Author Description

This abridged version of the second edition of The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church makes available in a more clear and concise form for the general reader the core of that unique reference book.It contains over five thousand entries on all aspects of the Christian Church, from Aaron to Zwingli. Along with a treatment of the principal Christian doctrines and denominations, it includes accounts of the Biblical Books and their backgrounds, major Christian feasts, the lives of saints, histories of heretical sects, and summaries of the opinions of theologians and philosophers. This remarkable reference work also explores a host of related subjects, including composers, painters, sculptors, and writers of religious works; accounts of non-Christian religions; descriptions of cathedrals; and significant discoveries in textual criticism and archaeology.