The Library of Early Christianity will be a permanent enterprise that publishes one new volume approximately every other year. The Library will publish texts in the original ancient languages of both East and West - Greek, Latin, Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Georgian - accompanied by contemporary English translations printed on the facing pages. In order to make the texts more accessible to the nonspecialist and to aid readers in comprehending the thought of the influential thinkers of the early church, each volume will include an introduction, notes, and a bibliography. Shortly before his death (ca. 460), as his health was failing, Theodoret decided to undertake a monumental project of exegesis. In the more than two decades of his episcopacy, he had commented on both the prophets and the sapiential literature of the ""Hebrew Scriptures"". Now he would expound the historical books. For his commentary on the Octateuch, he adopted the format of question and answer. This device allowed the expositor to focus attention on particularly challenging passages that could give rise to misunderstanding. Long experience had taught him that ""careless reading of holy Scripture is the cause of error among ordinary people."" Intimately acquainted with every detail of the text, well-informed about contemporary Judaism, and steeped in the works of previous interpreters, he makes his way through a massive body of text with concision, a sure sense for the significant and the controversial, and a thoughtful moderation respectful of the accomplishments of Alexandrian, as well as Antiochene, biblical scholarship.

This work is an examination of those environmental and political factors which have influenced the distribution of settlement types in northwest Ireland during the Early Christian period (AD 500-1000). Various site types are discussed in Chapter One; the physical geography and history of the six counties of Northern Ireland which make up the study area is the subject of Chapters Two and Three. Cultural remains and written sources, both of which give insight into how society in general and the individual farm economies functioned during this period, are discussed in Chapter Four.

St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria for thirty-two years in the first half of the fifth century, was a great champion of the faith against heresy; he opposed Novatianism, Neoplatonism, and Judaism. His principal struggle, however, was with Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Cyril vehemently defended the application of the word Theotokos, which means 'Godbearer', to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nestorius, representative of the Antiochene theological school, held that the Blessed Virgin was the mother only of the humanity of Christ. This great Christological controversy and the Council of Ephesus that was convened in 431 to resolve it provide the subject matter for the entire collection of letters in this volume. Letter 1 is Cyril's response to a group of monks under his jurisdiction who ask for guidance in the Nestorian debate. His remarks take us straight to the heart of the matter: "Therefore, I am amazed if some should question at all whether the Holy Virgin should be called the Mother of God." Through Letter 32 we are involved with the controversy and its development down to and including the Council of Ephesus. Letter 4, addressed to Nestorius, has been called the dogmatic letter, and the Council of Ephesus approved it as maintaining the teaching of Nicaea. Letter 17 is considered an epitome of Cyril's faith. Along with twelve anathemas it condemned Nestorius in the name of the synod convened by Pope Celestine in Rome and later was added to the Acts of the Council of Ephesus Letters 33 to 50 concern the question of John, Bishop of Antioch and a personal friend of Cyril through a longstanding correspondence. When John and his bishops arrived at Ephesus, they set up a rival council and issued a decree of deposition and excommunication against Cyril and Memnon, Bishop of Ephesus. After the Council of Ephesus it was Cyril's task to reconcile the Antiochene bishops who had formed the Conciliabulum with John to restore peace to the Churches in the East. Letter 39 reveals his joy in achieving this reconciliation and in regaining his friendship with John. Together with Letters 4 and 17, Letter 39 has been called ecumenical. Letter 41 is exegetically important for its long discussion of the work "scapegoat," and Letter 45, which contains Cyril's famous formula, for it's doctrinal and theological content.

