Early Church

Step into the pages of "The Early Church Trilogy," a compelling book that unfolds the intertwined stories of Mark, Timothy, and Onesimus. Dive deep into the heart of the early Christian movement, where faith, friendship, and redemption collide. This trilogy masterfully captures the challenges and triumphs faced by these three pivotal figures, offering readers a profound understanding of their contributions to the foundation of the church."The Early Church Trilogy" is not just a historical account; it is a heartfelt exploration of the human experience.

How and why did the early church grow in the first four hundred years despite disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution? In this unique historical study, veteran scholar Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity...

From the early church fathers, three foundational texts of faith and practice endure: the Didache, the Didascalia Apostolorum, and the Apostolic Tradition. Written to guide believers in worship, morality, and community life, these manuals reveal how the early Church understood the sacraments, prayer, charity, episcopal authority, and more. In these pages, Dear Reader, you will encounter the living heartbeat of apostolic Christianity—simple, disciplined, and aflame with reverence.

Introduce your middle and high school students to the bold believers who helped shape the foundation of the Christian faith. Early Church Fathers, part of the inspiring Legends of Faith series by homeschool author Marilyn Boyer, brings Christian history to life through captivating stories of real men who stood firm for Christ in the face of persecution, heresy, and cultural opposition.

In The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, presents a narrative history of Christianity from the early church to the dawn of the Protestant reformation. From Jesus' faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World.

While many histories of Christian worship exist, this project undertakes a task both more focused and more urgent. Rather than survey the whole history of the Christian church, it focuses on the formative period between the first and fifth centuries CE, when so many of the understandings and patterns of Christian worship came to be. And rather than include such developments as the monastic hours of prayer and the history of ordination, the authors deal primarily with those aspects of worship that recur on a weekly or regular basis: preaching, Eucharist, and baptism. 

In The Anatomy of the Early Church, M. John-Patrick O'Connor offers an engaging introduction to the ancient Christian community, exploring the who, what, where, and why of the earliest gatherings of God's people. Drawing on New Testament ecclesiology and sociohistorical scholarship, O'Connor...

Dr. James Papandrea introduces you to all the major theologians, philosophers, and martyrs of the early Christian church and explains the theological principles that guided the Church from the New Testament era through the apologists, and, ultimately, to the development of the major doctrines. He uniquely situates the teachings of the early Church Fathers against the social and cultural context of the Roman Empire and its relationship to the Church.

Every generation has an uncanny tendency to view themselves as more enlightened than those that have gone before. The Church certainly has made mistakes all through history - and yet, no insights which we possess would be possible without the efforts, and even some of the mistakes, of our ancestors. The first volume of 2,000 Years of Christ's Power covers the period from the 1st Century AD to the start of the Middle Ages.

Long before modern prophecy systems, rapture theories, or theological shortcuts existed, the early Church read the Scriptures plainly. They believed the saints would face the Antichrist, endure persecution, remain faithful unto death, and be delivered at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This book documents that forgotten consensus.

The Ancient Church Fathers reveals the disciples of the 12 apostles and what they taught, from their own writings. It documents that the same doctrine was faithfully transmitted to their descendants in the first few centuries. It also describes where, when, and by whom, the doctrines began to change.

Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples—his Apostles and their associates—and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives.

Discover "The Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles", one of the most significant writings from early Christianity, offering valuable insights into the beliefs, worship, and daily practices of the earliest Christian communities. In sixteen concise chapters, the "Didache" explores Christian ethics, baptism, prayer, the Eucharist, church leadership, and the hope of Christ's return. Its central teaching contrasts the Way of Life with the Way of Death, encouraging believers to practice love, generosity, humility, and integrity in their daily lives.

The last time I spoke was eight years ago when my best friend tried to kill me. I never dreamed my silence would break with a scream. Being sent to Chapel Crest after my new stepfather deemed me a heathen seemed like a blessing compared to staying with him and my mom. I was a mute demon in his eyes, and when the rod didn’t beat the evil out of me, he prayed Chapel Crest could. I envisioned the religious academy would become my sanctuary. I was wrong. So very wrong. Chapel Crest was an asylum moonlighting as a religious school.

Women were there. For centuries, discussions of early Christianity have focused on male leaders in the church. But there is ample evidence right in the New Testament that women were actively involved in ministry, at the frontier of the gospel mission, and as respected leaders. Nijay Gupta calls us to bring these women out of the shadows by shining light on their many inspiring contributions to the planting, growth, and health of the first Christian churches.

"Historically compelling, wholly engrossing; a page-turner." -Prairies Book Review This award-winning alternative history empowers women facing issues of identity, faith, freedom, and fulfilling their call to teach and lead. Set in biblical times, the themes remain relevant today, and it will...

Early Church Witness—Volume 3: Endurance, Apostasy, and the Crown of Life confronts false assurance by returning to the direct words of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the earliest Christian witnesses. Drawing from the King James Scriptures and early Church testimony, this volume shows that endurance is required, apostasy is real, and the promised reward belongs to those who overcome.

Ancient Faith has produced a fresh update and redesign of a book cherished by a generation of seekers. Written in an accessible manner for the average lay person, Orthodox Worship offers insights into the Orthodox liturgy. Early Christians preserved a continuity of worship from the Old Covenant to the New, employing elements from the Jewish Temple liturgy, the synagogue liturgy, and the rituals of the Jewish home.

The early Church faced persecution. Some endured. Others denied Christ. What happened next—and what does it mean for us today? Early Church Witness — Book 9: The Lapsed is a Scripture-first, historically grounded examination of how early Christians dealt with believers who denied Christ under threat of imprisonment, torture, or death.

Athanasius rightly knew that upon one’s view of Christ hung one’s eternal destiny. As he wrote to the bishops of Egypt in 356: “as therefore the struggle that is now set before us concerns all that we are, either to reject or to keep the faith, let us be zealous and resolve to guard what we have received, bearing in mind the confession that was written down at Nicaea.” And, by God’s grace, his victory in that struggle has been of enormous blessing to the church ever since.