Interessante resenha do último livro do Jenkins. Conheço muito pouco da história do cristianismo e cada nova descoberta simplesmente confirma a impressão inicial: é uma história muito rica que requer maior divulgação. Aliás, esta deveria ser uma das funções das instituições católicas de ensino superior. Sim, eu sei que uma Universidade não é um Seminário, mas o cristianismo é parte importante da história ocidental( mas não exclusivamente dela) e deveria ter espaço em um ambiente universitário realmente plural.
"Some months ago, my wife and I stood in the square facing the dome and western facade of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. We marveled at the intriguing blend of Eastern and Western architecture before us.
We later visited the chapel in the crypt where the body of St. Mark had lain for several centuries after being abducted from Alexandria during the 17th century. We also gazed at the church’s high altar, beneath which the saint’s body now rests.
All this prompted me to think of the rich and varied historical influences of Christian faith on the church in Europe. I realized that much of this inheritance was from now largely deserted communities in Asia and Africa. Strong centers of Christianity had once existed to the east and south, but these had now but a flickering vestige of their former vitality.
For 1,000 years many “other” Christianities had once existed beyond Europe. We in the West have been inclined to dismiss them as peripheral at best, or at worst to reject them as churches embracing Monophysite or Nestorian heresies.
Now a splendidly revealing overview of these churches has appeared. Using his skill to discredit murky thinking and propose new understandings where the old no longer serve a good purpose, Philip Jenkins offers yet another jewel in what is becoming a crown of paradigm-shattering studies. The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa and Asia—and How It Died will amply reward your investment of time and attention.
Christianity originated in the Near East, Jenkins reminds us. “It had its greatest centers, its most prestigious churches and monasteries in Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia.” Were these Christians in fact the schismatics we have so casually assumed them to be? Hardly, says the author. “We must never think of these churches as fringe sects rather than as the Christian mainstream” of their time. Any history of Christianity that ignores these churches is missing a large part of the story. Forgetting them is as bad as losing them. To break the silence, we must recover the memories and restore the history."
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