Revised: 6/99
BIBLIOGRAPHY #1: General Works on the Early Church
1. REFERENCE WORKS. I do not normally recommend that graduate students use reference works in doing
research. But in recent years a number of high-quality reference works in the field of Early Church history have been
published by Oxford University Press and others. These are the best and most recent:
Everett Ferguson, Michael P. McHugh, & Frederick W. Norris, eds., Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 2nd ed.
(New York: Garland Publishing, 1998) NEW in paperback, $40. This award-winning encyclopedia is a fine
place to start or simply a way to get a quick overview of things. The articles are generally by the leading
experts on each figure or topic. Note especially the bibliographies at the end of each article.
Aziz S. Atiya, ed., The Coptic Encyclopedia, 8 vol. (New York: Macmillan, 1991).
James S. Bradley and Richard A. Muller, Church History: An Introduction to Research, Reference Works and
Methods (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995) paperback, $19.
Henry Chadwick and Gillian R. Evans, ed., Atlas of the Christian Church (New York: Facts on File, 1987).
Angelo DiBerardino, ed., Encyclopedia of the Early Church, 2 vol., trans. Adrian Walford (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1991) hardcover, $220.
David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 4th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) paperback, $16.
New edition.
Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, eds., The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1996) hardcover.
J.N.D. Kelly, Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986) paperback, $12.
Elizabeth Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press,
1997) hardcover, $125.
Johannes Quasten, Patrology, 4 volumes (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1950s) paperback, $35-40 per
volume. Vol. 1-3 are dated, but still useful; vol. 4, done in the mid-1980s by DiBerardino, is quite good.
Thomas A. Robinson, The Early Church: An Annotated Bibliography of Literature in English, ATLA Bibliographies
Series #33 (Metuchen, NJ: The American Theological Library Association, 1993).
Marcel Viller, Joseph de Guibert, eds., Dictionnaire de Spiritualité: Ascetique et Mystique, Doctrine et Histoire, 17
vol. (Paris: Beauchesne, 1932-1992).
2. HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH: SURVEYS
Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, Penguin History of the Church 1, rev. ed. (New York: Penguin, 1994)
paperback, $13. Chadwick has a gift for making complex matters clear and understandable. Though the
basic text was written in the late 60s and is dated in some ways, it remains a great introduction.
W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984) paperback, $30. The most thorough and
up-to-date of the one volume surveys of the early Church. Frend has something of an anti-institutional bias
and tends to treat schismatics (like the Donatists) and heretics (like the Gnostics) with more sympathy than
they may deserve. Nonetheless, a major study which should not be missed.
Karl Baus, Handbook of Church History, Vol. 1: From the Apostolic Community to Constantine and Vol. 2: The
Imperial Church From Constantine to the Early Middle Ages (New York: Seabury, 1965). Dated.
Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity AD 200-1000 (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell
Publishers, 1996) paperback, $22.
Norbert Brox, A Concise History of the Early Church (New York: Continuum, 1995) hardcover, $18. Almost too
concise to be useful.
W.H.C. Frend, The Early Church (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1965; reprint, 1992) paperback, $15.
Robert M. Grant, Augustus to Constantine: the Thrust of the Christian Movement into the Roman World (San
Francisco: Harper & Row, 1972) paperback, $13.
Bibliography #1: General Works on the Early Church 2
Stuart G. Hall, Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1991)
paperback, $17.
Ian Hazlett, ed., Early Christianity: Origins and Evolution to AD 600, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1991) paperback, $30.
E. Glenn Hinson, The Early Church: Origins to the Dawn of the Middle Ages (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996)
paperback, $19.
John McManners, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990)
paperback, $25. See the chapters by Henry Chadwick,  The Early Christian Community, and by R.A.
Markus,  From Rome to the Barbarian Kingdoms (330-700).
John Meyendorff, Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: the Church, 450-680 (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir
Seminary Press, 1989) paperback, $10.
Samuel Hugh Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. 1: Beginnings to 1500, 2nd edition (Maryknoll, NY:
Orbis, 1998) paperback, $25. NEW.
3. THEOLOGY OF THE EARLY CHURCH: SURVEYS
J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 5th edition (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1978) paperback. Kelly gives
one of the best and most concise accounts I know on the development of doctrine. It can be dense reading
if one tries to read it cover to cover. Use it more as a reference book. It is full of judicious quotes from the
Fathers.
Leo Donald Davis, The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787): Their History and Theology (Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 1983) paperback, $18. A good place to start. It treats the politics surrounding the councils
and has good summaries of the major theological debates. Some of his interpretations (especially on the
Council of Nicaea) are dated and would be challenged by some recent scholars.
