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Church History

  1. General Workschurch history
    1. History of the Christian Church by George P. Fisher (1916, abbreviated below as FHCC)
    2. History of the Christian Church by Philip Schaff (1886, abbreviated below as SHCC) – Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 | Vol. 7 | Vol. 8
    3. The Ancient Catholic Church (A.D. 98 to 451) by Robert Rainey (1902, abbreviated below as RACC)
    4. The Creeds of Christendom by Philip Schaff (3 vols., 1877)
    5. Early Christian Fathers edited by Cyril Richardson, et al. (1953)
  2. Apostolic Christianity: First Century
    1. Apostolic Christianity (SHCC, vol. 1)
    2. Judaistic Christianity by F. J. A. Hort (1894)
    3. “The Apostolic Age (1-100)” (7ff in FHCC) [TOP]
  3. Ante-Nicene Christianity: Second & Third Centuries
    1. Ante-Nicene Christianity (SHCC, vol. 2)
    2. “First Division: A.D. 98–180” (RACC, 5-139) – 1. The Environment | 2. The Early Churches | 3. The Church’s Life | 4. Beliefs and Sacraments | 5. The Apologists | 6. The Heresies | 7. Montanism |
    3. “Second Division: A.D. 98–180” (RACC, 141-267) – 8. Relation to the State | 9. The New Philosophy | 10. Christian Thought and Literature | 11. Christ and God | 12. Christian Life | 13. Worship | 14. Clergy | 15. Discipline and Schisms |16. Manicheism
    4. “From the Apostolic Age to Constantine (100-313)” (45ff in FHCC)
    5. Eusebius of Caesarea Ecclesiastical History
    6. Church Fathers of the Second Century
    7. Church Fathers of the Third Century
    8. Church Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries
  4. Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity: Fourth & Fifth Centuries
    1. Nicene & Post-Nicene Christianity (SHCC, vol. 3)
    2. “From Constantine to Gregory I (313-590)” (87ff in FHCC)
    3. “Third Division: A.D. 313–451” (RACC, 269-521) – 17. The Church in the Christian Empire and Beyond | 18. Monasticism | 19. the Clergy | 20. Nicene Council | 21. Arian Controversy – Post-Nicene | 22. Minor Controversies | 23. Discussions Regarding the Person of Christ | 24. Donatism | 25. Ecclesiastical Personages of Fourth Century | 26. Festivals, Church Services, and Sacraments | 27. Discipline | 28. Augustine | 29. Pelagian Controversy | 30. Semi-Pelagianism | 31. Ecclesiastical Personages (who survived A.D. 400) | 32. Processes of Change
    4. John Henry Newman – The Arians of the Fourth Century (1876)
    5. Church Fathers of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries [TOP]
  5. Mediaeval Christianity: Sixth – Eleventh Centuries
    1. Mediaeval Christianity – 590-1073 (SHCC, vol. 4)
    2. “From Gregory I to Charlemagne (590-800)” (144ff in FHCC)
    3. “From Charlemagne to Pope Gregory VII (800-1073)” (163ff in FHCC)
  6. Early Middle Ages: Eleventh – Thirteenth Centuries
    1. Middle Ages – 1049-1294 (SHCC, vol. 5)
    2. “From Gregory VII to Boniface VIII (1073-1294)” (182ff in FHCC)
    3. Henry C. Lea – History of Sacerdotal Celibacy, 2 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1907): vol. 1 | vol. 2
  7. Late Middle Ages: Fourteenth & Fifteenth Centuries
    1. Middle Ages 1294-1517 (SHCC, vol. 6)
    2. “From Boniface VIII to the Posting of Luther’s Theses (1294-1517)” (240ff in FHCC) [TOP]
  8. The Reformation: Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries
    1. German Reformation (SHCC, vol. 7)
    2. Swiss Reformation (SHCC, vol. 8)
    3. “From the Beginning of the Reformation to the Peace of Westphalia (1517-1648)” (287ff in FHCC)
      1. “Reformation in Switzerland” (306ff in FHCC)
      2. “Reformation in France and the Netherlands” (330ff in FHCC)
      3. “Reformation in England and Scotland” (346ff in FHCC)
      4. “Reformation in Italy and Spain” (383ff in FHCC)
      5. “Reformation History Up to Peace of Westphalia” (394ff in FHCC) [TOP]
  9. Modern Christianity: Seventeenth & Eighteenth Centuries
    1. Church History from the Reformation to Today by Johann Heinrich Kurtz (1890, hereafter abbreviated as KCH)
      1. “Relations between the Different Churches” (3:1ff in KCH)
      2. “The Roman Catholic Church” (3:19ff in KCH)
      3. “The Lutheran Church” (3:39ff in KCH)
      4. “The Reformed Church” (3:50ff in KCH)
      5. “Anti- and Extra-Ecclesiastical Parties” (3:66ff in KCH)
    2. “From Peace of Westphalia to the Present Time (1648-1887)” (484ff in FHCC)
      1. “Ecclesiastical Events in the Last Half of the Seventeenth Century” (484ff in FHCC)
      2. “Events in Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Prior to the French Revolution)” (497ff in FHCC)
      3. “Church History in the Eighteenth Century” (3:84-156 in KCH) [TOP]
      4. “Religion in England & Revivals in America in the Eighteenth Century” (509ff in FHCC)
      5. “Events in Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Prior to the French Revolution)” (497ff in FHCC)
      6. “The Papacy Since the Fall of Napoleon I: Christianity in the European Countries” (532ff in FHCC)
      7. “Historical Sketch of Religious Denominations in the United States” (559ff in FHCC)
      8. “Christian Missions” (582ff in FHCC)
      9. “History of Doctrines” (598ff in FHCC)
      10. “Christian Piety & Christian Philanthropy” (641ff in FHCC)
      11. “Appendices” (665ff in FHCC)
    3. The English Church from the Accession of George I to the End of the Eighteenth Century (1714–1800) by J. H. Overton and Frederic Relton (1906)
    4. The Revival of Religion in New England by Jonathan Edwards (1742, reprint: 1829) [TOP]
  10. Modern Christianity: Nineteenth Century
    1. “Church History of the Nineteenth Century” (3:157ff in KCH)
      1. “General & Introductory” (3:157ff in KCH)
      2. “Protestantism in General” (3:174ff in KCH)
      3. “Catholicism in General” (3:222ff in KCH)
      4. “Relation of Churches to the [German] Empire and to the States” (3:271ff in KCH)
      5. “Opponents of Church and of Christianity” (3:420ff in KCH)
  11. Modern Christianity: Twentieth Century
    1. Evaluating the Church Growth Movement: Five Viewschurch history, edited by Paul E. Engle and Gary L. McIntosh.
    2. Hitler’s Cross: How the Cross was Used to Promote the Nazi Agenda by Erwin Lutzer.
    3. World Christianity in the 20th Century by Noel Davies and Martin Conway.
    4. Global Awakening: How 20th-Century Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution by Mark Shaw.
    5. The Ten Most Influential Churches of the Past Century and How They Impact You Today by Elmer L. Towns.
  12. Post-Modern Christianity: Twenty-First Century [TOP]

Want to go deeper?

The following are useful resources to purchase when pursuing your study of church history: