Patristics
Encyclopedia
Patristics or Patrology is the study of Early Christian writers, known as the Church Fathers
. The names derive from the Latin pater (father). The period is generally considered to run from the end of New Testament
times or end of the Apostolic Age
(c. 100 CE) to either 451 CE (the date of the Council of Chalcedon
), or to the 8th century Second Council of Nicaea
, see also First seven Ecumenical Councils
.
(c.100-c.165), Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130-c.200), Clement of Alexandria
(c.150-c.215), Tertullian
(c.160-c.225), Origen
(c.185-c.254), Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), Athanasius (c.296-c.373), Gregory of Nazianzus
(329-389), Basil of Caesarea
(c.330-379), Gregory of Nyssa
(c.330-c.395) Theodore of Mopsuestia
(c.350-428), Augustine of Hippo
(354-430), Pelagius
, Vincent of Lérins
(d. bef. 450), Cyril of Alexandria
(d.444), Nestorius
(died c.451).
; Apologetics
('defense' or 'explanation' of Christianity); and doctrinal discussions that sought to achieve consistency of faith, in particular within the Christianised Roman Empire
. Following the scholar of Christianity Alistair McGrath (1998), several major areas of theology can be seen to have developed during the Patristic Period: the extent of the New Testament Canon, the role of tradition, the fixing of the ecumenical creeds
, the Two Natures of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity
, the doctrine of the Church
, and the doctrine of Divine grace
.
, those who lived and wrote before the Council of Nicaea
(325
) and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
, those who lived and wrote after 325. In addition, the division of the fathers into Greek and Latin writers is also common. Some of the most prominent Greek Fathers are Justin Martyr
, John Chrysostom
, and Cyril of Alexandria
. Among the Latin Fathers are Tertullian
, Cyprian
, Jerome
, Ambrose
of Milan, Gregory the Great and Augustine of Hippo
.
, Constantinople
, Alexandria
, Antioch
, and the area of western north Africa around Carthage
. Milan
and Jerusalem
were also sites.
notes four reasons why, in the early 21st century, understanding Patristics can be difficult: (1) Some of the debates appear to have little relevance to the modern world; (2) The use of classical philosophy; (3) The doctrinal diversity; (4) The divisions between East and West
, i.e. Greek and Latin, methods of theology, for example the extent of use of classical philosophy.
, for instance, defines patrologia as the science which provides all that is necessary for the using of the works of the Fathers, dealing, therefore, with their authority, the criteria for judging their genuineness, the difficulties to be met within them, and the rules for their use. But Fessler's own Institutiones Patrologiae has a larger range, as have similar works entitled Patrologies, for example that of Otto Bardenhewer
(tr. Shahan, Freiburg, 1908). On the other hand, Fessler describes patristica as that theological science by which all that concerns faith, morals, or discipline in the writings of the Fathers is collected and sorted. The lives and works of the Fathers are also described by a non-specialized science: literary history. These distinctions are not much observed, nor do they seem very necessary; they are nothing else than aspects of patristic study as it forms part of fundamental theology, of positive theology, and of literary history.
argued that the Jews should be left alive and suffering as a perpetual reminder of their murder of Christ
. Saint John Chrysostom
used Jesus' words in Luke
19:27 to call for the murder of Jews in Chrysostoms Eight Homilies Against the Jews:
's two great patrologies, Patrologia Latina
and Patrologia Graeca
. For Syriac and other Eastern languages the Patrologia Orientalis
is less complete and can be largely supplemented by the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
. Noted collections containing re-edited patristic texts (also discoveries and new attributions) are the Corpus Christianorum
, Sources Chrétiennes
, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
, and on a lesser scale Oxford Early Christian Texts
and Fontes Christiani
(also Etudes Augustiniennes).
English translations of patristic texts are readily available in a variety of collections. For example:
A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church (Edinburgh: T&T Clark).
The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the Twenty-First Century (New York: New City Press). https://ssl25.mysecureserver.com/newcitypresscom/productslist.aspx?CategoryID=1&selection=3
The Fathers of the Church (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press) http://cuapress.cua.edu/BOOKS/Supplementary/FCINDEX.cfm#PS.
Ancient Christian Writers (New York: Paulist Press) http://www.paulistpress.com/bookSearch.cgi?quickSearchRSString=&page=series_christianwriters&skipRec=50&resultsPerPage=10&quickSearchRSField=.