David N. Bell, A Cloud of Witnesses: An Introduction to the Development of Christian Doctrine, Cistercian Studies
109 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1989) paperback, $12. For beginners; generally good, but
some inaccuracies.
Angelo DiBerardino and Basil Studer, ed., History of Theology I: The Patristic Period, trans., Matthew J. O Connell
(Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1997) hardcover, $100. Uses an odd organization.
Robert Doran, Birth of a Worldview: Early Christianity in Its Jewish and Pagan Context (Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 1996) paperback, $19.
Peter L Huillier, The Church of the Ancient Councils: The Disciplinary Work of the First Four Councils (St.
Vladimir Seminary Press, 1996) paperback, $20. An important study of the early canons.
R.A. Markus, The End of Ancient Christianity, Canto Books (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990)
paperback, $13. Excellent perspectives.
Jaroslav Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600), vol. 1 of The Christian Tradition (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1971) paperback, $12. Very distilled; he presumes you know the facts.
G.L. Prestige, Fathers and Heretics: Six Studies in Dogmatic Faith (London: SPCK, 1940). A classic.
Boniface Ramsey, Beginning to Read the Fathers (New York: Paulist Press, 1985). Very simple introduction.
Christopher Stead, Philosophy in Christian Antiquity (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994) paperback,
$18.
Hans von Campenhausen, The Fathers of the Church, ed. Patrick H. Alexander (reprint: Hendrickson, 1998)
hardcover, $30. Originally published as 2 volumes, this classic is back in print after long absence.
Maurice Wiles, The Christian Fathers (New York: Oxford University Press, 1966) .
Frances Young, The Making of the Creeds (Philadelphia: Trinity Press, 1991) paperback, $14.
Frances Young, From Nicaea to Chalcedon (London: SCM, 1983) paperback, $14. Excellent bibliography.
Bibliography #1: General Works on the Early Church 3
4. JOURNALS & ESSAYS ON EARLY CHRISTIANITY: The most important journal in the English-speaking
world on patristics is the Journal of Early Christian Studies (Johns Hopkins University). Also important is Studia
Patristica, edited by Elizabeth Livingstone, which publishes the proceedings of the International Patristics
Conference held in Oxford every four years. The Journal of Theological Studies, edited by Henry Chadwick,
routinely publishes important articles on patristic studies and offers excellent book reviews in the field. Other
English-speaking journals that publish important articles relevant to the field are: Theological Studies, Augustinian
Studies, Journal of Roman Studies, Church History, Vigiliae Christianae, Journal of Ecclesiastical History,
American Benedictine Review, Harvard Theological Review, Studia Monastica.
Everett Ferguson and David Scholer, ed., Studies in Early Christianity (New York: Garland, 1993) hardcover. This
valuable series reprints important and often hard-to-find journal articles. There are currently some 18
volumes, and Ferguson is currently working on several new volumes.
" Vol. 1: Personalities in the Early Church
" Vol. 2: The Literature of the Early Church
" Vol. 3: The Bible in the Early Church
" Vol. 4: Orthodoxy, Heresy, and Schism in Early Christianity.
" Vol. 5: Gnosticism in the Early Church
" Vol. 6: Early Christianity and Judaism
" Vol. 7: Church and State in the Early Church.
" Vol. 8: The Early Church and Greco-Roman Thought
" Vol. 9: Doctrines of God and Christ in the Early Church
" Vol. 10: Doctrines of Human Nature, Sin, and Salvation
" Vol. 11: Conversion, Catechumenate, and Baptism in the Early Church
" Vol. 12: Missions and Regional Characteristics
" Vol. 13: Church, Ministry, and Organization in the Early Church Era
" Vol. 14: Women in Early Christianity
" Vol. 15: Worship in the Early Church
" Vol. 16: Christian Life: Ethics, Morality and Discipline in the Early Church
" Vol. 17: Acts of Piety in the Early Church
Lewis Ayres, Gareth Jones, eds., Christian Origins: Theology, Rhetoric, and Community (New York: Routledge,
1998) paperback, $25. NEW. Essays with important new perspectives on old debates.
Timothy Barnes, Early Christianity and the Roman Empire, Collected Studies 207 (London: Variorum Reprints,
1984).
Gerald Bonner, Church and Faith in the Patristic Tradition: Augustine, Pelagianism and Early Christian
Northumbria, Collected Studies 521 (London: Variorum Reprints, 1996).
Peter Brown, Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982).
Henry Chadwick, Heresy and Orthodoxy in the Early Church, Collected Studies 342 (London: Variorum Reprints,
1991).
