Henri Daniel-Rops (1901–1965)
Author of Daily Life in the Time of Jesus
About the Author
Henri Daniel-Rops (1901-1965) wrote more than seventy books, including novels, historical studies, poetry, and children's stories. He won worldwide acclaim for his books on the workings of God in history, which included histories of the Jews and of the Church as well as his masterpiece, Jesus and show more His Times show less
Image credit: Daniel-Rops à l'hôtel de la Monnaie de Paris, le 16 avril 1959
Series
Works by Henri Daniel-Rops
Heroes of God: Eleven Courageous Men and Women Who Risked Everything to Spread the Catholic Faith (2002) 90 copies
The Church of Apostles and Martyrs: Volume 1 (The History of the Church of Christ) (2022) 53 copies, 1 review
The Second Vatican Council;: The story behind the Ecumenical Council of Pope John XXIII, (1962) 26 copies
What is the Bible and What is Canon Law (Twentieth Century Enclyclopedia of Catholicism) (1958) 6 copies
The Life of Christ in Painting 6 copies
La Iglesia de los tiempos clasicos 6 copies
Histoire Sainte: Jésus en son temps. 4 copies
Rimbaud : Le drame spirituel. 3 copies
Oraciones de los primeros cristianos 3 copies
Le coeur complice 3 copies
Storia sacra: il popolo della Bibbia 2 copies
Clara en la claridad 2 copies
Vouloir: réflexions sur la volonté 2 copies
Monsieur Vincent (de Paul) 2 copies
The heroes of God. Translated ... 2 copies
L'Église des temps classiques 2 copies
La Iglesia de las revoluciones. 2 copies
Jesus in his time 2 copies
São Paulo - Conquistador de Cristo 2 copies
Les saints que nous aimons. 2 copies
Un combat pour Dieu. 2 copies
L'Église des Apotres et des Martyrs. 2 copies
Jesus en son Temps 1 copy
Lourdes 1 copy
Jésus en son temps... 1 copy
The life of our saviour 1 copy
Mort : ou est ta victoire? 1 copy
Journal d'Anne Frank 1 copy
Les evangiles 1 copy
Il mondo senz'anima 1 copy
Biblia dla moich dzieci 1 copy
LA IGLESIA DEL RENACIMIENTO Y DE LA REFORMA. Tomo I: Una revolución religiosa: la reforma protestante 1 copy, 1 review
La spada di fuoco 1 copy
K maši, bratje 1 copy
LA IGLESIA DEL RENACIMIENTO Y DE LA REFORMA. Tomo II: Una era de renovación: la reforma católica 1 copy, 1 review
Daniel-Rops, Henri - ¿Qué Es La Biblia? / Daniel-Rops ; [Versión Española De J. C. Y J.-A. G. L.] (1958) 1 copy
Par delà notre nuit 1 copy
Que é a bíblia? 1 copy
The Poor and Ourselves 1 copy
The Ecumenical Councils 1 copy
Historia de la Iglesia de Cristo. VI, La Reforma protestante VOL 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14 1 copy, 1 review
The Twentieth Century 1 copy
Cathédrales 1 copy
WHAT'S IN THE BIBLE? 1 copy
Love is forever 1 copy
Trois tombes, trois visages 1 copy
Notre inquiètude ; essais 1 copy
Sentimientos enfermos 1 copy
Historia da Igreja de Cristo 1 copy
Vaticano II 1 copy
L`Ère des grands craquements 1 copy
L`Èglise des temps barbares 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Petiot, Henry Jules Charles
- Other names
- Rops, Daniele
- Birthdate
- 1901-01-19
- Date of death
- 1965-07-27
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Facultés de Droit et de Lettres de Grenoble
- Occupations
- historian
- Organizations
- Ordre Nouveau
- Awards and honors
- Grand Prix de Littérature de l'Académie française (1946)
Knight of the Legion of Honor (1948) - Short biography
- http://www.catholicauthors.com/daniel...Daniel-Rops was the grandson of peasants. His parents were Col. Charles Petiot and Odile Grosperrin. He was a serious student who majored simultaneously in law, geography, and history at the University of Grenoble. He earned the equivalent of a Master's Degree in each subject, and before he was 21, earned a degree slightly higher than a Ph.D. from the University of Lyons.
