In this book, Alex Fogleman presents a new history of the rise and development of catechesis in Latin Patristic Christianity by focusing on the critical relationship between teaching and epistemology. Through detailed studies of key figures and catechetical texts, he offers a nuanced account of initiation in the Early Christian era to explore fundamental questions in patristic theology: What did early Christians think that it meant to know God, and how could it be taught? What theological commitments and historical circumstances undergirded the formation of the catechumenate? What difference did the Christian confession of Jesus Christ as God-made-flesh make for practices of Christian teaching? Fogleman's study provides a dynamic narrative that encompasses not only the political and social history of Christianity associated with the Constantinian shift in the fourth century but also the modes of teaching and communication that helped to establish Christian identity. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

‘This book will be of great interest to historical theologians of early Christianity and practical theologians specializing in catechesis. Fogelman’s adept interpretation of primary texts and organization of themes was especially illuminative of the breadth of early Latin catechetical practice and theory.’

Kyle A. Schenkewitz Source: Reading Religion

‘Fogleman’s book is an important contribution to our understanding of the inseparability of living and knowing for early Christians and serves as an insightful introduction to both epistemology and initiation in their own right in this period.’

Alexander Bailey Source: The Heythrop Journal