Religion & Belief in the 5th century

159 sourced entries, 400 CE to 499 CE, oldest first. Also see Religion & Belief across every century or everything else in the 5th century.

• 400The Vergilius Vaticanus, an illuminated manuscript containing fragments of Virgil's Aeneid and Georgics, is made in Rome.source
• 400The mausoleum of Galerius in Salonica (Greece) is converted into a church.source
• 400Bishops from Gaza (Palaestina Prima) arrive at Constantinople to ask Arcadius that he close the pagan temple of Marnas.source
• 400Resurrection and "Two Marys with Angel near the Empty Tomb", panel of a diptych, found in Rome, is made. It is now kept at Castello Sforzesco, Milan (approximate date).source
• 400The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are composed.source
• 401Kumarajiva, Kuchean Buddhist monk, arrives in Chang'an and begins translating Buddhist texts into Chinese.source
• 402The Pure Land school of Buddhism founds a monastery upon the top of Mount Lushan.source
• 402Jerome writes "Apologiae contra Rufinum" and "Liber tertius seu ultima responsio adversus scripta Rufini".source
• 402Cynegius, acting for Emperor Arcadius at the insistence of Bishop Porphyry, orders the destruction of pagan temples in Gaza.source
• 403The Synod of the Oak deposes and banishes John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, but shortly afterward he is recalled only to be banished again.source
• 403Hui Yuan argues that Buddhist monks should be exempt from bowing to the emperor.source
• 404January 1 – Last known gladiator fight in Rome: This date is usually given as the date of the martyrdom of Saint Telemachus, a Christian monk who was stoned by the crowd for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in a Roman amphitheatre.source
• 404Eudoxia exiles John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, for criticizing her sumptuous lifestyle. He is banished to the Caucasus in Armenia. Pope Innocent I at Rome orders a synod to reinstate the bishop, but his envoys are imprisoned. Atticus becomes the new bishop of Constantinople.source
• 404The Chinese Buddhist monk Huiyuan, who founded the Pure Land Buddhism sect and the monastery on Mount Lushan, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings in this year. In his book he argues that although the Buddhist clergy should remain independent and undisturbed by politics, the Buddhist laymen nonetheless make good subjects under monarchs, due to their fear of retribution of karma and desire to be reborn in paradise.source
• 405Jerome's Vulgate translation of the Bible into Latin is completed by his translations of the Tanakh from the Hebrew language.source
• 405In the Roman province of Africa, Augustine of Hippo opposes Donatism as a heresy.source
• 405The Japanese court officially adopts the Chinese writing system (approximate date).source
• 410Council of Seleucia: Persian Christians create a national church and adopt the Nicene Creed.source
• 410Honoratus founds the Monastery of Lérins on the île Saint-Honorat (France), and forms a monastic community.source
• 410Flavius Constantius, Roman general and politician, is promoted to the rank of magister militum. He becomes the imperial adviser of Honorius, and the power behind the throne in the Western Roman Empire.source
• 411The Councils of Carthage are held, on the issue of Donatism.source
• 411Rabbula becomes bishop of Edessa.source
• 412Lazarus, bishop of Aix-en-Provence, and Heros, bishop of Arles, are expelled from their sees on a charge of Manichaeism.source
• 412Cyril of Alexandria becomes Patriarch of Alexandria.source
• 413Augustine of Hippo, age 59, begins to write his spiritual book De Civitate Dei (City of God), as a reply to the charge that Christianity was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire.source
• 414Abdas, bishop of Susa, burns down a Zoroastrian temple; in retaliation, King Yazdegerd I of Persia orders the destruction of churches.source
• 414Fa-Hien, Chinese Buddhist monk, returns from India and begins translating Buddhist works into Chinese.source
• 415March – Hypatia of Alexandria, Neoplatonist philosopher, is murdered by a Christian mob of Nitrian monks at the church (former temple conceived by Cleopatra VII) called Caesareum. Having driven out the Jews, Alexandria's new patriarch, Cyril, has instigated the mob after taking offense at Hypatia's scientific rationalism (approximate date).source
• 415John Cassian, Christian theologian, settles at a monastery in Marseille (Gaul); he organizes monastic communities after an eastern model.source
• 415The Eustathian schism in Antioch is healed (approximate date).source
