This is the last ti morceau in the series offering a very brief overview of Church history. To make it manageable, we just looked at the five classic eras that Church historians usually divide Christian history into: the well-known Apostolic Age, from Jesus’ day until about A.D. 100; the Patristic Age, until about A.D. 500 or so; the Medieval Age, which lasted until the Modern Age, which began about 1400. The present Contemporary Age is usually understood to have begun about 1850.

I’ve really offered nothing but a summary. So much more could be said! I very much encourage anyone who wants to know more to read more – but don’t expect to most history textbooks to be easy reading!

Now, before “signing off” this series of morceaux, let’s try to look to the future a bit. History isn’t about to end, after all.

To be sure, I haven’t the foggiest idea as to what the next “age” of Church history will be called. “Post-contemporary Age” will work at first, but eventually it’s likely to be the “Post-Industrial Age” or “Global Age” or something like that. I’ll go out on a limb and predict one more thing: it will begin when there’s general consensus that the days of post-World War II history in general are too far in the past to be widely relevant.

For Catholics it does appear to be a good bet that the Church of the Southern Hemisphere, especially in Africa and South America, will play an increasingly important role in nudging our theology and pastoral practice along.

But beyond that it’s hard to be certain of how the Church will adapt and exist in the decades to come, much less in the century to come. That the world continues to become more and more interconnected seems a given, as well as its increasing domination by materialism. True religious sentiment seems certain to diminish in both numbers and fervor, and among non-Catholics as much as for our own Church community. I wonder if secularism is going to be the one demon that our religion – and others – just won’t be able to conquer peacefully? I wonder if persecution of Christians is going to continue to increase, especially in other parts of the world where extremism in the (false) name of religion reigns? Since this next age of Church history is likely to go on long after I’m dead, it’s probably a good thing that I’ll be watching it from afar!