The Origins of Christendom in the West

by Alan Kreider

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 2001

Overview

For well over a millennium the civilization of Western Europe was “Christendom.” Christianity was the dominant religion, buttressed by social and legal structures. This volume studies Christendom at its origins, bringing the insights of leading scholars in the fields of ancient history, theology, patristics, and liturgy to bear on aspects of Europe’s Christianization.

From a missiological perspective, the contributors ask what is Christianity’s impact upon culture, what is culture’s impact upon Christianity? Focusing on the first four centuries, but also looking forward to the future of Christianity in the West, this volume combines scholarly excellence with accessibility. It will be valued by scholars and students alike.

This resource is also available as part of the Church Origins Collection (10 vols.).

Contents

Top Highlights

“Christianity, whose message and embodiment can take many forms, Christendom is a civilization in which (a) Christianity is the dominant religion and in which (b) this dominance has been backed up by social or legal compulsions.” (Page viii)

“Constantine may have heard, perhaps from the churchmen themselves, that the Christians required a person who ‘has the power of the sword, or is a magistrate of a city who wears the purple’, to cease or be rejected.⁵⁷ For reasons of imperial responsibility Constantine may not have wanted to be baptized. Furthermore, Constantine as a catechumen would have to submit his independent theological judgement (so evident in his Oration to the Assembly) to the instruction of others. And he may have been a bit afraid of the mysterious elements of Christian initiation.” (Page 19)

“ chose, nevertheless, to use the New Prophets’ language (‘We” (Pages 181–182)

Praise for the Print Edition

After more than fifteen hundred years, “Christendom” remains a highly charged word. This bold and imagination volume helps explain why. Drawing on the resources of theology, history, sociology and missiology, these students of the history of early Christianity challenge old interpretations and propose new ways of seeing.

—Wilbert R. Shenk, Fuller Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: The Origins of Christendom in the West
• Editor: Alan Kreider
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 336

About Alan Kreider

From the United Kingdom and Europe to Korea, Alan Kreider has introduced people to Christ by teaching and living out the foundational beliefs of the Anabaptist faith. For 26 years, Alan and Eleanor, his wife, were mission workers in England, where they transformed the London Mennonite Centre into a teaching and resource center on Christian discipleship in the Anabaptist tradition, urban mission, and conflict mediation. While in England, Alan served as director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University; as an itinerant preacher and speaker; and as a teacher at Oxford University and the University of Manchester. Upon their return to the U.S. in 2000, Alan and Eleanor became mission educators for Mennonite Mission Network, an assignment that took them to England and Australia in 2005 as well as to churches and communities across North America. Alan served as an adjunct member of the AMBS faculty beginning in 1997, and became associate professor in 2004. “One of the joys of my life is to meet Christians from different places and traditions and to learn from them. How do they understand Christ and the good news? How do they worship? How do they experience and share their faith? Studying the history of Christianity is like that-meeting sisters and brothers from other places and periods and having a trans-chronological conversation with them. They can’t tell us what to think or do; but they broaden our horizons, offering us clues that are often astonishingly useful to us today.”