• 417January – Pope Innocent I condemns Pelagianism, and excommunicates the ascetic Pelagius.source
• 418December 28 – Pope Boniface I succeeds Zosimus as the 42nd pope.source
• 418Eulalius is elected antipope of Rome. He claims in a letter to Honorius his recognition as pope.source
• 420Abdas, bishop of Susa, is accused of burning down one of the fire temples of Ahura Mazda, and after refusing to rebuild it, he is executed, under orders of Shah Yazdegerd I.source
• 421February 8 – Constantius III is appointed co-emperor (Augustus) with his ineffectual brother-in-law, Honorius, and becomes the real ruler of the Western Roman Empire.source
• 421March 25 – Venice is founded at twelve o'clock noon (according to legend) with the dedication of the first church, San Giacomo, at the islet of Rialto (Italy).source
• 422Approximate date – A monastic community is established at the Maijishan Grottoes.source
• 422Petrus, bishop of Illyria, starts construction of the Church of Santa Sabina (approximate date).source
• 423Theodoret becomes bishop of Cyrrhus (Syria). He converts more than 1,000 Marcionites in his diocese.source
• 424April 22 – Flavius Anthemius Isidorus becomes the new Praetorian prefect of Illyricum, comprising most of Greece and Serbia, taking office at the capital, Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia).source
• 425October 23 – Valentinian III, six-year-old son of Galla Placidia, is installed as emperor (Augustus) of the Western Roman Empire. Real power is in the hands of his mother who becomes a regent.source
• 426Augustine of Hippo publishes the De Civitate Dei, City of God.source
• 426Sisinnius becomes Archbishop of Constantinople.source
• 426K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' becomes the founder of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization at Copán (modern Honduras).source
• 428April 10 – Nestorius is made patriarch of Constantinople. He preaches a new doctrine, that will be called Nestorianism. It makes a distinction between the divine and human natures of Jesus, but comes under immediate attack from Pope Celestine I, and Cyril of Alexandria.source
• 428Euthymius the Great builds a monastery in Palestine, near the Dead Sea.source
• 428Hydatius becomes bishop of Aquae Flaviae in Gallaecia (modern Chaves) in Portugal.source
• 428John succeeds Theodotus as patriarch of Antioch, and gives his support to Nestorius.source
• 429Emperor Theodosius II starts to reform the Codex Theodosianus in Constantinople. He establishes a committee to codify all Roman laws. All funds raised by Jews to support schools have to be turned over to the state treasury.source
• 429Domnus II, future patriarch of Antioch, is ordained as a deacon.source
• 429Pope Celestine I dispatches two bishops from Gaul, Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britain combat the Pelagian heresy.source
• 429Hilary succeeds his kinsman Honoratus and becomes archbishop of Arles.source
• 430Peter the Iberian founds a Georgian monastery near Bethlehem.source
• 430Spring – The Vandals under King Genseric extend their power in North Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, and lay siege to Hippo Regius (where Augustine has recently been bishop).source
• 431June – First Council of Ephesus: Nestorianism is rejected; the Nicene Creed is declared to be complete. Nestorius is deposed from his see.source
• 431October 1 – Maximianus is enthroned as Patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 431Pope Celestine I dispatches Palladius to serve as bishop to the Irish.source
• 432Saint Patrick, Roman Britain-born missionary, is consecrated a bishop and converts the Irish to Christianity until his death around 460.source
• 432Assembly begins on The Parting of Lot and Abraham, a mosaic in the nave arcade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.source
• 432The Basilica of Saint Sabina at the Aventine (Rome) is finished by Priest Petrus of Illyria.source
• 433Pope Sixtus III helps to settle a Christological dispute between the patriarchs Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch, that has continued since the First Council of Ephesus, two years ago. They sign the "Formula of Reunion", thus ending their conflict over Nestorianism.source
• 435August 3 – Theodosius II exiles Nestorius, archbishop of Constantinople, to a monastery in the Libyan desert at the behest of his sister Pulcheria.source
• 435August 10 – A figure known to Mayanist scholars as "Casper" begins a 52-year reign in the Mayan city-state of Palenque what is now the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, and reigns until his death in 487.source
