2001

2001 AD was the first year of the 21st century.

Events

 * In the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Roman Catholic Church refuses to accept Latter-day Saint baptisms.
 * MercyMe releases the song "I Can Only Imagine." This is not only a major hit on the Contemporary Christian Music charts, but over the next two years also crosses over to Billboard Magazine's Adult Contemporary, Hot 100 and Country Music charts. On the country charts, the song competes with a cover by Jeff Carson (who had earlier covered Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses").
 * May: Pope John Paul II takes a pilgrimage tracing the steps of Paul of Tarsus across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Syria to Malta.
 * May 4: Pope John Paul II apologizes to the Patriarch of Constantinople for the sins of the Crusader attack on Constantinople in 1204.
 * September 11: Islamic Al Queda terrorists, directed by Osama bin Laden, hijack four airplanes in the Eastern United States. Two are crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, one crashes into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and the other plane crashes into a field in Pennsylvania. Thus begins the War on Terrorism.
 * '''September: Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Pope John Paul travels to the largely Muslim nations of Kazakhstan and Armenia, to participate in the celebration of the 1700 years of Christianity in those nations.
 * November 22: Pope John Paul II apologizes for past missionary abuses against indigenous peoples of the South Pacific.

Timeline
2000 | 2001 | 2002