Christian Paideia set (Vols. 1 & 2)

by Brian Welter

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Product Code: cps
Publication date: December 22, 2025
Pages: 622
Size: 6 x 9

$40.00

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VOL. I: A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION TO 500 AD (FROM ATHENS TO THE CHURCH FATHERS)

This first volume takes the reader from Greek and Roman paideia to the early Christian adoption of these educational systems for the Church’s own benefit. One of the major achievements of the Church Fathers was to establish the practice and criteria of sifting through the pre-Christian educational system. This led to the establishment of the seven liberal arts of the trivium and quadrivium as the foundation for higher studies in philosophy and theology. This book shows that the Fathers did much more than this, as they brought Greek paideia to loftier purposes and development than the Greeks and Romans could have imagined.

VOL. II: A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FROM 500 TO 1050 AD

While the first volume of Christian Paideia traces the outstanding achievements of the Church Fathers in their appropriation of Greco-Roman paideia for the Church, the second volume discusses how early medieval thinkers from the Latin West and the Greek East continued and deepened this work. They further developed many aspects of this now-Christian paideia and added much that was creative, spiritual, and even charming in their love and pursuit of wisdom and the truth. They did so even while they faced a range of cultural, educational, and religious challenges in the upheavals that Western and Eastern Christians faced from 500 to 1050 AD.
Brian Welter has studied history, theology, and applied linguistics while teaching English in South Korea, Canada, Taiwan, and France. He is interested in how language can be used to shed light on the truth but also to manipulate it. He has translated several books for Arouca Press, including Immortal Latin, Pius XIV, and a multi-volume series by Philippe de la Trinité on Teilhard de Chardin.
For the scholar in quest of a substantial history of Christian education, here is a rare treasure that belongs on his bookshelf—or, better, in his hands. The author takes us beyond the river of words that the Schools have produced over several millennia to the very Word, wherein lies the font of all wisdom and Christian paideia. This book is not for “novices” or the faint of heart, unless, of course, such a one may wish to delve more deeply into the habit of mind that has formed the best minds of our civilization. —✠ Abbot Philip Anderson, Our Lady of Clear Creek Monastery (Hulbert, OK)

Brian Welter's work provides a valuable service to all who hold Christian education dear. Beginning with the Greco-Roman foundations of Western civilization, Welter analyzes the process by which the Christian faith appropriated the educational structure of antiquity and transfigured it according to a Christian pedagogy. It is truly a masterpiece that deserves close attention by anyone interested in the intersection of faith and education in Christendom. —Phillip Campbell, author of The Story of Civilization series

I frequently receive questions about the history of “classical education”: What were the sources and methods? How was the curriculum structured? At what age did formal learning begin, and what was its pacing? Not since Henri Marrou’s seminal history of education has there been such a comprehensive and masterful treatment of Christian Paideia. Welter surpasses even Marrou by illuminating the often-overlooked medieval traditions of both East and West, revealing how deeply Western education is indebted to Eastern pedagogical thought. This timely two-volume series is an essential read for the scholar and practitioner alike in support of an authentic renewal of Christian education. —Christopher Owens, Chief Executive Officer, Veterum Sapientia Institute