During the late second and early third centuries C.E. the resurrection became a central question for intellectual commentary, with increasingly tense divisions between those who interpreted the resurrection as a bodily experience and those who did not. The relationship between the resurrected person and their mortal flesh was also a key point of discussion, especially in regards to sexual desires, body parts, and practices. Early Christians struggled to articulate how and why these bodily features related to the imagined resurrected self. The problems posed by the resurrection thus provoked theological analysis of the mortal body, sexual desire and gender. Resurrecting Parts is the first study to examine the place of gender and sexuality in early Christian debates on the nature of resurrection, investigating how the resurrected body has been interpreted by writers of this period in order to address the nature of sexuality and sexual difference. In particular, Petrey considers the instability of early Christian attempts to separate maleness and femaleness. Bodily parts commonly signified sexual difference, yet it was widely thought that future resurrected bodies would not experience desire or reproduction. In the absence of sexuality, this insistence on difference became difficult to maintain. To achieve a common, shared identity and status for the resurrected body that nevertheless preserved sexual difference, treatises on the resurrection found it necessary to explain how and in what way these parts would be transformed in the resurrection, shedding all associations with sexual desires, acts, and reproduction. Exploring a range of early Christian sources, from the Greek and Latin fathers to the authors of the Nag Hammadi writings, Resurrecting Parts is a fascinating resource for scholars interested in gender and sexuality in classical antiquity, early Christianity, asceticism, and, of course, the resurrection and the body.

Heresy is a central concept in the formation of Orthodox Christianity. Where does this notion come from? This book traces the construction of the idea of 'heresy' in the rhetoric of ideological disagreements in Second Temple Jewish and early Christian texts and in the development of the polemical rhetoric against 'heretics,' called heresiology. Here, author Robert Royalty argues, one finds the origin of what comes to be labelled 'heresy' in the second century. In other words, there was such as thing as 'heresy' in ancient Jewish and Christian discourse before it was called 'heresy.' And by the end of the first century, the notion of heresy was integral to the political positioning of the early orthodox Christian party within the Roman Empire and the range of other Christian communities. This book is an original contribution to the field of Early Christian studies. Recent treatments of the origins of heresy and Christian identity have focused on the second century rather than on the earlier texts including the New Testament. The book further makes a methodological contribution by blurring the line between New Testament Studies and Early Christian studies, employing ideological and post-colonial critical methods.

What did the early church believe about killing? What was its view on abortion? How did it approach capital punishment and war? Noted theologian and bestselling author Ron Sider lets the testimony of the early church speak in the first of a three-volume series on biblical peacemaking.
This book provides in English translation all extant data directly relevant to the witness of the early church until Constantine on killing. Primarily, it draws data from early church writings, but other evidence, such as archaeological finds and Roman writings, is included.
Sider taps into current evangelical interest in how the early church informs contemporary life while presenting a thorough, comprehensive treatment on topics of perennial concern. The book includes brief introductions to every Christian writer cited and explanatory notes on many specific texts.

Over the last century many sceptical 'lives of Jesus' have been written. Paul Barnett argues that their authors have used wrong historical methodology, ignoring some of the most important early evidence about Jesus Christ and failing to account for the first Christians' beliefs about him. A historian himself, Barnett shows that when the evidence is dealt with properly, a picture of Jesus emerges that fits well with orthodox belief in him. An addition to the New Studies in Biblical Theology - a series growing in size and scholarly reputation.