The Early Church Fathers (London; New York: Routledge). http://www.routledgereligion.com/books/series/The_Early_Church_Fathers/2
The Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press) http://www.svspress.com/index.php?cPath=43_8_16
A range of journals cover patristic studies:
Journal of Early Christian Studies
Studia Patristica http://www.peeters-leuven.be/search_serie_book.asp?nr=51
Vigiliae Christianae
Church History http://www.churchhistory.org/churchhistory.html
Journal of Ecclesiastical Historyhttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ECH
Augustinian Studies https://secure.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/journal?openform&journal=pdc_augstudies
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
. The names derive from the Latin pater (father). The period is generally considered to run from the end of New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
times or end of the Apostolic Age
Apostolic Age
The Apostolic Age of the history of Christianity is traditionally the period of the Twelve Apostles, dating from the Crucifixion of Jesus and the Great Commission in Jerusalem until the death of John the Apostle in Anatolia...
(c. 100 CE) to either 451 CE (the date of the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
), or to the 8th century Second Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is regarded as the Seventh Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and various other Western Christian groups...
, see also First seven Ecumenical Councils
First seven Ecumenical Councils
In the history of Christianity, the first seven Ecumenical Councils, from the First Council of Nicaea to the Second Council of Nicaea , represent an attempt to reach an orthodox consensus and to establish a unified Christendom as the State church of the Roman Empire...
.
Key persons
Among the persons whose writings form the basis for Patristics, i.e. prominent early Church "fathers", are Justin MartyrJustin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
(c.100-c.165), Irenaeus of Lyons (c.130-c.200), Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
(c.150-c.215), Tertullian
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
(c.160-c.225), Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
(c.185-c.254), Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), Athanasius (c.296-c.373), Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age...
(329-389), Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great, was the bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor . He was an influential 4th century Christian theologian...
(c.330-379), Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa
St. Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity...
(c.330-c.395) Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore the Interpreter was bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate...
(c.350-428), Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
(354-430), Pelagius
Pelagius
Pelagius was an ascetic who denied the need for divine aid in performing good works. For him, the only grace necessary was the declaration of the law; humans were not wounded by Adam's sin and were perfectly able to fulfill the law apart from any divine aid...
, Vincent of Lérins
Vincent of Lérins
Saint Vincent of Lérins was a Gallic author of early Christian writings.In earlier life he had been engaged in secular pursuits, whether civil or military is not clear, though the term he uses, "secularis militia," might possibly imply the latter...
(d. bef. 450), Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...
(d.444), Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
(died c.451).
Key theological developments
Major focuses for these theologians during the period are in chronological order: Christianity's relationship with Judaism; the establishment of the New Testament CanonDevelopment of the New Testament canon
The Canon of the New Testament is the set of books Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible. For most, it is an agreed-upon list of twenty-seven books that includes the Canonical Gospels, Acts, letters of the Apostles, and Revelation...
; Apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
('defense' or 'explanation' of Christianity); and doctrinal discussions that sought to achieve consistency of faith, in particular within the Christianised Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Following the scholar of Christianity Alistair McGrath (1998), several major areas of theology can be seen to have developed during the Patristic Period: the extent of the New Testament Canon, the role of tradition, the fixing of the ecumenical creeds
Ecumenical creeds
Ecumenical creeds is an umbrella term used in the western church to refer to the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The ecumenical creeds are also known as the universal creeds. These creeds are accepted by almost all mainstream Christian denominations in the western...
, the Two Natures of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, the doctrine of the Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
, and the doctrine of Divine grace
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
.
Eras of the church fathers
The church fathers are generally divided into the Ante-Nicene FathersAnte-Nicene Fathers
The Ante-Nicene Fathers, subtitled "The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325", is a collection of books in 10 volumes containing English translations of the majority of Early Christian writings. The period covers the beginning of Christianity until before the promulgation of the Nicene Creed...
, those who lived and wrote before the Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
(325
325
Year 325 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Paulinus...
) and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, usually known as the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers , is a set of books containing translations of early Christian writings into English. It was published between 1886 and 1900...
, those who lived and wrote after 325. In addition, the division of the fathers into Greek and Latin writers is also common. Some of the most prominent Greek Fathers are Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
, and Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...
