The Power of Sacred Images: A Guide to the Treasures of Early Christian Art

Book by Elizabeth Bruening Lewis

As Christianity struggled first to survive and then to hammer out the contours of the emerging Church, the first Christian artists began slowly, tentatively, to explore an art that would come to dominate European civilization for more than a millennium. Theirs was to be an art gloried in for its beauty, but prized above all for its power of communication, a language of symbols which still speak to us today. Set against the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and in a world peopled by the likes of the emperor Constantine the Great, the unyielding Bishop Ambrose, and the notorious Empress Theodora, The Power Of Sacred Images is the integrated story both of the art of early Christianity and the people and events of its time. Illustrated with photos and original line art, with glossaries, timelines, maps and more, The Power Of Sacred Images is a wonderful gift idea, an easy-to-read resource for the student or general reader, as well as being the perfect companion while traveling to the lands whose history is so brilliantly brought to life. The Power Of Sacred Images is an impressive work of original and informative scholarship that would grace the reference book collections of any church, seminary, academic, or art school library. -- Midwest Book Review