Missionary Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian...
mission field opens. - 1884 - David Torrance is sent by the Jewish Mission of the Free Church of ScotlandFree Church of Scotland (1843-1900)The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
as a medical missionary to PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.... - 1885 - Horace Grant UnderwoodHorace Grant UnderwoodHorace Grant Underwood was a Presbyterian missionary, educator, and translator who dedicated his life to developing the Korean society and Christianity.-Early life:...
, Presbyterian missionary, and Henry AppenzellerHenry AppenzellerRev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller was a Methodist missionary and one of three American missionaries who introduced Protestant Christianity into Korea in 1885....
, MethodistMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
missionary, arrive in KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
; Scottish Ion Keith-FalconerIon Keith FalconerIon Grant Neville Keith-Falconer was a Scottish missionary and Arabic scholar, the third son of the 8th Earl of Kintore....
goes to AdenAdenAden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
on the Arabian peninsula; "Cambridge SevenCambridge SevenThe Cambridge Seven were seven students from Cambridge University, who in 1885, decided to become missionaries in China; the seven were:*Charles Thomas Studd*Montagu Harry Proctor Beauchamp*Stanley P. Smith*Arthur T. Polhill-Turner*Dixon Edward Hoste...
" -- C. T. StuddCharles StuddCharles Thomas Studd, often known as C. T. Studd, was born 2 December 1860, Spratton, Northamptonshire, England, and died 16 July 1931, Ibambi, Belgian Congo....
, M. Beauchamp, W. W. Cassels, D. E. Hoste, S. P. Smith, A. T. Podhill-Turner, C. H. Polhill-Turner—go to China as missionaries with the China Inland MissionChina Inland MissionOMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:... - 1886 - Student Volunteer MovementStudent Volunteer MovementThe Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was an organization founded in 1886 that sought to recruit college and university students in the United States for missionary service abroad. It also sought to publicize and encourage the missionary enterprise in general...
launched as 100 university and seminary students at Moody'sDwight L. MoodyDwight Lyman Moody , also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts , the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.-Early life:Dwight Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts to a large...
conference grounds at Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, sign the Princeton Pledge which says: "I purpose, God willing, to become a foreign missionary." - 1886 Johann FlierlJohann FlierlJohann Flierl , was a pioneer Lutheran missionary in New Guinea. He established mission schools and organized the construction of roads and communication between otherwise remote interior locations. Under his leadership, Lutheran evangelicalism flourished in New Guinea...
, missionary, arrives in New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago... - 1887 -The Hundred missionaries deployed in one year in China under the China Inland MissionChina Inland MissionOMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
. Dr. William Cassidy, a Toronto medical doctor, was ordained as the Christian and Missionary AllianceChristian and Missionary AllianceThe Christian and Missionary Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity.Founded by Rev. Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887, the Christian & Missionary Alliance did not start off as a denomination, but rather began as two distinct parachurch organizations: The Christian...
's first missionary preacher. Unfortunately, en route to China, he died of smallpoxSmallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. However, Cassidy's death has been called the "spark that ignited the Alliance missionary blaze." - 1888 - Jonathan Goforth sails to China; Student Volunteer MovementStudent Volunteer MovementThe Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was an organization founded in 1886 that sought to recruit college and university students in the United States for missionary service abroad. It also sought to publicize and encourage the missionary enterprise in general...
for foreign missions officially organized with John R. Mott as chairman and Robert Wilder as traveling secretary. The movement's motto, coined by Wilder, was: "The evangelization of the world in this generation.; Scripture Gift Mission (now LifewordsLifewordsSGM Lifewords is a Christian mission based in London, but with offices worldwide. It exists to promote the positive influence of the Bible on everyday life...
) founded - 1889 - Missionary linguist and folklorist Paul Olaf BoddingPaul Olaf BoddingPaul Olaf Bodding was a Norwegian missionary, linguist and folklorist. He served in India for 44 years , and operated mainly from the town Dumka in the Santhal Parganas-district...
arrives in India, Santhal Parganas, and continues the work among the Santals started by Skrefsrud and Børresen in 1867; North Africa Mission enters TripoliTripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
as first Protestant mission in LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.... - 1890 - Central American Mission founded by C. I. Scofield, editor of the Scofield Reference BibleScofield Reference BibleThe Scofield Reference Bible is a widely circulated study Bible edited and annotated by the American Bible student Cyrus I. Scofield, that popularized dispensationalism at the beginning of the 20th century...