• 435November 14 – Emperor Theodosius II orders a new edict for the death penalty of all heretics and pagans in the Empire. Judaism is considered a legal non-Christian religion.source
• 435Ibas is elected bishop of Edessa. He becomes associated with the growth of Nestorianism and openly preaching heretical doctrines in public.source
• 436The Buddhist Srimala Sutra is translated into Chinese by Gunabhadra.source
• 437July 2 – Valentinian III, age 18, rules as emperor over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence until her death in 450.source
• 437A synod at Constantinople attempts to impinge on the Pope's rights in Illyria. Proclus tries to implement the synod's decisions, and Pope Sixtus III reminds the Illyrian bishops of their obligations to his vicar at Thessaloniki.source
• 439The Historia Ecclesiastica of Socrates of Constantinople is concluded, perhaps due to the author's death.source
• 439The monastery of Mar Saba is founded near Bethlehem (Palestine).source
• 440September 29 – Leo I begins to formulate Orthodoxy and condemns Eutychianism, an extreme form of monophysitism which holds that the human nature of Christ is absorbed by His divine nature.source
• 440Winter – Leo I sends a letter to Valentinian III stating, "by the Holy Spirit's inspiration the emperor needs no human instruction and is incapable of doctrinal error".source
• 441November 8 – The first Council of Orange is convened under the guidance of Hilary of Arles in Orange (France).source
• 441Pulcheria leaves for the seaport Hebdomon (Turkey), and becomes a nun to support Nestorianism in the Holy Land (Palestine).source
• 441Domnus II succeeds his uncle John as Patriarch of Antioch.source
• 442The Monastery of St. Shenouda the Archimandrite (White Monastery) near Sohag (Egypt) is built.source
• 443Gunabhadra, Indian Buddhist monk, is an invited honored guest by emperor Wen of Liu Song (Liu Song dynasty). He translates the Lankavatara Sutra from Sanskrit into the Chinese language.source
• 444Dioscorus I becomes Patriarch of Alexandria.source
• 444Pope Leo I extinguishes the Gallican vicariate.source
• 444The Irish city of Armagh is founded by Saint Patrick the Great.source
• 445Valentinian III issued Novel 17 (Novella XVII) on July 8. It was an imperial edict recognizing papal authority in the Western Roman Empire.source
• 445Domnus II, Patriarch of Antioch, summons a synod of Syrian bishops to confirm the deposition of Athanasius of Perrha.source
• 445Petronius Maximus, prominent aristocrat, is given the title of Patrician. He becomes the most honored of all non-imperial Romans, and political rival of Flavius Aetius.source
• 445Ireland: The Diocese of Armagh is created.source
• 446Bishop Germanus of Auxerre visits Ravenna, seeking to soften imperial hostility towards the Bagaudae. On his arrival at the capital, empress-mother Galla Placidia sends him a silver dish with a choice selection of prepared dainties—all vegetarian, out of respect for the bishop's strict diet. Germanus petitions the Senate for leniency for the citizens of Armorica (Brittany).source
• 446Flavian becomes patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 446A local synod is held by Turibius of Astorga.source
• 447The Synod of Toledo (Spain) tries to add the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed. The Eastern Orthodox Church refuses to go along with this idea.source
• 447Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, makes his second visit to Britain.source
• 448Eutyches is accused of heresy at a synod held in Constantinople.source
• 449August 3 – The Second Council of Ephesus opens, chaired by Dioscorus, patriarch of Alexandria. Flavian, patriarch of Constantinople, and Domnus II, patriarch of Antioch, are deposed on August 8.source
• 449October – A Roman synod repudiates all the decisions of the Second Council of Ephesus.source
• 449Maximus II becomes patriarch of Antioch.source
• 449Anatolius becomes patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 451October 8 – November 1 – Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council of the Church: The monophysitism of Eutyches is repudiated, and the Chalcedonian Definition set forth. As a result of this council, the Oriental Orthodox Churches eventually become a separate communion. More immediately, Jerusalem becomes a Patriarchate, and Dioscorus of Alexandria is deposed as Patriarch of Alexandria by the Council.source
• 451Yazdegerd II issues a decree to abolish the Shabbat, and orders the execution of Jewish leaders, including the Exilarch.source
• 454Ireland: The Diocese of Clogher is erected.source
