History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium

by James Hitchcock

Publisher:

Ignatius

, 2012

Overview

The Catholic Church is the longest-enduring institution in the world. Beginning with the first Christians and continuing in our present day, the Church has been planted in every nation on earth.

The Catholic Church claims Jesus Christ himself as her founder, and in spite of heresy from within and hostility from without, she remains in the twenty-first century the steadfast guardian of belief in his life, death, and resurrection. The teachings and redemptive works of Jesus as told in the Gospels are expressed by the Church in a coherent and consistent body of doctrine, the likes of which cannot be found in any other Christian body.

The history of the Catholic Church is long, complicated, and fascinating, and in this book it is expertly and ably told by historian James Hitchcock. As in the parable of Christ about the weeds that were sown in a field of wheat, evil and good have grown together in the Church from the start, as Hitchcock honestly records. He brings before us the many characters—some noble, some notorious—who have left an indelible mark on the Church, while never losing sight of the saints, who have given living testimony to the salvific power of Christ in every age.

This ambitious work is comprehensive in its scope and is incisive in its understanding, a valuable addition to any school or home library.

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Key Features

• Analysis of Catholic Church history
• Insights into the birth of the Church
• Suggestions for further reading

Contents

• Beginning at Jerusalem
• The Seed of Christians
• The Triumph of the Cross
• Holy Wisdom
• Light in Darkness
• Christendom
• East and West
• Decline and Rebirth
• Reform and Counter-Reform
• Reason and Revolution
• Modernity
• To the Ends of the Earth
• The New Nations
• Joy and Hope, Grief and Anguish

Top Highlights

“The Empire underwent a long crisis that was military and financial in nature but also moral—a loss of patriotism that made citizens unwilling to assume their traditional duties, a prosperity that rendered them indolent and hedonistic, and a series of despotic rulers who made citizenship meaningless.” (Page 48)

“During this period, the Church adopted the maxim lex orandi est lex credendi (literally, ‘The law of prayer is the law of belief’), meaning that the authentic teachings of the Church are found first of all in her liturgy, which is prior to dogma both temporally and in importance.” (Page 90)

“Irenaeus was the first theologian to speak of the New Testament as ‘Scripture’ in the same sense as the Old.” (Page 38)

“Rather he was one of the most astute of psychologists, as in his exasperated cry, ‘I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate’ (Rom 7:15). He made a subtle and profound analysis of human nature as enslaved to the inherited sin of Adam, a slavery which the Law exposes but which in itself it is powerless to overcome. Christ conferred freedom, but it is a paradoxical freedom—not self-will but the conquest of self-will, which is the very instrument of bondage.” (Page 24)

“Augustine taught the existence of Purgatory (a place of purification or purging), based on the ancient custom of praying for the dead, justified by the Book of Maccabees (see 2 Macc 12:40–45).” (Page 90)

Praise for the Print Edition

A remarkable achievement that synthesizes a lifetime of learning, James Hitchcock’s History of the Catholic Church is also a signal service to twenty-first century Catholicism, a religious community in which controversy and contention are often the by-products of severe amnesia. The Church of the New Evangelization has to know its own story, and that story is told here in full.

—George Weigel, distinguished senior fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C.

James Hitchcock has a well-earned reputation as an outstanding scholar, insightful commentator and lucid, accessible writer. All of these skills come together and shine in his History of the Catholic Church. It’s a masterwork: exhilarating in scope and a joy to read. If you want an unforgettable account of the fullness and drama of the Christian story, read this book.

—Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia

James Hitchcock is one of the few historians alive today with the background and ability to present the two-millenium history of the Catholic Church. In this remarkable volume Hitchcock brings a lifetime of insights and research to this important subject. It is a work of erudition in which the reader will discover not only the importance of the Catholic Church in past centuries, but in our own time.

—Thomas F. Madden, director, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Saint Louis University

This book, by one of the premier American Catholic historians, is clearly addressed to a broad audience. It is apologetic in the best sense, written from the point of view of a practicing Catholic, and addresses the various questions that would occur to a lay reader inevitably influenced by views found in the larger culture. The book is well written. It is not burdened down with details or many footnotes, but is attached to a strong narrative line centering on meaning. It would therefore be appropriate to study groups.

—Glenn W. Olsen, emeritus professor of history, University of Utah

Product Details

• Title: History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium
• Author: James Hitchcock
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 584

About James Hitchcock

James Hitchcock is a professor of history at St. Louis University, which he attended as an undergraduate. He received his master's and doctorate from Princeton University, and has authored several books, including The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life; The Recovery of the Sacred; What Is Secular Humanism; and Catholicism and Modernity: Confrontation or Capitulation?