The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies (Oxford Handbooks) - Softcover

These essays, as well as many others in the volume, provide the reader with a helpful orientation to the figure or issue under consideration, and all of the essays evidence a fairness and balance in presentation; where an issue is unsettled or controverted, the author signals such to the reader and indicates where she should turn to pursue the question. (Michael Heintz, Religious Studies Review)

This is not simply another multi-author volume on the first Christian centuries. It addresses itself to the task of bringing together a review of the approaches, assumptions and results of recent research in a growing range of interdisciplinary areas. It is for the most part technical and exact without being inaccessible to the interested beginner... This is an invaluable work of reference and full of meat. (G. R. Evans, Theology)

Without doubt, this will become a major reference tool and a number of the chapters will find their way onto reading lists for classes studying early Christianity. (Paul Foster, Expository Times)

...this book is a treasure trove. The editors have assembled an impressive bench of contributors and they tackle a staggering array of subjects...This hefty and wonderful volume reminds us just how preposterous an unnecessarily adamantine view of Christianity is and ever war. (Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald)

This is a volume that goes far beyond the descriptive survey and contains much of interest for both the beginner and the old hand ... it should indeed stimulate further research (F. Lucy Grig, Journal of Theological Studies)

In many ways the appearance of this volume is timelf ... It seems in general to reflect the wide-ranging and many-sided characters of its subject ...and does so with clarity and learning. Any student intent upon engaging in research on an aspect of the field of early Christian studies would do well to start here ... in the company of distinguished scholars in thoughtful mode. (James Carleton Paget, Journal of Ecclesiastical History)

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies stems from the rich scholarly tradition of Oxford and features within a handbook series devoted to a plenitude of scientific topics and in which various domains of history, theology and religious sciences are already covered ... impressive volume ... a must for all beginners and a quick reference for specialists in the field. (A. Dupont, Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses)

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades. As a one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100-600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in Western and Eastern late antiquity. It is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The essays orientate readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30-50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each essay points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well as to the appropriate research tools available for the area.

This volume will be useful to advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as to specialists in any area who wish to consult a brief review of the 'state of the question' in a particular area or sub-specialty of early Christian studies, especially one different from their own.