The Church in the Dark Ages, Volume 1

By Henri-Daniel Rops The Church in the Dark Ages is the second installment in Henri Daniel-Rops’ monumental History of the Church of Christ. This volume includes the first five chapters of that work, studying St. Augustine of Hippo, whose genius governed Christendom for centuries; the “Great Invasions” of the Barbarians and their conversion under the great popes, Gregory and Leo; the sanctifying influence of such saints as John Chrysostom, Patrick, and Boniface, and the scholars and missionaries of East and West (especially in Ireland); the grandiosity of Byzantium and its most illustrious leaders, Justinian and Theodora; and Christianity’s descent into the “night of barbarism” and the heroic efforts of St. Benedict and the monastic expansion which sought to draw it from those dark depths. When we look at the power for action which the Church displayed in the Dark Ages, we must not forget that this capacity rested on supernatural graces, on a deep spiritual life, and a permanent conta