A full survey of the first 600 years of Christian history, this is an examination of the earliest years of one of the world's most important religions.

The Early Christian Centuries carries the reader from the world of second-temple Judaism to the Byzantine age, the rise of Islam, and the beginnings of medieval European polities. Stressing the importance of shifting historical consciousness, the continuity and development of ideas, and the urge for social respectability, Rousseau gives the greatest attention to the 'inner' components of the Christian life: authority, worship, biblical interpretation, moral seriousness and spiritual idealism

The fifth century brought great changes to Roman Gaul, including the expansion of the Christian church, the disappearance of the Roman imperial presence, and the arrival and settlement of various barbarian peoples. In this volume, the letters of Ruricius, bishop of Limoges (c. 485-510), and those written to him -- by Faustus of Riez, Sedatus of Nimes. Caesarius of Aries, Euphrasius of Clermont, Graecus of Marseilles, Victorinus of Frejus, Sidonius Apollinaris, Paulinus of Bordeaux, and Taurentius -- give insight into the personal lives and feelings of those who experienced these transformations first hand.

The collection affords an unparalleled view of Gaul in the last quarter of the fifth century, when it seemed that the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse would become the primary barbarian power in the region. In an intimate and domestic way, these personal correspondences describe what happened in Gaul after the final Roman withdrawal just before A.D. 480. They illustrate how literary culture continued under barbarian rule, and demonstrate how well-to-do Gauls responded to the changing times. They provide priceless insights not only into the private and public lives of the individual letter writers but also into life and activities in Visigothic Gaul at the local level in general. Surprisingly, they suggest how little impact the Visigoths actually had on many individuals present at the "end of Roman Gaul.

This is the first up-to-date, accessible study on the rule of Cyprian as the Bishop of Carthage in the 250s AD. It controversially shows that Cyprian radically enforced the primary emphasis on the unity of the church, interpreting loyalty in the community as fidelity to Christ.
It uses cultural anthropology to examine the impact of Cyprian's policy during the Decian persecution. Cyprian attempted to steer the middle ground between compromise and traditionalism and succeeded by defining the boundary between the empire and the church.
J. Patout Burns Jr. concentrates on social structures to reveal the logic of Cyprian's plan, the basis for its success in his time, and why it later failed. This book will be of great interest to classicists, ancient historians and sociologists as well as theologians.

This is the first up-to-date, accessible study on the rule of Cyprian as the Bishop of Carthage in the 250s AD. It controversially shows that Cyprian radically enforced the primary emphasis on the unity of the church, interpreting loyalty in the community as fidelity to Christ.
It uses cultural anthropology to examine the impact of Cyprian's policy during the Decian persecution. Cyprian attempted to steer the middle ground between compromise and traditionalism and succeeded by defining the boundary between the empire and the church.
J. Patout Burns Jr. concentrates on social structures to reveal the logic of Cyprian's plan, the basis for its success in his time, and why it later failed. This book will be of great interest to classicists, ancient historians and sociologists as well as theologians.

An English translation from Greek of Justin Martyr's two major apologetic works, which are recognized as a formative influence on the development of Christian theology in the early church.

The earliest attempts to interpret Mary's Dormition in the light of the Paschal mystery. Some of the authors -- John of Damascus, Andrew of Crete, Germanus of Constantinople -- are well known, others less so. Most of these works have never been translated into English; some are not available in any modern language. Includes index.

These five seventh-century religious texts cast light not only on the development of the church in Visigothic Spain and its internal politics, but also on its, at times troubled, relationship with the Visigothic state and the history of that state itself, particularly in the period when the Visigoths changed their adherence from Arian to Trinitarian Christianity.

Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho is the oldest preserved literary dialogue between a Jew and a Christian and a key text for understanding the development of early Judaism and Christianity. In Between Jews and Heretics, Matthijs den Dulk argues that whereas scholarship has routinely cast this important text in terms of "Christianity vs. Judaism," its rhetorical aims and discursive strategies are considerably more complex, because Justin is advocating his particular form of Christianity in constant negotiation with rival forms of Christianity. The striking new interpretation proposed in this study explains many of the Dialogue's puzzling features and sheds new light on key passages. Because the Dialogue is a critical document for the early history of Jews and Christians, this book contributes to a range of important questions, including the emergence of the notion of heresy and the "parting of the ways" between Jews and Christians.

Cyril was bishop in Jerusalem from c.350-351 AD until 386 AD. His writings are an important source for the history of early Christian doctrine. This book provides full English translations, with explanatory commentary, of his most important works. The introduction covers Cyril's life; his historical and archaeological context; his theology; and contemporary doctrine and practice. This will be essential reading for students and scholars of patristics, and those studying the history of the early Church and late antiquity.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203137450

Christian Latin poetry from the fourth to sixth centuries was hugely influential on English and French medieval literature. In this, the first substantial overview of this poetry, Carolinne White sets the works in their literary and historical context, including translations of over thirty poems and excerpts, many never translated into English before.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203184238

Christian Latin poetry from the fourth to sixth centuries was hugely influential on English and French medieval literature. In this, the first substantial overview of this poetry, Carolinne White sets the works in their literary and historical context, including translations of over thirty poems and excerpts, many never translated into English before.

