Research and Course Guides: Patristics / Patrology -- The Early Church Fathers & Their Writings: Getting Started

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INTRODUCTION

Patristic Literature comprises those works, excluding the New Testament, written by Christians before the 8th century A.D.

From: "Patristic Literature". (2010). Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

The Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church are central to the creation of Christian doctrine and the establishment of the Christian Church as a social entity in the first five centuries CE. This guide introduces you to resources one may use to study the writings and teachings of the Fathers of the Church and the Patristic Age that is generally considered to run from the end of the Apostolic Age (c. 100 CE) to either 451, the date of the Council of Chalcedon, or ending in the 8th century with the Second Council of Nicaea.

This guide includes major introductions and handbooks to the patristic literature, the monumental sets containing the texts of the Fathers in the original language, the major series of translations of the Fathers into English, as well as other resources, dictionaries and tools that illuminate the writings, doctrinal teachings, theological disputes, heresies and controversies of the first eight centuries of the Christian Church.

Top Thirty Fathers

Among the persons whose writings form the basis for Patristics, i.e. prominent early Church "fathers", are Justin Martyr (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), and Nestorius (died c.451).[from Alistair McGrath’s Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Chapter 1: “The Patristic Period."] But there are many more.

Below is a list of many of the best known Church Fathers. Look for their works in LibrarySearch.

Ambrose
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Bishop of Milan (374-397). One of the four doctors (with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great) of the western church, Ambrose came from a distinguished Christian background and was the son of the praetorian prefect of Gaul. After being educated at Rome, he began the practice of law ca. 365 at Sirmium and ca. 370 was appointed consularis (governor) of Aemilia and Liguria in northern Italy with headquarters in Milan. Four years later, when a riot threatened to break out among Catholics and Arians who were at odds over a successor to the deceased bishop Auxentius, Ambrose intervened to restore order and quickly found himself the unanimous choice for the episcopal see. Although only a catechumen at the time, he was baptized in short order and was consecrated bishop of Milan in early December, 373 or 374.
Athanasius
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Bishop of Alexandria (328-373) and most dynamic leader of Egyptian Christianity in the fourth century.

A chronicle of Athanasius's episcopal career, written soon after his death and put at the beginning of the collection of his Festal Letters , confesses that he was not yet the canonical age of thirty when elected a bishop of Alexandria in 328. A deacon under bishop Alexander (311-328), he acted as his secretary at the imperial Council of Nicaea (spring and summer 325), although his later autobiographical apologies never mention this trip. His predecessor had burdened him posthumously with the legacy of the Melitian schism and the Arian heresy, two causes of turmoil in the Alexandrian church for over three decades of his episcopacy.
Augustine of Hippo
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(354-430) Bishop of Hippo in the Roman province of Numidia in North Africa. Augustine was born of a Christian mother, Monica, and a non-Christian father, Patricius. In his Confessions, written ca. 401, Augustine tells us more about his early life and struggles than does any other figure from late antiquity. His father was not a wealthy man, but Augustine received a classical education thanks to the generous support of a local dignitary, Romanianus. In 385, he became a professor of rhetoric in Milan. Although he achieved unusual success for a provincial, and was moving up in the volatile world of the late fourth century, he was, he tells us, desperately unhappy. At the age of nineteen, he was powerfully attracted to philosophy by reading the Hortensius of Cicero (Conf. 3.4). In spite of his mother's strong urgings that he convert to Christianity, Augustine followed worldly ambition until he was over thirty (Conf. 6.6), when he began to listen to the preaching of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, whose sermons he found remarkable for their philosophical acumen and religious insight. By this time, Augustine had become disillusioned with the Manichaean teachings he had eagerly followed for about nine years. Clearly, although Augustine himself presents his conversion to Christian faith as a dramatic release from his need for sex and worldly success, a long series of events had prepared him to turn to Christ, whom, he says, he had "drunk in with my mother's milk" (Conf. 3.4).
Basil of Caesarea
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(330-379) Bishop, known as "the Great," one of the Cappadocian theologians.

