The Roots and Fruits of Early Christianity in East and West

The Roots and Fruits of Early Christianity explores how in the first centuries the followers of Jesus Christ lived their faith centred upon Him. It provides a comprehensive introduction, starting from New Testament times, to key figures in the rise of Christianity including Mary, Mother of God, and Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the founders of Christian Rome.

The book shows how the theological tradition of the primacy of Rome developed in the Church and with the Papacy. It considers a wide range of issues in the life of the nascent Church, helping us to understand how the early Christians related faith and reason, and were prepared to suffer martyrdom for their belief. Early liturgical and sacramental life is fully described, including a broad examination of the issues surrounding the date of the Easter celebration. It also illustrates how the Church had to face internal conflict and heresy, and examines the work of the first general Councils. The book throws into bold relief the very significant role played by women in early Christianity, and describes the contribution of monks and missionaries in spreading the faith. It illustrates the impact on early Christianity of its leading figures, who exercised the major influence then and are still most important in the Church today. This study is carried out from a Roman perspective, as the Eternal City is the cradle and centre of Christianity. The fall of the West and the glorious rise of the East is outlined as a kind of climax of this book, with its consequences for early Christianity and for today.

This text intertwines doctrine and history, tradition and legend, in the hope that the reader will have a colourful ride through the first centuries of the Christian epoch to enable them to emulate what they find there. It is warmly dedicated to my students at the Providence College Italian Campus for whom it was written.