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The Arian Controversy

Henry Melvill GwatkinProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8
Word count
287K words
Chapters
29
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English Originals Religion Intellectual DebateOrthodoxy and HeresyLate AntiquityReligious HistoryDoctrinal ControversyChurch HistoryTheological DebateArianism

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Arian Controversy by Henry Melvill GwatkinAuthor: Gwatkin, Henry Melvill, 1844-1916,Language: English, Class: BT: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Doctrinal theology, God, Christology, Release Date: May 11, 2006

Editor's review

Gwatkin's The Arian Controversy is one of the representative works of late nineteenth-century British church history, dealing with the profound early Christian dispute over the divinity of Christ. Its strength lies in setting doctrinal controversy within its concrete historical context: who asserted what under what circumstances, how councils and political powers intervened, and how the controversy affected church structures. The author's stance bears the mark of his time and his own ecclesiastical background, and the narrative is not a neutral listing; but this also lets readers see how a nineteenth-century Anglican historian understood and judged an ancient theological conflict. For readers new to early Christian history, the book offers a relatively clear thread; for specialists, it is a historiographical text to be read against other modern studies. Readers should note the author's tone of judgment and distinguish factual statement from evaluative comment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Students of early Christian history and the history of doctrine
  • Enthusiasts interested in the theological debates around the Council of Nicaea
  • Scholars of nineteenth-century British church historiography
  • Those who want to understand doctrinal formation through a historical case

Not a good fit for

  • Complete beginners with no background in Christian history
  • Readers expecting a neutral, objective general history
  • Readers looking only for devotional or inspirational writing

Reading tips

  1. First sort out the basic timeline of Arius, Alexandria and the Council of Nicaea, then move into the main text.
  2. Mark the author's evaluative statements separately as you read, and keep them apart from the factual narrative.
  3. Read alongside a modern history of early Christianity to observe how historians of different eras make different choices.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29

FAQ

Can I understand this book without a theological background?
You can read it, but you need some background first. It is much smoother if you begin with the basic timeline, main figures and core disagreements of the Arian controversy. The book has many terms; looking up key concepts as you go is more effective than plowing straight through.
Does the author's stance affect the reading?
Yes. Gwatkin was a nineteenth-century British church historian, and his narrative carries his own ecclesiastical background and the judgments of his age; it is not a neutral listing. Readers should distinguish factual statement from evaluative comment, and treat the author's stance itself as material for understanding nineteenth-century church historiography, without having to accept his conclusions wholesale.
How does this book differ from modern research on Arius?
The book was written in the late nineteenth century, and its questions, use of sources and evaluative framework bear the imprint of that era. Modern research has advanced considerably in archaeological discovery, textual criticism and methodology. Reading the two side by side makes the evolution of doctrinal history itself more visible.

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About the author

Henry Melvill Gwatkin Author · British · 1844–1916

Henry Melvill Gwatkin (1844–1916) was a British church historian and a professor at the University of Cambridge, specializing in early Christianity. The library holds one work by him, The Arian Controversy, which examines the fourth-century Christian debate over the divinity of Christ and stands as a specialized study of early church theological disputes. Gwatkin's writing follows the thread of church history, attending to the origins and intellectual context of the controversy, and displays the careful style of academic historiography. Because publicly available information is limited, details of his life, academic lineage, and complete bibliography are difficult to establish; this introduction can only sketch his scholarly profile on the basis of the facts held in the library and basic information from standard reference works.

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