Christology In The Apostolic Fathers

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Many of the papers were presented and discussed at a conference held at Lincoln College, Oxford, in April 2004--

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ... Christ and God in important functions, and the slight emphasis upon the subordination of the Son to the Father; all these important features show that he is close to Ignatius. C. II CLEMENT Its character as homily.--This designation, II Clement, is still retained by Gebhardt, Harnack, and Zahn in their Patrutn Apostolicorum Opera, though it is generally agreed that it is not a letter, and that it was not written by Clement of Rome who wrote our First Clement. Harnack, however, still maintains that it is a letter. Lightfoot calls it "an ancient homily by an unknown author." The work itself furnishes rather decisive evidence that it is a homily. Chapters nineteen and twenty especially have the hortatory style. Here we find such expressions as the following: "Let us not be displeased and vexed"; "let us therefore practice righteousness"; "let not the godly be grieved"; "let us then have faith, brethren and sisters." This direct appeal is suitable to address. But this is not a decisive element in determining the nature of the work. Paul's letters have such appeals. The letter to the Romans abounds in exhortations more than do the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of this work. The direct address "my brethren" is in Paul's letters as much as "brothers and sisters" cited in this work. There are two expressions, however, which clearly determine that this work is a homily. In XIX. 1, he says: "Therefore, brothers and sisters, after the God of truth has been heard, I read to you an exhortation." Here is a plain statement which shows its nature as a homily. He reads or speaks to them. In XVII. 3, he says: "Let us not think to believe and give heed now only, while we are admonished by the presbyters; but likewise when we have departed home let us...

Excerpt from The Christology in the Apostolic Fathers: Dissertation Preface The divisions of the thesis, and the method of treatment. To Christ. Christ called God. This division are the writings of Ignatius, Polycarp, and Second Clement. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers refer to a group of miscellaneous Christian writings produced in the first and second centuries. The authors of these writings were considered by seventeenth century scholars to be the next generation of Apostles and as a result were named The Apostolic Fathers. Perceived by many scholars to be the most important collection of post-New Testament writings, a number of these texts were in fact considered for the Canon of the New Testament but later rejected. Their obvious significance stems from the fact that they are the first Christian writings produced outside the New Testament Canon and as such contain an essential insight into the development of the early Christian Church and Christian thinking. Much Christian Doctrine came, not from the New Testament, but from the writings produced by the early church and in particular the writings of the Apostolic Fathers. Therefore, these texts are crucial to an understanding of the shaping of Christian thought and Christian doctrine. This volume will provide readers with an overview of each of the eleven texts, together with a general introduction. Communicating the best recent scholarship to a broad audience, each chapter offers a treatment of the most controversial aspects of each text and discusses the theology of each of the writings in order to orient readers to the development of Christian thinking in the second century. Each article ends with a carefully chosen select bibliography to enable further reading.

The apostolic fathers were authors of nonbiblical church writings of the first and early second centuries. These works are important because their authors, Clement I, Hermas, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and the author of the Epistle of Barnabas, were contemporaries of the biblical writers. Expressing pastoral concern, their writings are similar in style to the New Testament. Some of their writings, in fact, were venerated as Scripture before the official canon was decided. The Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament provides a comparison of the apostolic fathers and the New Testament that is at once comprehensive and accessible. What genres (letters, miracle stories, etc.) appear in what ways? What apostolic fathers seem to reflect which passages in the New Testament? What themes appear in both bodies of literature? How did the apostolic fathers adopt and adapt images from the New Testament? How do the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers contribute to our understanding of how early Christians understood themselves in relation to the mother faith of Judaism? Any attempt to compare the Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament faces the difficulty that each set of writings represents diverse authors and historical contexts within the early church. As a result, scholars who work in the field have typically restricted their research to individual authors and writings. Thus, it has been difficult to come to any general observations about the larger corpus. After carefully examining images, themes, and concepts found in the New Testament and the apostolic fathers, Jefford posits some general observations and insights about the beliefs of the early church.