Henry Chadwick, History and Thought of the Early Church, Collected Studies 164 (London: Various Reprints,
1982).
W.H.C. Frend, Archeology and History in the Study of Early Christianity, Collected Studies 282 (London: Variorum
Reprints, 1988).
W.H.C. Frend, Town and Country in the Early Christian Centuries (London: Variorum Reprints, 1980).
W.H.C. Frend, Religion, Popular and Unpopular in the Early Christian Centuries, Collected Studies 45 (London:
Variorum Reprints, 1976).
William E. Klingshirn and Mark Vessey, eds., The Limits of Ancient Christianity: Essays on Late Antique Thought
and Culture in Honor of R.A. Markus (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1999). NEW,
available in July, 1999.
R.A. Markus, From Augustine to Gregory the Great: History and Christianity in Late Antiquity, Collected Studies
169 (London: Variorum Reprints, 1983).
R.A. Markus, Sacred and Secular: Studies on Augustine and Latin Christianity, Collected Studies 465 (London:
Variorum Reprints, 1996).
Bibliography #1: General Works on the Early Church 4
Frederick Norris, James W. Thompson, ed., The Early Church in Context: Essays in Honor of Everett Ferguson,
Supplements to Novum Testamentum 80 (Leiden: Brill, 1998). NEW.
Birger A. Pearson, The Emergence of the Christian Religion: Essays on Early Christianity (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity
Press International, 1997) paperback, $29.
5. THE ROMAN EMPIRE: HISTORY & SOCIETY
Joseph F. Kelly, The World of the Early Christians, Message of the Fathers 1 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press,
1997) paperback, $23. A well-written introduction to a vast topic. Kelly bring alive how early Christians
viewed the cosmos, what rival religious systems they faced and combated, what the structure of ancient
society looked like. This does much to make thorny issues more intelligible, such as the role of women in
the ancient world or the ancient Christian views on angels or demons or the role of philosophy in the
development of Christian doctrine.
Paul Veyne, ed., The History of Private Life, Vol. 1: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1987) paperback, $20. A recent path-breaking study of the day-to-day social world of the
ancients: the experience of birth and death, of marriage and slavery, of education and patronage. See
especially the brilliant essays by Veyne and Peter Brown.
A.H.M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284-602, 2 vol.(reprint: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1978) paperback $25
per volume. The classic survey of the social world of the Roman Empire; dated, but still unsurpassed. It
carefully documents every aspect of Roman life: the government (from the emperor on down), military,
commerce, education, economics.
Roger S. Bagnall, Egypt in Late Antiquity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993) paperback, $18.
John Boardman, Jaspar Griffin, Oswyn Murray, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of the Roman World (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1986) paperback, $20.
Alan K. Bowman, Egypt After the Pharaohs, 332 BC-AD 642: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1986) paperback, $18.
Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity, Library of World Civilization (New York: W.W. Norton, 1971)
paperback, $8. A brilliant and well-written synthesis.
Averil Cameron & Peter Garnsey, eds., The Late Empire, A.D. 337-425, Vol. 13 of The Cambridge Ancient History
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) hardcover. NEW.
Averil Cameron, The Later Roman Empire, AD 284-430 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993) paperback,
$13.
Averil Cameron, The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity: AD 395-600 (New York: Routledge, 1993) paperback,
$16.
J.R. Elsner, Imperial Rome & Christian Triumph: The Art of the Roman Empire AD 100-450 (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1998) paperback, $16.
Hugh Elton, Warfare in Roman Europe, 350-425 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) paperback, $20.
Charles Freeman, Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilizations of The Ancient Mediterranean (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1996) hardcover, $40.
Peter Garnsey, Ideas of Slavery from Aristotle to Augustine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996)
paperback, $19.
Martin Goodman, The Roman World, 44BC-AD180, Routledge History of the Ancient World (New York:
Routledge, 1997) paperback, $25.
Michael Grant, Art in the Roman Empire (London: Routledge, 1995).
Michael Grant, Atlas of Classical History 5th edition (New York: Oxford, 1994).
Peter Heather, Goths and Romans, 332-489, Oxford Historical Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press,
1991) paperback, $30.
Peter Jones & Keith Sidwell, The World of Rome: An Introduction to Roman Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1997) paperback, $18.
George A. Kennedy, A New History of Classical Rhetoric (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994) paperback,
$18.
Bibliography #1: General Works on the Early Church 5
Henri I. Marrou, A History of Education in Antiquity (reprint: Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982).
Fergus Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World, (reprint: Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992) paperback,
$28.
Michael B. Poliakoff, Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1987) paperback, $15.