Essays bring out the important and complex roles played by Anglo-Saxon churchmen, including Bede and lesser-known figures. Both episcopal and abbatial authority were of fundamental importance to the development of the Christian church in Anglo-Saxon England. Bishops and heads of monastic houses were invested with a variety of types of power and influence. Their actions, decisions, and writings could change not only their own institutions, but also the national church, while their interaction with the king and his court affected wider contemporary society. Theories of ecclesiastical leadership were expounded in contemporary texts and documents. But how far did image or ideal reflect reality? How much room was there for individuals to use their office to promote new ideas? The papers in this volumeillustrate the important roles played by individual leading ecclesiastics in England, both within the church and in the wider political sphere, from the late seventh to the mid eleventh century. The undeniable authority of Bede and Bishop AEthelwold is demonstrated but also the influence of less-familiar figures such as Bishop Wulfsige of Sherborne, Archbishop Ecgberht of York and St Leoba. The book draws on both textual and material evidence to show the influence (by both deed and reputation) of powerful personalities not only on the developing institutions of the English church but also on the secular politics of their time. Contributors: Alexander R. Rumble, Nicholas J.Higham, Martyn J. Ryan, Cassandra Rhodes, Allan Scott McKinley, Dominik Wassenhoven, Gale R. Owen-Crocker, Debby Banham, Joyce Hill.

Collected together for the first time in one volume are the most important critical study of Pelagius to date and a selection of his letters. Collected together for the first time in one volume are the most important critical study of Pelagius to date, together with a selection of his letters. Arriving in Rome in the late 4th century, Pelagius soon acquired a considerable reputation as a reformer and spiritual adviser. In Palestine he became embroiled with Jerome and later with Augustine who had been alerted to the Pelagian threat to orthodox doctrine. Professor Rees here re-examines the evidence for the Pelagian controversy. The second part of the book consists of Pelagius' letters, which provide the clearest and most succinct statements of Pelagian theology, but few of which have ever been translated into English before. Reissue; first published in two volumes as Pelagius: A Reluctant Heretic and The Letters of Pelagius and his Followers (The Boydell Press, 1991).

Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130 - 202) is heralded as one of the greatest theologians of the post-apostolic church. The spiritual grandson of the apostle John, for his instructor in the faith was himself taught by the apostle, his writing stresses the importance of apostolic teaching and faithfully handing on the apostolic tradition. Irenaeus's magnum opus Against Heresies offers an unparalleled insight and interpretation of John's own writing and an exposition of the Christian faith. Payton's compendium is a careful distillation of Irenaeus's masterpiece. He presents St Irenaeus's writings as a collective and seminal point in the development of Christian theology, from its genesis in the first century, and as a compelling exploration of the Christian doctrines of the early church. For years James Payton has studied Irenaeus's most important work: the result is an extremely accessible and yet still erudite condensation of Ireneus's theology; the essential companion to a work founded in a thorough knowledge of Scripture and steadfastly rooted in the apostolic tradition of the early church. Payton's examination of patristic theology is vital for those interested in learning what the early Christian church received and passed on from the apostles.

On First Principles by Origen of Alexandria, written around 220-230 AD, is one of the most important and contentious works of early Christianity. It provoked controversy when written, provoked further debate when translated into Latin by Rufinus in the fourth century, and was the subject, together with its author, of condemnation in the sixth century. As a result, the work no longer survives intact in the original Greek. We only have the complete work in the Latin translation of Rufinus,

A monumental work bringing together in an accessible and digestible form the current status of scholarship on the writings of the Eastern Fathers in the period between the Council of Chalcedon and the death of John of Damascus. The book covers an era in which pagan ideas still existed and in which the symbiosis between Empire and Church was so close as to make them seem almost one, with the Emperor in the East often playing a dominant role in religious matters, while in the West the authority of the emperors had faded, allowing the papacy to assume increasing authority. The domination of the East - reflected in the triumph of Greek over Latin as the language of administration - meant that Rome itself, and the Western provinces, were seen as rather provincial. The East faced different challenges, most conspicuously the range of theological ideas. Nestorian and Monophysite doctrines had not been suppressed by the Council of Chalcedon. New disputes arose, and in particular differences over the value of imagery. In the seventh century Islam became a major threat to the Empire, while Islamic ideas also carried weight in religious matters. The literature of the period can conveniently be divided linguistically and regionally. Following an introduction, major sections cover Constantinople and Asia Minor; the Greek Literature of Syria; Palestinian Writers; Alexandrian and Egyptian writers; Syriac Literature; Coptic Writers; Armenian Writers; Greek Exegetical Catenae; and Canonical and Liturgical Literature. While descriptions of major writers and their work is very extensive, most entries are much shorter. There are lengthy bibliographies, and the work is indexed. The Patrology is designed to follow the general approach taken by Quasten. The book is a fundamental work of reference, and makes a major contribution to patristic scholarship. The Editor, Angelo di Berardino, is Director of the Institutum Augustinianum in Rome and Editor of the Encyclopedia of the Early Church. Other contributors are: Pauline Allen (Catholic University, Brisbane) Maria Antonietta Barbara (University of Messina) Paulo Bettiolo (University of Padua) Filippo Carcione (University of Cassino) Danilo Ceccarelli Morolli (Pontificio Istituto Orientale, Rome) Camillo Curti (University of Catania) Salvatore Lilla (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, Rome) Andrew Louth (University of Durham) Gianfranco Lusini (Istituto Universitario di Napoli) Adele Monaci Castagno (University of Vercelli) Manel Nin (Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, Rome) Tito Orlandi (Universita La Sapienzia, Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, Rome) Lorenzo Perrone (University of Pisa) Paul Rorem (Princeton University) Manlio Simonetti (Universita La Sapienzia, Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, Rome) Basilio Studer (Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo and Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, Rome) Karl-Heinz Uthemann (University of Utrecht) Sever J. Voicu (Istituto Patristico Augustinianum, Rome).

