The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies

by Susan Ashbrook Harvey (Editor), David Hunter (Editor)

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this interdisciplinary field over recent decades. A one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100-600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in Western and Eastern late antiquity. It is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various subfields of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The essays orient readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30-50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each essay points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well
as to the appropriate research tools available for the area.

This volume will be useful to advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as to specialists in any area who wish to consult a brief review of the "state of the question" in a particular area of early Christian studies, especially one different from their own.

Genres: Religion, Christianity

1050 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2008

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I turn to this reference book frequently, especially when embarking on a new aspect of early Christianity. The essays are unfailingly helpful and contain invaluable bibliographies. I haven't been disappointed yet.

[Joshua Maier · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Partial Read: Chapter 28, "Early Christian Historiography" by William Adler]

The author surveys the early Christian chronicle tradition, where Christians would give a whole history of the earth from creation, loosely following the epochs of biblical prophecy and the end times.

Eusebius came along and wrote his "History of the Church" following many of the same conventions as classical Greek historiography. Church historians after Eusebius tended to follow this model.