Retrieving History: Memory and Identity Formation in the Early Church (Evangelical Ressourcement)

Retrieving History introduces the early Christian ideas of history and history writing and shows their value for developing Christian communities of the patristic era. It examines the ways early Christians related and transmitted their history: apologetics, martyrdom accounts, sacred biography, and the genre of church history proper. Stefana Dan Laing shows that exploring the lives and writings of both men and women of the ancient church helps readers understand how Christian identity is rooted in the faithful work of preceding generations. Her book also offers a corrective to the individualistic and ahistorical tendencies within contemporary Christianity. It will appeal to professors and students in church history and patristics courses as well as pastors, worship leaders, and educated laypeople.