The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millennium

Paradise and Utopia: The Rise and Fall of What the West Once Was, Book 1

By: John Strickland

Narrated by: John Strickland

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

"Before there was a West, there was Christendom. This book tells the story of how both came to be.” (from the Introduction). 

The Age of Paradise is the first of a projected four-volume history of Christendom, a civilization with a supporting culture that gave rise to what we now call the West. At a time of renewed interest in the future of Western culture, author John Strickland—an Orthodox scholar, professor, and priest—offers a vision rooted in the deep past of the first millennium. At the heart of his story is the early Church’s “culture of paradise”, an experience of the world in which the kingdom of heaven was tangible and familiar. Drawing not only on worship and theology but statecraft and the arts, the author reveals the remarkably affirmative character Western culture once had under the influence of Christianity—in particular, of Eastern Christendom, which served the West not only as a cradle but as a tutor and guardian as well.

©2019 John Strickland (P)2022 John Strickland

Changed my orientation

A story of Christendom I hadn’t appreciated before. I look forward to diving deeper, starting with the other three books in this set.

Some small audio quality issues are the only reason performance isn’t 5 stars. It’s not a distraction and no reason not to enjoy this great contribution to a rich, positive Christianity in the world.

a full history of western civilization

I've been pretty curious about this book for some time and was excited to finally have a chance to go through it. the narrative is ending, informative, and the author does a good job of laying or a more complete picture of the events, personalities, and culture of an important area is history which far too many people are quick to dismiss, or they claim there was some "blackout" and we know nothing of the period. John shows that to be false, and why the events of that age matters. my only gripe is the recording itself; quality is good overall, but there are quite a few pronunciation errors.

crucially well-informed history of the world

It is a history of the 'West'. And with globalisation it is also a history of the world. I am looking forward to reading/listening to the next volume. I hope that more people, especially younger generations take up a serious interest and engaged dialogue with this secret history that remains alive in the orthodox Church/churches that continue to live out the ancient victory of Christ over the illusions and ignorance of materialism and pseudo-secular paganisms.

The Age of Paradise Provides Great Background of the Early Church

The Age of Paradise is a must read! It provides great historical references of the early church and how it evolved over the early centuries. I recommend to any reader interested in an intellectually sound Christian book.

Fascinating history of Christianity and what today we call Europe and European civilization

Fascinating history of Christianity and what today we call Europe and European civilization. Make the other 3 books audiobook too. Now with AI making of audiobook is Easter than ever.

Accessible Overview of Church History

"The Age of Paradise" lays out church history from Pentecost to the eve of the Great Schism in a format accessible and understandable to a variety of listeners. Through its flowing, almost narrative, style the author recounts nearly a thousand years of councils, church fathers, conflict, and intrigue within a relatively compact book. I appreciated the Orthodox lens through which events were interpreted, shedding light on the historical events which formed our current church structure in relation to the broader world. I would be interested to see the direction the following books in this series take in their exposition of Christianity's past.

Extremely interesting

This book was so full of great information, I imagine that I will have to listen to it again. That would be an additional pleasure.

A fresh approach to history

I really appreciate the author’s presentation of world history and the place that the church was an integral part of history during the first millennium. I highly recommend this book and I am eagerly awaiting the time when the other three books are available on Audible.

Couldn’t Stop

I listened to the whole thing in one day, it was that good. Can’t wait for Part 2 to be on Audible.