This work covers the whole history of Catholicism, including the periods of Christian history prior to the present divisions into Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, but within the earlier periods it focuses on the “story line” that leads to Catholicism in the Roman Rite, and particularly to Roman Catholicism in the United States.The Historical Dictionary of Catholicism, Third Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has ...

With about one billion members, the Catholic Church is one of the world’s largest religious bodies, and its history is crucially linked to global events. In the Historical Dictionary of Catholicism, author William J. Collinge provides the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the theology, doctrines, and worship of the religion. He covers the entire Catholic tradition from the time of Jesus to the present, including the periods before the present division of Christianity into Roman C...

In this popular introduction to church history, now in its third edition, Mark Noll isolates key events that provide a framework for understanding the history of Christianity. The book presents Christianity as a worldwide phenomenon rather than just a Western experience.Now organized around fourteen key moments in church history, this well-received text provides contemporary Christians with a fuller understanding of God as he has revealed his purpose through the centuries. This new...

At a time when Christianity is flourishing in the Southern hemisphere but declining in much of the West, this Very Short Introduction offers an important overview of the world's largest religion. Exploring the cultural and institutional dimensions of Christianity, and tracing its course over two millennia, Linda Woodhead provides a fresh, lively, and candid portrait of Christianity's past and present. Addressing topics including the competition for power between different forms of...

In this extraordinary book, the renowned Hans Kung chronicles the Roman Catholic Church’s role as a world power throughout history. He examines great schisms — between East and West, Catholicism and Protestantism — the evolving role of the papacy and the stories of the great reforming popes; and the expansion of a global Church infrastructure. The book concluded with a searching assessment of how the Catholic faith will confront the immense challenges posed in the new millennium by the sci...

This fast-paced survey of Western civilization’s transition from the Middle Ages to modernity brings that tumultuous period vividly to life. Carlos Eire, popular professor and gifted writer, chronicles the two-hundred-year era of the Renaissance and Reformation with particular attention to issues that persist as concerns in the present day. Eire connects the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in new and profound ways, and he demonstrates convincingly that this crucial turning point in ...

FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS, Doors to the Sacred has endured as an indispensable account of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Used in hundreds of university and seminary courses and full of critical acclaim, it details their historical and cultural evolution and the rituals and practices associated with them. This Vatican II Golden Anniversary Edition explains the liturgical changes found in The Roman Missal, Third Edition, and provides extensive resources for stu...

As the church marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, too few Catholics have an adequate grasp of what the council contributed to the life of the church. The problem is understandable. The Second Vatican Council produced, by far, more document pages than any other council. Consequently, any attempt to master its core teachings can be daunting. There is a danger of missing the forest for the trees. With this in mind, Keys to the Council identifi...

One of the chief difficulties in studying the history of Christianity is the lack of prior exposure to the subject that students often bring with them. Struggling to keep up with the large numbers of names, dates, and places presented to them, it is easy for students to lose sight of the "big picture," the broad sweep of movement and change that instructors most wish to communicate. Justo Gonzalez has written this book to help students gain just such a quick and basic grasp of the main per...

“The Church is a lucid, balanced, and readable book—a work of integration that is always reasonable, well informed, honest, and deeply hopeful.”—CommonwealIn The Church, renowned religious historian and Vatican expert Richard P. McBrien offers a sweeping history of the evolution of the Roman Catholic Church, its influence and power in an ever-changing world. From Jesus’s apostle Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, The Church is a remarkable achievement that delves deeply into the p...

Why do Catholics confess their sins? What does Jesus' second coming mean? How does someone, such as Mother Teresa, become a saint?This guide answers these questions and more. This resource addresses the teachings, tradition, history, and theology of the Catholic Church. With this guide, you'll learn the foundations of the faith. Featuring explanations of:What the parts of the Mass meanBaptism, confirmation, and the other sacramentsThe priesthood an...

A provocative meditation on the role of silence in Christian tradition by the New York Times bestselling author of ChristianityWe live in a world dominated by noise. Religion is, for many, a haven from the clamor of everyday life, allowing us to pause for silent contemplation. But as Diarmaid MacCulloch shows, there are many forms of religious silence, from contemplation and prayer to repression and evasion. In his latest work, MacCulloch considers Jesus’s...