This volume presents several treatises of St. Cyprian (200/10?-258) in translation. To Donatus (Ad Donatum) is a monologue written shortly after Cyprian's baptism in 246 in which he extols his spiritual rebirth in the sacrament of baptism. Literary criticism has come to view this treatise as a model for St. Augustine's Confessions. The Dress of Virgins (De habitu virginum) written in 249 is addressed to women ("flowers in the Church's garden") who have dedicated their lives to God's service. In this treatise on virginity Cyprian warns these women against seeking finery and the pitfalls of worldliness. The Fallen (De lapsis), written in 251, deals with the problems encountered in reconciling with the Church those who had defected during the time of persecution. These problems were acute especially after the Decian persecution. The Unity of the Catholic Church (De unitate ecclesiae), written very likely in 251, is directed in the first place against the Novatian schism. This treatise contains the famous words: "He cannot have God for his father who does not have the Church for his mother." The Lord's Prayer (De oratione dominica) is as the title indicates a commentary on the Our Father. Many of its words and phrases remind one of Tertullian whom Cyprian admired greatly. To Demetrian (As Demetrianum) is a vigorous defense of Christianity against pagan calumnies. Mortality (De mortalitate) written perhaps in 252 or later has often been described as being a pastoral letter of a bishop to comfort and console his flock during a time of trial and tribulation. Work and Alms (De opere et eleemosynis) is a treatise that may have been written in 252 or even later. It is a warm and heartfelt exhortation of a bishop to his flock encouraging them to do good works. The Blessing of Patience (De bono patientiae), written sometime during the year 256, has frequently been described as a sermon delivered during the controversy over the validity of heretical baptism in northern Africa. Jealousy and Envy (De zelo et livore) like the preceding treatise greatly resembles a sermon delivered on the topic in the title. It was probably written between 251 and 257. To Fortunatus (Ad Fortunatum), a work replete with quotations from Scripture to encourage a Christian in time of persecution, was probably written between 253 and 257. In its original Latin this treatise is an important witness to the text of the Bible before St. Jerome's revisions. That Idols are not Gods (Quod idola dii non sint) is a relatively unimportant work when judged on the basis of its content. Modern patristic scholars seriously doubt its authenticity.

The seventh volume of this companion series is devoted to the writings ascribed to Paul but widely thought not to be genuinely from the Apostle. These are of particular importance in showing how Paul's authority was exploited in the Early Church, and the topics addressed often deal with Christian discipline and hierarchy. Hence there is a particularly strong feminist agenda to be explored here. The Pastoral Epistles, Ephesians and Colossians are prominent among the writings addressed in this collection, and the authors include: David Scholer, Louise Schottroff, Bonnie Thurston, Lilian Portefaix, Sara Winter and Ingrid Rosa Kitzberger.

The first part of Nicaea and its Legacy offers a narrative of the fourth-century trinitarian controversy. It does not assume that the controversy begins with Arius, but with tensions among existing theological strategies. Lewis Ayres argues that, just as we cannot speak of one `Arian' theology, so we cannot speak of one `Nicene' theology either, in 325 or in 381. The second part of the book offers an account of the theological practices and assumptions within which pro-Nicene theologians assumed their short formulae and creeds were to be understood. Ayres also argues that there is no fundamental division between eastern and western trinitarian theologies at the end of the fourth century. The last section of the book challenges modern post-Hegelian trinitarian theology to engage with Nicaea more deeply.

This book provides ready access into and sure guidance through the marvelous, often convoluted, invariably rich world of Origen: the man, the ecclesiastical dynamics of his day, his extant works, the range of his theological explorations, his influence, and the controversies associated with him in life and in death. Included are recommendations for use and clear presentation of topics which enable the reader, whether novice or specialist, to engage Origen in ways that address the reader's interest.

The Westminster Handbook to Christian Theology series provides a set of resources for the study of historic and contemporary theological movements and Christian theologians. These books are intended to help students and scholars find concise and accurate treatments of important theological terms.

Eusebius was commonly known among the ancients as Eusebius of Caesarea or Eusebius Pamphili. The first designation arose from the fact that he was bishop of Caesarea for many years; the second from the fact that he was a close friend and admirer of Pamphilus, a proselyte of Caesarea and a martyr. At least forty contemporaries bore the same name, among which the most famous were Eusebius of Samosata--and so arose the necessity of distinguishing him from these others by specific designation. The year of the Edict of Milan, which divides the first from the second epoch of Church history, does like service for the life and for the literary medium of the Church's first historian. According to the growing assent of scholars, 313 marks off chronologically the Alexandrian from the Byzantine period of Greek literature, and it is 313 that cleaves into uneven but appropriate parts that career of Eusebius Pamphilil. In training and in literary taste, Eusebius belongs to the earlier time. Officially and in literary productivity, he belongs to the later. It was shortly after 313 that Eusebius became a bishop, as it was, for the most part, after 313 that his works were actually composed. Of events contemporary with these later years, Eusebius recorded much that is valued, but it is for what he tells of the earlier period--of the days before the Peace of the Church--that he looms so large in the history of history and of literature. Through him--through him almost alone--are preserved to us the feeble memories of an age that died with himself. Of the facts of his life we know little. Neither the place nor the year of this birth is known. The best conjecture makes Palestine his native land and assigns to the period 260-264 the date of his birth. Caesarea in Palestine may have been his native city. All the known associates of his youth at any rate, and the chief activities of his maturity, are linked with her. He was certainly not born a Jew, but that he was born a Christian we do not know. His parents, whether pagan or Christian, were not of high rank. The fact that Arius, when writing to Eusebius of Nicomedia, refers to his namesake of Caesarea as 'your brother who is in Caesarea' cannot with confidence be taken literally. Arius might well call them brothers because they were associated in theological sympathies as well as in episcopal office. Of his parentage and relationship, then, essentially nothing is known.

