A Research Guide for Patristics

Bob Jones University, J. S. Mack Library Last updated 5 June 2008

A Research Guide for

Patristics

A research guide is an introduction to researching a topic. It lists the best introductory sources to help you start your research, but it is not a comprehensive bibliography of the topic. Reference works include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and almanacs; they are available in the reference section. Books in circulation are in the library stacks, and they may be checked out. Call numbers are places to check in the library for further research. Subject headings are suggested terms to use when searching the library catalog. Periodicals are published regularly, and they are usually indexed. Electronic resources are subscription databases available from the library’s website. Websites are recommended sources available free online. Other resources are places in the Mack Library that you can check for further research. Please ask a reference librarian for further help.

Scope

Patristics is the study of the church fathers, the earliest Christian writers from the contemporaries of the apostles to the seventh or eighth century. Patristics is both a historical study of what the fathers did and a theological study of what they thought and believed.

The sources below are the collected editions of the church fathers available in the Mack Library. (Other editions of specific works are also available.) The first four are print collection of the fathers in English. The last two are microfiche collections of the fathers in Greek and Latin (see also 281.1 C817 and REF 281.4 P276 for select print volumes).

REF 281.1 F268 Halton, Thomas P., et al., eds. The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation. 110 vols. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1946–2005.

REF 281.1 An 86 Roberts, Alexander, and James Donaldson. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. 10 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1977.

REF 281.4 Se48 ser. 1 Schaff, Philip. A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 1st series. 14 vols. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1956.

REF 281.4 Se48 ser. 2 Schaff, Philip, and Henry Wace. A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. 2nd series. 14 vols. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1952.

M-Fi 281.1 M588 R Migne, Jacques Paul. Patrologia. Series Graeca. 166 vols. Paris, 1857–66.

M-Fi 281.1 M588L R Migne, Jacques Paul. Patrologia. Series Latina. 221 vols. Paris, 1844–65.

The following lists of sources includes general reference works as well as general histories of the patristic era. This pathfinder includes only works in English, though most works on patristics have been written in other languages.

To find works by or about individual church fathers, first search in the general reference sources. They will give you an overview and provide you with a bibliography of other sources. You can then use the library catalog to find those other sources, or to use the church father’s name in a keyword search.

Reference Works

REF 270.103 En193 Di Berardino, Angelo, ed. Encyclopedia of the Early Church. Translated by Adrian Walford. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

An encyclopedia of “archeological, philosophical, linguistic, theological, historical, and geographical” matters related to the early church. It covers from the life of Jesus to roughly the eighth century. This encyclopedia contains articles about more minor figures than the Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, and it is particularly strong on philosophy. Each article includes a bibliography. The

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second volume contains a detailed chronology (887–918), maps (919–48), and illustrations (949–1094).

REF 270.103 En19 1997 Ferguson, Everett, ed. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: Garland Publishing, 1997.

An encyclopedia of people, places, movements, patristic scholars, and the liturgy, theology, and practices of the church fathers. It covers from the life of Jesus to roughly the seventh century. Each article includes a bibliography. The first volume has a chronology (xxv-xxvii).

REF 270.103 L5912 Döpp, Siegmar, and Wilhelm Geerlings, eds. Dictionary of Early Christian Literature. Translated by Matthew O’Connell. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000.

A dictionary of the church fathers and their writings. Longer articles are broken into sections on life, works, and thought. The articles contain lengthy bibliographies for each section. Also included are entries on literary genres (e.g., apophthegm, dialogue, hymn). Though not as detailed as some of the encyclopedias, this dictionary is chiefly valuable as a source of references.

REF 270.1 D5609 Bercot, David W., ed. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998.

This work compiles brief quotations from the earliest church fathers on many topics (e.g., baptism, eschatology, ordination, salvation, trinity). The source of each quotation is identified. Bercot includes only those works contained in Hendrickson Publishers’ ten volume set of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, so important fathers such as Augustine, John Chrysostom, Athanasius, Jerome, and Ambrose are not considered. Nor does he include any of the works in ANF that are not considered orthodox. Nevertheless, the work is valuable for quick overviews of the church fathers’ beliefs on any given topic.

REF 949.503 Ox2 Kazhdan, Alexander P., et al., eds. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 3 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

This valuable encyclopedia contains information about the Eastern, Greek-speaking church, redressing the imbalance of scholarship weighted towards the Western church.

REF 487.3 L196 Lampe, G. W. H., ed. A Patristic Greek Lexicon. 5 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961.

This lexicon treats “all words of special theological or ecclesiastical significance” and lists every word that is contained in the fathers but that is not adequately treated in Liddel, Scott, and Jones’s lexicon. It does not contain biblical words, except as they are used by the fathers. For basic reading of the Greek fathers one should use BDAG or LSJ, but this lexicon will explain words’ theological meanings.

REF 203 Sm 68 Smith, William, and Henry Wace, eds. A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects, and Doctrines. 4 vols. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1877.

Though dated, this work is the most comprehensive both in terms of the topics that it covers and the detail in which it treats them. The work covers topics from the apostles to Charlemagne.



REF 016.2301 R567 Robinson, Thomas A., et al. The Early Church: An Annotated Bibliography of Literature in English. ATLA Bibliography Series, no. 33. Metuchen, NJ: The American Theological Library Association and the Scarecrow Press, 1993.

