History is a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes or a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events. In this category you will find our history books - general surveys of history and books related to specific periods of history in the Church such as the Patristic Era or the Middle Ages.

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life, and brings us tidings of antiquity." Cicero

The Beginning of the English Reformation by Hugh Ross Williamson. If people neglect the study of the past, they cannot fully understand the present.This forceful and compact history shows how important political and economic forces were in the English Reformation. It is very informative and interesting reading and is excellent in helping the reader understand the crucial situation in the …

Conceived originally as a serious presentation of the development of philosophy for Catholic seminary students, Frederick Copleston's nine-volume A History Of Philosophy has journeyed far beyond the modest purpose of its author to universal acclaim as the best history of philosophy in English. Copleston, an Oxford Jesuit of immense erudition who once tangled with A.J. Ayer in a fabled debate …

Origen (185-ca. 254), one of the most prolific and influential of the early Church Fathers, is best known to us for his Scripture exegesis. Henri de Lubac’s History and Spirit is a landmark study of Origen’s understanding of Scripture and his exegetical methods. In exploring Origen’s efforts to interpret the four different senses of Scripture, de Lubac leads the reader …

Warren H. Carroll This comprehensive history of international presents the whole mighty drama of the establishment of Communist rule over one-third of the world, from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to its almost miraculous defeat in Russia in 1991. A well-documented narrative with the power of a great novel, this is a landmark historical work, a panoramic presentation of the central theme of …

Sir Martin Gilbert Distinguished historian Gilbert explores the courage of those who took incredible risks to help Jews whose fate would have been sealed without them. Those who hid Jews included priests, nurses, teachers, neighbors and friends, employees and colleagues, soldiers and diplomats, and, above all, ordinary citizens.

There have occurred in the Catholic Church since Vatican Council II the most sweeping and revolutionary changes in her near 2,000-year history. One might even say the Church has adopted a totally new and different direction - so much so, for example, that the eminent Catholic writer-publisher, Frank J. Sheed, could write a book after Vatican II (1968) entitled Is It the Same Church? Whence …

John Climacus (c. 579-649) was abbot of the monastery of Catherine on Mount Sinai. His Ladder was the most widely used handbook of the ascetical life in the ancient Greek Church. 

This monumental classic collection studies the ancient Christian writers and their teachings about the early church.

A thorough study of the historical contributions of Catholic nuns to the building of America through its schools, hospitals and charitable organizations. The book also describes the collapse of religious orders following Vatican II.

The Fathers of the Church were great, holy men of history who lived in the early centuries of Christianity and made a significant impact on the Church and society by their lives and their teachings & writings. There are various groups of such men considered to be Fathers of the Church, and this work focuses on the lives, adventures and central teachings of the great Greek Fathers, whose …

Conceived originally as a serious presentation of the development of philosophy for Catholic seminary students, Frederick Copleston's nine-volume A History Of Philosophy has journeyed far beyond the modest purpose of its author to universal acclaim as the best history of philosophy in English. Copleston, an Oxford Jesuit of immense erudition who once tangled with A.J. Ayer in a fabled debate …

Drawing on his early experience as a monk in Bethlehem and Egypt, St. John Cassian (c. 365-c. 435) journeyed to the West to found monasteries in Marseilles and the region of Provence. Conferences is his masterpiece, a study of the Egyptian ideal of the monk.  

Conceived originally as a serious presentation of the development of philosophy for Catholic seminary students, Frederick Copleston's nine-volume A History Of Philosophy has journeyed far beyond the modest purpose of its author to universal acclaim as the best history of philosophy in English. Copleston, an Oxford Jesuit of immense erudition who once tangled with A.J. Ayer in a fabled debate …

Mike Aquilina’s The Resilient Church is an erudite but highly readable illustration of Pope Benedict XVI’s remark that the Lord “encounters us ever anew” in the pages of Church history. Aquilina takes us on a fascinating ramble through the past two thousand years that ultimately delivers a powerful message: No matter how hard the going gets, God does not abandon his …

Translated, with an introduction, by Sister Benedicta Ward SLG The spiritual insights of the fourth century Desert Fathers collected by disciples who sought them out, asking them to ‘Give me a word’, from the Anonymous Series of the Apophthegmata patrum. This book is a Cistercian publication.

Eva K. Betz This is an exciting historical novel about the then famous Father Farmer’s life and experiences in colonial America. The story starts in New Jersey where the priest encounters much danger and excitement while riding circuit, providing Mass and the sacraments to people who had not heard Mass for years. But the main story surrounds Father Farmer’s adventures helping a man solve the …

    A personal portrait, by a leading Vatican correspondent, of Pope Benedict XVI. Crossroad presents the authoritative biography from the leading Vatican journalist and closest observer of Joseph Ratzinger. After three decades of reporting for Germany's major newspaper, Dr. Heinz-Joachim Fischer now presents a profound look at the life of this complex German Cardinal & Pope, as …

The Pope, the Council, and the Mass, the definitive response to “Traditionalist” Catholics when first published in 1981, has been updated to include the developments from the time of the first publication up to, and including, the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. In addressing the concerns raised by the followers of the late Archbishop Lefebvre and other …

Mexican Martyrdom . By Fr. Wilfred Parsons S.J. True stories of the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico from 1924-1928, when some 2,000 Catholics and 50 priests were put to death under Calles, including Fr. Miguel Pro. In a country 97% Catholic, an anti-Catholic government rules -- even today! An inspiring witness to Catholic fortitude. Proves that hatred for the Catholic Church …

Saint Paul Called to Conversion: A Seven-day Retreat Ronald D. Witherup "Saint Paul is the most prominent personality of the New Testament, apart from Jesus himself. Thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament bear his name…Around the year AD 35 he had a remarkable experience on the road to Damascus…"—From the Introduction Paul's conversion is as …

Robert Graham, S.J. The discrediting of Communism as a world ideology also put in crisis a certain way of writing history. That is why, a half-century after the end of World War II, the search is on for a fresh look. The European intellectual class is dismayed and disoriented. Their world, so dependent on Marxist-Leninist ideas, collapsed around them. In the United States writers never took …

In this volume is a translation of a collection of hymns of Christ, composed by Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306-373), the most famous and prolific of the Fathers of the Syriac-speaking Church. 

Translated by Norman Russell, Introduction by Sister Benedicta Ward SLG Eyewitness accounts of the lives and teachings of the fourth-century Desert Fathers from the Historia monachorum in Aegypto. This book is a Cistercian publication. ". . . may make a good source for the historian; it may give some information and pleasure for the casual reader. But the spiritual man will never forget the …

Philip II . By William Thomas Walsh. Walsh's greatest book -- about Europe's most powerful king ever. But more, it is a panorama of the entire 16th century. Covers the birth of Protestantism and the secret efforts to undermine Catholic unity, the Huguenot wars in France, the Sack of Rome, Great Siege, Battle of Lepanto, Spanish Armada, Council of Trent, etc.; and, Henry VIII, Mary Tudor, …

"Recommended for all theological collections." - Catholic Library World " Oasis of Wisdom is a serious and engaging spiritual journey." - Catholic Library World

Lawrence W. Wieczorek The Miraculous Life of Father Houle is the true story of a man who was born to experience God’s love through his life and his ministry as a Catholic priest. His own birth was the first of many miracles to reveal that he was especially chosen to lead and bring faith to people’s lives. After entering the Jesuit order, Father John A. Houle, S.J. was assigned to missionary …

From The Da Vinci Code and Roswell to the pyramid on the back of every dollar bill, we all are fascinated by secrets, codes and coincidences.  Fr. George Rutler - EWTN speaker, Crisis magazine columnist, and reigning Catholic wit-offers his fun reflections, full of surprise, on the coincidental links that connect the most far-flung parts of our worlds.  Topics cover the gamut of …

The Place of the Patriarchs of Antioch traces with broad strokes the prestigious history of the Church of Antioch from St. Peter to Patriarch Maximos V Hakim. Exarch Elias presents—in the style of Eusebius’ Church History —an erudite account of the prominent role Antioch played in the Church’s missionary, dogmatic and cultural development. This son of Antioch recounts …

This volume includes a translation of four spiritual treatises of Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662), plus an account of his trial. Included are The Four Hundred Chapters of Love, Commentary on the Lord's Prayer, Chapters on Knowledge, The Church's Mystagogy, and Trial of Maximus.  

Here are the important and influential writings of a Christian mystic and early father of the Church. Origen (c. 185-254) was born in Alexandria and lived through the turbulent years during the collapse of the Roman Empire. 

This book is a new release and will be published in May 2008.

Jesus A Historical Portrait   Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Was Jesus a feminist? Who really killed Jesus? Did all those miracles actually happen? How do we know who Jesus is? How are we supposed to know what Jesus really said? How does Jesus' Judaism fit in with our salvation as Christians? Questions about the life and times of Jesus Christ, one of the most written-about people of all time, …

St. Symeon (942-1022), abbot, spiritual director, theologian and church reformer, was the great spiritual master of Eastern Christianity. His Discourses, the central work of his life, were preached to his monks during their Matins ritual. 

The writings of Pseudo-Macarius, a Syrian monk of the 4th century, bring to Western Christianity a holistic “heart” spirituality that offers a necessary complementarity to the “head” spirituality of the West. The homilies reveal the typical traits of Eastern Christian asceticism and The Great Letter instructs the monastic community. 

Adrian Fortescue, a British apologist for the Catholic faith in the early part of the 20th century, wrote this classic of clear exposition on the faith of the early Church in the papacy based upon the writings of the Church fathers until 451. No ultramontanist, Fortescue can be a keen critic of personal failings of various Popes, but he shows through his brilliant assessment of the writings of …

How Christendom defeated the Ottoman Turks Historian Diane Moczar pulls back the curtain on one of the most important acts in the drama of Muslim aggression against the West: the 500-year-long siege of Europe by the Ottoman Turks. Tracing the rise of the Turkish people from wandering Asian tribe to mighty pan-continental empire, Islam at the Gates chronicles the heroes and villains, the …

Pambo, Evagrius, Macarius of Egypt and Macarius of Alexandria, the four fathers presented in this volume, were well-known in Alexandria and Lower Egypt some 1600 years ago. Their lives, brought to fame by Palladius' Lausiac History, provide valuable insight into the Egyptian monastic communities of the fourth century and into the saintly tradition of the Coptic Church. This volume serves as a …

At the height of the tumultuous developments taking place in Central and Eastern Europe in the ninth century, two Byzantine missionaries and brothers from Thessalonica, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, came to the fore. Their work of acculturation among the Slavs had far-reaching and lasting changes upon European life. This book looks back over the life and work of these two …

As we, Christians of the twenty first century, study the Fathers of the Church, their writings (often in an unreadable English produced by clumsy translators) appear to us as foreboding, verbose, and somewhat closed within a world where theological contemplation replaces everyday reality. The Greek Fathers in particular have this reputation among students because they wrote relatively little …

A sequel to "The Death of Christian Culture," this spiritual treatise covers social, cultural, and political topics. It explores the importance of religious knowledge and faith to the health of a culture, provides a historical sketch of the change in cultural and educational standards over the last two centuries, and illustrates how literary and other visual arts either contribute to …

This is the authoritative catechism produced by the Council of Trent and published by order of St. Pius V. which was originally commissioned during the Reformation period, in order to explain the Faith clearly and calmly in the face of Protestant objections. It still serves as an excellent compendium of the Church’s traditional life and belief.

Macarius the Great (also referred to as Macarius of Egypt or Macarius the Egyptian) presided over a loosely knit scattering of ascetic monastic communities in the fourth century Egyptian desert. He enjoyed great respect during his lifetime and his fame was further spread after appearing in Palladius' Lausiac History. This volume presents three ancient texts , The Sayings of Saint Macarius, The …

The Book of Pastoral Rule By St Gregory the Great Popular Patristics Series Introduction & translation by George E. Demacopoulos Recognized as the most thorough pastoral treatise of the patristic era, this sixth-century work by St Gregory the Great carefully details the duties and obligations of the clergy concerning the spiritual formation of their flock. "Pastoral Rule has served …

None of the Fathers of the early church is better known or loved than St John Chrysostom, and none of his works is more popular than On the Priesthood. Its stylistic brilliance demonstrates the appropriateness of St John's enduring title, "the golden-mouthed." Yet the rhetorical eloquence of the work is not simply camouflage for lack of substance. As Graham Neville observes in his …

The last half of the twentieth century saw the establishment of the reputation of St Maximus the Confessor as the greatest of all Byzantine theologians, with a wholeness of vision that speaks directly to many of our concerns today. Until very recently, however, little of his work has been available in English translation, save for some collections of brief reflections arranged in centuries and …

St Cyprian, third-century bishop of Carthage, developed a theory of church unity almost universally accepted up to the European Reformation: to be a member of the Body of Christ you needed to be in communion with a priest who was in communion with a bishop who in turn was in communion with all other bishops in the world. But, how could you discern who was a legitimate bishop? And, on what kind …

St Irenaeus, the most important theologian of the second century, lays the foundation for all future Christian thinkers. Here he recounts all the various deeds of God, culminating in the exaltation of His crucified Son, Jesus Christ, and the bestowal of His Holy Spirit and the gift of a new heart of flesh.

St Gregory is one of the most open and self-revealing of the Fathers of the Church, and his poetry is remarkable for its personal character. In these poems, he speaks of the joys and frustrations of his own life; he reveals his inner questioning about the purpose and values of life in the face of sin and mortality, and his ultimate faith in Christ as redeeming and reconciling all things. St …

Two monastic elders — the "Great Old Man" Barsanuphius, and the "Other Old Man" John — flourished in the southern region around Gaza in the early part of the sixth century. Maintaining strict seclusion within their cells, they spoke to others only through letters by way of Abba Seridos, the abbot of the monastic community in Gaza, where these two holy men lived …