Looking for solid Church history sources

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As I read more and more from the Early Church Fathers, I find myself very interested in learning more about the history of that timeframe, as background to their writings. I see works from Dr. Warren Carroll (The Founding of Christendom, etc), which seem to be well received. Are their other good solid resources on Church history out there? (even material covering later centuries would be nice to see) Any opinions/recommendations would be great. For the moment, I am particularly interested in reading more about the timeframe of St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, etc. Thanks!
 
Jaroslav Pelikan’s series is probably the most well reputed. For histories of the liturgy try Josef Jungmann and Theodor Klauser. A little later are Christopher Dawson who has historical writings concerning the Middle Ages, and Etienne Gilson and Marie-Dominique Chenu who were leading interpretors of Medieval thought.
 
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bart93:
Are their other good solid resources on Church history out there? (even material covering later centuries would be nice to see) Any opinions/recommendations would be great.
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I have Church History by Fr. John Laux, M.A. It’s a “Complete History of the Catholic Church to the Present Day; For Upper High School & College Courses and Adult Reading.” It looked good when I bought it. I still need to read the whole thing though.
 
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Authorkat:
I have Church History by Fr. John Laux, M.A. It’s a “Complete History of the Catholic Church to the Present Day; For Upper High School & College Courses and Adult Reading.” It looked good when I bought it. I still need to read the whole thing though.
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I’ve read it…it’s a good book. I believe TAN offers this book.
 
TAN is the Jack Chick of Catholic publishers. Other than keeping a few Belloc and Garrigou-Lagrange books in print, there selection is downright embarrasing and not very scholarly.
 
“Triumph” by H.W. Crocker is a very readable history of the Catholic Church and highly praised (new too!). Eusebius’ early Church history is an interesting read too and one of the only sources for early Church history.
 
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bart93:
Any opinions/recommendations would be great. For the moment, I am particularly interested in reading more about the timeframe of St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, etc. Thanks!
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here are a couple you may be interested in that I thought of:
  1. Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom - by JND Kelly
    amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0801485738/qid=1087403471/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/102-0952278-5593718?v=glance&s=books
    It’s not exactly exciting reading, but it is pretty thorough.
  2. I would second J. Pelikan. His series on the development of the catholic tradition is very good.
  3. Other than that, I would see if you can get your hands on the Fathers of the Church series by American Catholic University. It’s all primary sources but they tend to get some of the more obscure writings and authors (like Caesarius of Arles, for instance, one of my favorites). Reading commentary will only get you so far unless you read broadly among the original sources themselves.
ken
 
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agname:
I’ve read it…it’s a good book. I believe TAN offers this book.
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I have “The Story of The Church, Her Founding, Mission and Progress A Textbook in Church History” by Rev. George Johnson, Ph,D, Rev. Jerome D. Hannan, PhD., J.C.D. and Sister M. Dominica, O.S.U., Ph.D. - Oringinally published by Benziger Brother, Inc., New York, Printers to the Holy apostolic See - 1935

Thank you God :amen:for good Catholic publishers like Tan - who reprinted this book in 1980. Without them alot of excellent Catholic Teaching would be lost!
 
Yes, thank you TAN for book like:

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"Mr. Johnston confesses that he used to be a believer in Evolution. But reading a book on the subject opened his eyes, and after much study he wrote this present book. He gives both scientific findings and Catholic teaching to show that the theory of Evolution is incompatible with both Catholic teaching and common sense. His reason for studying Evolution, as he quotes one eminent writer, is that “Every attack on the Christian Faith made today has, as its basis, the doctrine of Evolution.”

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“Former Title: Why Colleges Breed Communists. Absolutely devastates Evolution as a credible theory. Studies the history, the theories, the “proof,” the propaganda campaign for, and the results of the theory of Evolution; plus gives the preponderating evidence against it. Great and sadly needed to dispel the now almost universal assumption that Evolution is true.”

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“The error of Evolution, the truth of the Flood, the real age of the earth, the accuracy of the Bible account of creation, how science supports the Bible, etc., etc. Fabulously interesting, especially on the Flood!”

tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/217/category_id/11/
"Memoirs of a Communist injured in an auto accident in France; he died in the hospital a few hours later. The nurse who attended him kept his journals, read them and published them as AA-1025. He had become a Catholic priest to subvert the Church from within. Describes his methods & plans. Says there were many more like him. Very enlightening! "

tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/394/category_id/11/
"Refutes every aspect of the deadly error that one religion is as good as another and that a person has a moral right to choose whichever religion suits him best. Cuts through the foggy religious thinking rampant today! "

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"Proves why classroom sex education is always wrong and always harmful, that it destroys modesty, awakens the passions, promotes sexual activity and fosters acceptance of sexual sins. Shows where it comes from, who promotes it, that it is all-pervasive. Gives the Church’s position, that sex education is the right and duty of parents only, which may be delegated to others, but never usurped! A must for parents, teachers and priests. "
 
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bart93:
I am particularly interested in reading more about the timeframe of St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, etc. Thanks!
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Once St. John Chrysostom was threatened by Empress Eudoxia with banishment because of his dauntless courage. The great bishop replied, “You could frighten me only if you could banish me to some place where God is not.”
 
Another nice book I found useful was
Four Witnesses
by Rod Bennett
publisher Ignatius

Karl Keating seems to like this book as well.

Book has excerpts and references to other writing by early saints. You can verify and view these early writings at…
newadvent.org/. Once you see how the Rod Bennett gets his data you can start looking at other early church writings and extract history. I really enjoyed the book. Good luck.

Orlando
 
Thanks everyone for the great (name removed by moderator)ut. Lots to look into! Any reason I should be concerned about the non-Catholic authors having a different slant toward some topics? (JND Kelly, and Pelikan appear to be non-Catholic, but not sure). I’m hoping to build a deeper appreciation for my Catholic Faith and its history, and am probably not studied enough to avoid subtle slants or missing elements to the story. So, a solid Catholic perspective seems to be the best thing for me, if it exists.
 
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