Beyond the Empire: The Church in Rome From Constantine [Hardcover]

Desmond O'Grady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001

O'Grady, an American correspondent living in Rome, weaves a compelling narrative that examines the Catholic Church's transformation of the role Rome has long played at the center of Western culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

O'Grady, a freelance writer who lives in Rome, details how the Church at Rome came to deal with problems of theology, evangelization and church membership, and the relationship between Christ and culture during the first 500 years of the Church's civil legitimacy. His study begins with the time of the emperor Constantine, who legitimated Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and concludes with Charlemagne, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III. As he recounts the time between these emperors, O'Grady discusses the papal politics that resulted in the dominance of Christian images in the city of the Caesars and in Rome's hegemony over the Christian cities of Constantinople and Ravenna. Throughout, he offers wonderful portraits of some of the period's great characters (e.g., Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine). O'Grady's history can be profitably read by religious professionals and interested nonprofessionals alike; recommended for large public libraries as well as for the libraries of colleges and seminaries. David I. Fulton, Coll. of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

O'Grady places two statues, one dedicated to Constantine, the other to Charlemagne, at the beginning of his history of the church from the fourth century to the ninth--the era the two emperors bracket. Connecting Constantine to Charlemagne is as old as the Carolingian reconception of the empire after centuries of barbarian invasions and struggles with the East, and inserting the church into Roman history is as old as Luke's Gospel and the Acts. O'Grady makes the period accessible to a general audience, and comparing the present to that formative period in Catholicism is compelling. Particularly striking is the brief epilogue, in which Pope Gregory the Great's humility, "confidence in the laity and dialogue," and "pastoral flexibility and tact in building on neutral cultural practices" is contrasted with the image of "a John Wayne-pope." That contrast should pique the interest of those contemplating the papacy after John Paul II. A clear narrative of the period it treats that may facilitate greater clarity in considering the church today. Steven Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company; 1St Edition edition (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824519086
• ISBN-13: 978-0824519087
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,423,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing title: a tedious book, March 20, 2002

By 

Charles R. Bryant (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Beyond the Empire: The Church in Rome From Constantine (Hardcover)

This slim book attempts a history of Europe focused on the Western Church during the five centuries from the Emperor Constantine to Charlemagne. After reading the first five chapters I set the book aside. Those five chapters include a confusing array of names of emperors, popes, bishops, Latin poets, Greek philosophers, Roman senators and their dinner guests, often with little explanantion of their significance for the story. Political forces, military campaigns and theological disputes are all identified, but if the author has sorted out how they all worked together to shape the history of the period he has failed to convey any clarity to the reader. Social trivia seem to be given equal weight in his account with the succession of emperors and popes, disputes between secular and papal authority, and conciliar articulations of the nature of the Trinity. The author quotes extensively from contemporary sources without identifying the sources -- there are no footnotes -- nor, in most cases, are the sources listed in the scant bibliography of mainly secondary works. To add to these problems, the author's style is turgid: the book cries out for an editor. I found the first five chapters a tedious read without any profit and have decided to donate my copy to the trash collector.