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Subject Area: Religion-Patristics & Early Christianity
Hunter, David G.1989 0-88946-613-0 200 pages
The introduction and notes provide information on Chrysostom's life before his ordination and represent the first major study of these early ascetical treatises in English.
Blasi, Anthony J.
2018 1-4955-0662-2 100 pages
Dr. Blasi's book is guide for helping social scientists conduct social scientific research in the early history of Christianity. It also serves to help New Testament scholars to appreciate social scientific methodology and study. It is an interdisciplinary guide to expand the scholarly knowledge and research into early Christianity.
Slater, Thomas Bowie
2018 1-4955-0687-8 252 pages
This collection of essays is an Afrocentric examination into Pauline-studies by persons of African descent. The study encourages us to reassess our commonly held beliefs about biblical interpretation by offering us a fresh point of view and different cultural perspective than those that have been developed by traditional Eurocentric research. This work challenges our presuppositions about the Bible and biblical interpretation
Kim, Dongsu
2004 0-7734-6404-2 416 pages
This study of apostasy in the Johannine writings contributes to filling in the vacuum of scholarship regarding apostasy in the New Testament. The perennial debate between the Arminians and Calvinists over the question has been based on their respective systematic theological presupposition whether it emphasizes freedom of human will or God’s predestination. This study serves to show how John would have understood them in his historical context, and thus affirms a well-known hermeneutic principle that a historical reconstruction must be born out from within the text rather than by imposing the interpreter’s own frame of presuppositions.
Varner, William
2005 0-7734-6188-4 320 pages
This work provides the text and translations of three ancient Jewish – Christian dialogues: The Dialogue of Athanasius and Zacchaeus (Greek, 4th c.); The Dialogue of Simon and Theophilus (Latin, 5th c.); and The Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila (Greek, 6th c.. This is the first published translation of each of these texts. An introduction discusses the context of the dialogues in the “Contra Judaeos” literature of the early Church and also explores the question of whether or not they represent any actual discussion between Jews and Christians, and also what purposes these dialogues served. Careful attention has been paid to the dialogues’ use of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, in furthering the discussion about the Messiah. To this end, a Comprehensive Spiritual Index encourages greater comparative study of these dialogues. It is the translator’s purpose to expose these works, which have been the concern of a small circle of focused scholars, to a wider scholarly audience and to encourage greater study of them and their role in the history of Jewish-Christian relations.
Forman, Robert J.
1995 0-7734-8904-5 240 pages
This study examines the relationship between pre-Christian and Augustinian aesthetics as it emerges in four of Augustine's major works: de Musica, Confessions, de Doctrina Christiana, and de Civitate Dei. It places these treatises against the historical circumstances in which each was written, and notes their unusual propositions against which one can understand the development of early Christian literary theory. It considers at length how Augustine modifies secular aesthetics to satisfy the needs of the emerging Church, the role of truth and its relation to literary invention, the place of the self and its relation to community, and the evolution of early secular allegory.
Kim, Yoon Kyung
2006 0-7734-5670-8 212 pages
This book investigates and compares Augustine’s two commentaries on the opening chapters of Genesis: De Genesi contra Manicheos, his first scriptural exegesis, and De Genesi ad Litteram, the final and monumental version of his exploration of the creation. The book shows how Augustine’s exegesis of Genesis 1-3 progressed in the two commentaries. In so doing, the book suggests that there are two main factors to explain his progress: his notions of history and of the scriptures, which were developed and clarified during the period of the interval between the two commentaries.
Reid, Marty L.
1996 0-7734-2367-2 216 pages
This study contributes to the understanding of early Christian rhetoric by focusing upon the interaction between Augustinian and Pauline rhetoric in Romans Five. The study first examines Augustine's hermeneutic with special attention to the function of rhetoric. It then considers Augustine's interpretation of the Apostle Paul. The author establishes the significance of Romans Five in Augustine's theology and assesses the bishop's exegesis. A particular contribution of the study is the detailed analysis of Augustine's construal of Romans 5:12-21, offering a judicious critique of traditional interpretation. The conclusion provides a solution to the ongoing debate concerning the rhetorical function and argumentative structure of Romans. This work furnishes a fresh elucidation and recent appraisal of the hermeneutical task of interpreting the Pauline epistles as rhetorical discourse.
Parry, Donald W.
