How did the Church originate, what is its story, and how did it come to exist the way it does in the present age? The answers to these questions form a tapestry of history that reaches from 1st century Palestine to the ends of the earth. This volume tells this rich story from an ecumenical perspective, drawing on both Eastern and Western historic sources and including the diversity of today's voices. It also includes the most central source documents, so that readers may access the words of these great spiritual explorers for themselves.

The work benefits from many pedagogical features:
- bold-faced terms
- boxed text sections that identify central figures and points of debate
- study questions for each chapter
- chapter summaries
- a glossary

The book is accompanied by a companion website offering the following resources:
- sample tests
- podcast lectures on key topics by the authors
- a discussion guide for each chapter
- learning objectives linked to each chapter