Life. Basil was born into a Christian upper-class family. His father, also Basil, was a professor of rhetoric and had come from a well-off family in Pontus. His mother, Emmelia, however, provided the bulk of the wealth and status. There were nine children, five known by name: Macrina the Younger, Basil, Naucratius, Gregory of Nyssa, and Peter of Sebaste.
Clement of Alexandria
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(ca. 160-215)

Christian writer (Titus Flavius Clemens Alexandrinus) who sought connections between Christianity and Greek culture. Except for one autobiographical reference and veiled comments about his teachers, nothing definite is known of Clement's life. He described himself as a Christian questing for understanding about God, traveling the Mediterranean to study under teachers from Italy to Palestine, and settling finally with an unnamed master in Egypt (Str. 1.1.11). His teachers, he claimed, gained their interpretations of the scriptures and discourses from Jesus' apostles. Their instruction included secret as well as public doctrines. The esoteric traditions were about heavenly beings and relationships as well as the eternal life prepared for all God's children.
Clement of Rome
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Bishop of Rome (ca. a.d. 88-ca. 97) and traditional author of two works included in the writings of the apostolic fathers. Clement was reputed to be the bishop of Rome following Linus and Anacletus (Irenaeus, Haer. 3.3.1; Eusebius, H.E. 3.15.34). According to a rival tradition, Peter ordained Clement (Tertullian, Praescr. 32; cf. Epiphanius, Haer. 27.6). It was believed that Clement's home in Rome eventually became the titled (titulus) church called S. Clemente.
The letter called 1 Clement was sent "by the church of God dwelling as a pilgrim in Rome to the church of God dwelling as a pilgrim in Corinth" (pref.). It was carried by three older messengers (63.3) who would report the effect of the letter upon their return to Rome (65.1). The letter addressed factionalism in the church at Corinth. Some younger members had managed to depose some of the older leaders (44). The author of 1 Clement argues that the church has no right to terminate the ministry of elders, or their successors, appointed by the apostles.
Cyprian of Carthage
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ca. 200-258) Bishop of Carthage (ca. 248-258). Although his Epistles allow a rare insight into the career of Cyprian during most of his episcopacy, they have little to say about the course of his life prior to the persecution of Decius. Pontius, who may have been his deacon, wrote the narrative of his martyrdom with a short Life preceding it but provided few data from which to sketch an outline of his early life. A short account of his martyrdom is found in the brief Acta proconsularia Cypriani.
It is probable that Cyprian was born in Carthage into a family of some social standing and wealth. He became a distinguished rhetorician, widely known in the city, and acquired friends with political power. He was converted (ca. 245-246) under the influence of the aging Carthaginian presbyter Caecilius. With his conversion, he resolved on a life of celibacy, and, selling his considerable estate, he gave the proceeds (or most of the proceeds) to the needy. He was soon made a presbyter, and probably within a year—sometime between May 248 and May 249—he was elected bishop of Carthage, with the strong approbation of the Christian people but with opposition from at least five presbyters, who apparently envied his rapid rise to ecclesiastical power.
Cyril of Alexandria
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ca. 375-444) The main architect of patristic Christology and bishop (412-444). Cyril was born in the small town of Theodosiou, about seventy miles east of Alexandria, of orthodox Christian parents. Little is known of his upbringing except that his writings show a solid foundation in biblical studies and standard theologians, particularly Athanasius. His mother's brother was Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, trenchant critic of Origen, vigorous opponent of paganism, and tireless champion of his church's rights. Probably, Theophilus prepared Cyril for a church career, perhaps as his successor. He certainly took Cyril to attend him at the Synod of the Oak (403), where he secured the condemnation of John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople. Cyril succeeded Theophilus as bishop of Alexandria in 412 after a bloody and contested election. Violence marred the first years of his episcopate in a city prone to riots and lynchings. Quarrels among pagans, Jews, and Christians, and between Cyril and the governor, Orestes, culminated in the horrifying murder by a Christian mob of the distinguished pagan philosopher Hypatia (415), which "brought disgrace not only on Cyril but on the whole Alexandrian church" (Socrates, H.E. 7.15; cf. 7.13f., 16). That Cyril was responsible for the violence is a myth enshrined in Charles Kingsley's novel Hypatia and since perpetuated; that he was not, for some years, master of his own house is a fair deduction; and the government at the time did not condemn him personally.
Dionysius the Areopagite
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Pseudo-(fl. 500) Writer probably of Syrian origin who studied at Athens and whose attempt to synthesize Christian theology and Neoplatonist philosophy greatly influenced medieval Christian mysticism and theology. Acts 17:34 indicates that a member of the Court of Areopagus in Athens named Dionysius was converted by Paul. Eusebius (H.E. 4.23) cites Dionysius of Corinth as saying that this Dionysius became the bishop of Athens. Still later, he was confused with Dionysius of Paris (St. Denys).