• 455June 2 – Sack of Rome: King Genseric leads the Vandals into Rome, after he has promised Pope Leo I not to burn and plunder the city. Genseric sacks the city for a period of two weeks. Eudoxia and her daughters, Eudocia and Placidia, are taken hostage. The loot is sent to the harbour of Ostia and loaded into ships, from whence the Vandals depart and return to Carthage.source
• 455July 9 – Avitus is proclaimed Roman emperor at Toulouse, and later recognised by the Gallic chiefs in Viernum (near Arles).source
• 456December - Rechiar, first Germanic king to convert to Nicene Christianity, is captured at Oporto and executed.source
• 456Saint Patrick leaves Britain once more to evangelise Ireland as a missionary bishop.source
• 457February 7 – Leo I, a Thraco-Roman (or Dacian) high-ranking officer, becomes the new emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reigning for nearly 20 years. He is first to accept the Byzantine crown from the hands of the patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 457December 28 – Majorian is crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire and recognized by Pope Leo I. His rule is accepted in Italy, Dalmatia and some territories in Northern Gaul.source
• 458July 3 – Gennadius I becomes patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 459Remigius, age 22, is elected bishop of Reims (approximate date).source
• 460Gennadius I, patriarch of Constantinople, banishes Timothy II, patriarch of Alexandria.source
• 460The Coptic Orthodox Church (Egypt) splits from the Chalcedonian Orthodox Church of Alexandria.source
• 461Mamertus is elected bishop of Vienne (Gaul).source
• 462The Monastery of Stoudios is founded in Constantinople.source
• 464Olybrius is elected Roman consul by the Eastern court in Constantinople.source
• 465November 19 – Pope Hilarius convokes a synod at Rome's Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.source
• 465Peter the Fuller becomes patriarch of Antioch (approximate date).source
• 465Basiliscus, with the help of his sister Verina (wife of emperor Leo I), becomes a consul in the Eastern Roman Empire.source
• 466Peter the Fuller is deposed as patriarch of Antioch; Julian is elected as his successor.source
• 466A council of twelve townships emerges on the islands in the Venetian lagoon, to form a basic system of governance (approximate date).source
• 469The Vatican makes a pact with the Salian Frankish king Childeric I, agreeing to call him "the new Constantine" on condition that he accept conversion to Christianity.source
• 470Mamertus, bishop of Vienne, introduces the Rogation days (a three days' procession involving prayer to invoke God's mercy).source
• 470The church of Santo Stefano Rotondo at Rome is consecrated (approximate date).source
• 471Acacius becomes patriarch of Constantinople, succeeding Gennadius I.source
• 472The Western Roman Empire enters a period of unrest. Relations between Ricimer, de facto ruler, and Emperor Anthemius deteriorate completely. Epiphanius, bishop of Pavia, negotiates a peace agreement.source
• 473March 3 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Emperor Leo I refuses to recognize him, and chooses Julius Nepos as candidate to the Western throne.source
• 473October 25 – Leo I grants his grandson Leo II, age 6, the title of Caesar (approximate date).source
• 474Glycerius is exiled to Dalmatia (Balkans) and becomes bishop of Salona. Neither the Senate nor the Gallo-Roman aristocracy decide to resist, and Nepos accepts the imperial purple.source
• 475April 9 – Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, promoting the Miaphysite christological position. These religious views will make him highly unpopular.source
• 475October 31 – Romulus Augustus is installed as emperor by his father Orestes, who becomes regent in effect of the Western Roman Empire. Augustus will ultimately rule for 10 months, as the last Western Emperor.source
• 475Bodhidharma, Buddhist monk, travels to China and, begins teaching the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (approximate date).source
• 475The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites is consecrated in Syria.source
• 475The compilation of the Babylonian Talmud, the source of the majority of Jewish Halakha, is completed.source
• 476Julius Nepos, de jure ruler, becomes legally the last "Western Roman Emperor". He governs Dalmatia (Balkans), Morocco, and Northwest Gaul until his death in 480, but has no effective power on the Italian Peninsula.source
• 476Peter the Fuller is restored as patriarch of Antioch.source
• 477Shaolin Monastery is founded (according to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (645) by Daoxuan; the monastery is built on the north side of Shaoshi Mountain, the western peak of Mount Song, one of the four Sacred Mountains of China, by emperor Xiao Wen Di of the Northern Wei dynasty in 477. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (547), and Li Xian, in the Ming Yitongzhi (1461), concur with Daoxuan's location and attribution. For alternate founding date, see 495 or 497).source
