The Patient Ferment of the Early Church

During the three centuries before the conversion of the emperor
Constantine, the Christian church grew in the Roman Empire. It grew despite
disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution. What enabled
Christianity to be so successful that, by the fifth century, it was the
established religion of the empire?
In this unique historical study, Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a
lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity
over its first four hundred years. Challenging traditional understandings,
Kreider contends the early church grew because patience was of central
importance in the life and witness of the early Christians. Instead of writing
about evangelistic method, the early Christians reflected on prayer,
catechesis, and worship, all of which formed believers to have patient reflexes
and to participate in a church that grew not by plan but by ferment. This book
will benefit professors, students, and scholars of ancient Christianity,
mission, liturgy, and Christian formation as well as pastors and church
leaders.
Recommended € 26,90