The Donatist Church of North Africa was known as the Church of the Martyrs, yet its martyr stories are virtually unknown. The Donatists lived in Africa Proconsularis, Numidia and Mauretania (present-day Tunisia and Algeria), and their communities produced songs, sermons, pamphlets and stories of martyrs. These documents were suppressed in antiquity, and few of them survived. They remained untranslated, and were therefore mainly ignored by scholars, who instead relied on what the opponents of the Donatists had to say.

Caesarius was born in 469/70 and served as Bishop of Arles from 502 until his death in 542. Originally trained as a monk at Lerins, he devoted himself as Bishop to an ambitious programme of church reform and Christianization inspired by strict monastic standards of piety. Best known as a preacher, with a corpus of over 250 sermons, Caesarius also founded a monastery whose rule he composed and presided over several important church councils whose canons still survive. The documents included in this volume - most never before translated into English - vividly illustrate Caesarius's career and the social and religious history of Provence at a time of far-reaching political change, during which the region was ruled by a series of Visigothic, Burgundian, Ostrogothic and, ultimately, Frankish kings. The 'Life of Caesarius', written shortly after his death by five clerics of his acquaintance, provides a first-hand record of the Bishop's achievements as pastor, politician and wonderworker. The 'Testament' demonstrates Caesarius's efforts to endow and protect his monastery and in the process furnishes valuable information about diocesan landholdings. The collection of twenty-four 'Letters' sent and received by Caesarius chronicles his relations with fellow aristocrats and bishops and illuminates a wide variety of topics, from penalties for incest to political intrigue among rival bishops. Taken together, these texts shed light on a region and period in which the Christian church, with its leaders, rituals and doctrines, was coming to play an increasingly important role in the daily lives not only of aristocrats and clerics, but also of ordinary men and women.
The volume includes scholarly notes and an introduction."

Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive and accessible survey of religious and philosophical teaching and classroom practices in the ancient world. H. Gregory Snyder synthesises a wide range of ancient evidence and modern scholarship to address such questions as how the literary practices of Jews and Christians compared to the literary practices of the philosophical schools and whether Christians were particularly noteworthy for their attatchment to scripture.
Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World will be of interest to students of classics, ancient history, the early Christian world and Jewish studies.

Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive and accessible survey of religious and philosophical teaching and classroom practices in the ancient world. H. Gregory Snyder synthesises a wide range of ancient evidence and modern scholarship to address such questions as how the literary practices of Jews and Christians compared to the literary practices of the philosophical schools and whether Christians were particularly noteworthy for their attatchment to scripture.
Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World will be of interest to students of classics, ancient history, the early Christian world and Jewish studies.

eBook available with sample pages: 020346253X

This book discusses the development of the English Church during a rich and turbulent two centuries of European history. It provides a comprehensive survey covering the late Anglo-Saxon period through the Norman Conquest and right across the Anglo-Norman period. Professor Loyn addresses major themes in medieval history. He begins with the pre-1066 period looking at the great Benedictine monastic revival; he looks at the role of the Church in the Conquest itself; the evidence of the Domesday Book and then considers the activities of the Church in the turbulent years of the Conqueror's successors. The book concludes with a discussion of doctrine, belief and ritual.

As a ruler of the church of Alexander and president of the Third Ecumenical Council of 431, Cyril was one of the most powerful men of the fifth century. Not only did he define the concept of christological orthodoxy for the next two centuries, but he is also often regarded as an unscrupulous cleric who was responsible for the murder of the female philosopher Hypatia and for the overthrow of the archbishop Nestorius.
Cyril of Alexandria presents key selections of Cyril's writings in order to make his thought accessible to students. The writings are all freshly translated and an extended introduction outlines Cyril's life and times, his scholastic method, his christology, his ecclesiology, his eucharistic doctrine, his spirituality and his influence on the Christian tradition.

As a ruler of the church of Alexander and president of the Third Ecumenical Council of 431, Cyril was one of the most powerful men of the fifth century. Not only did he define the concept of christological orthodoxy for the next two centuries, but he is also often regarded as an unscrupulous cleric who was responsible for the murder of the female philosopher Hypatia and for the overthrow of the archbishop Nestorius.
Cyril of Alexandria presents key selections of Cyril's writings in order to make his thought accessible to students. The writings are all freshly translated and an extended introduction outlines Cyril's life and times, his scholastic method, his christology, his ecclesiology, his eucharistic doctrine, his spirituality and his influence on the Christian tradition.

This book examines John Chrysostom's role as preacher and his pastoral activites as deacon, presbyter and bishop. It also provides fresh and lively translations of a key selection of sermons and letters.

Bede states in the first chapter of this work (De Templo) that the building of the tabernacle and the temple signifies one and the same Church of Christ. Yet this allegorical exposition of the building of the Temple, a paradigm of the genre, is relevant not only to biblical exegetes but to readers of diverse interests, including iconographers, and those concerned with mysticism or merely desiring spiritual nourishment. Even to those primarily interested in Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica, it affords an understanding of that work, for its ideas are there given flesh and blood - the two books, as it were, forming a diptych.

This book examines John Chrysostom's role as preacher and his pastoral activites as deacon, presbyter and bishop. It also provides fresh and lively translations of a key selection of sermons and letters.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Part of a six-volume set that should provide an introduction to key areas of research and debate on the early history of Christianity, this book focuses on the affect early Christianity had on people's lives.