Rare scholarly insight into the early church — still relevant for the church today This anthology offers a choice selection of writings by one of the twentieth century’s premier church his
Rare scholarly insight into the early church — still relevant for the church today
This anthology offers a choice selection of writings by one of the twentieth century’s premier church historians, Sir Henry Chadwick. Many of Chadwick’s considerable contributions to a fuller understanding of the early church were unpublished or not circulated widely during his lifetime, but here they are compiled in a convenient, accessible form.
Reflecting Chadwick’s wide-ranging expertise, this volume contains his essays on a variety of themes pertaining to the early church, including the emerging faith’s relationship to classical culture; the interaction between piety, politics, and theology; councils in the early church; the power of music in the church; and more. As relevant for the study of early Christianity today as when they were first written, Chadwick’s essays remain a valuable resource for better understanding the church both past and present, shedding light on ecumenical problems that still keep Christians visibly divided.
J. Robert Wright
— General Theological Seminary, New York City
"It is no exaggeration to say that this volume's impeccably edited chapters represent 'the very best of the very best' of Anglican patristics scholarship in the present era. Bishops, councils, monastics, liturgy, preaching, exegesis, papacy, ecumenism, and so very much more are all comprised in these over-300 pages of precise writing. Indeed, hardly anyone in the English-speaking world can now presume to write or teach about the early church without consulting the contents of this volume."
Rowan Williams
— from the foreword
"Henry Chadwick represented for countless people the essence of a particular kind of Anglican identity—learned, irenic, but not bland. . . . My hope is that this book will make him better known to a new generation of students of early Christianity and of the endlessly fascinating thinking of Augustine and others. Chadwick remains one of those giants onto whose shoulders we lesser mortals of the scholarly world scramble to get a view."
View Review quote
Henry Chadwick (1920–2008) enjoyed international renown as one of the leading church historians of the twentieth century. Scholar, teacher, churchman, accomplished musician, and ecumenist, he held senior professorial appointments at both Oxford and Cambridge universities.
View Biographical note
