Kristendomshistorie - hvad skal det forestille?

In this paper the author presents and discusses some of the leading ideas in and behind his book “Kristendommen” (Copenhagen 1986). The concept of ‘history of Christianity’ is defined and compared with that of ‘church history’; but the main emphasis is on a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of the system of periodization – governed by the principle of relatedness to a ‘civilization’ – which is used in the book. In this connection the notion of ‘Old Europe’ (AD 750/1100-1800) as a coherent and distinct period is particularly emphasized; this entails a discussion of three fundamental and interdependent concepts, valid for the period as a whole: that of ‘internal mission’, that of ‘reform’ and that of ‘clericalism’