Product Description

Part of the Library of Christian Classics series, Early Christian Fathers is the best single-book introduction to the early church fathers, providing an enriching and informative introduction to first and second century Christian thought. Containing carefully selected letters and works from early church fathers--including among others St. Clement, St. Ignatius, St. Polycarp, St. Justin the Martyr, and St. Irenaeus--Early Christian Fathers gives a representative, though not exhaustive, overview of early Christian thought. A brief introduction and extensive notes also accompany each letter or work, making Early Christian Fathers a great study aid. Thus, with flowing and contemporary translations, Early Christian Fathers is ideal for beginners and scholars alike; it is essential reading for anyone interested in the early church fathers.

Tim Perrine
CCEL Staff Writer

This kindle edition has a hierarchical, linked table of contents, which makes it possible to navigate to any part of the book with a minimum of page turns.

---

Product Details

Publisher	Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN	0664227473
Format	Paperback
Creator	Cyril C. Richardson Eugene R. Fairweather Edward R., Ph.D. Hardy Massey H., Jr., Ph.D. Shepherd
EAN	9780664227470
Label	Westminster John Knox Press
Edition	Reissue
Dewey Decimal Number	270.1
Studio	Westminster John Knox Press
Number Of Pages	415
Title	Early Christian Fathers (The Library of Christian Classics)
Publication Date	2006-07
Manufacturer	Westminster John Knox Press

---

Customer Reviews

poor value

Review by W. Frank Agee, 2010-06-15

I have had this book in my library for many years and wanted it in the Kindle format. I bought it and was less than satisfied when I found it has no linked table of contents. The hardback that I have is over 400 pages and the only way to get to any page is by turning them one at a time.

Do not waste your money on this one, get a better one.

Frank

---

Everything was great

Review by JJ, 2009-05-18

Everything was great. Book was brand new, got here in a timely fashion. Thank you.

---

Good buy for a good book

Review by Adam P. Schlegel, 2009-02-26

Great book! The commentaries are nice, but the selection is what makes it a good buy. I needed this for class and it's a great buy.

---

Excellent introduction

Review by K. Ann Koch, 2009-02-14

I have enjoyed this book very much. The author went to great effort to tie each early Christian writer into the historical situation of the time so that you could see what the thinking was that he was writing to correct, and what the debates were for the Christians on how to word ideas upon which they agreed, but also how they answered pagan or heretical writers in defense of the orthodox path.

It was interesting and well worth the purchase price.

I'd gladly pass it on to adults and teenagers who were wanting more than the elementary level introductions to the Early Church Fathers found in most books. For the younger kids, I'd hand them one of the books by Mike Aquilina instead. But for the older kids who are ready for it, this is a really good book.

---

An extensive Patristic work, of special interest to the scholars

Review by Didaskalex, 2009-01-05

"Of special interest to the scholar is the extensive book list included in the volume." Concordia theological



Fathers of the Church:
Who could rightly be called an 'Early Church Father'? Keep in mind that a 'Father of the Church' is not an ecclesiastically conferred distinction for which the Eastern Orthodox or the Roman Catholics have an undisputed list, as is the case of its teachers 'Doctor of the Church.' Early Church Fathers is a title that came to be applied to few early Christian role models who led by their truthful faith, holy living, and orthodox teaching, that the ancient churches of Alexandria, Antioch and Rome gradually accepted them as practical interpreters of Christianity. Their qualification would seem to fit the apostles, along with early Christians of the New Testament like Timothy, who is never referred to as Early Church Father. On the other hand, there are some of those regarded as "Fathers of the Church," whose generally orthodox teaching was marred by some doctrinal controversy (e.g. Origen), or whose lives were far from being exemplary (e.g. Hippolytus).

Early Fathers Writings:
The Writings of those early Christian writers produced in the first and second centuries, were referred to as the Apostolic Fathers. Ante Nicene writings of the Fathers from Clement of Rome to Athanasius cover the period from the close of the New Testament writings down to the Council of Nicea (AD 325). The authors of these writings were considered 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 dropped later. A good example was Dydimus the blind, eminent dean of Alexandrine Didascalia, reverence for 'The Shepherd of Hermas' considering as one of the most inspired of all writings, and it is included in the Sinaiticus Codex.

Cyril Richardson work:
This is one of the best books on the "Early Church Fathers" of the second century, essential for understanding the thought and exegetical writings of the Church Fathers, who lived and wrote during the founding time of the early church. This first volume of The Library of Christian Classics, long acclaimed for its quality translations, contains most of the basic Christian writings of the first two centuries of the Christian Church, with the exception of the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hermas. These patristic guides are very helpful, providing introductions, explanatory notes, and indices. The series ensures that modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian works are available for scholars and students, allowing searching readers to better understand the early Christian church. Describing this representative work as introductory overlooks the fact that, for the reader to appreciate the writings, he should have a knowledge of Early Church History, as narrated by H. Chadwick, or even some exposure to the Fathers thought in Historical Theology, as exposed by J. Danielou, translated into English by eminent Patristic RPC Hanson.
Cyril Richardson work is partly complemented with Lightfoot's classic 'The Apostolic Fathers', recently revised by M. Holmes.
Those novice readers who want to read selections from the fathers writings, in order to determine the turning points in Church doctrine are thus advised to explore H. Bettenson's The early Christian fathers (Clement of Rome to Athanasius) since the latter was the first of the fathers who dramatically influenced Christian thought beyond Nicea.

---