A contemporary of the emperor Constantine, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea invested a considerable portion of his scholarly energy in a sweeping history of the Church from the era of the apostles until his own. In this volume of the Fathers of the Church series, Books Six through Ten of his Historia ecclesiastica describe the actors and events from the persecution of Septimius Severus (Roman emperor, 193-211) until the Constantinian era of toleration and the restoration of the churches. An oft-consulted source on the life of Origen (mid-third century), Eusebius's writing reveals his own perspective on divine providence acting in history.

Most of the works of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) have been extant and studied for centuries by Christians throughout the world. Since this Doctor of the Western Church has long been the best known and most widely read of the Latin Fathers, it is so much more unexpected that a previously unknown work should be found. Johannes Divjak found not only a single work but in fact a whole collection of letters, which he published in a critical Latin edition in 1980. This volume contains the first English translation of these newly discovered letters. The letters range in size from short memoranda to long treatises on various subjects. In addition, there are three other previously unknown letters: two written to Augustine by Consentius, a North African rhetorician, and one written by Saint Jerome to Aurelius of Carthage. These letters, taken as a whole, present a vivid and fascinating view of life in North Africa at the beginning of the fifth century. In addition to the comments about ecclesiastical and episcopal affairs, there are also letters on various threats to peace and security common in this period of the late empire, on slavery and the growth of the slave trade, and on Roman involvement in African affairs, both ecclesiastical and civil. There are letters dealing with moral questions and pastoral problems, in both marriage and the family, as well as in larger areas of doctrine and discipline in the Church. The conflict resulting from the end of the Donatist schism becomes clearer, as does the refrain of desperation stemming from an inadequate supply of clergy for parishes needing to be served. A large number of these letters illustrate the day-to-day worries of a fifth century North African bishop: clerical scandals, Church finances, people seeking sanctuary in a church (and the ensuing problems with the civil authorities), and disputed episcopal succession. Until the time as scholars agree on a numbering system that will integrate these letters into a previously known corpus of Augustinian letters, they are numbered 1*-29*, with the asterick added to distinguish them from letters 1-29 of the traditional body of letters.

This work provides a survey of the history of the earliest Christian church in the period up to the fall of Jerusalem. It concentrates on: the figure of Paul; judicious and critical use of information in the Book of Acts; Judaizing versions of Christianity; and the Johannine tradition. The approach steers a middle way between an over-simplified account which fails to warn students where scholarly opinion is divided, and an in-depth academic study which attempts to document and discuss every hypothesis. Wedderburn focuses on aspects of central importance: the changing shape of church life and developing Christianity in relation to the Roman Empire and to Judaism. This book seeks to draw together and make more readily accessible many new insights gained from an enormous range of recent scholarly studies in German and English, and places them in the context of a more general account.

The greatest Christian split of all has been that between east and west, between Roman Catholic and eastern Orthodox, a rift that is still apparent today. Henry Chadwick provides a compelling and balanced account of the emergence of divisions between Rome and Constantinople. Drawing on his encyclopaedic command of the literature, he starts with the roots of the divergence in apostolic times and takes the story right up to the Council of Florence in the fifteenth century. Henry Chadwick's own years of experience as an ecumenist inform his discussion of Christians in relation to each other, to Jews, and to non-Christian Gentiles. He displays a distinctive concern for the factors - theological, personal, political, and cultural - that caused division in the church and prevented reconciliation. His masterly exposition of the complex issues discussed at the Ecumenical Councils (issues that eventually led to the separation) is characteristically clear and fair. This is a work of immense learning, written with sensitivity and spirit. Its fascinating detail and full analysis make it invaluable to anyone interested in how this lasting rift in the Church developed.

Flavian Rome has most often been studied without serious attention to its most prolific extant author, Titus Flavius Josephus. Josephus, in turn, has usually been studied for what he is writing about (mainly, events in Judaea) rather than for the context in which he wrote: Flavian Rome. For the first time, this book brings these two phenomena into critical engagement, so that Josephus may illuminate Flavian Rome, and Flavian Rome, Josephus. Who were his likely audiences or patrons in Rome? How did the context in which he wrote affect his writing? What do his narratives say or imply about that context? This book brings together contributions from leading international scholars of Josephus and Flavian-Roman history and literature.

