Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy

Includes photos and index.

Almost without exception, the "histories of the Church" available in print are, in fact, histories of Christianity in the West. References to the East have been brief and superficial at best. This volume - the fourth in a planned series of six and the second to appear - attempts to achieve a more balanced approach.

Intended not only for students but also for a wider readership, The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy describes developments in the churches of East and West in the High Middle Ages. It examines major western movements, such as the revolutionary Reform Papacy, the crusades, scholasticism, and concilarism, and discusses their impact on the East. It explores the theological and spiritual currents spreading from Byzantium to the Orthodox Churches of the Balkans and Rus', which helped to maintain the identity and unity of the "Byzantine Commonwealth" even as the empire itself crumbled. It also presents the little-known story of the native Eastern Churches of Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria, Armenia, and Georgia. In the process, it exposes the many factors which contributed to Christian disunity in the Middle Ages and which made even attempts at reunion divisive. The volume therefore will challenge and stimulate not only church historians but also all who are concerned about issues of Christian unity today.Widely hailed for its fairness, objectivity, and sympathy, it too attempts to provide a comprehensive presentation of Christian history, from Ireland to the Indian Ocean, from Germany to Nubia.