1991 0-7734-9775-7 311 pages
This bibliography cites works that treat archaeological and literary evidence that bear on the layout, design, and physical accoutrements of the temples of Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, as well as the subsequent temple systems which belonged to the Greco-Roman world. In addition, it treats certain features of the temple, such as the role of the priesthood in the operation of the temple, the sacred vestments of the priests, sacrifice and other priestly rituals, the cosmic associations of the temple, and the temple as the locus of kingly authority and the site of his coronation. The bibliography is divided into specific categories, such as Temples of Jerusalem, Temples of Egypt, Priesthood, Sacrifice, and others. Within each of these categories the relevant bibliography is listed alphabetically by author.
Christo, Gus George
2008 0-7734-4977-9 176 pages
An analysis of St. John Chrysostom’s writings, this work provides unique insight into early Church authority and leadership by charting the evolution of the role of the bishop.
Berry, Paul
2010 0-7734-1351-0 280 pages
This study examines the basis for the union between the Latin language and Christianity. In the presentation of the case, 100 manuscript pages were selected from the oldest complete Latin Mass Book, the 7th century document known as The Bobbio Misal. A photo reproduction of each of the 100 folio pages discussed is presented across from a modern typeface transcription with a English translation at the bottom of the page.
Pearson, Sharon Clark
2001 0-7734-7632-6 304 pages
The hallmark of the composition of 1 Peter is the careful weaving of many types of source material into a tapestry of reassurance. The Christological testimony of 1 Peter is advanced primarily by the use of traditional deposits which have been selected, correlated and arranged by a sufferings/glories pattern derived from the Servant Song of Isaiah 53. They are best seen as a connected series, illumined by the Old Testament background and set in place as hymn-like sections which inspire the obedience and faithful witness required by the parenetic sections which follow. Exodus imagery, viewed through the prism of Deutero-Isaiah’s adaptation of it in Isaiah 53-54, is reapplied in the exhortations of 1 Peter. Further collection of evidence reveals the 1 Peter’s use of Deutero-Isaiah goes well beyond what has been recognized up to now.
Lawrenz, Melvin E. III
1997 0-7734-2272-2 184 pages
The considerable corpus of Chrysostom's writings and homilies gives evidence of the tensions and debates in late fourth and early fifth century Christian thought about the person of Christ. These interpretations deal with the completeness, integrity and relationship of the divine and human natures of Christ. This volume maintains that although Chrysostom's exegetical method is essentially the same as other theologians from Antioch, his underlying theological perspective of Christ is closer to the Alexandrian emphasis on one divine subject of the incarnate life of Christ. The method used is the examination of the nearly five hundred homilies and homiletical commentaries on the books of the New Testament Chrysostom treated, and his polemical homilies against the Neo-Arians.
Citations and Allusions to Jewish Scripture in Early Christian and Jewish Writings Through 180 C. E.
McLean, Bradley H.1992 0-7734-9430-8 144 pages
This comprehensive research tool provides a time-saving, complete access to multiple examples of exegesis of Old Testament texts which were of greatest interest to New Testament authors. Jewish pseudepigrapha, Jewish hellenistic writings, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, and many other early Christian writers are included. This index collects side by side those instances in which Old Testament citations and allusions occurring in the New Testament are also quoted or alluded to in other Jewish and Christian literature up to 180 C.E.. An invaluable aid to scholars interested in the origins of Christianity, comparative religion, the history of exegesis, and the history of textual transmission.
Ewing, Jon D.
2008 0-7734-5036-X 288 pages
This work examines the ways in which the early Christian author, Clement of Alexandria, was able to creatively synthesize disparate Biblical, Hellenistic Jewish, Platonic and Stoic understandings of the concept of divine providence. After an initial look at Clement’s socio-historical environment, the study focuses on specific conceptual development of providence and how this term was utilized and understood in its respective milieux.
Clark, Elizabeth
1977 0-88946-984-9 182 pages
Fuglseth, Kåre S.
2003 0-7734-6774-2 212 pages
This volume presents a complete computer-generated comparison of the Greek New Testament and the extant Greek writings of Philo of Alexandria. It is a statistical counting and registration of all common words in these writings. It is based upon the database gathered in connection with the Norwegian Philo Concordance Project, headed by Prof. Peder Borgen. This list will be useful for all New Testament scholars interested in the Jewish and Greco-Roman background of the New Testament.
