A History of Christianity (TV series)

This article is about one TV series. For other uses, see A History of Christianity.

A History of Christianity is a six-part British television series originally broadcast on BBC Four in 2009. The series was presented by the English ecclesiastical historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford.

A History of Christianity
DVD cover
Genre	Documentary
Presented by	Diarmaid MacCulloch
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Running time	60 mins
Original release
Network	BBC Four
Release	5 November (2009-11-05) – 10 December 2009 (2009-12-10)

Overview

The aim of the BBC network was to produce "a new 'landmark' series which will examine the origins of Christianity and the relevance of the faith in the modern world".^[1] Presented by the English ecclesiastical historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford, the series considers the historical development of the Christian religion since its inception in the 1st century to the contemporary era, and its four main forms: Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism.

Episodes

#	Title	Directed and produced by	Original airdate
1	"The First Christianity"	Gillian Bancroft	5 November 2009 (2009-11-05)
Details how the origins of Christianity lie east of Jerusalem and Rome.
2	"Catholicism: The Unpredictable Rise of Rome"	Sian Salt	12 November 2009 (2009-11-12)
Explores the rise of Roman Catholic Church.
3	"Orthodoxy: From Empire to Empire"	Sian Salt	19 November 2009 (2009-11-19)
Explores Eastern Orthodox Christianity's fight for survival.
4	"Reformation: The Individual Before God"	Gillian Bancroft	26 November 2009 (2009-11-26)
Looks at the Protestant Reformation and its attack on the Roman Catholic Church.
5	"Protestantism: The Evangelical Explosion"	Gillian Bancroft	3 December 2009 (2009-12-03)
Traces the growth of Evangelical Protestantism across the globe.
6	"God in the Dock"	Sian Salt	10 December 2009 (2009-12-10)
Examines the concept of scepticism in Western Christianity.

Merchandising

A book written by Diarmaid MacCulloch, published in September 2009 and covering the same topic, is available:

• MacCulloch, Diarmaid (2009). A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (1st ed.). London and New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-7139-9869-6. OCLC 2009379999.

The series was released on DVD on 1 February 2010 with the title A History of Christianity.