The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism

“The Church is a lucid, balanced, and readable book—a work of integration that is always reasonable, well informed, honest, and deeply hopeful.”

In The Church, renowned religious historian and Vatican expert Richard P. McBrien offers a sweeping history of the evolution of the Roman Catholic Church, its influence  and power in an ever-changing world.  From Jesus’s apostle Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, The Church is a remarkable achievement that delves deeply into the past and the future of Christianity’s largest branch—in fact, the largest religious institution in the world—exploring its politics, doctrines, and the way the Roman Catholic Church views itself.

This comprehensive history of Catholicism traces the Church’s two-thousand-year evolution, covering key moments that include:

• Ecclesiology in the New Testament: An exploration of how the early followers of Jesus understood themselves as a community and laid the foundations for the Church.
• Papal Primacy and Infallibility: A detailed historical analysis of how the roles of Peter and his successors evolved, culminating in the critical definitions of Vatican I.
• From Vatican I to Vatican II: A masterful overview of the two pivotal councils that defined the modern Catholic Church, from the declaration of papal infallibility to the sweeping reforms that followed.
• Postconciliar Ecclesiology: An insightful look at the Church after Vatican II, examining its relationship with the modern world, developments in Catholic social teaching, and its future direction.