This historical account explores the tumultuous leadership of the Church in Constantinople, focusing on the succession of patriarchs and the controversies surrounding their appointments. It highlights key figures such as Chrysostom, Theophilus, and various emperors who influenced ecclesiastical decisions. The narrative emphasizes the impact of political machinations and heretical movements on the Church's unity, illustrating how the struggle for orthodoxy often led to schisms and conflicts...

"[A] panoramic view of early Christianity as it developed against the backdrop of the Roman Empire of the fourth century" ( Publishers Weekly).The story of Jesus is well known, as is the story of Christian persecutions during the Roman Empire. The history of fervent debate, civil strife, and bloody riots within the Christian community as it was coming into being, however, is a side of ancient history rarely described.Richard E. Rubenstein takes the...

"A chronicle of one significant year in Christian history." — Kirkus ReviewsIn A.D. 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide-ranging debate about the nature of God; all other interpretations were now declared heretical. It was the first...

THE old or official religions of Greece and of Rome had lost most of their power long before Constantine first declared that Christianity was henceforth to be recognized as a religio licita and then proceeded to bestow the Imperial favor on the faith which his predecessors had persecuted. Hellenism had destroyed their influence over the cultivated classes, and other religions, coming from the East, had captivated the masses of the people. If temples, dedicated to the gods of Olympus, were ...

**A NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEARAn extraordinary work of revisionist history that centers Africa in the life of one of our greatest philosophers: "Excellent, short, and highly readable.... Traces a grittier story of a life lived almost entirely in a small area of what is now eastern Algeria, where Augustine’s local origins and experience profoundly shaped both his life and his thought. Conybeare’s argument is that because of his contributions to the genres of philosophy, au...

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 churc...

This unique work - no other work yet available in English treats this subject - illustrates the contribution of these Councils in the development and formulation of Christian beliefs. It then shows how their legacies lingered throughout the centuries to inspire - or haunt - every generation.

The Canons of a church are the laws that govern the behavior of its clergy.These Canons apply to the North American Old Catholic Church, the national Latin Rite church in the United States.The Canons were adopted and went into effect on Advent Sunday (the start of the liturgical year) in 2009.

On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked Catholics and the world by announcing that he would resign from the papacy. It was the first papal resignation in 600 years, and it has caused Catholics the world over to scramble for answers. Now, in Popes Who Resigned, Thomas J. Craughwell answers those burning questions, including: - Why did Benedict XVI resign… and why didn’t John Paul II? - What does the Catholic Church teach about papal resignation? - Who were the other popes that resig...

THE Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt was expecting company. He stood at the window of his palace looking down the long road, that at the first sign of his guests' arrival he might go forth and welcome them. Before him, like a white pearl in the blue waters of the Mediterranean, lay the city of Alexandria—"the beautiful," as men loved to call it. Across the harbor the marble tower of the great lighthouse soared up into the clear Eastern sky, white as the white cliffs of the Island of Pharos f...

Maybe you've wondered just what the Church has to offer. Or maybe you've been tempted to give up on it as you realize its weaknesses. The Compact History of the Catholic Church sweeps through the centuries offering a clear-eyed view of the Church's development and contributions to world history. God's faithfulness and mercy are evident, too, as he continually renews the Church and raises it "again and again from the pit of trouble to new heights of faith, charity and peace." Now including ...

Our first encounter with Arius is somewhere between 300-311 A.D., when he joined up with a group of heretics called Meletians. Evidently, he did not find what he was searching for; he left them.He then managed to get himself ordained a deacon of the Catholic Church by Peter of Alexandria who was Bishop at the time. Evidently his loyalties were still with the Meletians, because when they were censured, he bitterly criticized the Church, and came out against her. He was excommunicated...