The History of the Church through its Buildings takes the reader to meet people who lived through momentous religious changes in the very spaces where the story of the Church took shape. Buildings are about people, the people who conceived, designed, financed, and used them. Their stories become embedded in the very fabric itself, and as the fabric is changed through time in response to changing use, relationships, and beliefs, the architecture becomes the standing history of pass...

In this book Allan Doig explores the interrelationship of liturgy and architecture from the Early Church to the close of the Middle Ages, taking into account social, economic, technical, theological and artistic factors. These are crucial to a proper understanding of ecclesiastical architecture of all periods, and together their study illuminates the study of liturgy. Buildings and their archaeology are standing indices of human activity, and the whole matrix of meaning they present is hig...

A History of the Church through its Buildings takes the reader to meet people who lived through momentous religious changes in the very spaces where thestory of the Church took shape. Buildings are about people: the people who conceived, designed, financed, and used them. Their stories become embedded inthe very fabric itself, and—as the fabric is modified through time in response to changing use, relationships, and beliefs—the architecture becomes the standing history of pas...

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.The Reformation was a long struggle of ideas between the established Catholic Church and the questioning of faith brought about by the Renaissance in Western Europe. Started by Martin Luther in 1517, religious dissidence spread across Europe throughout the sixteenth century, causing wars, migration and disunity. By 1648 Henry VIII’s desire for divorce led him to break with the Catholic Church in Rome and form the Church of Engla...

Divided into themed sections, linked together with a chronology of the most important events in the life of the Vatican, Secrets of the Vatican includes:THE HISTORY OF THE VATICANThe rise of the Catholic church, from its inauspicious beginnings as a persecuted cult in Rome to its establishment as the world's largest organized religionHOUSES OF THE HOLYA look at the vast wealth of art, sculpture and literature collected in the Vatican Museums and some of the sc...

Catharism was the most successful heresy of the Middle Ages. Flourishing principally in the Languedoc and Italy, the Cathars taught that the world is evil and must be transcended through a simple life of prayer, work, fasting and non-violence. They believed themselves to be the heirs of the true heritage of Christianity going back to apostolic times, and completely rejected the Catholic Church and all its trappings, regarding it as the Church of Satan; Cathar services and ceremonies, by co...

For two thousand years, Christianity has had a varying but immense influence on world history. Accomplished historian Geoffrey Blainey leads us through the history of this world-changing religion.A Short History of Christianity vividly describes many of the significant players in the religion’s rise and fall through the ages, from Jesus himself to Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, Francis Xavier, John Wesley, and even the Beatles, who claimed to be “more popular than Jesus.” Blaine...

Learn about the lives and works of over eighty saints in this collection, featuring ninety-two colorfully illustrated holy cards.How does Saint Christopher keep us safe when we travel? Why is Saint Patrick always depicted with a nest of snakes? How did Cecilia come to be the patron saint of music? These wonders and more are explained in this treasure of a book. The perfect book for the devout or any religious occasion, this captivating collection recounts the extra-...

The great war on heresy obsessed medieval Europe in the centuries after the first millennium. R. I. Moore's vivid narrative focuses on the motives and anxieties of those who declared and conducted the war: what were the beliefs and practices they saw as heretical? How might such beliefs have arisen? And why were they such a threat?In western Europe at AD 1000 heresy had barely been heard of. Yet within a few generations accusations had become commonplace and institutions were being set up ...

This book comes complete with a Touch-or-Click Table of Contents, divided by each section.Like his contemporary, Francis of Assisi, Dominic saw the need for a new type of organization, and the quick growth of the Dominicans and Franciscans during their first century of existence confirms that the orders of mendicant friars met a need.He had accompanied as canon Diego de Acebo, Bishop of Osma on a diplomatic mission to Denmark, to arrange the marriage between the son of King Alfonso VIII of...

Saints are recognized and venerated in almost every corner of the world. This stunning visual dictionary of saints chronicles the mysterious history of sainthood, telling the story of individual holy lives from a modern perspective. It also unravels some of the myths surrounding sainthood, and explores related issues as the importance of symbolism in Christian art, how certain places become holy sites, the significance of relics, miracles and how the purpose of pilgrimage has changed over ...

A fascinating history of the growth in monastic and papal power that preceded the Crusades—excerpted from Diarmaid MacCulloch’s award-winning New York Times bestseller, Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years.A product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill, Diarmaid MacCulloch’s Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years stretches from the Greek Platonists and the origins of the Hebrew Bible to the present and ...