This is the second volume of Dr. Lietzmann's great History of the Early Church, so successfully begun in The Beginnings of the Christian Church. With the earlier volume dealing with the history of the Church in the first two centuries, the present book carries the chronicle of events down to the death of Origen. There are notable chapters on the main problems confronting the Church in its formative period, and there are also brilliant character studies of the great figures, including Tertullian and Origen. It is not often that a work of first-class historical scholarship is written with such accomplished ease and simplicity, making it accessible to the ordinary reader. This the author has done in a work which is likely when completed to remain a standard history fo many years to come. The theological student will also find the work wholly satisfying in all essentials.