; Methodist Charles Gabriel writes missionary song "Send the Light"; John Livingston Nevius of China visits Korea to outline his strategy for missions: 1) Each believer should be a productive member of society and active in sharing his faith; 2) The church in Korea should be distinctly Korean and free of foreign control; 3) The leaders of the Korean church will be selected and trained from its members; 4) Church buildings will be built by Koreans with their own resources - 1891 - Samuel ZwemerSamuel Marinus ZwemerSamuel Marinus Zwemer , nicknamed The Apostle to Islam, was an American missionary, traveler, and scholar. He was born at Vriesland, Michigan. In 1887 he received an A.B. from Hope College, Holland, Mich., and in 1890, he received an M.A. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, N....
goes to Arabia; Helen Chapman sails for the Congo (Zaire). She married a Danish missionary, William Rasmussen, whom she met during the voyage. - 1892 - Redcliffe CollegeRedcliffe CollegeRedcliffe College is a theological college based in Gloucester, United Kingdom, specialising in training men, women and families from around the world for Christian mission anywhere in the world...
, Centre for Mission Training founded in Chelsea, LondonChelsea, LondonChelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above... - 1893 - Eleanor Chestnut goes to China as Presbyterian medical missionary; Sudan Interior MissionServing In MissionSIM is an international, interdenominational Christian mission organization. It was established in 1893 by its three founders, Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham of Canada and Thomas Kent of the United States....
founded by Rowland Bingham, a graduate of Nyack CollegeNyack CollegeNyack College is a private, evangelical, liberal arts college affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and home to the Alliance Theological Seminary, one of the denomination's seminaries. The main campus is located in Nyack, New York... - 1894 - Soatanana Revival begins among Lutheran and LMS churches in MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, lasting 80 years - 1895 - Africa Inland MissionAfrica Inland MissionEstablished in 1895, Africa Inland Mission is a nondenominational Christian mission organisation focusing on Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean...
formed by Peter Cameron Scott; Japan Bible Society established; Roland AllenRoland Allen-Life:He was born in Bristol, England, the son of an Anglican priest; but was orphaned early in life. He trained for ministry at Oxford and became a priest in 1893. Allen spent two periods in Northern China working for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel...
sent as missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to its North China Mission. Amy CarmichaelAmy CarmichaelAmy Wilson Carmichael was a Protestant Christian missionary in India, who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur...
arrives in India. - 1896 - Ödön Scholtz founds the first Hungarian Lutheran foreign mission periodical Külmisszió
- 1897 - Presbyterian Church (USA)Presbyterian Church (USA)The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
begins work in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south... - 1898 - Theresa Huntington leaves her New England home for the Middle East. For seven years she will work as an American Board missionary in ElazığElazigElâzığ is a city in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey and the seat of Elâzığ Province. It has a population of331,479 according to the 2010 census, and the plain on which the city extends has an altitude of 1067 metres....
(Kharput) in the Ottoman Empire. Her letters home will be published in a book titled Great Need over the Water ; Archibald Reekie of the Canadian Baptist Ministries arrives in Oruro as the first Protestant missionary to BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. The work of Canadian Baptists led to the guarantee of freedom of religion in Bolivia in 1905. - 1899 - James Rodgers arrives in PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
with the Presbyterian Mission; Central American Mission enters GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
1900 to 1949
- 1900 - American FriendsReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
open work in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
; Ecumenical Missionary Conference in Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, New York (162 mission boards represented); 189 missionaries and their children killed in Boxer RebellionBoxer RebellionThe Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in China; South African Andrew MurrayAndrew Murray (minister)Andrew Murray was a South African writer, teacher, and Christian pastor. Murray considered missions to be "the chief end of the church."- Early life and education :...
writes The Key to the Missionary Problem in which he challenges the church to hold weeks of prayerPrayerPrayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
for the world - 1901 - Nazarene John Diaz goes to Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
Islands; Maude Cary sails for MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
; Oriental Missionary Society founded by Charles Cowman (his wife is the compiler of popular devotional book Streams in the Desert); Missionary James Chalmers killed and eaten by cannibals in Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands... - 1902 - Swiss members of the Plymouth BrethrenPlymouth BrethrenThe Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML) enter LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
; California Yearly Meeting of Friends opens work in GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast... - 1903 - Church of the NazareneChurch of the NazareneThe Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
enters Mexico - 1903 First group baptism at Sattelberg Mission Station under Christian KeyserChristian KeyserChristian Gottlob Keyser was a Lutheran missionary of the Neuendettelsau Mission Society. He served for almost 22 years at the Neuendettelsau Mission Station in the Finschhafen District of New Guinea, which had been founded in 1892 by Johann Flierl...
in New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
paves way for mass conversions during the following years - 1904 - PremillennialistPremillennialismPremillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
theologian William Eugene BlackstoneWilliam Eugene BlackstoneWilliam Eugene Blackstone was an American evangelist and Christian Zionist. he was the author of the proto- Zionist Blackstone Memorial of 1891. Blackstone was influenced by Dwight Lyman Moody, James H...
begins teaching that the world has already been evangelized, citing Acts 2:5, 8:4, Mark 16:20 and Colossians 1:23 - 1904 - European Christian Mission was founded in EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
by J.P. Raud. Today it is known as European Christian Mission International. - 1905 - Gunnerius Tollefsen is converted at a Salvation ArmySalvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
meeting under the preaching of Samuel Logan BrengleSamuel logan brengleSamuel Logan Brengle was a commissioner in The Salvation Army and a leading author, teacher and preacher on the doctrine of Holiness. His books include The Soul Winner's Secret, Helps to Holiness and Heart Talks on Holiness....
