The Complete Works of the First Fathers of the Church gathers a formative body of early Christian writing: pastoral epistles, martyrial exhortations, apologies, theological treatises, biblical interpretation, ecclesiastical histories, and visionary instruction. Spanning the generations from the apostolic age to late antiquity, it records Christianity's emergence within Jewish, Greek, and Roman intellectual worlds. Particularly compelling are its defenses of Christian belief before pagan cr...

We may thank Mr. Wilson, the translator, for separating this collection, absolutely, from the works of Clement of Alexandria, to which it has been made an appendix. The reference to “our Pantænus” gives the only colour for such a collocation with so great a name. It is the work of a Montanist, perhaps, who may have had some relations with the Alexandrian school; but it is hard to say precisely who, of three or four named Theodotus (all heretics), may have made the compilation, more especia...

Since the grandparents of mine immigrated to Sinkiang from China proper after WWII, my fate has been bonded with the land of magic. I was born and raised in Ürümqi. Thus, I've got such a privilege to explore and enjoy the flourishing culture that the city can possibly provide.Buddhist temples, mosques and orthodox churches are coexisting in the city, harmoniously. The dwellers here speak Uyghur, Kazakh, Mandarin, Tajik, Mongolian, Russian and many other different languages. And the...

Have you ever wondered why some early Christians believed that human destiny was controlled by hidden celestial forces, and how the soul could ultimately break free?Excerpts from Theodotus provides a compelling modern translation of one of the most vital surviving texts of Valentinian Gnosticism. Through these ancient fragments, attributed to the prominent Gnostic teacher Theodotus, readers are invited into a world where salvation is not merely a matter of faith,...

Have you ever wondered why some early Christians believed that human destiny was controlled by hidden celestial forces, and how the soul could ultimately break free?Excerpts from Theodotus provides a compelling modern translation of one of the most vital surviving texts of Valentinian Gnosticism. Through these ancient fragments, attributed to the prominent Gnostic teacher Theodotus, readers are invited into a world where salvation is not merely a matter of faith,...

his is the full set of early Christian writings covering the first 4 centuries after Christ, as edited by Philip Schaff.A total of 64 authors, and over 2,500 works are included in this collection. Everything has been cataloged in an organized fashion to make it easy to reference with the Kindle format.The following authors are included in this collection:Alexander of AlexandriaAlexander of LycopolisAmbroseAphrahatArchelausAristides...

St. John Chrysostom was born in the year 349 AD in Antioch. His father died soon after his birth and he was raised by his deeply pious mother. Under her influence St. John became devout as well, and took to studying scripture under the guidance of the bishop of Antioch who would later be the one to baptize him.St. John was drawn to become a monk, and when he mother died he withdrew to the wilderness. There he wrote a number of works on the ascetic life. After a number of years he w...

The Philokalia is a collection of texts written between the fourth and the fifteenth centuries by spiritual masters of the Orthodox Christian tradition.First published in Greek in 1782, then translated into Slavonic and later into Russian, The Philokalia has exercised an influence in the recent history of the Orthodox Church far greater than that of any book apart from the Bible. It is concerned with themes of universal importance: how man may develop his...

Athanasius was born in Egypt to a Christian family sometime around 295 AD. He was given a good education by his parents, and in his youth, the local bishop, recognizing his talents, took him on as his aide. As a result he would get the chance to be present at Nicaea for the first Ecumenical council of the church.These works cover the full span of his life, beginning before 319 AD, when he wrote his famous, 'On the Incarnation of the Word'. At the time there were a number of differe...

The Ante-Nicene Period (literally meaning "before Nicaea") in the history of early Christianity was the era following the Apostolic Age of the first century to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. During this period the orthodoxy (right belief) of the faith developed. The authors of the faith are known as the church fathers. They not only defined the faith but wrote against various heresies.Some of the unorthodox beliefs were:Gnosticism (2nd to 4th centuries) – reliance on r...

The Didache was possibly written around 65 - 80 A.D. and is supposed to be what the twelve apostles taught to the Gentiles concerning life and death, church order, fasting, baptism, prayer, etc. There is debate as to its authenticity.In the Babel of conflicting opinions, it is best to notice first the obvious internal phenomena. The first part of the Teaching (now distinguished as chaps. i.-vi.) sets forth the duty of the Christian; in chaps. vii.-x., xiv., we find a directory for ...

Saint Isaac the Syrian (613 - 700 AD) was a Christian bishop in the Syrian Church of the East and theologian best remembered for his written works on Christian asceticism. He is regarded as a saint in almost all Orthodox churches.St. Isaac is remembered for his homilies on the interior life, which are favorite among Christian monks. They survive in Syriac manuscripts and in later Greek, Arabic, and Georgian translations.Isaac's writings offer an example of ascetical texts w...