Die Theologischen Fragmente

This volume is the first critical edition of the theological fragments of Asterius of Cappadocia, the so-called Arian Sophist, who lived in the early fourth century. The first part of the volume provides an introduction to the theological thought of Asterius, an important member of the "Eusebians". It also compares the theological thought of Asterius with Origen's and Arius' theology. The second part consists of the 77 theological fragments of Asterius of Cappadocia with a German translation. In the third part a commentary is given for each fragment explaining the content, the language and also the authenticity of the texts.

Marcellus of Ancyra (ca. 285/290 - ca. 374) was one of the prominent bishops who fought against the Eusebians at the council of Nicaea. After this council, he was the first to attack them, and especially Asterius of Cappadocia. Only fragments of his work were preserved. These fragments, together with a letter which he wrote in 341 to Julius of Rome, the only undisputed works of Marcellus, are collected in this volume. The book opens with an introduction, contains the edition with German translation, notes and indices. In contrast to the former editions of Marcellus' works, this edition follows substantially the new order of the fragments established by K. Seibt (1994). As a result, Marcellus' fragments give an idea of how his work was originally structured.

Until now the period following the Council of Nicea has remained a dark age of early Christian history. This is partly due to the fact that Eusebius' last and important works, Contra Marcellum and De Ecclesiastica Theologia, have not sufficiently been studied. Comparatively little interest has also been given to the Pseudo-Athanasian text Contra Arianos IV. Careful study and comparison of these works against the background of the post-Nicene debate between Asterius, Marcellus, Eusebius and Photinus, has revealed that (as A. Stegmann already proposed in 1917) Contra Arianos IV was written in about 340 and formed a Nicene critique of Marcellus, his pupil and opponents. Therefore, Stegmann's suggestion of the authorship of Apolinarius of Laodicea needs further investigation. This study on Contra Arianos IV sheds new light on the years between Nicea and the synods of Rome and Antioch (340/341).

This index provides the reader with a detailed survey of fifty years of scholarly work as published in the leading journal in the field of Patristic and Early Christian studies. One of the most valuable features of this volume is the exhaustive index on patristic sources which have been treated in the journal during the past fifty years. The volume further contains indexes on classical sources, and on biblical texts and jewish sources, as well as full indexes of all the authors, articles, and book reviews. The publication of this index gives you the opportunity to add enormous value to the collection of Vigiliae Christianae volumes on your shelves.

The volume is a Festschrift offered to Charles Kannengiesser on the occasion of his 80th birthday and honours him for his numerous scholarly accomplishments. Its twenty-five contributions discuss some of the major issues pertaining to the reception and interpretation of the Bible in late antique Christianity and Judaism. They focus on the ways in which communities and individuals understood the Bible and interpreted its traditions to address their historical, social, and theological requirements. Since the Bible was by far the most important book during these centuries, a discussion of its influence in such contexts will illuminate significant aspects of the formation of western civilisation.

Brings a balanced perspective to a controversial scholar of heresies

This volume examines the early Church's methods of theological argumentation concerning the metaphorical texts of the Bible. Ps 45 presents some of the oldest biblical evidence for the divinity of Christ and was often cited in christological and trinitarian controversies. In the 4th century the conflict between the traditional interpretation of the Church and linguistic methods erupted. In the course of the debate with Arian exegesis the significance of metaphor and the possibility of speaking of God were conceived anew. This study is based on dogmatic, exegetical and spiritual texts ranging from Justin to Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret of Cyrus. It shows how the various forms of argumentation interact: how scholarly theology was mediated through preaching, and pastoral and catechetical interests affected christological reflection.

This is the first English translation of the last two theological works of Eusebius of Caesarea, Against Marcellus and On Ecclesiastical Theology. Long overlooked for statements at odds with later orthodoxy, even written off as heretical, recent scholarship has demonstrated the tremendous influence these texts had on the Greek theological tradition in the fourth century.