. Later he would become a missionary to the Belgian CongoBelgian CongoThe Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
and then first mission secretary of the Norwegian Pentecostal movement. - 1906 - The Evangelical Alliance MissionThe Evangelical Alliance MissionThe Evangelical Alliance Mission is an inter-denominational evangelical Christian missionary organization founded by Fredrik Franson. TEAM used to be called the Scandinavian Alliance Mission.-History:...
(TEAM) opens work in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
with T. J. Bach and John Christiansen - 1907 - Massive revival meetings in KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
; Harmon Schmelzenbach sails for Africa; Presbyterians and MethodistsMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
open Union Theological Seminary in ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Philippines; Bolivian Indian Mission founded by George Allen - 1908 - Gospel Missionary Union opens work in ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
with Charles Chapman and John Funk; Pentecostal movementPentecostalismPentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
enters RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and southern ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as well as EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... - 1909 - Pentecostal movementPentecostalismPentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
reaches ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
through ministry of American Methodist Willis Hoover - 1910 - C.T. Studd establishes Heart of Africa Mission, now called WEC InternationalWEC InternationalWEC International is a mission agency which focuses on church planting, and emphasises the importance of shared life in a local church as a vital expression of Christian life...
; Edinburgh Missionary ConferenceEdinburgh Missionary ConferenceThe 1910 World Missionary Conference, or the Edinburgh Missionary Conference, was held June 14 to 23, 1910. Some have seen it as both the culmination of nineteenth-century Protestant Christian missions and the formal beginning of the modern Protestant Christian ecumenical movement.- Edinburgh 1910...
held in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, presided over by John MottJohn MottJohn Raleigh Mott was a long-serving leader of the YMCA and the World Student Christian Federation...
, beginning modern Protestant ecumenical cooperation in missions - 1911 - Christian & Missionary Alliance enters CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... - 1912 - Conference of British Missionary Societies formed; International Review of Missions begins publication
- 1913 - African-American Eliza George sails from New York for LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
; William Whiting BordenWilliam Whiting BordenWilliam Whiting Borden was a Christian missionary to Northern China and the heir to the Borden, Inc. family fortune.-Life and work:...
dies in Egypt while preparing to take the gospel to the Muslims in China - 1914-1918 World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
numerous missionaries in Africa and Asia in British, French, German and Belgian colonies are expelled or detained for the duration of the war, if their nation was at war with the colonial authority - 1914 - Large-scale revival movement in UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
; C.T. Studd reports a revival movement in the Congo - 1914 Paul Olaf BoddingPaul Olaf BoddingPaul Olaf Bodding was a Norwegian missionary, linguist and folklorist. He served in India for 44 years , and operated mainly from the town Dumka in the Santhal Parganas-district...
completes his translation of the Bible into the Santali languageSantali languageSanthali is a language in the Santhali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan . Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has...
. - 1915 - Founded in 1913 in NanjingNanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, China as a women's Christian college, Ginling CollegeGinling CollegeGinling College was a Christian university founded in 1913 in Nanjing, China...
officially opens with eight students and six teachers. It was supported by four missions: the Northern Baptists, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
, the MethodistsMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, and the Presbyterians. - 1916 - Rhenish missionaries are forced to leave OndjivaOndjivaOndjiva is a town located in southern Angola. It is the administrative capital of Cunene Province.- Transport :...
in southern AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
under pressure from the Portuguese authorities and Chief Mandume of the KwanyamaKwanyamaKwanyama or Oshikwanyama is a national language of Angola and Namibia. It is a standardized dialect of the Ovambo language, and is mutually intelligible with Ndonga, the other Ovambo dialect with a standard written form....
. By then, four congregations existed with a confessing membership of 800. - 1917 - Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA) founded
- 1919 - The Union Version of Bible in Chinese is published; Gospel Missionary Union enters Sudan
- 1920 - Baptist Mid-Missions formed by William Haas; Church of the NazareneChurch of the NazareneThe Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
enters SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
; Columbans enter AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... - 1921 - Founding of International Missionary Council (IMC); Norwegian Mission Council formed; Columbans enter China
- 1922 - Nazarenes enter MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
- 1923 - Scottish missionaries begin work in British TogolandBritish TogolandBritish Togoland was a League of Nations Class B mandate in West Africa, under the mandatory power of the United Kingdom. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the occupied German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First...
- 1924 - Bible Churchman's Missionary Society opens work in Upper Burma; Baptist Mid-Missions begins work in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
- 1925 - E. Stanley JonesE. Stanley JonesE. Stanley Jones was a 20th century Methodist Christian missionary and theologian.He is remembered chiefly for his interreligious lectures to the educated classes in India, thousands of which were held across the Indian subcontinent during the first decades of the 20th century...