A fifth- or sixth-century writer in Greek deliberately attributed his writings to the Areopagite in order to secure for them ancient and apostolic authority. In this, he was enormously successful, influencing such theologians, mystics, and poets in both east and west as Maximus Confessor, Gregory the Great, Andrew of Crete, John Scotus Erigena, Hugh of St.-Victor, Bonaventure, Albert the Great, the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, Dante, Meister Eckhart, John Tauler, and John Milton. Although occasional doubts were raised during the Middle Ages, it was not until the Renaissance that the authenticity of the writings was seriously questioned by both Protestant and Catholic scholars, and not until the nineteenth century was the issue finally settled.
Ephraem the Syrian
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(ca. 306-373) Syrian hymnist (known as "Harp of the Spirit"), exegete, teacher, deacon, of Nisibis and Edessa. Born to Christian parents (C.H. 26.10), in or near Nisibis (Sozomen, H.E. 3.16), but baptized as a youth (C.H. 3.13; Virg. 37.10.1-4), Ephraem composed hymns, homilies, and commentaries and taught under the auspices of the orthodox bishops Jacob, Babu, Vologeses, and Abraham (C. Nis. 13-21). When Rome ceded Nisibis to Persia in 363, Ephraem went to Edessa, where he established a school of biblical and theological studies (PO [1907], Vol. 4, p. 377) and women's choirs to sing his hymns (AMS , Vol. 3, pp. 665-678). Ordained to the diaconate, he died ministering to victims of the plague on June 9, 373 (C.H. 56.10).
Eusebius of Caesarea
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ca. 260-ca. 339) Bishop of Caesarea and the first major historian of the church. Eusebius was also a biblical exegete, an apologist for Christianity against paganism, an activist in the Arian controversy, and an early interpreter of the duties of a Christian emperor. Although not an eloquent writer or original thinker, he preserved precious documents and valuable reflections on Christian life and thought in a transitional period.
In Caesarea, the young Eusebius studied with Pamphilus, a noted Christian teacher with a remarkable theological library and an admiration for Origen. Eusebius devoted himself to scholarship and to Pamphilus, even taking the name of his teacher, Eusebius Pamphili ("the son of Pamphilus"); together they wrote A Defense of Origen. Among his early works were Against Hierocles, a short apology defending the miracles of Jesus; the Onomasticon, a study of biblical place-names and geography; and the Chronicle, a chronology of biblical and historical events. These writings reflect Eusebius's lifelong interest in proving the truth of Christianity by showing the fulfillment of prophecy and scripture in historical events. He later commented that "works are plainer than words" (P.E. 1.3), and his many writings reveal his attention to the literal or historical interpretation of scripture rather than to allegorical exegesis or theological reflection, in spite of his admiration for Origen.
Gregory of Nazianzus
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ca. 329-390) Bishop of Constantinople (379-381). Gregory's title, "The Theologian," which appears as early as the Council of Chalcedon (451), is shared only with the apostle John. Along with John Chrysostom and Basil of Caesarea, he is considered by Eastern Orthodox as one of the hierarchs of the faith. Although he wrote in Greek and did not become as famous as John Chrysostom in the west, 1,200-1,500 manuscripts of his works survive.
Gregory of Nyssa
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331/40-ca. 395) Bishop, the youngest of the "three great Cappadocians." Gregory was born into an influential and deeply Christian family. His year of birth is uncertain, but he was at least a few years younger than his brother Basil, the later bishop of Caesarea. His education seems to have been influenced especially by his oldest sibling, Macrina ("the younger"), and later in both rhetoric and theology by Basil. Unlike Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, he did not study at the great centers of higher learning, but on his own he absorbed, remarkably well, the rhetorical and philosophical culture of his time, including much of what we would call "natural sciences." Starting early in ecclesiastical service, he gave up his lectorate in the church to become a rhetor (Gregory of Nazianzus, Ep. 11). He was certainly married, and did not join Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus in their monastic retirement. He did return, however, into the full service of the church and was ordained by Basil in 372 to the modest bishopric of Nyssa in Cappadocia. As an administrator, he was a disappointment to Basil (Ep. 58; 60; 100); because of accusations of mismanagement raised by the Arians, he was deposed in 376 but returned to his bishopric only two years later.
Gregory the Great
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(ca. 540-604) Bishop of Rome (590-604), civil official, monk, and writer. Little is known about the life of Gregory; almost all the information we have comes from the letter prefaced to his Magna moralia in Job and from remarks scattered in other letters and works. No contemporary Lives exist, and authors of medieval Lives (with the exception of the anonymous monk of Whitby, who may have known oral traditions going back to persons who had known Gregory) depended upon the same sources available to modern historians.
Hilary of Poitiers
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(ca. 315-ca. 367)