. Among the Latin Fathers are Tertullian
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
, Cyprian
Cyprian
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
, Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, Ambrose
Ambrose
Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
of Milan, Gregory the Great and Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
.
Locations
The major locations of the early Church fathers were RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, and the area of western north Africa around Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Jerusalem
Jerusalem in Christianity
For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
were also sites.
Obstacles to 21st century understanding
Scholar of Christianity Alister McGrathAlister McGrath
Alister Edgar McGrath is an Anglican priest, theologian, and Christian apologist, currently Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at Kings College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture...
notes four reasons why, in the early 21st century, understanding Patristics can be difficult: (1) Some of the debates appear to have little relevance to the modern world; (2) The use of classical philosophy; (3) The doctrinal diversity; (4) The divisions between East and West
East–West Schism
The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...
, i.e. Greek and Latin, methods of theology, for example the extent of use of classical philosophy.
Patrologia vs. patristica
Some scholars, chiefly in Germany, distinguish patrologia from patristica. Josef FesslerJosef Fessler
Josef Fessler was Roman Catholic Bishop of Sankt Pölten in Austria, a secretary of the First Vatican Council and an authority on patristics.-Biography and works:...
, for instance, defines patrologia as the science which provides all that is necessary for the using of the works of the Fathers, dealing, therefore, with their authority, the criteria for judging their genuineness, the difficulties to be met within them, and the rules for their use. But Fessler's own Institutiones Patrologiae has a larger range, as have similar works entitled Patrologies, for example that of Otto Bardenhewer
Otto Bardenhewer
Bertram Otto Bardenhewer was a German Catholic patrologist. His Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur is a standard work, re-issued in 2008...
(tr. Shahan, Freiburg, 1908). On the other hand, Fessler describes patristica as that theological science by which all that concerns faith, morals, or discipline in the writings of the Fathers is collected and sorted. The lives and works of the Fathers are also described by a non-specialized science: literary history. These distinctions are not much observed, nor do they seem very necessary; they are nothing else than aspects of patristic study as it forms part of fundamental theology, of positive theology, and of literary history.
Relations with Judaism
Patristic bishops of the patristic era such as AugustineAugustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
argued that the Jews should be left alive and suffering as a perpetual reminder of their murder of Christ
Deicide
Deicide is the killing of a god. The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from medieval Latin *deicidium, from de-us "god" and -cidium "cutting, killing")...
. Saint John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
used Jesus' words in Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
19:27 to call for the murder of Jews in Chrysostoms Eight Homilies Against the Jews:
The Jewish people were driven by their drunkenness and plumpness to the ultimate evil; they kicked about, they failed to accept the yoke of Christ, nor did they pull the plow of his teaching. Another prophet hinted at this when he said: “Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer.” … Although such beasts are unfit for work, they are fit for killing. And this is what happened to the Jews: while they were making themselves unfit for work, they grew fit for slaughter. This is why Christ said: “But as for these my enemies, who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and slay them.” [Luke 19:27]Steven Katz cites Chrysostom's homilies as “the decisive turn in the history of Christian anti-Judaism, a turn whose ultimate disfiguring consequence was enacted in the political antisemitism of Adolf Hitler”. James Parkes called the writing on Jews "the most horrible and violent denunciations of Judaism to be found in the writings of a Christian theologian". Chrysostom's sermons against Jews gave momentum to the idea that Jews are collectively responsible for the death of Jesus.
Availability of patristic texts
Most patristic texts are available in their original languages in Jacques Paul MigneJacques Paul Migne
Jacques Paul Migne was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal and studied...
's two great patrologies, Patrologia Latina
Patrologia Latina
The Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
and Patrologia Graeca
Patrologia Graeca
The Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the ancient Koine or medieval variants of the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J. P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique...
. For Syriac and other Eastern languages the Patrologia Orientalis
Patrologia Orientalis
The Patrologia Orientalis is an attempt to create a comprehensive collection of the writings by eastern Church Fathers in Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Coptic, Ge'ez, Georgian, and Slavonic. It is designed to complement the comprehensive, influential, and monumental Latin and Greek patrologies...
is less complete and can be largely supplemented by the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium
The Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium is an important multilingual collection of Eastern Christian texts with over 600 volumes published since its foundation in 1903 by Louvain Catholic University in Belgium and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C....
