The History of Christianity

Since having spotted this in Blackwells, I have read the review in the Spectator. It is certainly worth reading even if the book may be long and dull in parts. Actually that is a bit unfair- it seems it is worth having for reference but not exactly a page-turner. Here is the best bit from the review.

The great strength of the book is that it covers, in sufficient but not oppressive detail, huge areas of Christian history which are dealt with cursorily in traditional accounts of the subject and are unfamiliar to most English-speaking readers. These include the evolution of the early Christian sects, the Eastern Church in its entirety, the rise of Orthodoxy in both the Greek world and Russia, and the special cases such as Bulgaria and what has become Serbia. Among other well-covered topics are the early history of Christianity in Poland, the conflicts in Transylvania (where the Professor writes eloquently of the parish churches he has visited), Armenia and the Caucasus, and the successes and failures of the faith in Asia. His analysis of why Christianity has taken root in Korea but made such a hash of things in India is perceptive. There is also an account of the 19th-century missions in Africa and the Pacific which is first-rate and full of insight.