W.H.C. Frend – författare

The definitive survey of martyrdom and persecution during the first four centuries of Christianity.Although the story of the triumphant rise of Christianity has often been told, it was a triumph achieved through blood and tribulation. The literal meaning of the term martyr meant witness, but among early Christians it quickly acquired a harsher meaning – one who died for the faith – and that witness through death was responsible for many conversions, including those of Justin Martyr, himself to offer just such witness, and perhaps Tertullian.Persecution was seen by early Christians, as by later historians, as one of the crucial influences on the growth and development of the early Church and Christian beliefs. Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians? Why did thousands of Christians not merely accept but welcome martyrdom?In his classic work, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, the late W.H.C. Frend explores the mindset of those who suffered persecution as well as the motivation of those who persecuted them. He shows the critical importance for early Christians of Jewish ideas, influenced heavily as they were by the story of Daniel and the trauma of the revolt of the Maccabeean. He argues that the Christian concept of martyrdom, so highly regarded among early Christians, can only be understood as springing from Jewish roots.Frend explores a number of major persecutions, such as that in Lyons in the second century, the Decian Persecution in the third, and the Great Persecution under Diocletian in the fourth, showing both the common themes and the variations, and examines also the relationship between the heavenly kingdom of Christ and the rule of the earthly emperor. In doing so he shows how the persecutions formed an essential part in a providential philosophy of history that has profoundly influenced European political thought.

A detailed and scholarly historical study of the schism between orthodox Christians and the Monophysites during the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries.The first lasting schism in Christendom was that between Monophysite and orthodox Christianity. This well-established, integrated study examines the social historical background to this significant two hundred year period from the council of Ephesus in 431 to the expulsion of the Byzantines from the Monophysite provinces. Contemporary critics' views that Monophysitism can be considered as a 'quarrel about words' or as a symbol of the separatist movements in Syria, Egypt and Armenia are viewed as limiting in this authoritative survey, which moves beyond such criticisms. Frend asserts that regional identity does not have to imply separatism and examines this claim in detail. The work does not limit its scope to the history of the Christian doctrine either. The issues raised by the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon affected all areas of life beyond the political sphere in the east Roman provinces in the fifth and sixth centuries. Through this study, the reader can uncover how religion was the medium through which the harmony between government and the governed was mediated in this period. Through nine extensive chapters - from The Road to Chalcedon, 428-451 through to Syria, A Long Farewell - Frend provides an examination of the doctrinal issues relating to the Early Church, which are essential to a deeper understanding of the history of the fifth and sixth centuries.

Aimed at the undergraduate academic and interested lay person, this is a classic history of the formative period of the Church. It includes an account of Rome and 1st-century Judaism, the Gnostics and the conflicts of Eastern Christendom and examines such figures as Origen, Arian and St Augustine of Hippo. A bibliography of general works on Church history is also included.

Aimed at the undergraduate academic and interested lay person, this is a classic history of the formative period of the Church. It includes an account of Rome and 1st-century Judaism, the Gnostics and the conflicts of Eastern Christendom and examines such figures as Origen, Arian and St Augustine of Hippo. A bibliography of general works on Church history is also included.