. Noted collections containing re-edited patristic texts (also discoveries and new attributions) are the Corpus Christianorum
Corpus Christianorum
The Corpus Christianorum is a major publishing undertaking of the Belgian publisher Brepols devoted to patristic and medieval Latin texts. The principal series are the Series Graeca , Series Latina , and the Continuatio Mediaevalis...
, Sources Chrétiennes
Sources chretiennes
Sources Chrétiennes is a bilingual collection of patristic texts founded in Lyon in 1942 by the Jesuits Jean Daniélou, Claude Mondésert, and Henri de Lubac....
, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
The Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum is a series of critical editions of the Latin Church Fathers published by a committee of the Austrian Academy of Sciences....
, and on a lesser scale Oxford Early Christian Texts
Oxford Early Christian Texts
Oxford Early Christian Texts is the name of a series of books published by Oxford University Press which contain texts from early Christian writers in both their original Latin and Greek and in translation.-List of books in the series:...
and Fontes Christiani
Fontes Christiani
Fontes Christiani is a widely-cited German bilingual collection of patristic and medieval Latin works with modern German translations. Published initially by Herder, a long-established German theological publisher beginning in 1988, it is now published by the Belgian company Brepols, a major...
(also Etudes Augustiniennes).
English translations of patristic texts are readily available in a variety of collections. For example:
A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church (Edinburgh: T&T Clark).
The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the Twenty-First Century (New York: New City Press). https://ssl25.mysecureserver.com/newcitypresscom/productslist.aspx?CategoryID=1&selection=3
The Fathers of the Church (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press) http://cuapress.cua.edu/BOOKS/Supplementary/FCINDEX.cfm#PS.
Ancient Christian Writers (New York: Paulist Press) http://www.paulistpress.com/bookSearch.cgi?quickSearchRSString=&page=series_christianwriters&skipRec=50&resultsPerPage=10&quickSearchRSField=.
The Early Church Fathers (London; New York: Routledge). http://www.routledgereligion.com/books/series/The_Early_Church_Fathers/2
The Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press) http://www.svspress.com/index.php?cPath=43_8_16
A range of journals cover patristic studies:
Journal of Early Christian Studies
Journal of Early Christian Studies
The Journal of Early Christian Studies is an academic journal founded in 1993 and is the official publication of the North American Patristics Society. It is devoted to the study of patristics, that is Christianity in the ancient period of roughly C.E. 100-700. The current editor is David Brakke of...
Studia Patristica http://www.peeters-leuven.be/search_serie_book.asp?nr=51
Vigiliae Christianae
Church History http://www.churchhistory.org/churchhistory.html
Journal of Ecclesiastical Historyhttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ECH
Augustinian Studies https://secure.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/journal?openform&journal=pdc_augstudies
Sources and external links
- Alin Suciu's blog on Patristic literature
- Catholic Encyclopedia- Patrology
- http://www.ccel.org/
- Free digital bilingual edition (french - greek or latin) of patristic texts, studies, meditations, prayers.
- Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers Collection A 38 volume set containing most of the major works of the first 800 years of Christian patristic writings.
- Early Church Texts A site with a growing number of original language patristic texts and translations, together with an extensive set of links to online resources about the Early Church.
- Corunum Large collection of patristic texts that outline the cardinal doctrines of the Catholic faith.
- Ecole Initiative Online collection of patristic texts, images, and information.
- Faulkner University Patristics Project A growing collection of English translations of patristic texts and high-resolution scans from the comprehensive Patrologia compiled by J. P. Migne.
- Patristics In English Project An online initiative whose aim is to scan and present all out of copyright patristic texts as well as providing new translations of previously untranslated patristic texts.
- St. Pachomius Library Large collection of various patristic texts and information dealing with Eastern Orthodoxy.
- The Tertullian Project A scholarly site devoted to the study of the 2nd century Latin patristic writer Tertullian. Also includes many out of copyright patristic texts.
- International Association of Patristics Studies
- L'Istituto Patristico Augustinianum di Roma
- North American Patristics Society
- "Way of the Fathers" Weblog
- Roger Pearse weblog - mainly patristic
- Migne Patrologia Latina and Graeca free digital edition of almost all the texts.
- Fourth Century Christianity -College website devoted to 4th-century Christianity
- Gérard Vallée, The shaping of Christianity