Although the story of the triumphant rise of Christianity has often been told, it was a triumph achieved through blood and tribulation. The literal meaning of the term martyr meant witness, but among early Christians it quickly acquired a harsher meaning - one who died for the faith - and that witness through death was responsible for many conversions, including those of Justin Martyr, himself to offer just such witness, and perhaps Tertullian. Persecution was seen by early Christians, as by later historians, as one of the crucial influences on the growth and development of the early Church and Christian beliefs. Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians? Why did thousands of Christians not merely accept but welcome martyrdom? In his classic work, 'Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church', the late W.H.C. Frend explores the mindset of those who suffered persecution as well as the motivation of those who persecuted them. He shows the critical importance for early Christians of Jewish ideas, influenced heavily as they were by the story of Daniel and the trauma of the revolt of the Maccabeean. He argues that the Christian concept of martyrdom, so highly regarded among early Christians, can only be understood as springing from Jewish roots. Frend examines a number of major persecutions, such as that in Lyons in the second century, the Decian Persecution in the third, and the Great Persecution under Diocletian in the fourth, showing both the common themes and the variations, and examines also the relationship between the heavenly kingdom of Christ and the rule of the earthly emperor. In doing so he shows how the persecutions formed an essential part in a providential philosophy of history that has profoundly influenced European political thought. W.H.C. Frend was Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Glasgow, and the author of many important books on the Early Church, including 'The Rise of the Monophysite Movement'.

The first lasting schism in Christian history was that between the Monophysites and orthodox Christianity. The late Professor W.H.C. Frend's original, well-established and integrated study examines the social historical background to this significant two hundred year period from the council of Ephesus in 431 to the expulsion of the Byzantines from the Monophysite provinces. Contemporary critics' views that Monophysitism can be considered as a 'quarrel about words' or as a symbol of the separatist movements in Syria, Egypt and Armenia are viewed as limiting in this authoritative survey, which moves beyond such criticisms. Frend shows that regional identity does not have to imply separatism and examines this claim in detail. The work does not limit its scope to the history of the Christian doctrine either. The issues raised by the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon affected all areas of life beyond the political sphere in the east Roman provinces in the fifth and sixth centuries. Through this study, the reader can uncover how religion was the medium through which the harmony between government and the governed was mediated in this period. Through nine extensive chapters, Frend provides an examination of the doctrinal issues relating to the Early Church, which are essential to a deeper understanding of the history of the fifth and sixth centuries. W.H.C. Frend was Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Glasgow, and the author of many important books on the Early Church, including 'Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church'.

Containing over 700 articles, this "Dictionary" allows the reader to explore Eastern Christian civilization with its cultural and religious riches. The articles are written by a team of 50 international contributors, including leading historians, theologians, linguists, philosophers, patrologists, musicians, and scholars of liturgy and iconography.

