History of Early Christianity. By Leighton Pullen. (Ser- vice and
Paton.)—This volume, which is intended, as its author says expressly, as a defence of orthodox Christianity, deals exclusively with the period from A.D. 29 to 190, by which date "the Divinity of Christ, the unique value of our four Gospels, a creed resembling our Apostles' Creed were only disputed by men who were in open antagonism with the Church." It is further differentiated from other works on the same or similar subjects as an attempt to prove that" orthodox Christianity" is" original Christianity." Nowhere is this purpose of Mr. Pullan better brought out than in the chapter on" The Church and the Ministry," in which he deals with the "contradictions" that mark modern criticism of the Episcopal system ; he contends that "these contradictions are so manifold that they do much to prove that the Apostles, after selecting presbyters and deacons, appointed, as Clement says, eminent men, known under various titles until they were given the name of epiekopos, which name was then withdrawn from all who did not possess the sole oversight of a Christian community." All things considered, this book should be very valuable for educational purposes, as Mr. Pullen arranges his material admirably in chapters bearing such titles as "The Birth of the Church," " Church and State,"" Successors of the Apostles,"
"Rome and St. Peter," and "The Gnostics "—the last is a careful piece of argumentation couched in perfectly moderate language—and out of the wealth of his reading supplies numerous and erudite notes.
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