Product Description

St. Clement's epistle, written c. 96, is called the first epistle, and is a model of a pastoral letter. The epistles of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Smyrna at the beginning of the second century, are addressed to six Christian communities.

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Product Details

Publisher	Paulist Press
ISBN	080910038X
Format	Hardcover
Author	James A. Kleist
Brand	Paulist Press
EAN	9780809100385
Label	Paulist Press
Dewey Decimal Number	282
Studio	Paulist Press
Number Of Pages	176
Title	01. The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch (Ancient Christian Writers)
Publication Date	1978-01-01
Manufacturer	Paulist Press

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Customer Reviews

Great book.

Review by W. G. McCann, 2009-06-23

These great Christian writers allow the reader to gain insight on what the early church believed, in a sense.

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Not to replace the Bible

Review by J. Mccaskill, 2009-01-08

This is a good additional resource to study the early Christians. We would never use this as a reference if it opposes the Bible, but for research purposes it is very helpful.

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Good translation with helpful but limited commentary

Review by Stratiotes Doxha Theon, 2008-06-01

This is a wonderfully full and rich translation of St. Clement's letter to the Romans and St. Ignatius' 7 letters. With them we are treated to the doctrines of the early church on the structure and authority of church offices. There are few works that challenge the modern presuppositions of the early church like these of the earliest Christian tradition. This translation is ideal for sharing in a group study for their clarity letting the early fathers speak for themselves with limited interjection of commentary. Each section provides an introduction giving a brief outline of the lives of Clement and Ignatius. Each epistle is salted with note references. The notes are kept apart at the end of each epistle so that you can easily read the epistles without being distracted by lengthy footnotes on each page. The notes are there at the end of each epistle ready to shed more light on a particular passage without demanding notice at every turn of the page. The format is ideal for group or personal study. Very highly recommended.

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Great Research

Review by Jerome S., 2008-01-28

Read the book. I'm sick and tired of writing reviews and having Amazon knock me off for no good reason (my reviews are never lengthy). This is a scholarly work and not for everyone. If you want to push back the walls of ignorance, read it. If you want to be amused, buy a different book. I apologize for the short and snippy nature of this review.

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epistles of st clement and st ignatious

Review by W. Reis, 2007-12-17

this 1946 inaugural volume of the "ancient christian writers" series is useful for anyone interested in the challanges faced by the early catholic church. dr james kleist has created a readable source of the original greek epistles of st clement and st ignatius. they show the great concern the early church fathers had regarding church orthodoxy and organization. to be successful, they both wrote, all local church members must obey their bishop without question, and without public disorder. this obediance extends down the line from bishop to presbyter to deacon. mindless obediance is the rule. in addition, any hint of heresy must be avoided. there is no suggestion that christians should try to pursuade heretics from their folly; the better course is avoidance of contact altogether. in fact, there is no ammunition in these epistles that could be used to combat heretical arguments.
the events of christ's passion and resurrection are simply recited, with repeated emphasis on the human reality of christ; this to debunk docetism. there is no attempt to offer any deeper philosophical or psychological insights regarding the christian message. one simply accepts it as true. as such, these epistles are ultimately unsatisfying to the modern reader.
we all learned the story of christ in sunday school, and the adult reader will find nothing new in these epistles. there is only the repeated emphasis on church hierarchy, which supposedly recreates the heavenly hierarchy of god and jesus and the apostles; good advice for a struggleing ancient community; irrelevant for a developed 21st century community.
dr kleist added voluminous detailed and helpful notes. he points out the great difficulty in translating the exact sense of the original greek, and the multiple meanings the original words can have. he shows that the choices made by a translator can significantly affect the meaning of the final translation. he also cross references allusions and direct quotes to their origins in scripture, which allows the reader to see any changes the epistle writers made.
finally, dr kleist adds personal biographical notes for each writer. this was especially poignant in the case of st ignatius, who was writing during the course of his death journey to martyrdom. this old man's thoughts of his impending violent death, a death actively sought in imitation of christ, offer an insight into the mind and soul of a great church father. the calmness of st ignatius, rather than his advice on church organization, offer inspiraton to any modern reader, regardless of faith. this book ought to be on the must read list of any christian that wants to be well educated in his faith.

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