Church History (Volumes 1-3)

Chapter 4: INTRODUCTION.

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About This Book

A systematic survey sets out the aims and methods of church history and then traces the Christian movement from its preparatory roots and apostolic beginnings into the post-apostolic, ancient, medieval, Reformation, and modern periods. It frames the subject by distinguishing thematic branches and period divisions, examines the church’s interaction with surrounding cultures and institutions, and treats doctrinal, institutional, and social developments in tandem. The work also reviews primary sources and auxiliary disciplines, summarizes evolving approaches to ecclesiastical historiography, and provides guidance toward further reading and reference material for students and scholars.

INTRODUCTION.

§ 1. Idea and Task of Church History.

The Christian Church is to be defined as the one, many-branched communion, consisting of all those who confess that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ who in the fulness of time appeared as the Saviour of the world. It is the Church’s special task to render the saving work of Christ increasingly fruitful for all nations and individuals, under all the varying conditions of life and stages of culture. It is the task of Church History to describe the course of development through which the Church as a whole, as well as its special departments and various institutions, has passed, from the time of its foundation down to our own day; to show what have been the Church’s advances and retrogressions, how it has been furthered and hindered; and to tell the story of its deterioration and renewal.