The Global Church---The First Eight Centuries: From Pentecost through the Rise of Islam

by Donald Fairbairn

Discover the Variety and Unity of the Early Church The Christian church of the early centuries spread throughout much of Asia, Africa, and Europe, spoke many languages, was situated within diverse cultural settings, and had varied worship practices; yet it maintained a vital unity on core teachings at the heart of the Christian faith. In The Global Church--The First Eight From Pentecost through the Rise of Islam , author Donald Fairbairn helps readers understand both the variety and unity of the church in this pivotal era The Global Church--The First Eight Centuries is an ideal introduction to the patristic era that broadens the narrative often recounted and places it more firmly in its varied cultural contexts. Students of the early church, formal and informal alike, will appreciate the fresh approach and depth of insight this book provides.

Genres: Church History, History, Christian, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity

416 pages, Hardcover

Published May 25, 2021

Reviews

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. My new "go-to" textbook for Church History I.

[Beejai Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without a doubt, the greatest book on Church history is still Justo Gonzalez's two volume set. This could very well compete for second. Donald Fairbairn tracks the history of the church from the very first days straight through until about the 9'th century. Most church histories mainly follow the rise of the western church (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox) with only token references to the Eastern churches (Coptic, India, China, etc.) Fairbairn tries his best to cover that lack. He spends a much larger time focusing on those churches as well in order to bring balance to the tale. While his efforts are to be applauded, the sad fact is, we have far less historical data to work with for these areas. Therefore, in these chapters, Fairbairn does his best to present as much data as we do have and then build from it his best guess as to what happened. While he does the best with what we have, until more archaeological and historical research is done in this area, we simply do not have enough information for these chapters to be as solid as one would like. So this is the best book we have now for a more balanced look at the early rise of the global church. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to have a better, more accurate view.

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, fresh, insightful, delightful, and readable. I love reading about the early church and this is now easily one of my favorite early church histories. I especially appreciated the global perspective and the focus on unity.

[Robert Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairbairn’s history was the first Christian history I’ve read that’s actually gone into the Eastern expansion of Christianity.

Other Christian histories like How Christianity Changed the World by Schmidt, Dominion by Tom Holland, and Bullies and Saints by Dickson all seem to focus on the Western Christian tradition, probably because the authors are Protestant or former Protestant, and Chinese, Indian, and Russian traditions are more vague. Only Russian Christianity really caught on, with Indian Christianity stagnating and Chinese Christianity basically just dying out or being consumed by Buddhism.

Fairbairn also went through the seven ecumenical councils and really focused on the Christology of the first, third, and fourth councils: Nicaea I, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. Since he engages the councils, you get detailed analysis of Arianism (the Son was a created being), Nestorianism (Christ is two persons with two natures), and Monophysitism (Christ has only one divine nature, which has absorbed his human nature).

The three Councils of Constantinople aren’t discussed as thoroughly, and I can’t say I remember what was said about any of them lol.

The seventh council, Nicaea II, which was the main reason I wanted to read the book, was a subchapter and basically summarized, which was a bummer. But! He went into the Turks and Chinese fighting the Muslims during the Caliphate’s expansion, and he spent probably three chapters on Islam’s spread.

Anyway, I thought it was a really interesting book.

[Olivia Jones-Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal! Dr. Fairbairn has been my professor for Church history at GCTS and this has been a really wholistic and interesting read. I highly recommend!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended. I never finished Shelley’s history of the church, but this seems more than sufficient. It was an adventure listening to it on audio. He aims it for Protestant readers and their sensibilities, and it really expanded my understanding of the different factions of Christianity beyond Catholicism vs. Protestantism - even the great schism, in the 11th century, is later than the timeline presented here!! There is so much diversity and history in the Christian church and I’m so happy I’ve been introduced to it here.

[Alex Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice look at the history of the church from more than just the Roman/Western perspective.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating read of early Church history! Fairbairn writes for Western Protestants, and does a great job wisely and kindly confronting our stereotypical views of the early church while helping us understand why they might have done things differently. This book avoids the Western Protestant tendency to focus only on Christianity in Europe and instead does a great job taking a balanced approach to the whole Church across every area in which it was present. I learned so much and it is one of the best books I’ve read in seminary so far!

[C. McLeish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and deeply inspiring

This is one of the text books I used for a theological course and it really opened my eyes to a new perspective on Christian history. As the author rightfully says "Their story is our story."

[Jon Vos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare church history book that is a lot of fun to read, while being incredibly balanced historically and theologically. The concluding reflections at the ends of the chapters are gold. I didn’t agree with every little thing, but the rarity of books like these gives it 5 stars.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful introduction to church history for Evangelical Protestants. I appreciated that Fairbairn approached the topic in a pastoral manner and practically addressed why this topic matters. I also appreciated that he addressed Christians outside of the Roman Empire which other histories often miss. My only real complaint is he injected himself quite a bit in a way that could be distracting.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The work is too focused on Protestant readers for my taste. This might be a decent introduction to the topic, but for those familiar with some parts of Church History the changing of labels can be a bit bewildering.

Biggest plus is the deep inclusion of the eastern movement of Christianity.

[Popo9694 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic narrative—this book answered a lot of questions for me. I appreciated the cited material as well as the author’s personal opinions regarding certain sources.

[Danny Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compared to other early church history books, fairly easy to understand

[Brice Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing read for those wanting a clear and concise overview of church history from Pentecost to the crowning of Charlemagne.

[Paul Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of well trodden territory, although from a clear and particular perspective.

[Shannon Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK! Great content, engaging presentation, thorough, yet easy to read. I've already recommended it to several friends who share my same interests!

[Zachary Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the Audiobook. Really enjoyed the thematic organization and global perspective. I love learning about the Eastern Church and there was a lot of that here.

[Timothy Klob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of early Christian history. While I used this as a supplement to my readings for a recent seminary course in church history, it would also be suitable as a required text to cover the period from the early church and the post-apostolic age.