, Methodist missionary to India, writes The Christ of the Indian Road - 1926 - Charles J. McDonald, a Southern Baptist layman, started work in the town of Wahiawa, Territory of HawaiiTerritory of HawaiiThe Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
, with a Sunday School which eventually became the First Baptist Church of Wahiawa. - 1927 - East African revival movement (Balokole) emerges in Rwanda and moves across several other countries
- 1928 - Cuba Bible Institute (West Indies Mission) opens; Jerusalem Conference of International Missionary Council; foundation of Borneo Evangelical MissionBorneo Evangelical MissionBorneo Evangelical Mission was a Protestant Evangelical Christian missionary society that worked among the people of Borneo, Malaysia. It was founded in October 1928 by three Australian missionaries, Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley...
by Hudson Southwell, Frank Davidson and Carey Tolley. - 1929 - Christian & Missionary Alliance enters East Borneo (Indonesia) and Thailand
- 1930 - Christian & Missionary Alliance starts work among Baouli tribe in the Côte d'IvoireCôte d'IvoireThe Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
- 1931 - Franciscan missionary the Venerable Gabriele AllegraGabriele AllegraGabriele Allegra was a Franciscan Friar and scripture scholar. He is best known for performing the first complete translation of the Catholic Bible into the Chinese language. His Studium Biblicum Translation is often considered the definitive Chinese Bible among Catholics...
arrives in HunanHunan' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
China from Italy to start translating the Bible - 1931 - HCJBHCJBHCJB, "The Voice of the Andes", was the first radio station with daily programming in the South American country of Ecuador and the first Christian missionary radio station in the world. The station was founded in 1931 by Clarence W. Jones, Reuben Larson, and D. Stuart Clark.- History :Radio...
radio station started in QuitoQuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, Ecuador by Clarence Jones; Baptist Mid-Missions enters LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open... - 1932 - Assemblies of GodAssemblies of GodThe Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
open mission work in ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
; Laymen's Missionary Inquiry report published - 1933 - Gladys AylwardGladys AylwardGladys May Aylward was the evangelical Christian missionary to China whose story was told in the book The Small Woman by Alan Burgess, published in 1957...
(subject of movie "The Inn of the Sixth HappinessThe Inn of the Sixth HappinessThe Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a 1958 American 20th Century Fox film based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British maid, who became a missionary in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II...
") arrives in China; Columbans enter KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the... - 1934 - William Cameron TownsendWilliam Cameron TownsendWilliam Cameron Townsend was a prominent American Christian missionary whose ministry began in the early twentieth century...
begins the Summer Institute of Linguistics; Columbans enter Japan - 1935 - Frank C. LaubachFrank LaubachFrank Charles Laubach was an Evangelical Christian missionary and mystic known as "The Apostle to the Illiterates." In 1935, while working at a remote location in the Philippines, he developed the "Each One Teach One" literacy program. It has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in...
, American missionary to the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, perfects the "Each one teach one" literacyLiteracyLiteracy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
program, which has been used worldwide to teach 60 million people to read - 1936 - With the outbreak of civil war in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, missionaries are forced to leave that country. - 1937 - After expulsion of missionaries from EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
by Italian invaders, widespread revival erupts among Protestant (SIM) churches in south; Child Evangelism FellowshipChild Evangelism FellowshipChild Evangelism Fellowship is an international evangelical nonprofit organization founded by Jesse Overholtzer in 1937, headquartered in Warrenton, Missouri, United States. The organization lists as its purpose to teach the Christian Gospel to boys and girls and to get them involved in local...
founded by Jesse Irvin Overholzer - 1938 - West Indies Mission enters Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
; Church Missionary Society forced out of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
; Madras World Missionary Conference held; Dr. Orpha Speicher completes construction of Reynolds Memorial Hospital in central India - 1939-1945 World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
numerous missionaries in Africa and Asia in British, French and Belgian colonies are expelled or detained for the duration of the war, if their nation was at war with the colonial authority - 1939 - A sick missionary, Joy Ridderhof, makes a recording of gospel songs and a message and sends it into the mountains of Honduras. It is the beginning of Gospel Recordings
- 1940 - Marianna Slocum begins translation work in Mexico; Military police in Japan arrest the executive officers of the Salvation ArmySalvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
- 1942 - William Cameron TownsendWilliam Cameron TownsendWilliam Cameron Townsend was a prominent American Christian missionary whose ministry began in the early twentieth century...
founds Wycliffe Bible TranslatorsWycliffe Bible TranslatorsWycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...
; New Tribes mission founded with a vision to reach the tribal peoples of BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... - 1943 - Five missionaries with New Tribes MissionNew Tribes MissionNew Tribes Mission is an international, theologically evangelical Christian mission organization based in Sanford, Florida, United States. NTM has approximately 3,300 missionaries in more than 20 nations, second only to Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL International David Hesselgrave, Executive...
martyred; 11 American BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
missionaries beheaded in the Philippines by Japanese soldiers - 1944 - Missionaries return to Suki, Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
after withdrawal of the Japanese military - 1945 - Mission Aviation FellowshipMission Aviation FellowshipMission Aviation Fellowship is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas...
formed; Far East Broadcasting CompanyFar East Broadcasting CompanyFar East Broadcasting CompanyFounded:1945 First broadcast:June 4, 1948Daily broadcasts:650+ hoursLanguages:149Webcasts:...