About 'Doctrine and the Practice of the Early Church': Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church is clearly written and carefully organized with cross-references throughout to its two companion volumes, A New Eusebius and Creeds, Councils and Controversies (revised editions SPCK 1987 and 1989). It is well established as the standard introduction to the subject for student and general reader alike.

Featuring vibrant full color throughout, the seventh edition of Bart D. Ehrman's highly successful introduction approaches the New Testament from a consistently historical and comparative perspective, emphasizing the rich diversity of the earliest Christian literature. Distinctive to this study is its unique focus on the historical, literary, and religious milieux of the Greco-Roman world, including early Judaism. As part of its historical orientation, the book also discusses other Christian writings that were roughly contemporary with the New Testament, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the letters of Ignatius.

What did the early Christians wear' What did they eat' What did they talk about over the dinner table' What recreations did they enjoy' These are among the questions answered in this study, which reveals the social background to the first five hundred years of the Church's development, through six vividly recounted, biographical portraits. Applying the methods of the social historian to the early Church, the author describes the daily life of the first believers, personifying the general facts and depicting them in these composite portraits of specific individuals, who are taken as representatives of different strands of early Christian life: Clement, a philosopher and teacher in Alexandria at the end of the 2nd century Paul of Samosata, A.D. 268, who taught heretically in Antioch Virginia, A.D. 304, whose last day on earth is set against the background of Diocletian's persecutions Diogenes, a sexton of Rome John Chrysotom, A.D. 400, a great Bishop of the Church John Cassian, a friend of Chrysotom and resident of Marseilles. The author uses contemporary documents and authorities to construct the biographies, which animate and illuminate the early development of the Church. By conducting the reader through the daily routines of these individuals, the past is recreated as a living reality. "A little rest is now obviously called for, and Paul goes up to the roof where a couch is placed beneath an awning. The air is pleasantly warm and filled with the mingled scent of lilies, jacinths and pinks which rises from the many gardens of Antioch." Extract from Paul

Since its first publication in German in 1959, Paul has been hailed as a major study of the apostle to the Gentiles, combining exceptional scholarship with an unusual approach. Schoeps interprets Paul's theology in the light of his Jewish background, which coloured and conditioned his Christological teaching. Paul's conception of Jesus differs from that of the Synoptics: what and how extensive the difference is and whence it is derived are among the questions Schoeps examines. After surveying major problems in Pauline research, the Author relates the apostle to primitive Christianity, discussing his eschatology and his teachings on salvation, the law, and saving history. The final chapter shows that Paul's distinctive doctrines result from two converging factors: that Paul never saw Jesus in the flesh, and the influence of Jewish teaching. The consequence was his concern with the resurrected Saviour of the world, the pre-existent and eternal Son of God. Schoeps shows that Paul betrayed a fundamental misconception of the law and the covenantal agreement between God and his chosen people. The result is a thought-provoking, and somewhat startling, study of the first, the greatest, and the most difficult of all Christian theologians.

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Read the Introduction.

"The selections recapture the drama and counter-cultural nature of becoming a Christian and creating a community that stood out from the crowd...This collection offers easy access to early Christianity's daily life."
-- "The Princeton Seminary Bulletin"

Life and Practice in the Early Church brings together a range of primary texts from the church's first five centuries to demonstrate how early Christians practiced their faith. Rather than focusing on theology, these original documents shed light on how early believers "did church," addressing such practical questions as, how did the church administer baptism? How were sermons delivered? How did the early church carry out its missions endeavors?

Early Christian writings reveal a great deal about the tradition, as well as the wider culture in which it developed. Far from being monolithic, the documents which present the voices of the early church fathers in their own words demonstrate variation and diversity regarding how faith was worked out during the patristic period. The texts illuminate who was eligible for baptism, what was expected of worshippers, how the Eucharist was celebrated, and how church offices and their functions were organized. Contextual introductions explain practices and their development for those with little prior knowledge of Christian history or tradition. The pieces included here, all in accessible English translation, represent such sources as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, the Cappadocians, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, and Augustine.

