Extremely academic tome on the rise of Christianity in the 4th century CE. Wading through this one was difficult, but the research is extremely well done.

This did take me a while to read because it is pretty academic in nature but I did find it interesting and informative! The growth and expansion of the religion of Christianity is fascinating especially in exploring how it overpowered and essentially wiped out so many other belief sets.

Even though this is a subject i'm deeply interested in, it was a little too grad-school-y for my brain haha. absolutely no shade whatsoever, it's a great book i'm sure, i just decided to stop reading it.

Christendom covers the trajectory of Christianity as it takes hold in Europe from 300-1300AD. Starting with Constantine, Heather looks at how and why Christianity spread and its ability to reinvent itself depending on the time and community. Though aimed at the public audience, parts of the book are very academic in tone and having a background knowledge of either the early years of Christianity or general European history will help.

This is a thorough, well written account of the history of Christianity. Heather approaches the story from the ususal angle of going from Constantine's conversion to the Council at Nicea and on. The theological controversies and decisions are well covered but we begin to see the effect or lack thereof a relatively weak governmental infrastructure had on how these decisons were enforced. I have not finished the entire book but wanted to give feedback at some point close to the book's publication date. i plan to continue. In the meantime, thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this interesting book.

Christendom was a major disappointment. I absolutely love church history, and have a pretty deep background in the subject. I thought this title would be right up my alley, but I found it entirely too academic for my taste. I felt like the author could have made his points much more succinctly. But I get the impression that his aim was not so much to entertain or inform as to prove his theses, so I suppose from that standpoint it achieved the author's goals. I sure as heck didn't enjoy it, though - it was a slog.

In this book by Peter Heather it covers the beginning of Constantines conversion to Christianity and mainly talks about the practices it’s naysayers and ultimately the staying power its had. I appreciate the readable text in the page turning quality to an error that most would find boring Mr. Heather keeps you wanting to turn the pages. We hear about the last pagan emperor Julian his attempt to change back to the old way worshiping the old gods“ a lot from his papers which I found so interesting. This is a very long book but one I highly recommend if this is a subject do you even have just a passing interest in you need to read Christendom by Peter Heather especially if like me you’re curious about the early days of Christianity and times and ancient Rome somethings that always has me wanting to read about. I wish I had the words to tell you essay style all the reasons I found this book so interesting and something worth having brawl as I’ve already reiterated if this sounds like something you’d like then trust me when I say you’d love this book. I know some have criticized Mr. Heather for his non-academic way and telling the story but I think that is what made the story is so worth reading so kudos to Peter Heather for a five star read. I received this book from NetGalley and The publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

It so happened that I read this book immediately after Judith Herrin’s “Formation of Christendom.” I had long been looking to read about the early days of Christendom and the supposed “Dark Ages.” Herrin’s book is considered a classic, and I picked it up when it was recently re-released by Princeton Classics. Heather’s book, which covers some of the same ground but tacks on an additional 500 years, is brand new (huge thanks to Knopf for an ARC via NetGalley). Heather’s is written with more of a lay audience in mind—it is much more dynamic and, frankly, engaging, while maintaining quite a bit of academic rigor. It is simply more approachable, if only at the cost of leaning too hard toward an easy-going, conversational style, which does occasionally grate (too many things are “crystal clear,” and even more pushes come to shoves). But these are quibbles—it is a terrific, sweeping survey of nearly 1,000 years of Christian history, with a clear explanatory and narrative framework. Herrin’s book, on the other hand, is more measured in tone, much more academic in tenor. And dry. Bone dry. Very nutritious, vitamin-rich, but forbiddingly slow-going at times. On balance, I think Heather’s book is a better introduction to the subject, and I heartily recommend it.

This history of Christianity is far too long (600 pages) for many readers, but it is still a very good read. Mr. Heather is a very accomplished scholar, but his book (if the targeted readership is the general public) should have been only half as long. In my opinion, the only readers who will be willing to invest the time in reading "Christendom" are historians of religion. Perhaps, two shorter volumes would do the trick.

A broad and controversial topic, expertly navigated by Peter Heather. While there may not always be a correct answer in the histories of Christendom (note the use of the word 'histories', as I don't believe there is just one), Heather presents a broad topic with a guided focus that still allows readers to make up their own minds. I would recommend this for enthusiasts of the field, although experts and arm chair historians may still find one or two pieces worth noting.

Histories of early Christianity for a general audience are hard to find, and it's great that Peter Heather, chronicler of the fall of Rome, has written one. This book covers the beginnings of the Church, the many schisms and varieties of belief, and the deepening divide between the Eastern and Western churches. If you are looking for a great history of the early Church, this is it!

The renowned historian Peter Heather covers the beginnings of the legalization of Christianity under Roman rulers. Part One "The Romanization of Christianity" establishes his thesis in a comprehensive panorama that is aimed at the general reading public.