He then taught at various universities until he retired from teaching in 1945.
He adopted his nom-de-plume upon the publication of his first book in 1926, a collection of essays. He authored more than 70 books during his life and amassed a library of more than 10,000 volumes.
(Based on the biography at the end of THIS IS THE MASS: NEW AND REVISED.) - Nationality
- France
- Birthplace
- Epinal, Vosges, France
- Places of residence
- Épinal, France (birth)
Aix-les-Bains, France - Place of death
- Tresserve, Savoie, France
- Associated Place (for map)
- France
Members
Discussions
Thumbnails about books--where to post? in Book Discussions (February 2017)
Reviews
The Church of Apostles and Martyrs: Volume 1 (The History of the Church of Christ) by Henri Daniel-Rops
This is the first volume in a ten-volume history of the Catholic Church by Henri Daniel-Rops, the pen name of one Henri Petiot. The editions published by Cluny Media is actually a twenty-volume history with each of the ten divided into two volumes. Therefore, "The Church of Apostles and Martyrs", Volume I, covers the period from the life and death of Christ through the first two centuries, Anno Domini, culminating in the period of the on again, off again persecutions by the Roman emperors. show more The final two chapters describe life in the catacombs and the development of a specifically Christian literature in response to the critiques of the pagan authors and the need to solidify the core of Christian theology to counter the emergence of the first heresies that had sprung up, primarily from within the Eastern precincts.
The chief protagonist of the story, apart from Jesus himself, is St. Paul. Daniel-Rops provides a detailed account of his life and works. Following his famous conversion "on the road to Damascus" St. Paul becomes second only to St. Peter in stature and is effectively the first intellectual presence in the Christian hierarchy. Unlike the original apostles who were culled from among the humblest ranks of the Jewish people, Paul was a man of learning, steeped in the law and traditions of the Jewish religion. At the same time having grown up in the Hellenized city of Tarsus and as a result of his travels throughout the Mediterranean world he was acquainted with the several religious alternatives and schools of philosophy. Like Peter he eventually comes to Rome and takes advantage of his status as a Roman citizen to ensure that he cannot be executed without benefit of a trial. He even "benefits" from the form of execution. Paul is martyred by beheading; when compared with the upside down crucifixion of Peter, you could say sardonically that "membership had its privileges".
Daniel-Rops relies for his account of the earliest history of the Christians to a great extent on the Acts of the Apostles, a brief book, authored by St. Luke, a part of the New Testament that is not as well known as the Gospels and Epistles, but an excellent source for the activities of the apostles from the Ascension to the imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. Among other topics, it relates the decision of the early Christians, who after all were all Jews to, in effect, go global by preaching the Good News to the Gentiles.
Eventually, the decision to undertake conversions of the Gentiles, caused Christianity to collide with the multitude of established or recognized religions practiced in the Roman Empire. The climax of the first volume deals with persecutions and martyrdoms, most notably under Nero, Domitian and Marcus Aurelius.
Daniel-Rops' style is less academic and more like the great narrative historians whose prose is unencumbered by professional jargon. In the edition published by Cluny Media from a 1960 edition, the author is well served by the translator Audrey Butler. "The Church of Apostles and Martyrs" will interest professional historians of Christianity as well as the general reader who is interested in the subject matter. I recommend it and look forward to the second volume of Volume 1. show less
The chief protagonist of the story, apart from Jesus himself, is St. Paul. Daniel-Rops provides a detailed account of his life and works. Following his famous conversion "on the road to Damascus" St. Paul becomes second only to St. Peter in stature and is effectively the first intellectual presence in the Christian hierarchy. Unlike the original apostles who were culled from among the humblest ranks of the Jewish people, Paul was a man of learning, steeped in the law and traditions of the Jewish religion. At the same time having grown up in the Hellenized city of Tarsus and as a result of his travels throughout the Mediterranean world he was acquainted with the several religious alternatives and schools of philosophy. Like Peter he eventually comes to Rome and takes advantage of his status as a Roman citizen to ensure that he cannot be executed without benefit of a trial. He even "benefits" from the form of execution. Paul is martyred by beheading; when compared with the upside down crucifixion of Peter, you could say sardonically that "membership had its privileges".
