The Transformation of Early Christianity from an Eschatological to a Socialized Movement / A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Literature in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The study traces the movement of early Christian groups from dominant eschatological hopes toward stable, socially integrated communities. It compares Hebrew, Greek, and Roman political and property ideas that were selected, adapted, or discarded as Christians negotiated relations with the state, attitudes toward private property, and the composition of the populace. Chapters analyze chiliasm alongside patriotism and social theory to show how millennial expectations interacted with economic and legal institutions, producing a gradual socialization of church structures and practices rather than the invention of entirely new political doctrines.