Bishop and church father. Hilary was born and died in Poitiers, France. Through his distinguished pagan family, he received a philosophical and classical education. He married and had a duaghter, Abra. After being converted to Christianity by reading the Bible, he was baptized as an adult (Trin. 6.21). His exemplary Catholic life caused him to be elected bishop of Poitiers in 353. His new responsibility for educating people in their faith probably led to his writing of the On the Trinity. There is some evidence that at least three of the twelve books in this masterpiece were written before he was exiled in 356 to Phrygia by the emperor Constantius II, who championed the Arians against Athanasius. Most bishops at the councils of Arles and Milan in 355 obeyed the emperor's command to repudiate Athanasius's doctrine of the Son's equality with the Father. Not present was Hilary, who was later summoned to Béziers (356), where he refused to condemn Athanasius and was banished from the west.
Ignatius of Antioch
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(beginning of second century)

Bishop and one of the apostolic fathers. Nothing is known of Ignatius prior to his assuming the office of bishop, nor is anything known of the office itself prior to Ignatius. Toward the end of the reign of Trajan (98-117), Ignatius was arrested and, like Paul (Acts 25:11), taken to Rome for judgment. Ignatius expected to be killed in the arena by wild beasts. En route to Rome, Ignatius wrote seven letters. From Smyrna, he wrote letters to the churches at Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome. Later, at Troas, he wrote to the churches at Philadelphia and Smyrna, with an additional letter to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna.
Irenaeus of Lyon
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(ca. 115-ca. 202)