Daniel-Rops relies for his account of the earliest history of the Christians to a great extent on the Acts of the Apostles, a brief book, authored by St. Luke, a part of the New Testament that is not as well known as the Gospels and Epistles, but an excellent source for the activities of the apostles from the Ascension to the imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. Among other topics, it relates the decision of the early Christians, who after all were all Jews to, in effect, go global by preaching the Good News to the Gentiles.
Eventually, the decision to undertake conversions of the Gentiles, caused Christianity to collide with the multitude of established or recognized religions practiced in the Roman Empire. The climax of the first volume deals with persecutions and martyrdoms, most notably under Nero, Domitian and Marcus Aurelius.
Daniel-Rops' style is less academic and more like the great narrative historians whose prose is unencumbered by professional jargon. In the edition published by Cluny Media from a 1960 edition, the author is well served by the translator Audrey Butler. "The Church of Apostles and Martyrs" will interest professional historians of Christianity as well as the general reader who is interested in the subject matter. I recommend it and look forward to the second volume of Volume 1. show less
The Church of Apostles and Martyrs: Volume 2 (The History of the Church of Christ) by Henri Daniel-Rops
The Cluny Media editions of Henri Daniel-Rops ten volume history of the Catholic Church is broken up into two books for each volume. So, this review covers, in effect, the second volume of the first volume, "The Church of Apostles and Martyrs". This work begins with the crisis of the Roman Empire in the third century, A.D. This crisis, which is political, economic, religious and cultural in scope occurs primarily in the period from 235-268 during which the empire seemed to be on the verge of show more dissolution as several of the major provinces achieved de facto independence. Order was restored to the empire near the end of the century and into the fourth with the accession of Illyrian emperors, Claudius II and Diocletian.
Christianity, meanwhile, was developing in the spheres of theology and institutional modes led primarily by the most prominent centers in the East at Alexandria and in Carthage in North Africa. The leading exponents of Christian theology were St. Clement and Origen at Alexandia and St. Cyprian and Tertullian at Carthage. In these tumultuous times which featured on again and off again persecutions these great thinkers were not exempt from the risks of Imprisonment, exile and death. The Church evolved into a system of organization and governance modeled on that of the Empire. The capitals of the major provinces such as Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Carthage, Lyons and, of course, Rome became the repository of leadership and orthodox doctrine.
Daniel-Rops devotes an entire chapter to the revival of persecutions beginning under Septimus Severus in the late second century and climaxing with the reign of Diocletian who reigned from 284-305. Without going into detailed descriptions of the grisly fate of those who suffered martyrdom, I will only note that the empire inflicted punishment and grotesque forms of execution that until recent history in s in this century and its predecessor I would have consigned to history's rear-view mirror.
The most world historical event of the 4th century is of course the triumph of Constantine and his adoption of Christianity. Daniel-Rops does not believe there was a specific Edict of Milan; however, there were a number of policies implemented under Constantine that removed all of the civil disabilities targeting Christians while still respecting the traditional pagan religions of Rome. The second most world historical event of Constantine's reign was the foundation of a city that bore his name at Byzantium. Constantine became embroiled in the theological disputes over the nature of Christ between the Catholic and the Arian Christians. It was Constantine who issued the call for the Council of Nicaea in 325, which settled the dispute in favor the Catholics, although the Arians still enjoyed a long run owing to their influence over subsequent emperors and members of the imperial family. In fact, Constantine was not baptized until he was near death and his baptism was performed by an Arian bishop, Eusebius of Caesarea.
