This introduction to early Church history emphasizes people rather than policies or polemics, and shows Christians in the first 500 years persevering under persecution and carrying their faith east and south into Asia and Africa as well as westwards into Europe. The book includes maps, charts, photographs and suggestions for further discussion and study. It also includes many quotations from original sources.

The International Study Guides (ISGs) are clear and accessible resources, contextual and ecumenical in content and missional in direction. It offers biblical commentaries, pastoral care, church history and theology, and is aimed primarily at people training to serve the church for whom English is an additional language, so the books are clearly written and designed for student use. The contributors are theological educators who come from different countries and different religious backgrounds, and bring practical emphasis alongside contemporary scholarly reflection.

For over 40 years the ISG series has equipped those in ministerial formation to develop their own theology and discern God’s mission in their context. As part of commitment to supporting the global Church, SPCK distributes ISGs to students training to serve the church in the developing world.

To support the work of our ISGs Worldwide, click here.