Bishop of Lyons and church father. Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, where he knew bishop Polycarp and from him learned of the Johannie tradition. He studied and taught at Rome before going to Lyons. As a presbyter, he went on a mission to bishop Eleutherus of Rome to urge toleration with regard to adherents of Montanism in Asia Minor. On his return to Lyons, he was made bishop.
Among Irenaeus's writings the most important is Against Heresies, or Adversus haereses, an analytical refutation of Gnosticism. Book 1 refutes Gnostic arguments by reason; Book 2 sets forth the traits of false Gnosis and the history of Gnosticism; Book 3 refutes Gnosticism from the teaching and tradition of the apostles; Book 4 refutes it from the sayings of Jesus; Book 5 treats of the things to come, with remarks on millenarianism. The sources Irenaeus used to discuss Gnostic teaching have been validated by the discovery in 1946 of ancient Gnostic texts in Coptic near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt.
Jerome
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(ca. 347-419/20) Scripture scholar, translator, polemicist, and ascetic. Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus) was born in the remote town of Stridon somewhere on the border of Dalmatia. His younger brother, Paulinian, together with a younger sister, would follow his example in taking up the ascetic life. From ca. 360 to 366, he studied at Rome, where one of his teachers was Aelius Donatus, a renowned grammarian and commentator on Terence and Virgil. It was at Rome, in 366, that he received baptism. After a stay in Trier, he spent some time in Aquileia; there, with several friends, among them Rufinus of Aquileia, he devoted himself to asceticism.
Setting out for the east ca. 372, he stayed first at Antioch, where he continued his study of Greek. He lived for several years (ca. 375-377) as a hermit in the desert region of Chalcis in Syria, where he began his study of Hebrew. Again at Antioch, he was ordained a priest by Paulinus, one of the contenders for the bishopric of that city during the schism that arose over the theology of Melitius of Antioch. Jerome is not, however, known to have functioned as a priest. While in the city, he attended the lectures of Apollinaris of Laodicea.
Cassian, John
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(ca. 365-ca. 433)

Monk and spiritual writer. According to Gennadius (Vir. ill. 62), Cassian was born in Scythia, present-day Romania. With his friend Germanus, he spent ten years in a monastery in Bethlehem and made extensive visits to monasteries in Egypt. Cassian went to Constantinople, where he was influenced by John Chrysostom, and ca. 405 went to Rome, where he became a friend of Leo, the future pope. By 415, he had settled in Marseilles and founded a monastery for men and one for women. He remained there until his death.
In Gaul, Cassian produced The Institutes and The Conferences, both influential contributions to the principles of monasticism and, indeed, to basic Christian spirituality. A third book, On the Incarnation, is an awkward defense of the unity of Christ against Nestorius, written at the request of Leo.
John Chrysostom
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(ca. 347-407)

Bishop of Constantinople (from 398) and the greatest preacher in the early church, hence the name Chrysostomos ("golden-mouthed"). John lived during the golden age of early Christian literature; like others who were part of the blossoming of Christian cultural and spiritual life in this period—Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus—he was thoroughly educated in the rhetorical and literary traditions of Greek culture, while surpassing all his contemporaries in the purity and elegance of his style. Widely admired by modern classical scholars, his prose has been described as "the harmonious expression of an Attic soul." John put his literary and rhetorical gifts at the service of Christ, and most of his writings are sermons based on the books of the Bible, homilies on festivals and saints' days, and treatises on the Christian life. He also wrote the first Christian treatise on the office of the ministry, On the Priesthood. In the Middle Ages, he was the most beloved among all the early Christian writers from the east, as hundreds of manuscripts of his writ- ings testify. Less than a decade after his death, the first biography appeared, written by Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis; several generations later, the epithet Chrysostom had begun to replace his given name.
John of Damascus
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(ca. 650 [or 6757]- ca. 749) Byzantine monk and theologian. Born in Damascus of the prosperous Mansur family, John was well educated in both Greek and Arabic. Following his grandfather and father in ministerial posts, Yanah ibn Mansur ibn Sargun, as he was called, resigned his position at the caliph's court to enter the monastery of Mar Saba (St. Saba) near Jerusalem and was ordained a priest.
Little is known of his life, as the traditional biography dates only from the eleventh century. In 726, the emperor Leo the Isaurian issued his first edict against images. Theophanes the Chronicle relates that John was a forceful resister of this policy. In his Apostolic Discourses, John produced a theologically reasoned defense of the veneration of holy images that earned him the bitter enmity of the emperors and the anathema of the Iconoclast council of 754. Out of the reach of the emperors in Muslim territory, John could continue to write and preach at his monastery and also in the churches of Jerusalem. Of the thirteen homilies attributed to him, only nine are certainly genuine, but they are an eloquent testimony to his abilities as preacher and theologian. The four homilies on the Virgin Mary offer devout evidence of a developed Mariology. Surnamed Chrysorrhoas ("golden-flowing"), John was also adept at Greek liturgical poetry and shared in the composition of the Byzantine liturgical office.
Justin Martyr
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(d. ca. 165) Apologist and martyr. As an exegete, teacher, and prolific author writing in Greek, Justin Martyr is one of the most important witnesses of the life, faith, and worship of second-century Christianity. He contended with great zeal on various fronts, against the Roman state, pagan philosophy, Judaism, and heretical Christianity. He proved to be one of the preeminent interpreters of the Christian faith between the apostle Paul and Origen, integrating the insights of his Christian predecessors and laying new foundations for future thinkers, such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and the Alexandrians. The magnitude of Justin's originality and achievement has not always sufficiently been recognized by scholars, but in recent years students of Justin have come to see him as "one of the most original thinkers Christianity produced" (Osborn, p. 201).
Lactantius
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(ca. 250-ca. 325) Christian Latin apologist. Born in North Africa, Lactantius was a student of Arnobius the Elder there when both were still pagans. Appointed by Diocletian as teacher of Latin rhetoric in Nicomedia, he lost his post in the persecution of Christians under that emperor (303); the exact date of his conversion is uncertain. He left Nicomedia (ca. 305-306) and eventually was made tutor to Crispus, eldest son of Constantine, at the imperial court at Trier in Gaul (ca. 317)
Leo the Great
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(d. 461) Bishop of Rome (440-461). Little is known of Leo's life before his election to the bishopric of Rome. He was quite possibly of Tuscan origin. As an influential deacon of the Roman church, he assisted both of his predecessors in their administration of the Roman church and was in Gaul on a diplomatic mission for the imperial court when elected bishop.
Leo lived during times that were difficult politically, socially, and theologically. He vigorously advocated the primacy of the Roman bishop, opposed heresy in the west and the east, sought to protect Rome from military invasion, and preached eloquently to the populace. When the Huns under Attila invaded Italy, Leo met Attila near Mantua and persuaded him to withdraw. In 455, Leo confronted the Vandal leader Gaiseric outside the city of Rome and managed to lessen the level of violence against the city and the people. Leo foreshadowed the increased role that later bishops would play in the life of Rome.
Origen
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(ca. 185-ca. 251)