(FEBC) founded; Evangelical Foreign Missions Association formed by denominational mission boards - 1945 - The Venerable Gabriele AllegraGabriele AllegraGabriele Allegra was a Franciscan Friar and scripture scholar. He is best known for performing the first complete translation of the Catholic Bible into the Chinese language. His Studium Biblicum Translation is often considered the definitive Chinese Bible among Catholics...
establishes the Studium Biblicum FranciscanumStudium Biblicum FranciscanumStudium Biblicum Franciscanum is a Franciscan academic society based in Jerusalem and Hong Kong.They publish the theological journal Liber annuus ISSN 0081-8933 in Latin...
in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... - 1946 - First Inter-VarsityInterVarsity Christian FellowshipInterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian, student-led ministry which for the past 70 years has been dedicated to establishing witnessing communities on U.S. college and university campuses...
missionary convention (now called "UrbanaUrbana (convention)Urbana is a major Christian missions convention sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for college students. This event is designed to inform Christian students about current issues around the world that missionaries face, to declare the biblical mandate for cross-cultural missions, and...
"); United Bible Societies formed - 1947 - Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society begins work among the Senufo people in the Côte d'Ivoire
- 1948 - Alfredo del Rosso merges his Italian Holiness Mission with the Church of the NazareneChurch of the NazareneThe Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
, thus opening Nazarene work on the European continent; Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
adopts program calling for the tripling of the number of missionaries (achieved by 1964 - 1949 - Southern Baptist Mission board opens work in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Mary Tripp sent out by CEF Child Evangelism Fellowship to the Netherlands.
1950 to 1999
- 1950 - Paul Orjala arrives in HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
; radio station 4VEH, owned by East and West Indies Bible Mission, starts broadcasting from near Cap-HaïtienCap-HaïtienCap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
, Haiti - 1951 - World Evangelical AllianceWorld Evangelical Alliance- Introduction :' is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the "Good News of Jesus" in their communities...
organized; BillBill BrightWilliam R. "Bill" Bright was an American evangelist. The founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws in 1952 and produced the Jesus Film in 1979.-Early life:...
and Vonette Bright create Campus Crusade for ChristCampus Crusade for ChristCampus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...
at UCLA; Alaska MissionsInterAct MinistriesInterAct Ministries is an interdenominational missionary agency that focuses on church planting among indigenous people of eastern Russia, Alaska, and western Canada--an area it calls the "North Pacific Crescent." The international headquarters is located in Boring, Oregon...
is founded (later to be renamed InterAct Ministries). - 1952 - Trans World RadioTrans World RadioTrans World Radio is a multinational Christian evangelistic broadcaster. TWR broadcasts from 14 countries using mediumwave or high-powered AM transmitters, shortwave as well as through local radio stations, cable, satellite, and the Internet to reach millions of people in 160 nations in their own...
founded - 1953 - Walter Trobisch, who would publish I loved a girl in 1962, begins pioneer missionary work in northern CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
- 1954 - Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities opens work in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
; Argentina Revival breaks out during Tommy Hicks crusade; AugustiniansAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
re-established in Japan; Columbans enter ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... - 1955 - Donald McGavranDonald McGavranDonald A. McGavran was the founding Dean and Professor of Mission, church growth, and South Asian studies at the School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California...
publishes Bridges of God ; DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
missionary "Brother AndrewBrother AndrewAndrew van der Bijl , known in English-speaking countries as Brother Andrew, is a Christian missionary famous for his exploits smuggling Bibles to communist countries in the height of the Cold War, a feat that has earned him the nickname "God's smuggler"...
" makes first of many Bible smuggling trips into CommunistCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
Eastern EuropeEastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
; - 1956 - U.S. missionaries Jim ElliotJim ElliotPhilip James Elliot was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Waodani people of Ecuador.-Early life:...
, Pete FlemingPete FlemingPeter Sillence Fleming was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Waodani people of Ecuador.- Early life :Fleming was born in Seattle, Washington...
, Edward McCully, Nate SaintNate SaintNathanael "Nate" Saint was an evangelical Christian missionary pilot to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people through efforts known as Operation Auca....
, and Roger YouderianRoger YouderianRoger Youderian was an Armenian-American evangelical Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca....
are killed by HuaoraniHuaoraniThe Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate name Auca is a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua Indians, and commonly adopted by...
Indians in eastern EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. (See Operation AucaOperation AucaOperation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States to bring the gospel to the Huaorani people of the rainforest of Ecuador...
