East and West - The Making of a Rift in the Church: From Apostolic Times until the Council of Florence (Oxford History of the Christian Church) - Tapa dura

the presentation is rich, with unexpected and judicious detail, and informed by a wide-ranging knowledge that would not be typically expected from a specialist in the early Church...it is undoubtedly a work of great significance, Chadwick continues to put us all in his debt. (Augustine Casiday, Sobornost)

This kaleidoscope of evidence is presented with deftness and judgement, a minimum of comment and summary and a truly magisterial command of a huge subject. (The Journal of Ecclesiastical History)

The achievement of the book is to show how the rift is a feature of the history of the Church rather than an event or series of events in it. As well as setting its subject in a spacious yet detailed context, the book is also beautifully clear, full of unexpected pieces of information and a joy to read. It is accessible to a wide audience, and, like so much of Professor Chadwick's work, will become a basic and much used text. (The Journal of Ecclesiastical History)

Professor Chadwick's profound knowledge of the causes of division in canon law, ecclesiastical usages, and theology is matched by his evident profound sympathy for the passionately held convictions of both sides. (The Journal of Theological Studies)

Chadwick refuses the offer of easy neat solutions to the problem of the rift ... Instead he insists on exploring with a wealth of illustrative detail the account of the gradual widening of the gulf between East and West ... marvellous breadth and fair mindedness ... without the rift we should not have this learned and elegant envoi. (Theology)

As usual [Chadwick's] writing is magisterial, founded on well-grounded original sources and first-class studies, full of shrewd and sympathetic judgments, retaining patience and charity in the face of some unruly participants in his story. (The Expository Times)

... this is clearly an indispensable book. (Church Times)

Chadwick is always fair and often generous, helping us to see the seriousness, integrity and achievements of figures caught up in the crossfire of misunderstandings that constituted so much of the theological debate of the early Middle Ages. (Church Times)

... one of the fascinating questions raised by this work is when exactly the intellectual balance of power changed between East and West. (Church Times)

As always, Dr Chadwick is an entirely reliable guide to a mass of historical material, which in this instance spans nearly 15 centuries. (Church Times)

The greatest Christian split of all has been that between east and west, between Roman Catholic and eastern Orthodox, a rift that is still apparent today. Henry Chadwick provides a compelling and balanced account of the emergence of divisions between Rome and Constantinople. Drawing on his encyclopaedic command of the literature, he starts with the roots of the divergence in apostolic times and takes the story right up to the Council of Florence in the fifteenth century.

Henry Chadwick's own years of experience as an ecumenist inform his discussion of Christians in relation to each other, to Jews, and to non-Christian Gentiles. He displays a distinctive concern for the factors - theological, personal, political, and cultural - that caused division in the church and prevented reconciliation. His masterly exposition of the complex issues discussed at the Ecumenical Councils (issues that eventually led to the separation) is characteristically clear and fair. This is a work of immense learning, written with sensitivity and spirit. Its fascinating detail and full analysis make it invaluable to anyone interested in how this lasting rift in the Church developed.