One of the most learned teachers and prolific authors of the early church. After the hagiographical elements are weeded out from Eusebius's Church History 6, a reasonably reliable biographical sketch of Origen emerges. He was born in Alexandria of devout Christian parents. His father, Leonides, was martyred ca. 201. Precocious in virtue and learning, Origen was from his early twenties entrusted with the catechetical instruction of converts while also dedicating himself to the study of philosophy under Ammonius Saccas and the other, mostly eclectic Neoplatonist, thinkers of Alexandria. He was also acquainted by travel with churches across the empire: Rome (where he apparently came into contact with Hippolytus), Athens, Caesarea, parts of Asia Minor, and "Arabia." To non-Christians, he was known as a great Christian savant. Among Christians, his reception was mixed: assailed by some—especially his own bishop in Alexandria, who eventually forced his departure from that city—for his spiritualizing biblical interpretation, and hailed by others—especially the bishops of Jerusalem and Caesarea, where he spent his last eighteen and most productive years—as a great Christian teacher and arbiter of orthodoxy. He died sometime after June 251 after suffering imprisonment and torture in the Decian persecution.
Pelagius
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Ascetic (ca. 350-ca. 425), founder of movement emphasizing free will and good works.
Life and Works. Pelagius is thought to have been British by birth and appears to have belonged to a family that could educate him well. By 390, he is known to have been in Rome, the leader of one of the many reformminded, ascetical groups of the late fourth century. Celestius and Rufinus the Syrian were among his better-known followers, and it was this group's understanding of the freedom of human actions, for good or bad, in relation to the help given the human person by God, that led to the controversy with Augustine that left an enduring mark on western thought. The measure of Pelagius and Pelagianism has traditionally been Augustinianism. Yet Pelagius was nearing the end of his life when the quarrel with Augustine broke out, and his most important writing was done in other contexts. Moreover, the term "Pelagianism" gives the wrong impression. It was not a matter of a few disciples echoing their master's thought, but of a widespread, multifaceted movement with its own internal differences.
Tertullian
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(fl. 200)

