Church and State in Early Christianity

by Hugo Rahner

Fr. Hugo Rahner, a renowned church historian, presents for the first time in English a very clear and readable study of the relationship of the Church and State during the first eight centuries. From being persecuted, to tolerated, to being mandated as the Empire's official religion, the Church encountered, during those early centuries, in principle all the forms of the Church-State relationship she could face in the future. With unsurpassed knowledge...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898703778
• ISBN13: 9780898703771
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Church and State relations in early Christianity

This is a great book for understanding the relations between the nascent Christian religion, and the ancient world in which it emerged. Fr. Rahner does a great job of painting a picture of the alternating shifts of power between a Church and rulers which alternated in strength. He quotes at length from primary sources and leaves the reader with an understanding as to the strengths and weaknesses of different Church/state dynamics. This is particularly an interesting read as we reflect on our own culture's approach to Church and state relations.