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[William Wilberforce—John Rising / Wikimedia]

FRIENDSHIP MILESTONES

Early church

— c.33 Paul is converted and joins the early Christian community.

— 374 Ambrose becomes bishop of Milan, where he will influence Augustine.

— 379 Basil dies after reconciling with Gregory of Nazianzus. 

— c. 383 Gregory of Nyssa writes Life of Macrina.

— c. 390 Evagrius writes Praktikos on soul friendship.

— c.420 John Cassian writes the Institutes and the Conferences. 

— c.500s The Celtic tradition of the anamchara, or “soul-friend,“develops.

Medieval church

— 616 Oswald becomes a Christian at Iona.

— 1115 Scholar Peter Abelard mentors, then seduces, Héloïse d’Argenteuil.

— c.1164–67 Aelred writes On Spiritual Friendship.

— 1205 Boncompagno de Signa writes Friendship.

— 1208 Francis of Assisi begins attracting followers.

Reformation

— 1516 Bishop Guillaume Briçonnet gathers a circle of reformers around him.

— 1534 Iñigo López de Loyola and fellow students begin to meet for prayer.

— 1541 Guillaume Farel mentors Calvin and Viret through letters.

Modern church

— 1723 Jonathan Edwards is impressed by Sarah Pierpont; they later marry.

— 1729 Charles and John Wesley and William Morgan form a study group at Oxford. 

— 1744 John Wesley begins meeting with preachers in conferences for mutual support.

— 1748 Charles Wesley meets Sally Gwynne; they later marry.

— 1783 The Eclectic Society, a group of Anglican clergy and influential laity, is formed. 

— 1787 English author Hannah More becomes friends with John Newton and William Wilberforce.

— c.1790 Henry Venn founds the Clapham Sect, which includes More, Newton, Wilberforce, and other Christians working for reform of English society.

— 1806 Five Williams College students meet under a haystack to discuss how to reach Asia for Christ.

— 1824 Six students at St. Andrews University in Scotland form a society to promote missions. 

— 1835–37 Sarah Worrall Lankford and Phoebe Worrall Palmer begin meeting with women for prayer. 

— 1877 Temperance advocates Frances Willard and Anna Gordon meet at a revival meeting.

— 1885 Seven English students answer the call for missionaries to China put out by Hudson Taylor. 

— 1895 Amy Carmichael forms a group of indigenous female missionaries in India, the Starry Cluster. 

— 1926 C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien meet.

— c.1933 Lewis and Tolkien adopt the name “Inklings” for their informal gathering of Christian writers and academics, who meet until 1949.

MINISTRY MILESTONES

Early church

— c.33–c.64 Paul and his circle travel far, sharing the gospel with Gentiles.

— 370 Basil becomes bishop of Caesarea.

— 372 Gregory, his brother, becomes bishop of Nyssa. Basil manipulates Gregory of Nazianzus into becoming a bishop, causing a rift.

— 374 Amphilochius, cousin of Gregory of Nazianzus, becomes a bishop. 

— c. 380 Peter (brother of Basil, Macrina, and Gregory of Nyssa) becomes a bishop. Gregory of Nazianzus becomes archbishop of Constantinople.

— 381 Gregory of Nazianzus and Evagrius Ponticus participate in the Trinity-affirming First Council of Constantinople.

— 387 Ambrose baptizes Augustine, who later becomes bishop of Hippo.

— 563 Colmcille founds a monastery on the Scottish island of Iona.

Medieval church

— 634 Oswald asks Iona monks to teach his subjects.

— 635 Aidan from Iona becomes a missionary in Lindisfarne.

— 1147 Aelred, an English Cistercian monk, becomes abbot of Rievaulx. 

— 1210 The Franciscans become an official religious order.

Reformation

— 1521 The Circle of Meaux spreads “Lutheran” ideas in France.

— 1534 Guillaume Farel of the Meaux Circle encourages his friend Pierre Viret to preach.

— 1536 Farel persuades John Calvin to stay in Geneva and work for reform.

— 1540 Loyola’s friends become an official religious order, the Society of Jesus or Jesuits.

— 1601 Matteo Ricci publishes You lun (a treatise on friendship) as part of evangelistic work in China.

Modern church

— 1738 The Wesley brothers begin to organize followers for prayer and mutual support. 

— 1799 Eclectic Society members found the Church Missionary Society.

— 1810 The Haystack Prayer Group and others found the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).

— 1829 Alexander Duff from the St. Andrews Seven becomes the Church of Scotland’s first missionary to India. Four others from St. Andrews also become missionaries.

— 1833 The British Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act, a culmination of Wilberforce and More’s work.

— 1839 Palmer and Lankford’s meetings launch Palmer and her husband on a career of speaking and writing. 

— 1879 Willard becomes president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union with Gordon as her secretary.

— 1886 The Cambridge Seven arrive in China. 

— 1901 Carmichael and the Starry Cluster rescue their first child prostitute, leading to the founding of the Dohnavur Fellowship.

— 1902 Dixon Hoste of the Cambridge Seven becomes Hudson Taylor’s successor. 

— 1914 Gordon becomes president of the WCTU.

— 1931 Lewis converts to Christianity, in part through Tolkien’s influence.

By Jennifer Woodruff Tait

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