The Birth of the Church: From Jesus to Constantine, AD 30-312

The Baker History of the Church is a multivolume series by world-renowned historians and theologians. Each comprehensive volume offers an evenhanded and readable assessment of the main strands of Christianity within its period. This first volume covers the period AD 30-312. During this time, the church experienced major challenges politically, culturally, and intellectually, yet grew and defined itself in remarkable ways. Here is the story of Christianity's earliest shapers-men and women whose influence is still felt today. "Well written with masterful control of developments, Davidson's volume is a treat: history at its finest."-Frederick W. Norris, professor of world Christianity, Emmanuel School of Religion "An impressive launch for a promising new series!"-Timothy George, executive editor, Christianity Today "This judiciously crafted, ecumenical survey of early Christianity offers just the right combination of social, liturgical, institutional, and intellectual history."-Douglas A. Sweeney, associate professor of church history, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "Here we have an account of the early church that is both readable and informative, without being simplistic."-Gerald Bray, Anglican professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School Ivor J. Davidson is senior lecturer in systematic theology at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He has written extensively on the history and theology of the early church. John D. Woodbridge is research professor of church history and the history of Christian thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. David F. Wright is professor of patristic and Reformed Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. Tim Dowley has written and edited many books, including The Lion Handbook to the History of Christianity.