North African Christian writer and apologist. The traditional account of Tertullian's life has relied heavily upon Jerome (Vir. ill. 53) and Eusebius of Caesarea (H.E. 2.2): born in Africa ca. 160, the son of a centurion, he became a jurisconsult at Rome, then was converted in middle age, was made a presbyter of the church, but finally lapsed into Montanism and died at a very great age. However, neither Eusebius nor Jerome is in this matter a dependable witness, and what can be known with certainty about Tertuallian's life must be gathered from his own writings; unfortunately, their highly rhetorical character often makes inference insecure. We cannot determine the date of his birth or death, and we are able to date confidently only some of his writings between the years 196/7 and 212. His apparently extensive education suggests that he came from a family of some means and perhaps social standing: one of his relatives was a man of letters (Praesc. 39.4). He wrote in both Latin and Greek and was highly skilled in rhetoric, and his writings reveal a wide if not always deep knowledge of literature, philosophy, and medicine. In general, his intellectual formation appears to reflect the modalities of the Second Sophistic (a rhetorical movement dominant from the second century to the fourth). From two treatises To His Wife, it is natural to infer that he was married, although it is possible that the addressee is a rhetorical fiction. That he was a convert from paganism is suggested by his use of the first person plural in several passages: "the kind of persons we ourselves once were—blind, without the light of the Lord" (Paenit. 1.1; cf. Fug. 6.2; Apol. 18.4). From a similar comment (Cult. fem. 1.7.2), it is usually assumed that Tertullian spent some time in Rome, but allusions in his writings leave no doubt that he pursued his career as a Christian literary artist in Carthage. Scholarly opinion is sharply divided on the question of his relations with the Jews, but it is not altogether untenable that he had an intimate knowledge of them and was influenced by Judaism. His later writings reveal a growing commitment, beginning possibly ca. 205, to Montanism, but neither the form of Montanism he espoused nor the manner in which he espoused it can be clearly determined. It is quite possible that Tertullian never formally separated from the church of Carthage.
Theodore of Mopsuestia
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(ca. 350-428)

Bishop and theologian. Like John Chrysostom, Theodore was a pupil of the pagan rhetor Libanius and of Diodore of Tarsus. It seems likely that he was the Theodore whom Chrysostom urged to return to monasticism from a worldly career and a projected marriage. Little else is known of Theodore's life save that he was bishop of Mopsuestia in Asia Minor from 392 until his death in 428. Like Diodore, Theodore was a vigorous supporter of the new Nicene orthodoxy of the Council of Constantinople (381) and was a foe of both the Arians and the Apollinarians. Also like Diodore, he was regarded by Cyril of Alexandria as a Nestorian before Nestorius. Theodore was condemned by the Second Council of Constantinople, in 553, when Justinian sought to appease the Monophysites by condemning Nestorianizing views.
Theodore's theological views are known to us largely through fragments of his dogmatic writings in Greek, a Syriac translation of his Controversy with the Macedonians, and his catechetical homilies, discovered in Syriac translation in 1932.

