This work was written when I was based in Our Lady’s friary in Livingstone, Zambia, in 1983-84. At the time I was director of Capuchin students in Zambia.
I became aware of how little the students, and, even more so, Zambian laypeople knew of the origins of the Christian faith in Africa. Most, I felt, assumed that the Christian faith came in the nineteenth century, and was European in origin.
The early Christian church in Africa was its heart and soul. It has a great tradition, something for Africans to be proud of. It was great in its achievements, its hopes, and its mistakes. Some of these latter are being repeated in the church today, and readers of the pages that follow will notice that.
It would be an understatement to say that when I presented these pages as lectures to Capuchin students and laypeople they were surprised and pleased. It gave them, I think, some pride and confidence in the African church. I undertook some very slight revision in 2014.
You can read or download a PDF of the text of The Early Catholic Church in North Africa here.