R.P. Natalis Alexandri ... Historia ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testamenti.

Noël Alexandre, a French theologian and Dominican friar, authored this monumental Historia ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testamenti to provide a comprehensive account of church history from the origins of the world through the eighteenth century. Originally published in the late seventeenth century, this 1714 edition reflects the scholarly rigor and structural ambitions of the Gallican movement, aiming to synthesize biblical narrative with post-apostolic developments to establish a clear historical lineage for the Catholic Church.

The publication by Antoine Dezallier, a prominent Parisian bookseller, highlights the prestige of the work within the intellectual circles of the Enlightenment era. The design follows the traditional standards of seventeenth-century folio academic texts, featuring a heavy emphasis on Latin source material and critical commentary. While Alexandre’s work faced significant scrutiny from the Vatican due to his alignment with certain Jansenist theological positions, the text remained a cornerstone for ecclesiastical historians for decades, prized for its extensive documentation and systematic organization.