Overview

Pilgrims and Popes introduces the foundational fifteen hundred years of the history of Christianity, from Jesus to the eve of the Reformation. The crucial decisions of the first centuries have indelibly shaped the subsequent journey of the Christian faith movement. The book tells how the Christian faith story unfolded in dialectic movements: hegemony and emancipation; institutionalization and protest; petrification and renewal; missionary involvement in the world and separation from the world. The book bridges the gap between the present and the seemingly remote world of the first fifteen hundred years of Christianity in the West by engaging with present-day readers' cultures and contexts. The rich material is presented in an easily readable way, combined with charts and with questions for discussion and deepening reflection. This study book will be a welcome learning tool in classrooms and in churches, particularly in the context of the Global South.

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9781532662157

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In this volume, Tobias Brandner tells the story of Western Christianity to Asians. He himself is a Westerner, but his many years living and working in Asia have made him able to tell the story in ways Asians can understand and relate to. Brandner is a master storyteller. He makes history come alive. The book is filled with wonderfully engaging diagrams and illustrations that shed light on issues and events at every stage of the church's history in its first fifteen hundred years. It will be a valuable source for teachers and a valuable resource for its readers. --Stephen Bevans, SVD, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago Pilgrims and Popes is an engaging book on the first fifteen centuries of the history of Christianity. . . . Brandner offers a creative approach to a subject which is essential for theological education today. This book will also be of interest to general readers. --Philip L. Wickeri, Ming Hua Theological College, Hong Kong Church history has not been a popular subject with many Asian seminarians. But this may change with Brandner's highly readable and engaging book. It differs from other works by not only drawing attention to but also raising provocative questions about areas of convergence between the church in the West and Asia. This can only have come from a church historian who is deeply immersed in Asian church life. --Simon Chan, editor of Asia Journal of Theology A critical church history written by a European scholar who has been immersed in the Asian context for almost two decades. While Christianity is growing in Asia, Christians are still a minority. It is important for non-Westerners, Christians, or non-Christians, to understand the development of Christianity in the West and the significance to our own contexts. In this book, Dr. Brandner has made a great contribution. --Lo Lung Kwong, Divinity School of Chung Chi College

Author Information

Tobias Brandner is an Associate Professor of the History of Christianity and Mission Studies at the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a native of Switzerland and has lived in Asia since 1996.

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