History of the Christian Church (8 vols.)

por Philip Schaff; David Schley Schaff

Editorial:

Charles Scribner’s Sons

, 1910

Overview

For nearly a century, History of the Christian Church has been considered a standard reference for church history. Originally published in eight volumes with more than 7,000 pages, this version contains the complete and unabridged 1910 third revision. Schaff begins by examining Christianity’s roots in Judaism, and then works his way through Nicene and Medieval Christianity on through to the German and Swiss Reformations.

In the Logos editions, these volumes are enhanced by amazing functionality. Events link to the Timeline feature of Logos Bible Software. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

Top Highlights

“The Supralapsarians reverse the order, so that the decree of election and reprobation precedes the decree of creation; they make uncreated and unfallen man (that is, a non-ens) the object of God’s double decree. The Infralapsarians, moreover, distinguish between an efficient or active and a permissive or passive decree of God, and exclude the fall of Adam from the efficient decree; in other words, they maintain that God is not in any sense the author of the fall, but that he simply allowed it to come to pass for higher ends. He did not cause it, but neither did he prevent it. The Supralapsarians, more logically, include the fall itself in the efficient and positive decree; yet they deny as fully as the Infralapsarians, though less logically, that God is the author of sin.” (Volume 8, Pages 552–553)

“Christianity once established was its own best missionary. It grew naturally from within. It attracted people by its very presence. It was a light shining in darkness and illuminating the darkness. And while there were no professional missionaries devoting their whole life to this specific work, every congregation was a missionary society, and every Christian believer a missionary, inflamed by the love of Christ to convert his fellow-men. The example had been set by Jerusalem and Antioch, and by those brethren who, after the martyrdom of Stephen, ‘were scattered abroad and went about preaching the Word.” (Volume 2, Page 20)

“From an early day Jerusalem was the goal of Christian pilgrimage. The mother of Constantine, Helena, according to the legend, found the cross and certainly built the church over the supposed site of the tomb in which the Lord lay. Jerome spent the last period of his life in Bethlehem, translating the Scriptures and preparing for eternity. The effect of such examples was equal to the station and fame of the pious empress and the Christian scholar. In vain did such Fathers as Gregory of Nyssa,¹ Augustine, and even Jerome himself, emphasize the nearness of God to believers wherever they may be and the failure of those whose hearts are not imbued with His spirit to find Him even at Jerusalem.” (Volume 5, Pages 221–222)

Contents

• Volume 1. Apostolic Christianity A. D. 1–100
• Volume 2. Ante-Nicene Christianity A.D. 100–325
• Volume 3. Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity A.D. 311–600
• Volume 4. Mediæval Christianity A.D. 590–1073
• Volume 5. The Middle Ages A.D. 1049–129
• Volume 6. The Middles Ages A.D. 1294–1517
• Volume 7. Modern Christianity—The German Reformation
• Volume 8. Modern Christianity—The Swiss Reformation

Philip Schaff was born on January 1, 1819 in Chur, Switzerland. He was educated in Germany at Tübingen, Halle, and Berlin, where he studied under August Neander. In 1843, he moved to America and became professor of church history and biblical literature at the German Reformed Theological Seminary in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.

During this time, he edited a hymnal, worked on the liturgy in the German Reformed Church, and edited a translation of the Heidelberg Catechism. The English translation of his History of the Apostolic Church appeared in 1853. Schaff remained at Mercersburg until 1863, when the Civil War forced the seminary to close.

In 1870, Schaff became a professor at Union Theological Seminary. During his tenure there, he held the chair of theological encyclopedia and Christian symbolism, the chair of Hebrew and cognate languages, the chair of sacred literature, and the chair of church history. He also served on the committee that translated the American Standard Version.

Schaff also authored or edited Early Church Fathers and the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. He is remembered as one of America's foremost church historians of the nineteenth century.

Schaff died October 20, 1893.