Rabbles, Riots, and Ruins: Twelve Ancient Cities and How They Were Evangelized

Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Ephesus, Carthage, Edessa . . . These were some of the ancient cities that once raged against the Gospel and persecuted the Church but later came to admirable faith. Each city had its own unique commerce, culture, and institutions. Each city was different from all the others, and each became more perfectly itself through the influence of Jesus Christ.

In the pages of this book, you'll climb the hills of these cities, sail into their harbors, look up in awe at their titanic public works, walk their streets, push your way through their bustling markets. And you'll see how all those things shaped the expression, practice, and history of the Christianity we know today.

This is your imaginative entry into the world of the Church Fathers, the saints, and sages who converted the world to Christ. During their era—and in their hostile cities—the Church grew at a steady rate of 40 percent per decade, and practices such as abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia went from commonplace to unthinkable. The Fathers have something important to teach the modern Church about evangelization.

Among Mike Aquilina's many works about the Church Fathers, this is his most complete and compelling overview of the Fathers' amazing achievements.

"An inspiring panoramic survey of the evangelization of twelve great cities that shows how this laid the foundations for the building of the faith and subsequent spread of Christian civilization. Mike Aquilina writes with an all-too-rare succinctness and clarity. His writing style is accessible and easy to read. He's a boon and a blessing."
— Joseph Pearce, Author, The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: History in Three Dimensions

"Mike Aquilina has a remarkable gift for illuminating the early centuries of Christianity by bringing ancient times and peoples to life. In his expert hands, we are given a richly hued mosaic of sinners and saints, sages and heretics that tells much about the faith as it was then, is now, and will remain."
— Russell Shaw, Author, Eight Popes and the Crisis of Modernity

"Everyone loves an origin story, and when it comes to the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, the origins are the cities, and every city has a unique story. With his usual masterful storytelling, Mike Aquilina tells us the tales of not two cities but twelve of the most important cities of the ancient world—and of our Christian faith."
— James Papandrea, Author, Praying like the Early Church: Seven Insights from the Church Fathers to Help You Connect with God

"Mike Aquilina invites us to consider more deeply the ancient cities we hear so often about in Scripture but would be hard-pressed to locate on a map. He provides a living map, as it were, of the first four centuries of Christianity. Special thanks to him for remembering our Armenian brothers and sisters, ancient preservers of Christian scholarship and tradition, who suffer to this day."
— Christopher Check, president, Catholic Answers

"Mike Aquilina, a prodigious writer, is ingenious at choosing topics the average person would never consider. In this present volume, he has exceeded himself. Only Mike would author a book on twelve ancient cities that became centers of Christianity and were transformed amid the rabbles, the riots, and the ruins. This is an informative and captivating book, and so fun to read!"
— Thomas Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap., Author, Athanasius: A Theological Introduction

"A wonderful book. Mike Aquilina energetically implies in this genius book that cities are redeemable! Heaven is portrayed as a city in the Bible, and Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire from city to city. This fascinating and much-needed book shows how these urban centers developed unique Christian cultures that have shaped Christian history ever since."
— Joseph Stuart, Ph.D., professor of history, University of Mary