The Early Church (review)

The Early Church is divided into nine chapters and an epilogue. The chapters follow a broadly chronological sequence, but are organized as much by theme and geography as time sequence. The author knows that doing justice to the complexity of the story and the diversity of Christianity in its first six centuries is no easy task, but has succeeded in taking consistently judicious paths in negotiating the difficulties, with an impressive degree of honesty and sensitivity to the issues. Many previous histories have been weak on the theological front;many doctrinal histories have been weak on the social, cultural, and political context. Neither is true of this volume, which is a remarkably comprehensive and balanced account of the major aspects of the life and thought of the early Church, informed by the burgeoning range of interests and approaches brought to scholarship of the period in recent decades—liturgy as well as society, heresy as well as orthodoxy, politics as well as theology, women's history as well as men's, not to mention post-Holocaust sensitivities about Christian supersessionism and postmodern fascination with and incomprehension of ascetic practices. Even the seasoned scholar finds fresh connections and differentiations, whereas the general reader could hardly wish for a better introduction.

That said, there are occasional surprises, odd errors, or contentious positions adopted, as seen in the following examples:

• • On p. 76, Origen, it seems, erroneously appears in a paragraph about Clement of Alexandria.

• • On page 108, Cyprian and the rise of the Donatists are correctly differentiated, but these are conflated on p. 176.

• • On pages 82-83, it is suggested that there was no great chain of Being in Origen's theology, without justifying a claim that is at variance with much standard interpretation.

• • On page 125, it is assumed that Athanasius influenced the Cappadocians, which is a less secure assumption than once was the case.

• • On page 158, it simply states that Basil of Caesarea said the Holy Spirit was homoousios; but his friend, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, upbraided him for not doing so, and Gregory was probably disappointed that the Council of Constantinople also failed to do so explicitly. Thus, Gregory's philosophy was not fully accepted at Constantinople, as stated on page 165—explaining, no doubt, some of his disillusionment.

• • On page 163, the impression given of Basil is surprising. He certainly exploited the division of the province to multiply bishoprics, but surely he saw it as a hostile act on the part of the Arian emperor.

On the other hand, particularly recommended are the following:

• • The handling of the delicate transition from Jesus Christ to the Church, with all the complexities of New Testament study to negotiate.

• • The clarity of the exposition of the issues involved in the main controversies, particularly those of the fourth and fifth centuries.

• • The brilliantly succinct accounts of the thought of the major theologians of the period: Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, Athanasius, the Cappadocians, and St.Augustine.

• • The survey of Christianity's ascetic streak and the monastic movements of the fourth and fifth centuries.

• • The epilogue's sketch of the consequences of Chalcedon and its retrospective reflection on the kaleidoscope of early Christianity and the factors that nevertheless held the Church together.

Altogether, this work is an enormous achievement and is highly recommended.