An Unbroken Circle: Linking Ancient African Christianity to the African-American Experience

Ancient, apostolic, Orthodox Christianity has gone full circle, from continent to continent. From Christ to His Apostles, from the Apostles to ancient Africa, from Africa to America, and from black Americans to their sons and daughters. The ancient African Christian tradition is beginning to be passed on and take root in America today, growing out of the seed of the blood of the black American slave-martyrs for Christ.

In this collection of talks from the Ancient Christianity and African-American Conferences, we see how deep the resonances are between the faith of the early Church and the heartfelt Christianity born out of the slaves' experience on American soil. Indeed, the 'sad joyfulness' that characterized the African Desert Fathers and Mothers of the 4th century and that permeates traditional Christianity today, is our legacy from the suffering Church of the African-American slaves, our elders in the faith. Now that the link between America and the African Christianity tradition has been restored, the time has come to embrace the Unbroken Circle which is our rich heritage from the past...and our hope for the future.