How the Church Converted the Pagan West and How We Can Do It Again

With her latest release, Converts And Kingdoms, historian Diane Moczar has written a marvelous book about great converts who changed not just the Church but also the destiny of human civilization. In her accessible and easy-to-read style she makes history come alive. Mere centuries after its beginning as an obscure Jewish sect, the Catholic Church stormed the ancient Western world, and from its Roman remnants and barbarian tribes a united Christendom was forged. How do we explain this remarkable success? And what can we learn from it?

In Converts and Kingdoms, Professor Moczar tells the story of early Christianity’s faith, courage, and cunning chronicling the labors of missionaries and martyrs (with no small help from Providence) to spread the gospel and lay the foundation for the most magnificent culture human history has ever known. With her stirring narrative style, Dr. Moczar reveals a young Church ardently occupied with the great work of conversion: with saints and generals, priests and kings alike filled with zeal to make disciples of all nations. From the Roman temples at the heart of the old world to the Aztec altars on the border posts of the new, you will encounter heroic tales of the nascent Faith, including: The emperor who put his trust in the one God rather than the myths and sorcery of his predecessors and changed the course of the world to come. The would-be hermit who became an accidental missionary and helped birth the quintessential Catholic kingdom. Pious monarchs who repelled barbarian invaders and then welcomed them into the Christian family. The former slave boy who returned to the land of his pagan captors and turned it into an island of saints and scholars. The Marian miracle that scattered the demons of human sacrifice and opened the door to a new Christian continent.

Within these pages you will find not only the story of the Church’s early missionary efforts but also an analysis of why they succeeded: providing you valuable lessons for re-evangelizing a modern West that has slipped into a new and insidious form of paganism. Read Converts and Kingdoms today to be inspired by the convert-makers of the past, and to learn from them how to win the world anew for Christ.