How did the Christian Church originate, what journeys has it taken over two millennia, and how did it come to exist in its present, myriad forms? The answers to these questions form a tapestry of history that reaches from first century Palestine to the ends of the earth. This volume tells this rich story from an ecumenical perspective, drawing on both Eastern and Western historic sources in exploring the rise of Eastern Orthodoxy; the church across Asia, Africa, and the Americas; and the reformations of the Western Church; including the diversity of contemporary voices. The work benefits from many pedagogical features: - boxed text sections identifying central figures and points of debate - study questions for each chapter - chapter summaries - maps --charts --index Supplemented by over 400 illustrations, this book embraces the universality of historic and current Christianity, creating a single and comprehensive volume for students of Church history and systematic theology.

Steven D. Cone is Professor of Theology, Lincoln Christian University, USA.

1. Introduction

2. Christianity through the Ages
The Early Church
The Medieval Period
The Reformation Period
Early Modern Eastern Orthodoxy
The Early Western Modern Church
The Church in the Modern World

3. The Documents of the Great Tradition
Ancient
Medieval/Byzantine/Oriental
Reformation/Renaissance/Early Modern
Modern

Glossary
Bibliography
Index