The early centuries of the Christian Church inevitably saw, often under severe pressure, the formulation of its beliefs, the establishment of its organization, and the evolution of the typically Christian 'way of life'. A knowledge of this creative period is therefore very necessary to an understanding of the development of the Church; and for this reason the period is included in many syllabuses. But the story of these years is often confused, and therefore confusing. An attempt has been made in this book to bring together the tangled threads of the story into unified themes, each chapter dealing with a single such aspect of the total story.