Richard Gray was a pioneer in the study of African history. In his last years he worked on a comprehensive study of the papacy and Africa. Originally he assumed that the critical initiatives in the implantation of Christianity in Africa came from within Catholic Europe or its missionaries. He soon discovered, however, that the initiatives came from African Christians: from Ethiopia, from Kongo, from appeals to Rome by African Catholics, and finally from slaves of African origin from the New World who were protesting against the appalling discrepancy between Christian principles and the practice of slave traders and owners. With Gray's final work left unfinished, Lamin Sanneh has assembled these published essays. The result is an enduring contribution to the study of Africa, mission, and World Christianity. Book jacket.