Using the Seven Ecumenical Councils as backbone, Hore provides the reader with an overview of the Greek Orthodox Church. Writing in an era when the Oxford Movement was reaching a wide array of Anglicans with the forgotten connections with orthodoxy, Hore presents a sympathetic view of Byzantine Christianity. Following the trials and difficulties of the early church after it received imperial approval, a sketch of the Greek Church, including the "separatist" Churches, emerges. Hore’s work is unique in that it demonstrates that the Eastern Churches (even those subscribing to only the pre-Chalcedonian councils) are of Orthodox faith. Following the great schism that separated East from West, Hore illustrates the developments that followed on from the Crusades, the fall of Constantinople, and the rise of Russia. He traces the history up to the late nineteenth century with the recovery of the Greek Church of his day and its relationship to the Western Church.

Alexander Hugh Hore (1829-1903) was a priest of the Church of England who taught at Trinity College, Oxford. He served as a chaplain to the military, and wrote extensively on the history of different branches of the historic church.