Introduction

Pilgrims and Popes introduces the foundational fifteen hundred years of the history of Christianity, from Jesus to the eve of the Reformation. The crucial decisions of the first centuries have indelibly shaped the subsequent journey of the Christian faith movement.

The book tells how the Christian faith story unfolded in dialectic movements: hegemony and emancipation; institutionalization and protest; petrification and renewal; missionary involvement in the world and separation from the world.

The book bridges the gap between the present and the seemingly remote world of the first fifteen hundred years of Christianity in the West by engaging with present-day readers' cultures and contexts.

The rich material is presented in an easily readable way, combined with charts and with questions for discussion and deepening reflection. This study book will be a welcome learning tool in classrooms and in churches, particularly in the context of the Global South.