Containing over 700 articles, this Dictionary allows the reader to explore Eastern Christian civilization with its cultural and religious riches. The articles are written by a team of 50 international contributors, including leading historians, theologians, linguists, philosophers, patrologists, musicians, and scholars of liturgy and iconography. The Dictionary covers both the major living traditions of Eastern Christianity and some which are very little known. It offers balanced treatment of the Byzantine traditions (Greek, Slav, Romanian and Georgian), and the Oriental traditions (Armenian, Assyrian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syrian, Indian), taking account of Orthodox, Catholic and Reformed communities. Both communities in their original homelands and the diaspora, exile and convert communities worldwide are considered. The articles do not present Eastern traditions in terms of Western Christian interests and a Western view of Christian history, but in terms that Eastern Christians will recognise. Readers will be able to use the Dictionary as a basic source of information about the different Eastern Christian churches, and to locate information that they would have difficulty finding elsewhere. The longer articles put terms, concepts, people and events into context. They offer ways of exploring unfamiliar connections and of making useful comparisons. Cross-references lead the reader to related topics and background issues. A comprehensive index lists every important name and topic that appears in the Dictionary and helps the reader to navigate the volume.

The One and the Three explores parallels between Byzantine and early Irish monastic traditions, finding in both a markedly trinitarian theology founded on God's contemplation and ascetic experience. Chrysostom Koutloumousianos refutes modern theological theses that affect ecclesiology, and contrasts current schools of theological thought with patristic theology and anthropology, in order to approach the meaning and reality of unity and otherness within the Triadic Monad and the cosmos. He explores such topics as the connection between nature and person, the esoteric dimension of the Self, the relation and dialectic of impersonal institutions and personal charisma, and perennial monastic virtues as ways to unity in diversity.

An apostolic lifestyle characterized by total material renunciation, homelessness, and begging was practiced by monks throughout the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. Such monks often served as spiritual advisors to urban aristocrats whose patronage gave them considerable authority and independence from episcopal control. This book is the first comprehensive study of this type of Christian poverty and the challenge it posed for episcopal authority and the promotion of monasticism in late antiquity. Focusing on devotional practices, Daniel Caner draws together diverse testimony from Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and elsewhere-including the Pseudo-Clementine Letters to Virgins, Augustine's On the Work of Monks, John Chrysostom's homilies, legal codes-to reveal gospel-inspired patterns of ascetic dependency and teaching from the third to the fifth centuries. Throughout, his point of departure is social and cultural history, especially the urban social history of the late Roman empire. He also introduces many charismatic individuals whose struggle to persist against church suppression of their chosen way of imitating Christ was fought with defiant conviction, and the book includes the first annotated English translation of the biography of Alexander Akoimetos (Alexander the Sleepless). Wandering, Begging Monks allows us to understand these fascinating figures of early Christianity in the full context of late Roman society.

Cyril was bishop in Jerusalem from c.350-351 AD until 386 AD. His writings are an important source for the history of early Christian doctrine. This book provides full English translations, with explanatory commentary, of his most important works. The introduction covers Cyril's life; his historical and archaeological context; his theology; and contemporary doctrine and practice. This will be essential reading for students and scholars of patristics, and those studying the history of the early Church and late antiquity.

Over the centuries, European debate about the nature and status of images of God and sacred figures has often upset the established order and shaken societies to their core. Out of this debate, an identifiable doctrine has emerged of the image in general and of the divine image in particular. This fascinating work concentrates on these historical arguments, from the period of Late Antiquity up to the great and classic defenses of images by St. John of Damascus and Theodore of Studion. Icon extends beyond the immediate concerns of religion, philosophy, aesthetics, history, and art, to engage them all.

The Church and Social Reform studies the nature and extent of Athanasios' social reforms and political involvement during his two tenures on the patriarchal throne of Constantiople. The traditional influence, power, and authority that resided in the patriarchate of Constantinople made the involvement of an aggressive patriarch in the social affairs of the empire virtually inevitable.

The first translation into English of Life of the Fathers, a collection of twenty lives of saints which lives present a cross-section of the Gallic Church and are a counterpart to the secular society described in Gregory's History of the Franks.