The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor); E. A. Livingstone (Editor)ISBN: 019211655X
Publication Date: 1997-03-13
This Dictionary is a huge collection of information about the Christian Church throughout the ages, and it encompasses people, groups, ideas, places, and anything having to do with Church. It gives you definitions of things like baptism, telling you what it is and when it was instituted. As for famous or important people to the history of the Church, it gives you the basic information about where and when they lived, and what their major contributions to the Church were. The biographies are by no means extensive and don't give you more than a quick look at the person, but they help if you are just looking for a brief bio.