Murphy-O’Connor, J. Paul: A Critical Life. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1996. At times idiosyncratic in its judgments, this is nevertheless a
solid and up-to-date effort to reconstruct the life of Paul.
Nichols, A. Rome and the Eastern Churches: A Study in Schism. San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. Traces the stages that led to the disastrous
split within Christianity in the 11th century.
Norwich, J. J. Byzantium: The Early Centuries. New York: Knopf, 2001.
A compulsively readable account of the empire from Justinian to the
iconoclastic controversy.
Osborn, E. Irenaeus of Lyons. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
An appreciative look at one of the most pivotal figures in Christian history,
the fashioner of the strategy of orthodox self-definition.
Pelikan, J. Jesus through the Ages: His Place in the History of Culture. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999. A masterful account by a great
historian of the changing images of Jesus in diverse cultural settings.
———. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine.
Vol. 1, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100–600). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1971. A readable and authoritative account of
doctrinal developments in the patristic period.
———. The Excellent Empire: The Fall of Rome and the Triumph of the
Church. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1987. A splendid account of
Constantine’s establishment of Christianity as the imperial religion and the
difference it made.
Rosen, W. Justinian’s Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman
Empire. New York: Penguin, 2008. Popular yet well-informed account of the
devastating effects of the plague on Justinian’s great plans.
Runciman, S. A History of the Crusades. 3 Vols. New York: Harper and Row,
- The standard scholarly treatment of the entire crusading movement,
highly detailed and richly documented.