Early Church

"Origen and the Priesthood" is an introduction and anthology dedicated to Origen of Alexandria’s reflection on the Christian priesthood. Inspired by the work of Father Mariusz Szram, this volume offers an in-depth study of Origen’s writings on the subject and presents a selection of translated texts that illustrate his thought. Origen, one of the greatest theologians of the early Church, did not write a specific treatise on the priesthood, but he extensively addressed the topic in his homilies and biblical commentaries, particularly in his interpretations of the Old and New Testaments. ...

Caught in a deadly trap In AD 79 the emperor Vespasian was dying and some prophetess was announcing the end of the world. Meanwhile Desiderata had to deal with a fresh criminal plot from her old enemy Numa. You’d think that things couldn’t get any worse, but that was counting without Mount Vesuvius literally blowing its top above Pompeii. What on earth were our blind ‘seeker of justice’, her deaf husband Simplex, and uncle Balbus doing there that summer, a true case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? It’s a complicated story, but as it happened, they had not one, but ...

Church has become boring, religious, and/or irrelevant for many people; while God is none of the above. Why is there such a difference between the perceived church and the real God that the church proclaims? The early church was unscripted, alive, powerful, unpredictable, life-changing, and world-shaking. Our church services today are usually scripted, predictable, polished performances that seem to be making little impact in our society. Why? The answer may surprise you.

Many people today live in a polarized societies, struggling to find common ground in a time of deep division. But there is good news—the first Christians faced this challenge too. Christians & the Roman Army tells the forgotten story of the early church’s relationship with the army of imperial Rome. Over six well-researched and thoughtprovoking chapters, Garnett explores the ways that some early Christians embraced the army and the reasons that other Christians did not want to welcome soldiers into the church. Andrew Garnett offers lessons for our outreach to military servicemembers ...

In this third book of the apologetic discipline series, we will examine the early advancements of apologetics. A brief overview and analysis will be given of the councils and emerging doctrines contrary to Christian orthodoxy. It is our prayer that this information will strengthen the modern apologist.

Mary Lee Meares, co-founder and elder, provides a fascinating look at the early years of a ministry that started in a tent and grew to become one of the largest congregations in the Washington Metropolitan region. The church was called the National Evangelistic Center and Evangel Temple before being named Evangel Cathedral (now pastored by her son, Bishop Don Meares). Co-founder Bishop John L. Meares was a patriarch of the faith whose zeal for spiritual unity was an instrumental part of racial reconciliation in the Body of Christ, bringing blacks and whites together during a time of ...

In the first quarter of the twentieth century, many women - single and married - experienced the Pentecostal revival and entered Pentecostal missions in every corner of the world. Generally discouraged from preaching and leading congregations in the USA, these disempowered women considered their Holy Spirit baptism all the permission and empowerment they needed to go abroad to share the gospel. However, Pentecostal missionaries in the Assemblies of God, the largest American Pentecostal organization, soon became part of an emerging system of AG policy and emerging regulations. Why and how ...