A highly valuable bibliography of the early church. Sources are arranged by topic and are identified as being introductory works, summaries, or sourcebooks, among other categories. Each source receives a detailed annotation, often with citations to book reviews.

REF 270 C1443 The Cambridge History of Christianity. Vol. 1, Origins to Constantine. Edited by Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

The Cambridge History of Christianity. Vol. 2, Constantine to c. 600. Edited by Augustine Casiday and Frederick W. Norris. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

These two volumes, which contain a set of essays organized chronologically and topically, provide an overview of the cultural, political, social, intellectual, and aesthetic backgrounds of the history of the early church. The series does not deal primarily with Western Christianity, as so many books do, but includes Eastern, Coptic, and African Christianity.

REF 270.03 Ox2 1997 Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone, eds. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

A basic source for short articles on biography and theology.

Books in Circulation

270.1 D834 Drobner, Hubertus R. The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction. Translated by Siegfried S. Schatzmann. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007.

Perhaps the best textbook of patristics.

281.1 Q28 Quasten, Johannes. Patrology. 3 vols. Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1950.

A textbook of patristics, lengthier than Drobner’s.

281.1 AL79 Altaner, Berthold. Patrology. Translated by Hilda C. Graef. New York: Herder and Herder, 1960.

An introductory textbook that gives brief lives of the fathers and lists their works.

922 F423 Farrar, Frederic William. Lives of the Fathers: Sketches of Church History in Biography. 2 vols. London: A. & C. Black, 1907.

The standard work for biographies of the fathers.

230.09 K297 2003 Kelley, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. Rev. ed. Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2003.

An introduction to the theology of the church fathers, organized topically and chronologically.

230.11 M1791 McGuckin, John Anthony. The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Articles on patristic theology, arranged alphabetically like an encyclopedia.



230.09 P363c Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Vol. 1, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100–600). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971.

A historical theology of the patristic era.

270.1 L7129 Litfin, Bryan M. Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2007.

Litfin introduces the church fathers to evangelicals by describing their lives and then giving selections from their key works. The work is intended to popularize the fathers.

270 J349 Baus, Karl. From the Apostolic Community to Constantine. Vol. 1 of Handbook of Church History, edited by Hubert Jedin and John Dolan. Freiburg: Herder, 1965.

Baus, Karl, et al. The Imperial Church from Constantine to the Early Middle Ages. Vol. 2 of History of the Church, edited by Hubert Jedin and John Dolan. New York: The Seabury Press. 1980.

These two volumes provide a historical overview of the patristic period.

270.107 R2437 Backus, Irena, ed. The Reception of the Church Fathers in the West: From the Carolingians to the Maurists. 2 vols. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2001.

A series of essays about how the church fathers have been studied and used in the Western church.

Call Numbers and Subject Headings

270.1, 281.1, 230.09, 230.11

Apostolic Fathers Cappadocian Fathers Christianity—History Church History Church History—4th century Church History—Atlases Church History—Bibliography Church History—Biography Church History—Chronology Church History—Primitive and Early Church Councils and Synods Creeds Creeds--Ecumenical Dogma, Development of Fathers of the Church Fathers of the Church—Bibliography

Fathers of the Church—Biography Fathers of the Church—Collections Fathers of the Church—Dictionaries Fathers of the Church—Greek Fathers of the Church—Greek—Biography Fathers of the Church—History and Criticism Fathers of the Church—Latin Fathers of the Church—Latin—Biography Fathers of the Church—Syriac History of Doctrines Nicene Creed Theology—Doctrinal History Theology—Doctrinal History—Early Church Theology—Early Church Theology—History

Periodicals

Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. Chicago: American Society of Church History, 1932–. Quarterly. ISSN: 0009-6407.

A peer-reviewed journal with articles about the church fathers. Indexed in Academic OneFile, Expanded Academic ASAP, General OneFile, and ProQuest Discovery.



Fides et Historia. North Newton, KS: The Conference on Faith and History, 1968–. Quarterly. ISSN: 0884-5379.

A peer-reviewed journal with articles about the church fathers.

The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993–. Quarterly. ISSN: 0022-0469.

A peer-reviewed journal with article about the church fathers. Indexed in Academic OneFile, General OneFile, and Expanded Academic ASAP.

Electronic Resources

ATLAS: ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials

An index of religious periodicals; often includes the full text. Check ATLAS for journal articles and book reviews on historical topics.

Theological Journal Library CD. Garland, TX : Galaxie Software.

This CD, which is available at the Mack Library Periodicals computers, has a digital version of Philip Schaff’s edition of the church fathers.

Websites

Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Calvin College. http://www.ccel.org/

This website offers the text of Christian books in a variety of formats. CCEL has two editions of the church fathers, accessible from a link on the main page. CCEL’s Bible Browser, also available from the main page, arranges a biblical text in one column with all the books in the CCEL collection that refer to that text in a parallel column.

Google Book Search. http://books.google.com/

Many, but not all, of the volumes of J. P. Migne’s Patrologiae are available in full text from Google Book Search. It is best to search for the term “cursus completes” and limit the search to full view books. More specific search queries may yield better results. The following URLs offer help finding the Patrologiae in Google Book Search.

http://books.google.com/books?q=editions:0_YfBo8e9VitzGNTdmbhV6h&id=enknwpsyTIsC&as_brr=1

http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/fathers/migne-patrologia-graeca.asp

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/mhooker/google_books-bible_judaism_christianity.html#migne_PG

Documents

A Research Guide for Patristics