Customer Reviews
Investigations into the in fight of the early church - By: Roland, 11 Jun 2008 
This book covers the history from the beginning of Christianity until the 6th century AD.
First alll the early different mainstream directions are described until finallly during the 4th century AD the orthodox win & rewriting history.
But after Constantine's support & Nicaea 325 AD the in-fight gets even more severe, a mix of political bickering, who is nearer to the emperor is mixing with theological interpretations. Doctrinal discussions about the duality of father & son, the `one substance' interpretation & later including the Holy Ghost as trinity are explained.
Henry Chadwick is describing alll the political power play, intrigues & corruption.
- Bishop's still mainstream this year are considered heretic soon after, often not based on doctrinal differences
- The fight between Alexandria, Constantinople, & Rome or Antioch versus Alexandria alll for the influence & leadership of the holy sea.
- -Alliances of Bishops from one area to unseat another Bishop & gain power.
- Fighting for imperial favor is decided which Bishop is just happened to be nearer to the emperor's wife.
- The split of Greek speaking eastern churches versus the Latin speaking western churches.
- Decisions on doctrinal issues are often made from the emperor
- Split between West & east Rome & different political events & outcome of wars adding to the picture
Mix alll this & the history becomes worse or more complicated like a TV soap.
This book `the early church' of the insights of Church power plays is a good combination with B. Ehrman's `Lost Christianities' which focus on the doctrinal contents.
Concise, Pithy Account of Early Church History - By: A. O. AKEMU, 14 Mar 2008 As one who is an avid reader of Church history, I can say that this is the best volume of early Church history I have read. Henry Chadwick's account of the rise of Christianity, from its roots in Judaism to its decisive break from the mother religion, is weighty, concise & clear.
He explains how the early Christians saw themselves as Jews but that the decisive break came when they (the Christians) accepted Gentiles into the new movement. Thereafter, Chadwick explores the spread of Christianity in the Near East & eventuallly how it made its way to Rome. This is pretty standard stuff so far.
What I liked about the book was the explanation of the different Christological positions in the controversies surrounding the question of Christ's nature. It is in Chadwick's book that I understood Arius & Arianism, Nicene confessions, Chalcedonian Christianity, Monophysitism & Nestorianism. These controversies, which seem drab & overly punctilious to modern readers, were, as Chadwick points out, one of the reasons for the eventual split of the Church into Latin & Orthodox Christianities.
The book is not just a boring academic tome. He enlivens the book with lively descriptions of the Church Fathers; Ambrose, Tertullian & the key characters (and politics) in the Christological consipiracies. If you are interested in understanding the rise of Christianity in the Ancient World & want a readable account of the abstruse, high-falutin Christological terms that have come to define Christian doctrine then this book is a must-read. It deserves my 5 stars.
A Great History Of The Early Chruch! - By: James Gallen, 06 Jan 2007 "The Early Church" provides the reader with an excellent history of the first six centuries of Christianity. Author Henry Chadwick covers structural & doctrinal development, along with the rise & falll of heresies & introductions to the leading characters of the period.
This excellent book provides an overview of so many things which casual students of Church history probably heard of but may not have reallly understood. From my reading of this book I have a better understanding of early heresies including Arianism (Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father), Donatism (no reconciliation with apostates) Manichaeism (a secret, gnostic type sect) & Pelagianism (denial of original sin). The role of councils, such as Nicaea, in combating heresy & guiding the development of orthodoxy is made clearer. A greater understanding of the roles of the Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. Jerome & St. Augustine is gained by the reader of this book.
From a theological or historical perspective this book is a treasure. One test I apply to books is whether they inspire me to study more. This one does. I am confident that it will do the same for you.
The Early Church: a tug of war? - By: Marcus Bagg, 02 Sep 2005 
This is a good overalll guide to the early Christian church. It is well written & easily readable, without needing a deep previous understanding. At times I did find the layout slightly confusing, as you seem to approach the same events in numerous 'thematic' chapters, rather than using a "time-line" approach. However, the reader does get a feeling of the way the issues at the time were affecting the church, especiallly of the conflicts that existed between East & West.
A good starter from people just interested in the subject or a good revision for those already knowledgable in the subject!
Perfect balance - By: Oliver Lea, 19 Apr 2005 Can't complain about it at alll, it covers everything in just enough detail to familiarize you with the different elements of the period, & leaves you informed as to which areas you'd like to read in more detail.
