The Later Christian Fathers

The century and a quarter following the Council of Nicaea (AD325) has been called the 'Golden Age of Patristic Literature'. It is this period that Henry Bettenson covers in this companion volume to The Early Christian Fathers, selecting from the writings of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa,Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Cyril of Alexandria, and other Fathers of the Christian Chruch. Their central concerns were to formulate the doctrine of the Trinity after the Nicene conclusions, and to enunciate the doctrine of the divinity ahd humanity of Christ. The writings served to clarify if notto solve the issues and they continue to be value and relevant for all who wish to understand Christian doctrine. As in The Early Christian Fathers, Bettenson translated everything afresh and provided some annotation and brief sketches of the lives of each of the Fathers represented in theselection.

"One of the most readable and inspiring surveys of the development of the theology of the early Church is to be found in the introduction on faith, theology, and creeds in this volume.....Dr. Hardy here clearly interprests the scope of the vast, yet delicate, problem faced by the Fathers in the period of the Ecumenical Councils.

This selection of writings from early church leaders includes work by Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Athenagoras, and Justin Martyr.Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works--each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century--contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.

Christopher Hall invites us to accompany the church fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life in this unique survey of the life of worship from the perspective of the early Church.

Deals individually with each Father and collectively with the thought of the schools into which they can be grouped (Asia Minor, Alexandrian, Roman, Greek and African). Describes also the early conflict with Gnosticism, the apocryphal scriptures and pseudo-apostolic writings, and the low state of culture of the pre-Nicene Church which is the general background of early Patristic studies.