Reference
- ChristianityReligion based on faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The orthodox Christian faith, summarized in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, affirms belief in the Trinity and Christ's incarnation, atoning death on the cross, resurrection and ascension. The moral teachings of Jesus are contained in the New Testament. The history of Christianity has been turbulent and often sectarian. The first major schism took place in 1054, when the Eastern and Western churches separated. The next occurred in the 16th-century Reformation, with the split of Protestantism and the Roman Catholic Church. In recent times, the ecumenical movement, which aims at the reunion of all Christians, has gained strength. Today, there are more than 1000 million Christians.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Primary Sources
- BiblioPhillySearch high-resolution images of more than 160,000 pages of European medieval and early modern codices — virtually all of the holdings of PACSCL member libraries.
- Christian Classics Ethereal LibraryDigital library of classic Christian texts.
- The Digital Dead Sea ScrollsGives users access to searchable, fast-loading, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, offer critical insight into Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Five complete scrolls from the Israel Museum have been digitized for the project at this stage and are now accessible online.
- Digital ScriptoriumDigital Scriptorium is a growing consortium of American cultural heritage institutions committed to offering open online access to their collections of premodern manuscripts.
- Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Christian OriginsLinks to a variety of digitized or transcribed primary sources in early Christianity.
- Vatican Apostolic LibraryThis digital archive of thousands of manuscripts from the Vatican library may inform Catholic history research. (Vatican Library)
Primary Texts
Ante-Nicene Fathers by Call Number: Storage : Reference ; BR60 .A5 1980ISBN: 0802880878Publication Date: 1950-11-01This classic set, covering the first three hundred years of Christian writings, includes martyrdoms, apologies, and letters of exhortation.
Ecclesiastical History by Call Number: Storage ; BR160.E4 L3 1965This first history of Christianity, written in the fourth century, is a compilation of Christian texts, with running interpretation.- The Apostolic Fathers by Call Number: BR60 .L5 1869-1889Including the earliest post– biblical writings, this text gives a good idea of Christian thinking in the early years of the persecutions.
- The Acts of the Christian Martyrs by Call Number: BR1603.A1 M87 1972ISBN: 0198268068Publication Date: 1972-02-10The Greek and Latin texts, alongside English translations, of all the recorded martyrdoms of the Christian period.
Online Resources
- The Inescapability of “Church” in the History of ChristianityLaurie Maffly-Kipp's insightful address about the perils and promise of church history concludes with an invitation “to begin a conversation” about how “the ‘church history’ of this new century can be both creatively forward-looking and respectful of the lineages that have brought us here.” I offer here some brief remarks on her address as a small contribution to that conversation.
- The First Thousand Years: A Global History of ChristianityWilken complements the rich biographical pieces with delightful chapters on the construction of catacombs, visual art and architecture, music, canon law, and the creation of hospitals. The decision to include the histories of Christian communities in such places as Egypt and Central Asia requires Wilken to detail what happened there after the rise of Islam, an occurrence he describes as the most "unexpected, calamitous, and consequential" event for Christianity in its first thousand years (288). Rather, it acted as a catalyst for Christian communities to develop a number of cultural strategies to preserve the faith, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Perspectives
Databases
- ATLA Religion Database/ATLASerials Plus This link opens in a new window
ATLA includes full-text coverage of major religion and theology journals is provided for more than 285,300 electronic articles and book reviews, from more than 150 journals selected by leading religion scholars in the United States.
- Humanities Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Humanities Source Ultimate offers access to key content covering literary, scholarly, and creative thought. It also includes hundreds of scholarly full-text journals cited in leading subject indexes to round out student research.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR includes journal content, primary sources, images, and more across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Statistics
- Pew Research CenterPew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.
Streaming Media
- Christianity from Judaism to Constantine: Crash Course World HistoryIn which John Green teaches you the history of Christianity, from the beginnings of Judaism and the development of monotheism, right up to Paul and how Christianity stormed the Roman Empire in just a few hundred years. Along the way, John will cover Abram/Abraham, the Covenant, the Roman Occupation of Judea, and the birth, life, death and legacy of Jesus of Nazareth. No flame wars! Let's keep the commentary civil.