) - 1957 - East Asia Christian Conference (EACC) founded at Prapat, Sumatra, Indonesia
- 1958 - Rochunga PudaiteRochunga PudaiteRochunga Pudaite translated the Bible into the Hmar language and in 1971 founded Bibles for the World. He studied at Allahabad University in his native India and at Wheaton College in the United States.-Biography:...
completes translation of Bible into HmarHmarHmar is the name of one of the numerous mizo/kuki/chin tribes of India, spread over a large area in the northeast. The Hmars belong to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group of tribes, and are recognised as Scheduled Tribe under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Literally, Hmar means North or...
language (India) and was appointed the leader of the Indo-Burma Pioneer Mission; Missionaries Elisabeth ElliotElisabeth ElliotElisabeth Elliot is a Christian author and speaker. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca of eastern Ecuador. She later spent two years as a missionary to the tribe members who killed her husband...
and Rachel Saint make first peaceful contact with the HuaoraniHuaoraniThe Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate name Auca is a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua Indians, and commonly adopted by...
tribe in EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. - 1959 - Radio LumièreEvangelical Baptist Mission of South HaitiThe Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti or Mission Evangélique Baptiste du Sud-Haiti grew out of the successful efforts of the non-denominational World Team and the Cuba Bible Institute...
founded in HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
by West Indies Mission (now World Team); Josephine Makil becomes the first African-American to join Wycliffe Bible TranslatorsWycliffe Bible TranslatorsWycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...
; Feba RadioFeba RadioFeba Radio is a broadcasting network. It is driven by Christian values rather than by government or commercial aims. It was established in 1959 in UK as the Far Eastern Broadcasting Associates - associated with Far East Broadcasting Company operating in USA and Philippines and the Far East...
founded in UK. - 1960 - Kenneth Strachan starts Evangelism-in-Depth in Central America; 18,000 people in MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
reply to newspaper ad by Gospel Missionary Union offering free correspondence course on Christianity; Loren CunninghamLoren CunninghamLoren Duane Cunningham , is a co-founder of the international Christian missionary organization Youth With A Mission and the University of the Nations. Cunningham founded YWAM in the United States of America in 1960 with his wife Darlene Cunningham at the age of 24...
founds Youth with a MissionYouth With A MissionYouth With A Mission is an international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian missionary organization...
; The Asia Evangelistic Fellowship (AEF), one of the largest Asian indigenous missionary organisations, is launched in Singapore by G. D. James - 1961 - International Christian radio stations now number 30
- 1962 - Don Richardson goes to Sawi tribe in Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
; Operation MobilisationOperation MobilisationOperation Mobilisation is an Evangelical Christian organization founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus...
founded in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
by George VerwerGeorge VerwerGeorge Verwer is the founder of Operation Mobilisation , a Christian missions organization. Verwer has written several books on various Christian themes... - 1963 - Theological Education by Extension movement launched in GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
by Ralph Winter and James Emery - 1964 - In separate incidents, rebels in the CongoDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
kill missionaries Paul Carlson, Phyllis Rine and Irene Ferrel as well as brutalizing missionary doctor Helen RoseveareHelen RoseveareDr. Helen Roseveare was an English Christian missionary to the Congo from 1953 to 1973. She went to the Congo through WEC International and practised medicine and also trained others in medical work. She stayed through the hostile and dangerous political instability in the early...
; Carlson is featured on December 4 TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine cover; Hans von Staden of the Dorothea Mission proposes to Patrick Johnstone that he write the book now titled Operation World - 1966 - Red GuardsCultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
destroy churches in China; Berlin Congress on Evangelism; Missionaries expelled from Burma; God's SmugglerBrother AndrewAndrew van der Bijl , known in English-speaking countries as Brother Andrew, is a Christian missionary famous for his exploits smuggling Bibles to communist countries in the height of the Cold War, a feat that has earned him the nickname "God's smuggler"...
published - 1967 - All foreign missionaries expelled from GuineaGuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
- 1968 - The Studium fhndgnbcv cbnfhbdfgbcvn mmBiblicum Translation of the Bible is published in Chinese by the Venerable Gabriele AllegraGabriele AllegraGabriele Allegra was a Franciscan Friar and scripture scholar. He is best known for performing the first complete translation of the Catholic Bible into the Chinese language. His Studium Biblicum Translation is often considered the definitive Chinese Bible among Catholics...
- 1968 - Wu Yung and others form the Chinese Missions Overseas in order to send out missionaries from TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
to do cross-cultural ministry; Augustinian order re-established in India - 1969 - OMF InternationalChina Inland MissionOMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
begins "industrial evangelism" to Taiwan's factory workers - 1970 - Frankfurt Declaration on Mission; Operation MobilisationOperation MobilisationOperation Mobilisation is an Evangelical Christian organization founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus...
launches MV Logos ship; Abp. Makarios IIIMakarios IIIMakarios III , born Andreas Christodolou Mouskos , was the archbishop and primate of the autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church and the first President of the Republic of Cyprus ....