Basil the Great was born ca. 330 CE at Caesarea in Cappadocia into a family noted for piety. He was at Constantinople and Athens for several years as a student with Gregory of Nazianzus and was much influenced by Origen. For a short time he held a chair of rhetoric at Caesarea, and was then baptized. He visited monasteries in Egypt and Palestine and sought out the most famous hermits in Syria and elsewhere to learn how to lead a pious and ascetic life; but he decided that communal monastic life and work were best. About 360 he founded in Pontus a convent to which his sister and widowed mother belonged. Ordained a presbyter in 365, in 370 he succeeded Eusebius in the archbishopric of Caesarea, which included authority over all Pontus. He died in 379. Even today his reform of monastic life in the east is the basis of modern Greek and Slavonic monasteries.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Basil's "Letters" is in four volumes.

This is a critical account of the state-of-the-art of scholarship in earliest Christianity, and where and how it should move forward. It offers an authoritative account of contremporary scholarship and evaluates the work of all major scholars in the field, from Britain, America and around the world, as well as a critical analysis of all the published writings in Early Christianity over the last twenty-five years of the 20th century. The author evaluates all the contributions and defines the most significant areas for future research.

The Julian mentioned in the title is Julian of Eclanum who was born at Eclanum in Italy in 380 and died in Sicily ca. 455. After the death of his wife, Julian joined the clergy of his native diocese and eventually succeeded his father as bishop. With a mastery of Greek and Latin Julian combined a great store of theological learning which, however, was tainted with Pelagian errors. Because of his support of Pelagius Julian himself was condemned, deposed and expelled from Italy. In his authentic work, four books to Turbantius, three letters, and eight books to Florus, Julian's heterodox teachings reduced grace to a simple, protective, divine assistance and practically denied that the taint of Adam's sin passed on to the human race. In Against Julian Augustine stresses in the first two books the traditional teachings of the Church found in the Fathers and contrasts their teaching with the rationalism of the Pelagians. Thereupon he refutes the error of the Pelagians that grace is given according to merits. To refute the Pelagian error concerning concupiscence Augustine explains the Pauline teaching "that each one may know how to possess his vessel." In the concluding book we find a detailed explanation of the practice of infant baptism. This section is a valuable witness to the ritual of baptism as it was conferred in the age of the Fathers.

This volume is an original and important contribution to the study of the earliest Palestinian Jewish Christianity. For the first time all the evidence for the role which relatives of Jesus played in the early church is assembled and assessed. Dr. Bauckham discusses a wide range of evidence, not only from the New Testament but also from the Church Fathers, the New Testament Apocrypha, rabbinic literature and Palestinian archaeology. The letter of Jude, in particular, proves to have much to teach us about the theology of the brothers of Jesus and their circle. It illuminates their exegetical methods and their Christology and shows both to have been influential contributions to the development of early Christianity. This study shows that this neglected New Testament book is far more important for the study of early Christianity than has hitherto been recognized. By setting the letter of Jude within the context of the evidence for the role of relatives of Jesus in the early church, new insights can be revealed into the letter and early Jewish Christianity.

The volume presents the most generally admired ancient Christian funeral orations-four from the Greek (those of St. Gregory Nazianzen), four from the Latin (those of St. Ambrose of Milan). From the Bishop of Nazianzen, we have words spoken in honor of three kinsmen, his father, a brother, and a sister, and of the great St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea. Two of the orations from the lips of St. Ambrose are likewise for a kinsman, his brother Satyrus, while the other two are for wearers of the purple, the youthful Valentinian II and the emporor Theodosius.

