A good general introduction to Church history. It pretty much starts with the apostles, and neglects Jesus' ministry, and asssumes the gospels are the significant source of fact for Jesus' ministry. Covers the major Christian theologians of antiquity and the era of Constantine. Does seem to accept many of the anti-Gnostic bias's of the early Church fathers as fact. So, it is somewhat of an apologist for Christianity. Read it knowing that there is bias, in that sense. Orthodox thought it is very evenly treated. A good introduction. Somewhat dated though. ( )

Originally published in 1967, The Early Church by Chadwick is the first in a seven-volume series, The Penguin History of the Church. Chadwick was a professor at Cambridge University and brother of series editor, Owen Chadwick, who wrote the third book, The Reformation. Henry Chadwick presents the highlights of church history from its Jewish antecedents of the early first century, through its first several centuries. He organizes the work around important issues and key individuals instead of following a purely chronological format. He makes it clear that the important orthodox doctrines most Christians take for granted today, such as the divine-human nature of Jesus Christ and the concept of the Trinity, were painstakingly forged on the anvil of conflict and controversy.

Although written in the British English of 40-plus years ago, the book is a relatively easy read. It goes deeper than most one-volume overviews of church history, therefore I recommend it be read as a companion text to such a survey. It is light on the footnotes, but has a thorough index and a seven-page section of recommended books for further reading. ( )

This was a slog. Covering something so expansive is very tough, and Chadwick does his best. However, without knowing much about the various heresies, it's easy to wonder what the arguments were about. The chapters about the great, early thinkers and the evolution of the papacy and the mass are very well done. All in all, it's informative, not exciting. And I won't be running out to get any more books by Chadwick. ( )

Despite his intimidating academic reputation (Dean of House, Master of Peterhouse, Regius Prof), Chadwick renders a difficult subject eminently approachable. ( )

the begining of christianity to the middle ages ( )