Beryl Rawson and Paul Weaver, eds., The Roman Family in Italy: Status, Sentiment, Space (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1997) hardcover, $85.
Frank M. Snowden, Jr., Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1983) paperback, $18.
Pat Southern, The Late Roman Army (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996) hardcover, $33.
John E. Stambaugh, The Ancient Roman City, Ancient Society and History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1994)
paperback, $18.
Susan Treggiari, Roman Marriage: Iusti Coniuges from the Time of Cicero to the Time of Ulpian (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1991) paperback, $30.
Leslie Webster and Michelle Brown, eds., The Transformation of the Roman World, AD 400-900 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1997) paperback, $25.
Colin Wells, The Roman Empire, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1995) paperback, $14.
C.R. Whittaker, Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Ancient Society and History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press,
1996) $17 paperback.
6. FATHERS OF THE CHURCH: TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS: The monumental collection of the Greek and
Latin texts of the Church Fathers is that done by J.P. Migne in the mid-19th century: the Patrologia Graeca (PG) and
the Patrologia Latina (PL). Migne is slowly being replaced by modern critical editions. Two important series are
the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (CSEL), the Corpus Christianorum Series Latina (CCSL).
Perhaps, the most important series is the Sources chrétiennes (Paris: 1950s- ), which has published over 400
volumes to date; it has the original text (either in Greek or Latin) with a French translation on the facing page;
volumes also include an extensive introduction and notes. There are also series that offer English translations. The
major series with complete works are the following:
Fathers of the Church, 98 volumes to date (Washington: Catholic University of America Press). The early volumes
done in the 50s are uneven, but the later ones are dependable and often excellent.
Ancient Christian Writers, 57 volumes to date (New York: Newman Press / Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press). Overall,
good translations with detailed notes.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, 10 volumes (Reprint: Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994). These translations were done in the
mid 19th-century, but remain often the only English translation of certain works.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 28 volumes (Reprint: Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994). The first series contains
the works of Augustine and John Chrysostom; the second, translations of other major figures and
documents. These translations were done in the mid 19th-century, and many remain the only ones available
in English.
The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, ed. John Rotelle (Brooklyn: New City Press,
1990- ). About 17 volumes to date. The plan is to translate his complete works. Generally very high
quality contemporary translations.
Classics of Western Spirituality, ed. Bernard McGinn (New York: Paulist Press). While this 92-volume series is not
limited to patristic authors, it does contain the works of a number of the leading Church Fathers, including
Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, John Cassian, and Maximus the Confessor.
Bibliography #1: General Works on the Early Church 6
7. FATHERS OF THE CHURCH: ANTHOLOGIES: For most people, the best entrance into Church Fathers is
reading anthologies. It is a good way to find out who and what interests you. Here are some of the better
anthologies or collections:
Carol Harrison, ed., Early Church Fathers Series, 5 volumes to date (New York: Routledge, 1995- ) paperback,
about $25 per volume. NEW. This new series concentrates on individual Church Fathers. Thus far, there
are volumes on Irenaeus of Lyons, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, and Maximus the Confessor.
Volumes on Athanasius and Gregory of Nazianzus are forthcoming. Each volume has a lengthy
introduction followed by new translations of major (and often previously untranslated) works.
Thomas Halton, ed., Message of the Fathers of the Church, 22 volumes (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1980s-
1997) paperback, $15-18, per volume; some are now out-of-print. This series gives brief excerpts from the
writings of the Church Fathers arranged in topics: the Holy Spirit, baptism, eucharist, biblical interpretation,
women, prayer.
J. Stevenson, ed., A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrative of the history of the Church to AD 337 and Creeds,
Councils, Controversies: Documents Illustrative of the history of the Church AD 337-461, revised edition
by W.H.C. Frend (London: SPCK, 1987 & 1989) paperback, $25 each. An indispensable pair of
anthologies. Stevenson assembles snippets from a vast range of hard-to-find materials: acts of Christian
martyrs, conciliar documents, key passages from heretics and persecutors, inscriptions on coins and
catacombs, snatches of gossip in scattered letters. The end result is a brilliant mosaic of early Christianity.
Henry Bettenson, ed., The Early Christian Fathers and The Later Christian Fathers (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1969) paperback, $12 per volume.
David W. Bercot, ed., A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998) hardcover, $35.
NEW. Snippets from the ante-Church Fathers arranged according to topics.
Bart D. Ehrman, After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press,
1998) paperback, $27. NEW.
Thomas C. Oden & Christopher A. Hall, eds., The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, 3 volumes to date
(Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1998- ) hardcover, $40 per volume. NEW.