White, Carolinne
1991 0-88946-599-1 264 pages
This new translation into English of the extant correspondence between St. Jerome at Bethlehem and St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, is the first to present these letters, written during the years 394-419 AD, in chronological order in one volume. This volume also contains explanatory notes for each of their seventeen letters, as well as two letters from Jerome and Augustine relating to their correspondence and an introduction discussing the main themes with which their correspondence deals: the relative merits of the Latin version of the Bible from the Septuagint and Jerome's new translation from the Hebrew Old Testament, the authority of Scripture, and the problem of the origin of the human soul. The letters are illuminating for the history of the period when Christians had to combat many heretical movements as well as paganism. On a more personal level, the correspondence also traces the vicissitudes of the friendship between Jerome and Augustine, the development was hindered by the practical problems involved in sending letters long distances and by Jerome's characteristic unwillingness to accept any criticism.
Donalson, Malcolm Drew
2002 0-7734-6894-3 280 pages
This first half of this study examines the chief characteristics of the Isis cult - the goddess herself, her mythology, variegated attributes, appeal, initiation and cultic practices, priests and priestesses, and calendrical observances. Part Two is an historical survey of the cult's progress and setbacks from the cult's introduction into Italy through the reign of Commodus in the late second century C. E. An epilogue takes the story up to its suppression by the Christianizing state. This will be useful work for scholars of religion in the classical world and comparative religion, as well as for those in Roman history and civilization.
Ferguson, Everett
1984 0-88946-703-X 191 pages
A collection of five lectures which provide a much-needed study of the demonic in New Testament literature and thought, with useful summaries of demonology in the Greek and Jewish literature of that era.
Stevenson, Nicholas G.
2015 1-4955-0283-X 184 pages
An inspiring new addition to the translated literature on the Constantine era. This work appeals to a broad audience and is a godsend to scholars and students interested in the historical biography of Constantine the Great and the correlating studies of late antiquity and early Christianity.
Jones, Peter Russell
2001 0-7734-7402-1 152 pages
This work provides in English translation what survives of commentary upon the Epistle of Jude from the first millennium of the Christian church. Five texts feature: the relevant portion of Clement of Alexandria’s Hypotyposes, and the commentaries of Didymus (the Blind) of Alexandria, Pseudo-Oecumenius, and the Venerable Bede. With these is included the scholia, extracts from other no longer extant works, published by Dean Cramer in his catena of the Greek Fathers on Jude. Each translated text is provided with notes, and the whole is prefaced by two chapters which place these commentators in their historical context and compare their handling of the material.
Laporte, Jean
1983 0-88946-601-7 261 pages
A careful study of eucharistia (`thanksgiving') and related words as used by one of the greatest Jewish exegetes, mystics, and apologists, Philo (c. 20 b.c. - c. 50 a.d.).
Bas, Bilal
2013 0-7734-4476-9 376 pages
The Byzantine Iconoclastic controversy (ca. 726-843) was a debate over the legitimacy of the liturgical use of images. It had important political and theological implications, which modern scholarship generally tends to treat unconnectedly. The work explicates the relationship between the political and theological dimensions of the controversy.
Gumerlock, Francis X.
2009 0-7734-4935-3 240 pages
This study offers a solution to the problem of conflicting data on the extent of God’s saving will in the writings of an eminent sixth-century North African bishop, Fulgentius of Ruspe. It demonstrates that over time Fulgentius changed his opinion on the issue.
Isbell, Charles David
2002 0-7734-6994-X 204 pages
Azkoul, Michael
2006 0-7734-5640-6 232 pages
The purpose of this study is to offer the “philosophy” of the Greek and Latin Fathers without the parochial biases of Western scholarship. From the Latin Middle Ages, when the Masters or Scholastics ruled the intellectual world of the occident, until the present day, the work of the Fathers has been characterized as a synthesis of Christian and Hellenic thought, not unlike the philosophical theology of Thomas Aquinas, a synthesis anticipated by Augustine of Hippo, who, along with several other famous Christian writers (Tatian, Clement and Origen of Alexandria, Tertullian, etc.) cannot be numbered among the Fathers without negating the consensus patrum. In other words, we must look upon the Greek and Latin Fathers as holy men, sharing a common faith, fellows of the same theological tradition, witnesses to, not creators of, “the Faith once delivered to the saints.” To demonstrate this thesis, this book examines not only the patristic conception of philosophy, but also its treatment of those three grand philosophical problems (if we may believe Immanuel Kant) in terms of their “philosophy”: God, immortality and freedom of the will. This work will appeal to scholars of church history and patrology.
Kraszewski, Charles S.
1999 0-7734-8228-8 456 pages
This translation of The Gospel of Matthew with its Greek and English parallel text format and appendix of Patristic Commentary is intended to offer the reader a glimpse into the past of the church – its first seven centuries, to be exact – the Apostolic, Subapostolic, and Patristic periods, which attract Christians of all persuasions like a lodestone.