Beginning Overviews

Beginning to Read the Fathers / Boniface Ramsey.
ISBN: 0809126915
Beginning to Read the Fathers is an introduction to the Church's earliest writers, preachers and theologians. It presupposes no more knowledge on the part of the reader than that the Fathers existed and that their ideas might be important and perhaps even interesting. The book does not restrict itself to such topics as Christology and ecclesiology but includes other areas, like martyrdom and prayer, which were highly important in shaping the mind and heart of the early Church.
How to Read the Church Fathers by Adalbert-G. Hamman
Very readable introduction to the history and writings of the early Church.
The Fathers of the Church : an Introduction to the First Christian Teachers by Mike Aquilina
ISBN: 159276245X
A good beginner's book containing essential quotes from the Early Church Father's on the essential teachings of the Church.
The Cappadocians / Anthony Meredith.
ISBN: 0881411124
On the Cappadocian Fathers: St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, ca. 329-379; St. Gregory, of Nazianzus, (ca. 329-390; and St. Gregory, of Nyssa, (ca. 335-394).The Cappadocian Fathers advanced the development of early Christian theology, for example the doctrine of the Trinity, and are highly respected as saints in both Western and Eastern churches.
The Fathers of the church : from Clement of Rome to Augustine of Hippo / Pope Benedict XVI
The Shaping of Christianity : the History and Literature of its Formative Centuries (100-800) / Gerard Vallee.
ISBN: 0809138670
Examines the cultural and religious legacies of Greek society and Judaism, the establishment of Christianity, the growing split between East and West, and the theological controversies and the literature accompanying such debates dealing with the nature of Christ, the procession of the Spirit, and the role of Mary.
How to Read Church History: From the Beginnings to the Fifteenth Century,
ISBN: 0824507223
Set in the broader context of the political, social, and economic developments in the wider world. Direct quotations from primary sources accompany the narrative, along with charts, maps, and photos.

Advanced Overviews

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies by Susan Ashbrook Harvey (Editor); David G. Hunter (Editor)
ISBN: 9780199596522
Publication Date: 2010-12-09
The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades. As a one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100-600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in Western and Eastern late antiquity. It is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The essays orientate readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30-50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each essay points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well as to the appropriate research tools available for the area. This volume will be useful to advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as to specialists in any area who wish to consult a brief review of the 'state of the question' in a particular area or sub-specialty of early Christian studies, especially one different from their own.

Patrology; vols. 1-3
ISBN: 0870611275
See also "Finding the Fathers' Writings: Quasten" tab above (just before this page).
The Fathers of the Church : A Comprehensive Introduction by Hubertus R. Drobner
ISBN: 1565633318
The Apostolic Fathers in English / translated and edited by Michael W. Holmes ;
ISBN: 0801031087
A collection of writings revered by early Christians but not included in the final canon of the New Testament.

Librarian

Kathryn Burke

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Introduction

The Church Fathers are generally divided into the Ante-Nicene Fathers, those who lived and wrote before the Council of Nicaea (325 CE) and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, those who lived and wrote after 325 CE. 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.

Chronology of Church History

Chronology of the Ancient World, 10,000 B.C. to A.D. 799 / by H.E.L. Mellersh.
ISBN: 013326422X
This is the most comprehensive chronology for the time period covered. Left-hand pages list political events; right-hand pages cover religious, intellectual and artistic developments.

Second Temple Judaism ________________ 6th c. B.C.E. up to the year 70 C.E.
Intertestamental Period; Hellenism; Messianic expectations heightened

Emerging Christian Community _____________________1st c. (Focus: 49 to 90)
Jesus, Disciples, Apostles, and Mission

Early Christianity ______________________________ 2nd , 3rd c. (100s & 200s)
Ante-Nicene Patristics, Martyrs, Apologists, heresies.

The Imperial Church_____________________________4th c. (Focus: 312 to c388)
Constantine, Council of Nicea, Post-Nicene Patristics

Medieval Church & Dark Ages _______________ 5th to 10th c. (400s through 900s)
Fall of Western Roman Empire, Barbarian Kingdoms Convert; The Primacy of Rome’s Bishops (Papacy), Eastern-Byzantine Christianity.

DVDs

The early church fathers. Volume 1 [videorecording] / Marcellino D'Ambrosio.
The History of Orthodox Christianity DVD Set
Part 1: Ecumenical councils and the Nicene Creed; Iconoclasm; Monasticism; and the great Schism. Part 2: Byzantium; Hellenism; the catacombs, persecution, and the early martyrs.
Byzantium: the lost empire /The Learning Channel by DVD Set

Off Campus Access

ACCESSING ONLINE RESOURCES from OFF-CAMPUS

Online databases and electronic journals subscribed to by the UST Libraries are licensed for use by the St. Thomas community ONLY. Because of this restriction, we need to verify that anyone accessing these databases is a current member of the St. Thomas community.

Off Campus Access

Patristics / Patrology -- The Early Church Fathers & Their Writings: Getting Started

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