As the vestiges of the Roman political machine began to collapse in the fifth century A.D., the towering figure of Pope St. Leo the Great came into relief amid the rubble. Sustained by an immutable doctrine transcending institutions and cultures, the Church alone emerged from the chaos. Eventually, the Roman heritage became assimilated into Christianity and ceased to have a life of its own. It would be practically impossible to understand this monumental transition from Roman world to Christendom without taking into account the pivotal role played by Leo--and not the emperor--who went out to confront Attila and Hun. It was Leo who once averted and on another occasion mitigated the ravages of barbarian incursions. As significant as his contribution was to history, Leo had an even greater impact on theology. When partisans of the monophysite heresy had through various machinations predetermined the outcome of a council held at Ephesus in 450, Leo immediately denounced it as a latrocinium (robbery) rather than a concilium (council). A year later--with cries of "Peter has spoken through Leo!"--the ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, a pillar of Catholic Christianity, adopted in its resounding condemnation of monophysitism the very language formulated by Leo. Pope Leo also developed the most explicit and detailed affirmations known up to that time of the prerogatives enjoyed by successors if St. Peter. Many theological principles find their clearest, and certainly their most eloquent, expression in his sermons. Leo spoke with all the refinement of a Roman orator, without the pagan trappings, and thus epitomized a Christian appropriation of the classical heritage. In the midst of it all, however, Pope St. Leo thought of himself simply as the humble servant of those entrusted to his care. This volume presents the first English translation of the complete sermons.

Caesarius, Bishop of Arles in post-Roman Gaul from 503 to 543, served as the spiritual and administrative leader of an ecclesiastical province that placed twenty-seven bishops under his supervision. During most of his episcopacy Caesarius was subjected to Arian rulers, Visigothic and Ostrogothic, but his vigorous adherence to Catholic doctrine was not weakened. His concern in these translated sermons is the spiritual and moral welfare of ordinary lay folks. This collection comprises the first of five categories established by Dom Morin, the editor of the Latin texts: namely, the category of admonitions.

This volume challenges some common assumptions about the culture of the early Byzantine Near East by examining the architecture and urban design of five cities in that period. The author assesses the various kinds of religious structure found in each city, including cult centres, temples dedicated to the Olympian gods and buildings set aside for mystery religions. He also shows how the effects of these sanctuaries on civic religious life were hugely important and influential, and shaped the way that citizens conceived of their city and of themselves. This book should be of interest to: scholars and students of the New Testament and of the Hellenistic period; scholars and students of Judaic studies; scholars and students of Classical studies; and non-specialists interested in the life and times of the ancient world.

Steeped in Greek Christian writings, Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is known for (among other achievements) his allegorical exegesis of the Old Testament. This volume offers English translations of Ambrose's interpretations of three stories in the Old Testament: of the six days of creation, of the Fall (Adam and Eve's loss of Paradise), and of the brothers Cain and Abel. From these stories are drawn lessons on morality and God's will for humankind.

Of the 124 tractates that St. Augustine delivered to his congregation at Hippo Regius, the first fifty-four form a distinct group. They differ in length and character from the remaining tractates, contain many chronological references, and consist of bitter attacks on the Donatists and other heresies. The remaining tractates (55-124) are brief and contain no chronological references to prior tractates. Scholars maintain that the latter were dictated for later reading to the people rather than extemporaneously delivered. This volume contains tractates 11-27. In 11-16 Augustine continues the attack, begun in tractates 1-10, on the heresies of Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. Beginning with the seventeenth tractate, however, he focuses greater attention on Arianism, a Trinitarian heresy whose major tenet was that divine being was uncreated, unbegotten, and unique and that Christ was not true God but a creature who had a beginning. Augustine also attacks lesser Christological heresies: the Apollinarists, who assert that Christ did not assume the complete human nature but only the body, and Photinus of Sirmium, who held that Christ did not except for his miraculous birth and acquired a plenitude of grace through moral perfection. In these tractates Augustine combines scriptural exegesis, the refutation of false teachings, and theological reflections with the spiritual and moral instruction of his congregation. "Look for separation in the Father and Son, you do not find it; even if you have soared high, then you do not find it; if you have touched something beyond your intellect, then you do not find it. For if you busy yourself in these things which the erring mind makes for itself, you speak with your own images, not with the Word of God; your images deceive you. Transcend the body and savor the mind. Transcend the mind also and savor God."

In this book, Calvin Roetzel explores the social, political, religious, and intellectual environment of the New Testament writers. Roetzel maps the major features of the first-century landscape so that the student may be able to view the whole, and through the whole gain new perspective on and insight into each part. Now updated with the most current scholarship and with revisions taking into account archeological findings, this is the best available introduction to the subject.

Expanded materials include discussion of the social structure of Roman society, political dimensions of Pharisaism, Hellenistic religious expression, the Jewish Diaspora, the influence of the Septuagint on the Gospel writers and Paul, and women in antiquity. Pictures are integrated into the text at relevant points, the end of each chapter contains suggestions for further reading, and there is also a current and comprehensive bibliography of topics and authors.