I have had a love for the early Church in Africa since I took a trip to Egypt when I was in seminary. Since then, I’ve had a chance to visit all of the countries on the continent with ancient churches. It is my greatest joy to share what I learn with my students and any anyone else who will listen. I research and teach in the area of early African Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Meachum School of Haymanot. I have published two monographs on this topic and hold a doctoral degree in languages and literatures of Northeastern Africa during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
I wrote
Those for Whom the Lamp Shines: The Making of Egyptian Ethnic Identity in Late Antiquity
This book assembles a massive collection of ancient African Christian art that has never come together at this level before.
This collection of essays narrates an art exhibit that was housed in 2024 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The thing I love about this book is that readers can continue to see these images in one collection for generations that follow the exhibition.
I also really love how this book not only narrates the history of early Christianity in Africa but is littered with beautiful images that help us to see and feel the way the ancients did when they entered sacred spaces.
The first exploration of the artistic and cultural intersections of the African continent and the Byzantine world
Medieval art history has long emphasized the glories of the Byzantine Empire, but less known are the profound artistic contributions of Nubia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms whose pivotal interactions with Byzantium had an indelible impact on the medieval Mediterranean world. Bringing together more than 170 masterworks in a range of media and techniques-from mosaic, sculpture, pottery, and metalwork to luxury objects, panel paintings, and religious manuscripts-Africa and Byzantium recounts Africa's centrality in transcontinental networks of trade and cultural exchange. With…
This book is the best overall summary of Christianity in North Africa I have ever read. There are so many books that are close to this topic but are usually more specialized, focusing only on Augustine or archaeology.
This book not only surveys the influential theologians from North Africa, Perpetua, Tertullian, and Cyprian, but also illumines the lived worship practices of everyday Christians in what we now call Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria.
I love the well-rounded and comprehensive survey of North African Christianity that this book provides.
In-depth, illustrated exploration of how early North African Christians lived out their faith
Using a combination of literary and archeological evidence, this in-depth, illustrated book documents the development of Christian practices and doctrine in Roman Africa -- contemporary Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco -- from the second century through the Arab conquest in the seventh century.
Robin Jensen and Patout Burns, in collaboration with Graeme W. Clarke, Susan T. Stevens, William Tabbernee, and Maureen A. Tilley, skillfully reconstruct the rituals and practices of Christians in the ancient buildings and spaces where those practices were performed. Numerous site drawings and color…
The first and only full-length biography of Hazel Ying Lee, an unrecognized pioneer and unsung World War II hero who fought for a country that actively discriminated against her gender, race, and ambition.
This unique hidden figure defied countless stereotypes to become the first Asian American woman in United States…
Ethiopian Christianity is a rich and diverse phenomenon that has a nuanced history. So many books on the history of this ancient Church are highly specialized and not accessible to popular audiences.
Ephraim Isaac’s book is the best overview of Ethiopian Christian history and practice that I have ever seen. It introduces the history of the Church and helpfully focuses on different aspects of worship, organization, and social engagement.
I refer back to this book often as it is so full of useful information, and I find new information every time.
Ethiopia is an extraordinary symbol of continuity amid a restive and crisis-ridden world. In a few decades, Africa has passed from colonialism, to modernity, to a congress of now largely independent black powers, whose views and votes are at long last heeded on the floor of the global parliament of nations. The capital of Ethiopia is also the headquarters of both the United Nations mission to the continent and of the indigenous continental African union. Ethiopia is unique, not only in the antiquity of her continuous religious and political history, but also in the ever accelerating involvement of the nation…
Many books on the history of Coptic Christianity have very specialized subject matter that are written for specialists. Gabra’s book is a great resource that introduces broad audiences to the Coptic tradition.
This is a great book for people with little or no knowledge of this tradition. I especially love the diverse perspective of this book, which includes history, art, liturgy, archaeology, and daily life in the Coptic community.
I learn something new every time I go back and look at this book.
Egypt’s Copts make up one of the oldest and largest Christian communities in the Middle East. Yet despite the availability of a large number of books on aspects of Coptic culture, including art and architecture, monasticism, theology, and music, there is to date no single volume that provides a comprehensive cultural history of the Copts and their achievements. Coptic Civilization aims to fill this gap, by introducing the general reader, the interested non-specialist, to Coptic culture in all its variety and multi-faceted richness. With contributions by twenty scholars, Coptic Civilization includes chapters on monasticism, the Coptic language, Coptic literature, Christian…
A magisterial history of Indigenous North America that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today
Finding accessible books on ancient Nubian Christianity is very difficult. There are very few books that are entirely dedicated to the ancient Nubian Church, and the few that exist are usually very specific in terms of subject matter.
Welsby’s book is one of the few that does a great job of giving a comprehensive history of Christianity in the various kingdoms of the Nubian region. I especially love the images in this book which are numerous and very engaging.
As well as discussing the turbulent political and religious history, Derek Welsby devotes much of his study to an examination of Nubian culture and society, and the impact of Christianity on every aspect of Nubian life. He examines in detail Nubian architecture, one of the most enduring legacies of the mediaeval kingdoms; Nubian art, literature and language; and finally, the economy and the importance of agriculture and trade. Broad-ranging and meticulously researched, "The Mediaeval Kingdoms of Nubia" is a fully comprehensive study of this intriguing subject.
When I began research for this book, I was interested in focusing on any elements that made Orthodox Christianity in places like Egypt culturally distinct from more well-known places.
This seemed a great way to get at my original interests in early Near Eastern Christianity and to understand how Christians in this part of the world expressed theology and liturgy in culturally distinct ways. As a product of the Black Church, I am sympathetic to the ways in which ethnicity and religion can intersect in identity politics. In our current day, we are witnessing how this process of religious and ethnic identity politics is leading to armed conflict in Egypt’s neighboring regions.
The Model Spy is based on the true story of Toto Koopman, who spied for the Allies and Italian Resistance during World War II.
Largely unknown today, Toto was arguably the first woman to spy for the British Intelligence Service. Operating in the hotbed of Mussolini's Italy, she courted danger…
This irreverent biography provides a rare window into the music industry from a promoter’s perspective. From a young age, Peter Jest was determined to make a career in live music, and despite naysayers and obstacles, he did just that, bringing national acts to his college campus atUW-Milwaukee, booking thousands of…
