For more than three centuries, from the reign of Constantine to the Arab invasions of the 630s, Mediterranean Africa was the scene of a Christian civilization. The Christian leaders, Augustine of Hippo and Cyril of Alexandria moulded the teaching of the Latin and Greek Churches respectively in a way that has survived for centuries. This chapter outlines the history of Christian civilization from its beginnings to its collapse before the Arabs, partial in Egypt but complete in North Africa. Inevitably Christianity itself must take the centre of the stage. The Church in North Africa west of the Gulf of Syrtis was separated from that in Egypt and Cyrenaica by geography, language and theological tradition. The Church in Egypt and Cyrenaica was, Greek-speaking and outward-looking, responsible for missions to Nubia, Ethiopia and south India, and while not denying the importance of ecclesiastical discipline, directed its energies towards arriving at an understanding of the mystery of human salvation through the Incarnation.