(Mouskos) of Cyprus baptizes 10,000 into the Orthodox Church in Kenya. - 1971 - Gustavo GutierrezGustavo GutiérrezGustavo Gutiérrez Merino, O.P., is a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest regarded as the founder of Liberation Theology...
publishes A Theology of Liberation - 1972 - American Society of Missiology founded with journal Missiology
- 1972 - Worldwide Faith MissionsWorldwide Faith MissionsWorldwide Faith Missions is a non-governmental international Christian relief and development church missionary organization based in the United States of America with mission branches in India, Burma , and Thailand. It is a part of the worldwide missions church movement.- History:Worldwide Faith...
is founded by Dr Johannes Maas, following a request to care for orphans made by Christian leaders in India - 1973 - Services by Billy Graham attract four and a half million people in six cities of Korea; first All-Asa Mission Consultation convenes in Seoul, Korea with 25 delegates from 14 countries
- 1974 - Missiologist Ralph Winter talks about "hidden" or unreached peoplesUnreached people groupAn unreached people group refers to an ethnic group without an indigenous, self propagating Christian church movement. Any ethnic or ethnolinguistic nation without enough Christians to evangelize the rest of the nation is an Unreached People Group...
at Lausanne Congress of World Evangelism. Lausanne CovenantLausanne CovenantThe Lausanne Covenant is a 1974 Christian religious manifesto promoting active world-wide Christian evangelism. One of the most influential documents in modern Evangelical Christianity, it was written and adopted by 2,300 evangelicals at the International Congress on World Evangelization in...
is written and ratified - 1975 - Missionaries Armand Doll and Hugh Friberg imprisoned in MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
after communist takeover of government - 1976 - U.S. Center for World MissionU.S. Center for World MissionThe United States Center for World Mission is a place where mission agencies work together to strategize, research and promote ideas that will help to complete the unfinished task of reaching every people group with the Gospel. It has been described as a missions think tank or “missions...
founded in Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
; 1600 Chinese assemble in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
for the Chinese Congress on World Evangelization; Islamic World Congress calls for withdrawal of Christian missionaries; Peace Child by Don RichardsonDon Richardson (missionary)Don Richardson is a Canadian Christian missionary, teacher, author and international speaker who worked among the tribal people of Western New Guinea, Indonesia...
appears in Reader's Digest. - 1977 - Evangelical Fellowship of India sponsors the All-India Congress on Mission and Evangelization
- 1978 - LCWE Consultation on Gospel and Culture in Willowbank, Bermuda; Columbans enter TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
- 1979 - Production of JESUS filmJesus (1979 film)Jesus , is a 1979 motion picture which depicts the life of Jesus Christ according primarily to the Gospel of Luke in the Bible...
commissioned by Bill BrightBill BrightWilliam R. "Bill" Bright was an American evangelist. The founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws in 1952 and produced the Jesus Film in 1979.-Early life:...
of Campus Crusade for ChristCampus Crusade for ChristCampus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...
; Ted Fletcher founds Pioneers, a missionary agency with a focus on "unreached people groups"; Columban missionaries enter PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
at the request of the Bishop of Lahore - 1980 - Philippine Congress on Discipling a Whole Nation; Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism Conference in Pattaya
- 1981 - Colombian terrorists kidnap and kill Wycliffe Bible TranslatorWycliffe Bible TranslatorsWycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...
Chet BittermanChet BittermanChet Bitterman was an American linguist and Christian missionary who was kidnapped and killed by revolutionaries of the 19th of April Movement in Colombia in 1981....
; Project Pearl: one million Bibles are delivered in a single night to thousands of waiting believers in China - 1982 - Story on "The New Missionary" makes December 27 cover of TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine; Andes Evangelical Mission (formerly Bolivian Indian Mission merges into SIMServing In MissionSIM is an international, interdenominational Christian mission organization. It was established in 1893 by its three founders, Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham of Canada and Thomas Kent of the United States....
(formerly Sudan Interior Mission - 1983 - Missionary Athletes International, a global soccer ministry, founded by Tim Conrad
- 1984 - Founding of The Mission Society for United Methodists, a voluntary missionary sending agency within the United Methodist Church; rebranded in 2006 to The Mission Society; Founding of STEM (Short Term Evangelical Mission teams) ministry by Roger Petersen signals the rising importance of Short-term missionsShort-term missionsA short-term mission is the mobilization of a Christian missionary for a short period of time ranging from days to a year; many short-term missions are called mission trips...
groups - 1985 - Howard Foltz founds Accelerating International Mission Strategies (AIMS)
- 1987 - Second International Conference on Missionary KidsMissionary KidsMissionary Kids are the children of missionary parents, and thus most were born and/or raised abroad...