• 478The first Shinto shrines are built in Japan.source
• 480December 9 – Odoacer occupies Dalmatia and prosecutes Nepos's killers. He later establishes his political power with the co-operation of the Roman Senate.source
• 480Ireland: The Diocese of Connor is erected.source
• 480Constantius of Lyon begins his research for his book Vita sancta Germani ("on the Life of Germanus"). He also writes a hagiography of Germanus of Auxerre (approximate date).source
• 482Emperor Zeno promulgates an Edict of Union (Henotikon), in an unsuccessful effort to soften the decision made at the Council of Chalcedon (451), and resolve differences between the Eastern and Western Churches. Zeno wishes to placate the Monophysite churches of Egypt, Palestine and Syria for political reasons.source
• 484February 24 – King Huneric passes the Edict of 484, a law banning Catholicism within the Vandal Kingdom. A few weeks later, King Huneric removes Catholic bishops from their offices and banishes some to Corsica. A few are martyred, including former proconsul Victorian along with Frumentius and other merchants. They are killed at Hadrumetum after refusing to become Arians.source
• 484Pope Felix III excommunicates Acacius of Constantinople and Peter III of Alexandria, for their role in having Zeno issue his Edict of Union (Henotikon) 2 years ago. He considers the edict to be heretical and the schism between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople widens. The Acacian Schism will not be resolved until 519.source
• 485Peter the Fuller, patriarch of Antioch, is condemned and excommunicated by a synod of Western bishops at Rome.source
• 486Persian Christians who follow Nestorianism gather in the second Council of Seleucia (modern Turkey).source
• 487The Lateran Council, convened by Pope Felix III, establishes conditions for readmitting to the Church those Christians who have been rebaptized by the Vandals.source
• 488Fravitta becomes patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 488Peter the Fuller is succeeded by Palladius as patriarch of Antioch.source
• 489The first Temple of Confucius is constructed in Northern China (outside the ancestral temple at Qufu).source
• 489Emperor Zeno closes the School of Edessa (modern Turkey) for their teaching of Nestorian doctrine, whereupon the scholars seek refuge at the Syriac Church of the East.source
• 490Euphemius becomes patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 491Lupicinus becomes bishop of Lyon. He is the founder of the abbeys of Saint Claude (Jura Mountains).source
• 493Mor Hananyo Monastery is established by Mor Shlemon, converting a former Roman fortress (ex temple) in the Tur Abdin region on the Turkish/Syrian border.source
• 494The Decretum Gelasianum is attributed.source
• 494Gelasius I canonizes Saint George.source
• 495Pope Gelasius I gains support from Italian bishops, in his assertion that the spiritual power of the papacy is superior to the emperor's temporal authority. Like his predecessors, the pope opposes the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I's efforts to establish Miaphysite doctrine.source
• 495Emperor Xiao Wen Di of Northern Wei builds the Shaolin Monastery in Henan for the monk Batuo (for alternate founding date see 477 or 497).source
• 496December 25 – Clovis I is baptized into the Catholic faith at Rheims, by Saint Remigius. The conversion strengthens the bonds between his Gallo-Roman subjects, led by their Catholic bishops.source
• 496Emperor Anastasius I has Euphemius, patriarch of Constantinople, deposed and excommunicated. He appoints Macedonius II as his successor. Euphemius is sent into exile.source
• 497The Ambrosian Iliad, an Illuminated manuscript on vellum, of the Iliad of Homer, is produced in Constantinople (approximate date).source
• 497The Shaolin Temple (Henan) is founded (according to the Jiaqing Chongxiu Yitongzhi). (For alternate founding date, see 477 or 495).source
• 498November 22 – Anastasius is succeeded by Symmachus as the 51st pope, in the official papal selection in the Lateran Palace (Rome). Meanwhile, Antipope Laurentius is elected "pope" in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, causing a schism.source
• 498Flavian II succeeds Palladius as patriarch of Antioch.source
• 499March 1 – During a synod in Rome, which is attended by 72 bishops and all of the Roman clergy, Pope Symmachus makes Antipope Laurentius bishop of the diocese of Nocera in Campania.source