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

This magisterial volume is a comprehensive survey of the doctrine and practice of baptism in the first five centuries of Christian history, arranged geographically within chronological periods. Baptism in the Early Church covers the antecedents to Christian baptism and traces the history of Christian doctrine and practice from the New Testament through the writings of the church fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries. The book deals primarily with the literary sources, though it also gives attention to depictions of baptism (primarily of Jesus) in various art forms and to the surviving baptismal fonts. Ferguson's thorough study points to the central importance of baptism in the early church. Many blessings were attributed to baptism, but the two earliest and most consistently mentioned are forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit; faith and repentance were necessary in order to receive these benefits. Jewish immersion rites, the practice of John the Baptist, the meaning of the words used for baptism, the literary descriptions, and the material remains argue that full immersion was the normal practice, and the evidence from art is consistent with this interpretation. Containing nearly everything currently known about the early Christian ritual of baptism, with extensive citations to the primary and secondary literature, Ferguson's Baptism in the Early Church is destined to be a standard reference work.

This is the second volume of Ferguson's collected essays, and includes some of his most memorable work.

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.

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.

Product Note:
2 Volume Set

Church History, Volume One offers a unique contextual view of how the Christian church spread and grew from its development in the days of Jesus to the years leading up to the Reformation. Looking closely at the integral link between the history of the world and that of the church, Church History paints a portrait of God's people within its setting of times, cultures, and events that both influenced and were influenced by the church. FEATURES: Maps, charts, and illustrations spanning the time from the first through the thirteenth centuries. Overviews of the Roman, Greek, and Jewish worlds and how they developed or declined. Insights into the church's relationship to the Roman Empire, with glimpses into pagan attitudes toward Christians. Explanations of the role of art, architecture, literature, and philosophy-both sacred and secular-in the Church. Details on the major theological controversies of the periods. Each chapter also contains callout passages from Scripture to assist in understanding the narrative of the Church, even to the present day, as part of the greater narrative of the Bible. AUTHOR'S PERSPECTIVE: Scholar and writer Everett Ferguson wrote this history of the church from the perspective that such a history is the story of the greatest movement and community the world has known. It's a human story of a divinely called people who wanted to live by a divine revelation. It's a story of how they succeeded and how they failed or fell short of their calling. From the Apostle Paul to the apologists and martyrs of the second century to Martin Luther, the historical figures detailed are people who have struggled with the meaning of the greatest event in history-the coming of the Son of God-and with their role in that event and in the lives of God's people.

Many recognise Everett Ferguson as the definitive voice on early Christianity, patristic writing and ecclesiology. The Early Church at Work and Worship is a challenging collection, broad in scope and formidable in depth. This is the first volume of Ferguson's collected essays, and includes some of his most memorable work, especially on "laying on of hands". Practices of Ordination and attitudes to religious schism in antiquity are analysed by the scholar in this collection, which not only includes articles and publications from various sources, but also previously unpublished material.

Here is an award-winning, new translation that brings to light Gregory's complex identity as an early mystic. Gregory (c. 332-395) was one of the Greek Cappadocian Fathers, along with St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen.

Ferguson's authoritative students' introduction to the world of the early church has now been revised and expanded with new discussions of first-century social life, of Gnosticism, and of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Jewish literature'. Each section is clearly structured with its own bibliography. Arranged thematically, chapters discuss the political background (looking at the political history of the Near East, Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic kingdoms and Rome), society and culture (including the Roman military, social classes, slavery, relationships, morality, economy, entertainment, literature, art and architecture, clubs and associations), Hellenistic-Roman religions (cults, imperial cults, personal religions, Greek and eastern mysteries), Hellenistic-Roman philosophies, Judaism and Christianity.