Formation And Struggles: The Church Ad 33-450: the Birth of the Church Ad 33-200 (The Church in History)

I teach Church History in an Orthodox seminary. One of the struggles in this enterprise is to find a serviceable text on the earliest years of the Church. That there is a dearth of material that is anywhere close to sympathy with Orthodox historiography is a truism. Chadwick has been used often. Even Latourette, despite his antagonism toward the Eastern Church. There are some pedantic introductory Orthodox surveys that might be of some interest to parochial study groups. I find Kesich's work very helpful, especially in a seminary context where his material can be framed within a clear narrative of the Church's story in its infancy.In reference to the above negative review, the author succeeds in answering some of the widespread academic attempts to denounce the truthfulness of the biblical witness. That he answers it in a scholarly manner may be mistaken -- because of the lack of pedantry -- as collusion.My only difficulty with this particular book is that lacks, occasionally, the sequentiality of a good history.It goes without saying that St. Vladimir Press needs to get the second part of volume one published as soon as possible.

This is a great addition to a Patrology Library. It discusses the challenges faced by the early Church Fathers, the various heresies of the time, and the struggles facing Christians.

thanks

Poorly edited. The history is there; however, the writing is cumbersome and difficult to follow.

If you are interested in the early church, this book is a must to read.

Easily the worst book in an otherwise great series. It reads like it was written by five different people and never edited.

A great volume on the beginnings of the church. Informative, easy-to-read for a layman like myself, and with a wealth of information.

I have enjoyed the "Church in History" series from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press since it was first started by Fr. John Meyendorff with Volume II: "Imperial Unity" back in the early 90's. I have read Vols II, III, and IV and enjoyed them all immensely. That makes my disappointment with this entry in the serious all the more painful.Simply put, I am as disappointed in Kesich's contribution as I was pleased with the other volumes. To put it bluntly, I see nothing "Orthodox" about this volume. He simply parrots the prevailing (mostly liberal Protestant) theories about how the Church was formed, and seems to tolerate even the most egregious ideas about the first Christian community (for example, he only faintly criticizes the radical Jesus Seminar, while spending over a page and a half discussing their now-discredited ideas). Throughout the book he goes out of his way to diminish or deny any traditional view of the early Church, always giving sympathetic time to modern, skeptical theories.This is especially disappointing to me, as I felt that a strong Orthodox contribution to a study of the earliest formation of the Church was sorely needed. I am sad to see such a poor contribution to what has otherwise been a great series of books. I'd advise people to avoid it; I wish I could get a refund for my own purchase. Hopefully Mr. Kesich will not be writing Volume I, Part 2.