Daniel-Rops devotes an entire chapter to the multiple heresies that sprang up in the 4th century, notably the Donatist, Arian and Manichaean. The Donatist controversy concerned whether or not Christians who had renounced their faith during the persecutions could be accepted back into the Church without needing to be re-baptized and presumably re-catechized. Constantine intervened in this dispute on the Catholic side and the Donatists became subject to persecution. They were most prominently centered on Carthage and North Africa and managed to last for many decades before dying out in the fifth century.
The Arians we discussed above. We need to note here that despite being rejected by the Council of Nicaea the Arian heresy persisted for long thereafter as not only was it embraced by future emperors but also by the several Gothic kings whose various tribes traversed the entire continent from present day Ukraine to Spain. The greatest opposition to Arianism was conducted by a future father and doctor of the Church, St. Athanasius in the East and St. Hilary of Poitiers in the West.
Finally, the Manichean heresy presented a threat to the Church in the East and in Africa. It was a syncretistic faith attempting to merge Persian dualism as taught by Zoroaster, Gnosticism, and the transmigration of souls from Buddhism. At its core, Manichaeism posited a dualism wherein the origin of the world was a work performed by evil angels while the spiritual world was created by a good angel. As a consequence, everything material, particularly the human body was regarded as the locus of evil. The great opponent of the Manichaeans was, of course, St. Augustine, who is treated in the next volume of Daniel-Rops' history. Although, G.K. Chesterton's biography of Thomas Aquinas relates a story concerning a dinner hosted by King Louis of France at which Aquinas lost in thought, suddenly proclaims to his fellow diners, "And that will settle the Manichees".
The final two chapters concern the ongoing evolution of the role of Christianity in the empire and its gradual absorption of administrative and judicial duties as the bishops became more respected authorities that the imperial bureaucracy and in fact were counted on by several emperors to resolve political disputes on his behalf. All of this is a prelude to the coming collapse of Rome in the West under the repeated assaults by the barbarians and the enhanced authority inherited by the Church in the wake of the empire's expiration.
Daniel-Rops is no mere academic historian. He is clearly an unabashed partisan and a believer in the truth and mission of the Catholic Church. The only criticism I have, as with all of the non-fiction texts published by Cluny, is the lack of an index. In books as comprehensive as this with, as they used to say in old movie trailers, "a cast of thousands and a host of others", it would be extremely helpful if an index was included. That said, we have every reason to be grateful to the publishers, particularly, those of us who have an interest in the story of Catholicism and the history of the West. I can say, as someone whose entire education was conducted by Catholic schools that the Church's educational institutions do a poor job educating its students in their faith. As we live in an era of decline and decadence that enables the elites to "reimagine" our history and culture, Cluny performs a great service in publishing authors like Henri Daniel-Rops and Philip Hughes. show less
Christianity, meanwhile, was developing in the spheres of theology and institutional modes led primarily by the most prominent centers in the East at Alexandria and in Carthage in North Africa. The leading exponents of Christian theology were St. Clement and Origen at Alexandia and St. Cyprian and Tertullian at Carthage. In these tumultuous times which featured on again and off again persecutions these great thinkers were not exempt from the risks of Imprisonment, exile and death. The Church evolved into a system of organization and governance modeled on that of the Empire. The capitals of the major provinces such as Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Carthage, Lyons and, of course, Rome became the repository of leadership and orthodox doctrine.
Daniel-Rops devotes an entire chapter to the revival of persecutions beginning under Septimus Severus in the late second century and climaxing with the reign of Diocletian who reigned from 284-305. Without going into detailed descriptions of the grisly fate of those who suffered martyrdom, I will only note that the empire inflicted punishment and grotesque forms of execution that until recent history in s in this century and its predecessor I would have consigned to history's rear-view mirror.
