New Testament Background

The name "Apostolic Fathers" was first applied in 1672 to a group of five writers who were taken either to have been in touch directly with some of the original Twelve Apostles or, in the next generation, to reflect the teaching of their immediate successors: Clement of Rome (fourth in the list of Popes), Ignatius (second bishop of Antioch), Polycarp of Smyrna (recorded as a disciple of the evangelst John), "Barnabas" (reputedly St. Paul's co-worker), and a Hermas, associated, though wrongly, with Hermas of Romans 16.14. With the later addition of Papias of Hierapolis and the unknown writer of the Epistle to Diognetus, the number of the Apostolic Fathers rose to seven; a final addition to the group was the Didache, a brief, early manual on morals and Church practice. Anything but homogenous in origin, form, and purpose, and ranging widely in all of these respects, these writings are of prime importance for the understanding of the Church around the year 100 A.D. Unless it be the Apostles' Creed itself, nothing precedes them in the development of Patrology.

The Apostolic Fathers is an important collection of writings revered by early Christians but not included in the final canon of the New Testament. Here a leading expert on these texts offers an authoritative contemporary translation, in the tradition of the magisterial Lightfoot version but thoroughly up-to-date. The third edition features numerous changes, including carefully revised translations and a new, more user-friendly design. The introduction, notes, and bibliographies have been freshly revised as well.

I. The apostolic fathers. Justin Martyr. Irenæeus -- II. Fathers of the second century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria (Entire) -- III. Latin Christianity: its founder, Tertullian. I. Apologetic; II. Anti-Marcion; III. Ethical -- IV. Tertullian, pt. 4th. Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, pts. 1st and 2nd. -- V. Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix -- VI. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and minor writers, Methodius, Arnobius -- VII. Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic teaching and constitutions, 2 Clement, Early liturgies -- VIII. The twelve patriarchs, Excepts and epistles, The Clementina, Apocrypha, Decretals, Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac documents, Remains of the First Ages -- IX. The Gospel of Peter, The Diatessaron of Tatian, The Apocalypse of Peter, The Vision of Paul, The Apocalypses of the Virgin and Sedrach, The Testament of Abraham, The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, The Narrative of Zosimus, The Apology of Aristides, The Epistles of Clement (Complete Text), Origen's Commentary on John, books 1-10, and Commentary on Matthew, books 1, 2, and 10-14 -- X.I. Bibliographical synopsis, by E.C. Richardson, II. General index by Bernhard Pick, III. Annotated Index by William DiPuccio.

The long-awaited successor to Berthold Altaner's Patrologie handbook, the Dictionary of Early Christian Literature presents the life and work of Chrisitan authors up to the eighth century and an assessment of their lasting influence on the Christian tradition. The Dictionary offers complete and precise information as well as an updated bibliography in an easy-to-use alphabetical arrangement. Articles on authors provide a brief description of their lives, a presentation of their works, and an assessment of their invluence on the Christian tradition. Other articles deal with types of works and their particular characteristics. Despite the wealth of articles, movements and developments within the centuries can be easily grasped, providing valuable insight into the formation of the Christian tradition as we understand it today.

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 thevast 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 varioussub-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. Eachessay 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.