Retrieving history : memory and identity formation in the early church /

This volume introduces the early Christian ideas of history and history writing and shows their value for developing Christian communities of the patristic era. It examines the ways early Christians related and transmitted their history: apologetics, martyrdom accounts, sacred biography, and the gen...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Laing, Stefana Dan, 1971- (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Grand Rapids : Baker Academic, 2017.
Subjects:	Memory > Religious aspects > Christianity. Church history > Authorship. Church history > Historiography. Identity (Psychology) > Religious aspects > Christianity. Identification (Religion) Memory. Church history. Identity (Psychology)
Summary:	This volume introduces the early Christian ideas of history and history writing and shows their value for developing Christian communities of the patristic era. It examines the ways early Christians related and transmitted their history: apologetics, martyrdom accounts, sacred biography, and the genre of church history proper. The book shows that exploring the lives and writings of both men and women of the ancient church helps readers understand how Christian identity is rooted in the faithful work of preceding generations. It also offers a corrective to the individualistic and ahistorical tendencies within contemporary Christianity.