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How did a community that was largely invisible in the first two centuries of its existence go on to remake the civilizations it inhabited, culturally, politically, and intellectually? Beginning with the life of Jesus, Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history. Moving through the formation of early institutions, practices, and beliefs to the transformations of the Roman world after the conversion of Constantine, he sheds new light on the subsequent stories of Christianity in the Latin West, the Byzantine and Slavic East, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Through a selected narration of particularly noteworthy persons and events, Wilken demonstrates how the coming of Christianity set in motion one of the most profound revolutions the world has known. This is not a story limited to the West; rather, Christian communities in Ethiopia, Nubia, Armenia, Georgia, Persia, Central Asia, India, and China shaped the course of Christian history. The rise and spread of Islam had a lasting impact on the future of Christianity, and several chapters are devoted to the early experiences of Christians under Muslim rule. Wilken reminds us that the career of Christianity is characterized by decline and attrition as well as by growth and expansion. 

Ten years in the making and the result of a lifetime of study, this is Robert Louis Wilken's summa, a moving, reflective, and commanding account from a scholar at the height of his powers.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Acknowledgments(p. ix)
• Introduction(p. 1)
• 1 Beginning in Jerusalem(p. 6)
• 2 Ephesus, Rome, and Edessa: The Spread of Christianity(p. 17)
• 3 The Making of a Christian Community(p. 28)
• 4 Divisions Within(p. 37)
• 5 Constructing a Catacomb(p. 47)
• 6 A Learned Faith: Origen of Alexandria(p. 55)
• 7 Persecution: Cyprian of Carthage(p. 65)
• 8 A Christian Emperor: Constantine(p. 75)
• 9 The Council of Nicaea and the Christian Creed(p. 88)
• 10 Monasticism(p. 99)
• 11 A Christian Jerusalem(p. 109)
• 12 Emperor Julian, the Jews, and Christians(p. 118)
• 13 Bishop and Emperor: Ambrose and Theodosius(p. 127)
• 14 Architecture and Art(p. 136)
• 15 Music and Worship(p. 145)
• 16 The Sick, the Aged, and the Poor: The Birth of Hospitals(p. 154)
• 17 The Bishop of Rome as Pope(p. 163)
• 18 An Ordered Christian Society: Canon Law(p. 174)
• 19 Augustine of Hippo(p. 183)
• 20 The Great Controversy over Christ(p. 195)
• 21 Egypt and the Copts; Nubia(p. 205)
• 22 African Zion: Ethiopia(p. 214)
• 23 Syriac-Speaking Christians: The Church of the East(p. 222)
• 24 Armenia and Georgia(p. 229)
• 25 Central Asia, China, and India(p. 238)
• 26 A Christian Empire: Justinian(p. 246)
• 27 New Beginnings in the West(p. 257)
• 28 Latin Christianity Spreads North(p. 269)
• 29 The Sacking of Jerusalem; More Controversy over Christ(p. 279)
• 30 No God but God: The Rise of Islam(p. 288)
• 31 Images and the Making of Byzantium(p. 297)
• 32 Arabic-Speaking Christians(p. 307)
• 33 Christians Under Islam: Egypt and North Africa(p. 316)
• 34 Christians Under Islam: Spain(p. 324)
• 35 An Emperor in the West: Charlemagne(p. 333)
• 36 Christianity Among the Slavs(p. 344)
• Afterword(p. 355)
• Chronology and Maps(p. 361)
• Suggested Readings(p. 373)
• Translations(p. 377)
• Index(p. 381)

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Library Journal Review

In this ambitious book, Wilken (history, Univ. of Virginia; The Spirit of Early Christian Thought) aims to present not just the history of a religion but rather the history and development of a "religious community." A major theme is that Christianity is a "culture-forming religion." It is because of its transformative force that Wilken extends his account beyond the early Church to a millennium; many of the transformations did not reach fruition until that much time had passed. -VERDICT Given the vast scope of material covered, it is perhaps unavoidable that the book becomes dizzying and superficial at times, leaving readers asking questions and, most likely, looking to other books for further detail. However Wilken's descriptions, particularly of the often-neglected locations of early Christianity (e.g., Armenia, China, India), make this a worthwhile read. Serious readers seeking an introduction to early Christianity or seeking to contextualize its global growth will find this useful.-Fred Poling, Long Beach City Coll. Lib., CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

In this brilliant survey of the development of Christianity, Wilken, dean of early Christian history (The Christians as the Romans Saw Them), tells a riveting story of a struggling young religion searching for an identity that slowly, over the course of centuries, develops into a collection of religious commu-nities of global proportions. He traces the lives and thought of many individuals who give the story of Christianity its peculiar vigor: Macrina, who introduced a form of monasticism to Asia Minor; Theodore Abu Qurrah, the first Christian to write theological works in Arabic; theological thinkers such as Au-gustine and Origen, among others. Wilken elegantly weaves the colorful threads of the Christian de-velopment of doctrines and rituals with the influence of three significant institutions-bishops, monks, and kings or emperors-into a patchwork quilt that colorfully covers Christianity's expansion in the first third of the millennium, its mid-millennium rise, and its decline in its encounters with Islam in the eighth and ninth centuries. By the end of the first millennium, Christians lived in three large areas-Syria and the Arabic Middle East, the Greek and Slavic East, the Latin West-and each region had its own distinctive forms of Christian life, art, worship, and piety. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

CHOICE Review

Only an unusually gifted and seasoned historian can cover a millennium of Christian history in about 350 pages. Wilken (emer., Univ. of Virginia) maintains that Christianity's earliest few centuries are too frequently studied outside the broader context of the centuries that followed. This overview is an endeavor to correct this tendency. He begins with Jesus and ends with the year 988 CE (the baptism of the Russian prince Vladimir). The author's approach is necessarily expansive, with chapters devoted to prominent figures ("A Learned Faith: Origen of Alexandria"), locations ("Armenia and Georgia"), events ("The Sacking of Jerusalem"), and topics ("Christianity Among the Slavs"). A rich selection of colored illustrations, maps, and a list of suggested readings enhance the text. In addition to the usual qualities desirable in a work of history (authorship, sources consulted, how well it delivers on its promises), a lucid, inviting writing style graces this work. Here is a most attractive entree for readers who wish their grasp of early Christian history was less episodic but are unsure of where to begin. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. D. R. Stewart Bethel University

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Robert Louis Wilken is William R. Kenan Professor of the History of Christianity Emeritus, University of Virginia. He lives in Washington, D.C.