The Roman Catholic Church: An Illustrated History

by Edward Norman, Jill Barrett

The history of the Roman Catholic Church is a gateway to understanding two thousand years of Western—and at times world—civilization. Edward Norman's lavishly illustrated, incisive account, sure to become a classic, tells the story of the multifarious ways in which the Church has shaped the lives and beliefs of Christians and non-Christians alike.

It is partly a story of remarkable people, from the greatest theologian of the early Church, St. Augustine, to one of the greatest figures of the modern age, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It is also a story rich in symbols, not least the awe-inspiring basilica built over the tomb of St. Peter in Rome, the most recognizable church in the world. But the focus of the book is a historical account of epic proportions. Here we discover how Rome became the heart of the Roman Catholic religion and played a role in transforming Western Europe into Christendom. We gain a view of the Crusades undistorted by today's agendas, explore the Counter-Reformation as the fruit of the venerable Catholic reforming tradition, and witness the beginning of a new 500-year history, in which missionaries took their message to Latin America and the East. And, in this boldly uplifting account, we come to see how the Church, reflecting the vision of the Second Vatican Council in 1962, today embodies Christ's own injunction to "teach all nations."

Thames & Hudson

Genres: History, Religion

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2007

About the author

Edward Robert Norman is an ecclesiastical historian and former Church of England priest. From 1999 to 2004, he was Canon Chancellor of York Minster. He was educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he received an Open Scholarship.

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a Catholic since I was baptized 10 months after I was born. I remember attending the Sunday mass with my mom and my siblings when I was a kid. I even recalled seeing Jesus inside the old church in the province one Sunday morning. Did you hear stories about children seeing Jesus or Mary? Stories that they only tell when they are already grownups because they were not sure of what they saw? I have one of those. I thought I saw Jesus standing beside one of the parishioners hearing the mass two pews in front of my mom and I and his head is turned to me because he was in front and he was looking at me. Even now I still remember his image in my mind although of course people say that it was the town loony, Apio because he used to copy the images and pictures of Jesus: shoulder-length hair, long beard and slim and trim body. I am not really sure because Apio died a few years after and anyone can contest what a 4 or 5 year old saw. Methinks however that it is far more convenient for Jesus to show himself to an innocent child compared to showing himself to an adult, don't you think?

Since I was born a Catholic and have already made a decision to die a Catholic, I just did not have any urge to know more about my faith. I finished two college degrees and both of them were from a Catholic university. This meant that I finished several units in Religion primarily on Catholic doctrines. I thought the knowledge from those plus what I have been hearing during Sunday masses were enough. Until I met a friend who rekindled or fanned my interest to know more about Catholicism. He was a convert from Born Again (Protestant denomination) after being born a Catholic and has been a Catholic for just 7 years now so he must still be trying to prove to everyone, to himself especially, that he was worthy to be accepted back to the Catholic fold despite having some members of his family members like his siblings unfazed of his decision and deciding for themselves that they would stay and probably die as Born Again Christians.

A photo of a Born Again church in a countryside. There are so many of these here in the Philippines. Born Again Christians is said to be 9 million now out of 99 million making the Philippines the 7th most populous countries in the world.

So, this book. I bought this book because I wanted to know the history of Roman Catholic Church particularly after the death of St. Peter who was said to be the first pope. I did learn some of those particularly St. Clement I, St. Sixtus I, St. Pius I and the contribution of St. Augustine through his writings. This was were I was able to connect to the story of the early church as I have already read and like his Confessions (3 stars). But when I checked Wiki, I saw a lot of other pope and Early Church Fathers who were not mentioned in the book. So, in the end, I felt that this 200-page coffee table book is only to be considered as the theater or a window to the long and rich history of the Catholic Church. In fact, when you read the book, it would be better if you have already some ideas about the things it mentions because it does not offer you to explain terminologies like crusades, reformation, counter-reformation, Spanish inquisition, etc. You can go to Google and look those up but that would prolong your reading. You can also read this book lightly and focus on the glorious beautifully-taken pictures and you will still be able to understand a bit of what the book is all about.

Overall, an okay book.