(MKs) held in QuitoQuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border... - 1989 - Adventures In Missions (Georgia) (AIM) Short-term missionsShort-term missionsA short-term mission is the mobilization of a Christian missionary for a short period of time ranging from days to a year; many short-term missions are called mission trips...
agency founded by Seth Barnes; Lausanne II, a world missions conference; concept of 10/40 Window10/40 WindowThe 10/40 Window is a term coined by Christian missionary strategist Luis Bush in 1990 to refer those regions of the eastern hemisphere located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator, a general area that in 1990 was purported to have the highest level of socioeconomic challenges and least...
emerges; "Ee-Taow" video released by New Tribes Mission - 1991 - The Marxist government of EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
is overthrown and missionaries are able to return to that country - 1992 - World Gospel MissionWorld Gospel MissionThe World Gospel Mission is an interdenominational Christian holiness missionary agency headquartered in Marion, Indiana, United States. From its inception, WGM has been aligned with the Wesleyan Holiness tradition of Protestantism...
(National Holiness Missionary Society) starts work in UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by... - 1993 - Trans World Radio starts broadcasting from a 250,000-watt shortwave transmitter in Russia
- 1994 - Liibaan Ibraahim Hassan, a convert to Christianity in SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, is martyred by Islamic militants in the capital city of MogadishuMogadishuMogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
; - 1995 - Missionary Don Cox abducted in QuitoQuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, Ecuador - 1996 - Nazarenes enter HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - 1997 - Foreign Mission Board and Home Mission Board of Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
become the International Mission BoardInternational Mission BoardThe International Mission Board is a missionary sending agency affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which operates in virtually every nation except the United States and Canada...
and North American Mission BoardNorth American Mission BoardThe North American Mission Board is the domestic missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. It exists to assist Southern Baptists in their task of fulfilling the Great Commission in the United States, Canada, and their territories through a national strategy for sharing Christ, starting...
with ten thousand missionaries - 1999 - Trans World RadioTrans World RadioTrans World Radio is a multinational Christian evangelistic broadcaster. TWR broadcasts from 14 countries using mediumwave or high-powered AM transmitters, shortwave as well as through local radio stations, cable, satellite, and the Internet to reach millions of people in 160 nations in their own...
goes on the air from GrigoriopolGrigoriopolGrigoriopol is a city in Transnistria, Moldova. It is the seat of the Grigoriopol sub-district of Transnistria. The city is located on the left bank of the river Dniester at , in central Transnistria....
(Moldova) using a 1-million-watt AM transmitter; Veteran Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons are burned alive by HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
extremists as they are sleeping in a car in eastern India.
2000 to present
- 2000 - Asia College of Ministry (ACOM), a ministry of Asia Evangelistic Fellowship (AEF), was launched by Jonathan James, to train national missionaries in Asia.
- 2001 - New TribesNew Tribes MissionNew Tribes Mission is an international, theologically evangelical Christian mission organization based in Sanford, Florida, United States. NTM has approximately 3,300 missionaries in more than 20 nations, second only to Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL International David Hesselgrave, Executive...
Missionaries Martin and Gracia BurnhamGracia BurnhamGracia Burnham and her husband Martin were American Protestant missionaries in the Philippines with the New Tribes Mission for 17 years from 1986....
are kidnapped in the Philippines by Muslim terrorist group; BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
missionary Roni Bowers and her infant daughter are killed when a Peruvian Air Force jet fires on their small float-plane. Though severely wounded in both legs, missionary pilot Kevin Donaldson landed the burning plane on the Amazon River. - 2003 - Publication of Back To JerusalemBack To JerusalemThe Back To Jerusalem movement is a Christian evangelistic campaign begun in China by Chinese believers to send missionaries to all of the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim peoples who live "between" China and Jerusalem...
Called to Complete the Great Commission - Three Chinese Church Leaders with Paul Hattaway brings Chinese and Korean mission movement to forefront; Coptic priest Fr. Zakaria BotrosZakaria BotrosZakaria Botros is a Coptic priest from Egypt, he worked as a priest in Australia in 1992,he has a Bachelors of Arts in History, best known his critiques of the Quran and other books of Islam. Father Botros has received applause from places such as World Magazine awarded him the Daniel of the Year...
begins his television and internet mission to Muslims in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and western countries, resulting in thousands of conversions. - 2004 - Four Southern BaptistSouthern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
missionaries are killed by gunman in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.... - 2006 - Abdul RahmanAbdul Rahman (convert)Abdul Rahman was an Afghan citizen who was arrested in February 2006 and threatened with the death penalty for converting to Christianity. On March 26, 2006, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the court returned his case to prosecutors, citing "investigative gaps". He was released...
, an Afghan Christian convert, is forced out of Afghanistan by local Muslim leaders and exiled to Italy. Missionary Vijay Kumar is publicly stoned by Hindu extremists for Christian preaching. - 2007 KriolAustralian Kriol languageKriol is an Australian creole language that developed initially in the region of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales in the early days of White colonisation, and then moved west and north with White and Black stockmen and others...
Bible completed, the first translation of the entire Bible into an Australian indigenousIndigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
language