Church History Books

[Smoky]

Speaking of which, are there any books that have the history of the Coptic Church and the Ethiopian Church? Most books I know exclude them.

" A History of Christianity " by Kenneth Scott Latourette covers almost all branches of Christianity and even covers it's spread into China and India.

 

[Erik3]

"Church History in Plain Language." It's written by Dr. Bruce Shelley of Denver Theological Seminary.

I just finished reading this book.

I think it's great.

 

[mister_p]

Phillip Schaff wrote a monumental tome in the 1800's: History of the Christian Church.
(Available in full at the CCEL site: ccel[dot]org)

Careful of old Eusebius thogh, he's alittle one eyed: He thought Constantine was the best thing that happened to the church since, well, Jesus!

 

[Ann M]

I recommend a book called "Saints & Sinners - a history of the Popes."

This is a Catholic book, written by a Catholic, about the Catholics, but from my standpoint, as a Catholic its a honest read. Its very much a warts and all perspective on the evolution of the Papal office and the influence history had on it and vice versa.

 

[ischus]

I was not very impressed with Shelley. I wouldn't call it unscholarly, but his presentation was not very respectable compared to other histories. It seemed to be geared towards more of a popular audience.

Latourette has done a much more thorough job IMO, although I have not been through the entire two volumes. I am still searching for some good church histories, so thanks to everyone who has given me some others to look into.

 

[mister_p]

"A History of Christianity" by Paul Johnson.

Comprehensive, some good assessments of events and influences. It's available in Penguin paper back (alot cheaper).

 

[Philip]

Does not The Pilgrim Church put forth the Trail of Blood myth ??

Yes, it does. All the expected groups are there. IIRC, the group PC concludes is the rightful heir to this succesion of heresy is a different (albeit similar) group ToB names.

 

[verismo]

"Triumph" by Harry Crocker III

 

[Kripost]

This is a very good one. I also recommend the Justin Gonzales series, "Story of Christianity". It is a little more confusing than Shelley, but it is more detailed.

I looked through the contents page and index, and flipped though several pages randomly. One of the better books, I must agree, and pretty detailed, given its scope. Although it still does not give much information about the east after 1054, and I cannot find an entry for Gregory Palamas in the index.

 

[ClementofRome]

" A History of Christianity " by Kenneth Scott Latourette covers almost all branches of Christianity and even covers it's spread into China and India.

Indeed, Latourette has become a seminary standard.

 

[theologia crucis]

In the Fullness of Time by Dr. Paul Maier is excellent. It details the era from just before the Nativity to the deaths of Peter & Paul.

 

[mythbuster]

I was not very impressed with Shelley. I wouldn't call it unscholarly, but his presentation was not very respectable compared to other histories. It seemed to be geared towards more of a popular audience.

Latourette has done a much more thorough job IMO, although I have not been through the entire two volumes. I am still searching for some good church histories, so thanks to everyone who has given me some others to look into.

I'm with you on your conclusion about Shelley.

 

[zoomie71]

I was not very impressed with Shelley. I wouldn't call it unscholarly, but his presentation was not very respectable compared to other histories. It seemed to be geared towards more of a popular audience.

"Geared toward a popular audience?" (Must the the case, since the book's had it's 20th printing).

My feeling is that's precisely what makes Shelley's book a good one to have on your shelf. One of the real shortcomings in much of the Evangelical church (in pew AND pulpit) is that few have any real sense of where we've come from, and of the lives and struggles of those who have gone before. I'd hazard a guess that many is the Evangelical church-goer who is basically unaware that much happened between the Apostle Paul and Billy Graham, except perhaps for that Luther fellow.

I think Shelley does an admirable job of hitting the high points in this regard. His book includes a number of very useful charts and diagrams and the occasional picture as well. The book certainly isn't meant to be exhaustive. In my opinion it particularly falls somewhat short in its dicsussion of Orthodoxy (but then again so do many Christian histories written by Evangelicals).

But if you want to encourage someone who is interested in a basic church history overview who might not naturally pick up a history book, or, for that matter might not naturally pick up a book at all, I don't thank you can serve them badly by using Shelley.

Blessings,

Zoomie

 

[Kripost]

"Geared toward a popular audience?" (Must the the case, since the book's had it's 20th printing).

My feeling is that's precisely what makes Shelley's book a good one to have on your shelf. One of the real shortcomings in much of the Evangelical church (in pew AND pulpit) is that few have any real sense of where we've come from, and of the lives and struggles of those who have gone before. I'd hazard a guess that many is the Evangelical church-goer who is basically unaware that much happened between the Apostle Paul and Billy Graham, except perhaps for that Luther fellow.

I think Shelley does an admirable job of hitting the high points in this regard. His book includes a number of very useful charts and diagrams and the occasional picture as well. The book certainly isn't meant to be exhaustive. In my opinion it particularly falls somewhat short in its dicsussion of Orthodoxy (but then again so do many Christian histories written by Evangelicals).

But if you want to encourage someone who is interested in a basic church history overview who might not naturally pick up a history book, or, for that matter might not naturally pick up a book at all, I don't thank you can serve them badly by using Shelley.

I agree with you. Although Shelley's book might disappoint more serious readers, to be fair, his book seems to be meant for the casual reader, or a beginer in church history. Moreover, he does take effort to be impartial regarding controversies, which is a rather difficult thing to do.

 

[mythbuster]

Here is an on line version of the Pilgrim Church.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/thailand/pc-b-000.htm

 

[linden branch]

The best approach is to break up your historical research into either periods or geographical regions, so as to better focus on the matter. Attempts at covering all of Christianity from the Apostles to present are almost invariably too broad and general for anything more than a quick introduction.

My favorite history book is "The Rise of Christianity" by W.H.C. Frend. He covers a large period between 100-600 A.D.. The best part of the book is the excellent footnotes. He introduces you to a particular subject, and then you can research the actual documentation of the event. I have read Chadwick and Gonzalez on the same period, and Frend's work far surpasses them on this period.

Others have already mentioned Jaroslav Pelikan, and I couldn't agree more. He is probably one of THE foremost living scholars on Church history and his magnum opus "The Church Tradition" is a must for anyone seriously interested in Church history. It is broken up into five volumes, so if you are interested in a particular period, you do not necessarily have to purchase the complete set.

I have not read any histories that focus on the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches, although I am sure they exist (actually, I believe Frend may have written on them also, and I know he has a book on the Donatists of North Africa), but if you are also interested in the Assyrian (Nestorian) and Indian (Mar Thoma) Churches, along with their missions into China, I have recently completed an excellent one volume work called "The History of Christianity in Asia - Volume I: Beginnings to 1500" by Samuel H. Moffett. Although he is not Assyrian Christian, he writes from a sympathetic perspective, which lends some credibility to his writing (I believe he is Presbyterian).

 

[linden branch]

I was right about Frend and the Monophysites (which would include the Coptic and Ethiopian churches) He has a book out called:

The Rise of the Monophysite Movement

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be in print currently. If you are interested in the doctrinal issues, Pelikans The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). Vol. I of The Christian Tradition would be a good place to look.

I looked around, and the only other book I found that appeared promising was one that dealt with the Egyptian Church prior to the Council of Chalcedon:

Early Egyptian Christianity: From Origins to 451 C.E. by C.Wilfred Griggs. This won't tell you much about after the became the "Coptic Church" because it only deals with the time prior to the Chalcedonian schism, but it will give you a very good picture of the historical situation that lead up to the schism.