FSC Associate Article
A Church in History - Presenter: Dawn Mayer - March 21, 2026
By Mary Mosser, FSC Associate
Dawn started our day with a prayer. She introduced her topic and explained that the title of her presentation is A Church in History as opposed to A History of the Church to emphasize that the Church’s history is still evolving. Dawn pointed out that throughout the years, the Church often responded to events unfolding in the world. Because of this, it’s important to learn and understand the historical context around the events and how they affected the direction of the Church.
Before her presentation began, Dawn placed cards with names and events that were important in the Church’s history along the tables in Marian Hall and taped an empty timeline to the front of the room. Following the topic introduction, Dawn asked the Sisters and Associates to call out a name or event from one of the cards. For each one, Dawn gave a brief explanation and then added the card to the timeline.
Council of Nicaea 325
By Giovanni Guerra (1590)
Several cards highlighted major councils throughout Church history. A council is a gathering of bishops, led by the Pope, to address and resolve important issues facing the Church. One early example was the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) which focused on defining whether Jesus was truly God or if He was created by God. A more recent gathering was the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965) which sought to better connect the Church with the modern world.
We also touched on some of the doctrines of the Church. For example, Papal Infallibility is a doctrine established in the late 1880s. This doctrine says that when the Pope speaks from the chair of St. Peter on issues of faith and morals, he is preserved from error by the Holy Spirit. The Doctrine of the Assumption of Mary, formally defined in 1950, refers to the belief that Mary was assumed, both body and soul, into Heaven at the end of her life.
Some of the cards centered around educating the Catholic faithful. One familiar series of instructions, first published in 1885, was the Baltimore Catechism. It was the standard catechism for teaching children for decades and it gave Catholics a way to articulate their faith because of its structure and content.
Moving from print-based catechism to more modern technology, we added Bishop Sheen and Carlos Acutis to the timeline. Bishop Sheen is known for preaching and evangelizing through both radio and television. Carlos Acutis used modern technology to spread devotion and awareness of Eucharistic miracles. He is considered an “influencer” in the Catholic Church.
Pentecost by Jean Restout (1732)
Once all the cards were attached to the timeline, Dawn began telling us about the four eras of the early Church. The first era was the apostolic era, which spans from the death of Jesus in 30 AD to the death of John, the last apostle, in 100 AD.
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Some of the key events during this time were Pentecost, the election of Matthias, the stoning of Stephen – the first Christian martyr, the conversion of Paul to Christianity and the Council of Jerusalem. This council was held around 48-50 AD to determine if converts to Christianity needed to follow Jewish law.
Beginning around 65 AD the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written. The texts from this era that are still used today are the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s Epistles and other New Testament books.
Christianity spread rapidly helped by the Roman road system. However, events in the Roman world also challenged the early Christian Church. A great fire destroyed a significant portion of Rome in 64 AD. Nero blamed Christians for the fire which set them up to be persecuted for the remainder of Nero’s term. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD causing Jews and the early Christians to scatter to other cities.
There were many conflicts as the Christian faith was growing. One conflict was due to the neglect of widows and orphans. Greek-speaking widows were not treated the same as the Hebrew-speaking widows. To resolve this issue, seven men, seen as the first deacons, were appointed to take care of food distribution for the widows. A topic of conflict between Peter and Paul was the need for Gentile converts to be circumcised, which was resolved by the Council of Jerusalem.
The early Christians sold their possessions and kept everything in common. A husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of land and secretly kept part of the money for themselves. Ananias presented the money to Peter who confronted him about his lie. Ananias fell over and died. A few hours later, Sapphira also lied about the money, fell over and died as well. The community of believers saw that Ananias and Sapphira’s lie and deceit carried consequences.
The Death of Ananias by Jan Steen (1651)
The disciples went out and preached in many different lands, including Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Ethiopia, Persia and India where they encountered different cultures. Paul, formerly known as Saul, was the first missionary to travel extensively beyond the Jewish communities. Paul had to learn how to communicate with many cultures and peoples. Paul’s letters in the New Testament are communications to the early Christian communities that he visited. These letters were written before the four Gospels.
Dawn’s presentation reminded us that the Church is not simply a stagnant collection of past happenings, but a living story that is shaped by people and events. By understanding where we came from, we gain clarity about the Church today. Also, one can look at the stories of the early Christians for examples of resolving conflicts, living in community or communicating with people of other cultures.