Book Review: Best Place to Start
Add comment February 16th, 2012
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The Early Church – Henry Chadwick Penguin (1993) Topic: Church History, Patristics Summary: Overview of the history of the Church in the patristic period Rating: 
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The resurgence of interest in Church history, while opening many to the riches of historic Christianity, also has fostered a tendency to quote (or misquote) the Church Fathers as support of one’s own theological positions. Some recent popular books on the topic seem to have as their primary purpose the “spinning” of historical facts to validate theological presuppositions. Such polemical volumes are usually aimed at a lay audience while more impartial and accurate works are often academic tomes poorly suited as an introduction to the patristic era.
Henry Chadwick’s The Early Church resolves much of this problem. Written as part of Penguin’s History of the Church series, this little book is a great place to begin a study of early Church history. Chadwick arranges the sections thematically rather than chronologically, allowing a clearer focus for the reader, and masterfully covers all the major currents in the patristic era without leaving his audience adrift in a sea of minutiae. Beginners to the subject may find it useful to read the book, digest the information, and then reread it, as they will be better prepared to see how the various theological and political currents interacted in the development of Christian orthodoxy.
Those approaching the topic with a theological axe to grind will find little solace here. Chadwick is nothing if not an honest historian and both sides in the Protestant/Catholic struggles may find some of their most cherished assumptions challenged. The centrality of the Eucharistic liturgy as the defining act of Christian worship from the Church’s inception, the implementation of the episcopacy as the main defense against heresy, and the long and arduous process of arriving at a canon is contrary to much of the contemporary Protestant ethos. On the other hand, Catholics will feel somewhat uneasy at the scant evidence for anything resembling the modern papacy in the early Church. Indeed, after reading Chadwick’s work, the reader may conclude the many battle lines drawn during the Reformation would have seemed alien territory to early Christians with an entirely different set of theological concerns.
While there are certainly more comprehensive works on the patristic period available, one would be hard pressed to find a better introductory book on the subject than The Early Church. For its clarity, thoroughness, and impartiality, Henry Chadwich has given us the best place to begin our investigations of the theology of the patristic period.