author

Lyford P. (Lyford Paterson) Edwards

1882–1984

An Episcopal priest and sociologist, he wrote with unusual range—moving from the social history of early Christianity to a still-noted study of how revolutions unfold. His books blend religious thought, history, and sharp observation of social change.

1 Audiobook

The Transformation of Early Christianity from an Eschatological to a Socialized Movement

The Transformation of Early Christianity from an Eschatological to a Socialized Movement

by Lyford P. (Lyford Paterson) Edwards

About the author

Born in 1882, Lyford Paterson Edwards was an American Episcopal clergyman and scholar whose work crossed the boundaries between religion and sociology. Records for his books identify him as Lyford P. (Lyford Paterson) Edwards, 1882–1984, and his writing shows a strong interest in how beliefs, institutions, and societies change over time.

His best-known books include The Transformation of Early Christianity from an Eschatological to a Socialized Movement (1919) and The Natural History of Revolution (1927). The first grew out of his doctoral work and studies the shift of early Christianity from an apocalyptic movement toward a more organized social force. The second became his most widely remembered book, offering a stage-by-stage account of revolutionary movements that later readers linked to the Chicago tradition in sociology.

Some archival material from Bard College also places him at St. Stephen's College in 1920, when he arrived to establish a new department of sociology. Reliable biographical details beyond his scholarship appear to be limited online, but the surviving record presents him as a long-lived writer and teacher whose work connected theology, social theory, and historical analysis.