The most world historical event of the 4th century is of course the triumph of Constantine and his adoption of Christianity. Daniel-Rops does not believe there was a specific Edict of Milan; however, there were a number of policies implemented under Constantine that removed all of the civil disabilities targeting Christians while still respecting the traditional pagan religions of Rome. The second most world historical event of Constantine's reign was the foundation of a city that bore his name at Byzantium. Constantine became embroiled in the theological disputes over the nature of Christ between the Catholic and the Arian Christians. It was Constantine who issued the call for the Council of Nicaea in 325, which settled the dispute in favor the Catholics, although the Arians still enjoyed a long run owing to their influence over subsequent emperors and members of the imperial family. In fact, Constantine was not baptized until he was near death and his baptism was performed by an Arian bishop, Eusebius of Caesarea.
Daniel-Rops devotes an entire chapter to the multiple heresies that sprang up in the 4th century, notably the Donatist, Arian and Manichaean. The Donatist controversy concerned whether or not Christians who had renounced their faith during the persecutions could be accepted back into the Church without needing to be re-baptized and presumably re-catechized. Constantine intervened in this dispute on the Catholic side and the Donatists became subject to persecution. They were most prominently centered on Carthage and North Africa and managed to last for many decades before dying out in the fifth century.
The Arians we discussed above. We need to note here that despite being rejected by the Council of Nicaea the Arian heresy persisted for long thereafter as not only was it embraced by future emperors but also by the several Gothic kings whose various tribes traversed the entire continent from present day Ukraine to Spain. The greatest opposition to Arianism was conducted by a future father and doctor of the Church, St. Athanasius in the East and St. Hilary of Poitiers in the West.
Finally, the Manichean heresy presented a threat to the Church in the East and in Africa. It was a syncretistic faith attempting to merge Persian dualism as taught by Zoroaster, Gnosticism, and the transmigration of souls from Buddhism. At its core, Manichaeism posited a dualism wherein the origin of the world was a work performed by evil angels while the spiritual world was created by a good angel. As a consequence, everything material, particularly the human body was regarded as the locus of evil. The great opponent of the Manichaeans was, of course, St. Augustine, who is treated in the next volume of Daniel-Rops' history. Although, G.K. Chesterton's biography of Thomas Aquinas relates a story concerning a dinner hosted by King Louis of France at which Aquinas lost in thought, suddenly proclaims to his fellow diners, "And that will settle the Manichees".
The final two chapters concern the ongoing evolution of the role of Christianity in the empire and its gradual absorption of administrative and judicial duties as the bishops became more respected authorities that the imperial bureaucracy and in fact were counted on by several emperors to resolve political disputes on his behalf. All of this is a prelude to the coming collapse of Rome in the West under the repeated assaults by the barbarians and the enhanced authority inherited by the Church in the wake of the empire's expiration.
Daniel-Rops is no mere academic historian. He is clearly an unabashed partisan and a believer in the truth and mission of the Catholic Church. The only criticism I have, as with all of the non-fiction texts published by Cluny, is the lack of an index. In books as comprehensive as this with, as they used to say in old movie trailers, "a cast of thousands and a host of others", it would be extremely helpful if an index was included. That said, we have every reason to be grateful to the publishers, particularly, those of us who have an interest in the story of Catholicism and the history of the West. I can say, as someone whose entire education was conducted by Catholic schools that the Church's educational institutions do a poor job educating its students in their faith. As we live in an era of decline and decadence that enables the elites to "reimagine" our history and culture, Cluny performs a great service in publishing authors like Henri Daniel-Rops and Philip Hughes. show less
An excellent resource for anyone wanting to understand the time, country, culture and society that Jesus lived in. Daniel-Rops did an excellent job explaining and expounding on the many cultural quirks of the time.
I found this book to be very useful in enabling me to visualise what the life of Jesus must have been like. It allowed me to put things in perspective and meditate more effectively on various stories.
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Statistics
- Works
- 261
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 3,674
- Popularity
- #6,889
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 52
- ISBNs
- 121
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 2