Harrison, Verna E. F.
1992 0-7734-9542-8 296 pages
This is a major study of Gregory of Nyssa's thought, which has been unduly neglected and underestimated by scholars. The relationship between grace and freedom is among the more significant focal points in Christian theological reflection, and Gregory of Nyssa's thought in this area is rich and provides abundant material for detailed analysis of the Eastern alternative. This study examines his view of grace and freedom within his own historical setting, and particularly in the context of his thought as a whole. It is a significant new analysis of centithetical thinking, which is important in much patristic and Byzantine theology.
Hanson, Richard Simon
1993 0-7734-1932-2 104 pages
Russell, Peter J.
2008 0-7734-4938-8 488 pages
This work overturns previously accepted theories about the rise of the first- century Church by arguing that it maintained a religious culture of diversity because of its roots in Judaism.
Evans, Roger S.
2014 0-7734-4263-4 388 pages
A revealing examination of the development of religious animosity through the manufacturing of an anti-Semitic and anti-Judaism atmosphere that remains widespread in Christian society today. This study uncovers how the early Christian Church Fathers’ torturous manipulation of the Hebrew Bible, caused the marginalization of the Jews socially, economically, legally, theologically, and spiritually.
Salisbury, Joyce E.
1985 0-88946-809-5 334 pages
Reconstructs the life, culture, and religious practices of the peasants of this period and the Catholic Church's expansion of the limits of orthodoxy to incorporate elements of peasant religiosity.
Mortley, Raoul
1996 0-7734-8787-5 248 pages
This study excavates the Hellenistic tradition of history-writing, to interpret and situate the various artifacts which it has left behind. This in turn provides the context for a much more Hellenistic account of the Christian Eusebius, and his own historiography, than has yet been given. The book begins with the development of universal history, and the Peripatetic influence on historiography following Aristotle's methodological criticisms: the legacy of this is followed through to Diodorus, Josephus and Plutarch who, it is argued, form the major background to the development of Christian history-writing. The impact of Greek historiography on early Christian thought is every bit as great as that of Greek philosophy, and in drawing a line from Aristotle to Eusebius, Mortley illuminates the trail which the historical tradition of the period probably took.
Butterworth, Edward J.
1990 0-88946-276-3 384 pages
Begins by generally stating the relation between Anselm and Aquinas in arguing for the existence of God, then surveys the history of the tradition of interpretation of Anselm's argument and the Fourth Way of Aquinas, subsequently analyzing them comparatively to show the essential identity between the two arguments. Discusses Thomas Aquinas' supposed rejection of Anselm's Proslogion argument and addresses the viability of the Anselmian-Thomistic argument from degrees of perfection today.
Gowans, Coleen Hoffman
1998 0-7734-2227-7 296 pages
Augustine's Sermones ad populum reveal the active dimension of his Christian anthropology. There he answers the questions "Who is the true believer?" by tracing a path through the heart. Exploration of Augustine's understanding of the term cor shows that he regards the heart as the deepest center of personal identity, and offers further insight into the unity of flesh and spirit. By uniting his understanding of the heart to his thoughts on baptismal identity, this study contributes to a fuller appreciation of the richness, vibrancy and depth of Augustine's insights into the human person which the sermons show in a unique way.
Cusack, Pearse
1993 0-7734-9272-0 204 pages
This work applies various types of criticism (source, form, redaction, historical) to the interpretation of the text. Typology and psycho-history are also used. The study first examines Gregory, the man and the scholar. The interpretation of the Vita V. Benedicti is in continuous form. An epilogue reviews the material as a whole to determine what exactly the hagiographer had in mind when he undertook the writing of the life of Benedict.
Olson, Mark Jeffrey
1992 0-7734-2352-4 164 pages
By focusing upon Irenaeus' defense of the Catholic or Orthodox position, this volume provides a needed balance to the mass of Gnostic scholarship produced since the publication of the Nag Hammadi texts. This is a fresh look, sympathetic but critical, at Irenaeus' development of an anti-gnostic position, calling attention to the importance of his biblical interpretation, especially of Paul's letters. It also adds an important supplement to the study of a crucial theological theme: the Kingdom of God, showing that the early church, or at least Irenaeus, continued to preach about the "kingdom of God" as a theological theme of first importance.
Clark, Elizabeth
1982 0-88946-548-7 254 pages
Women figured large in the lives of the two celibates Jerome and John Chrysostom, and in this study Clark investigates friendship between the sexes in the early Church. Includes chapters on Chrysostom's attitude toward women; friendship between the sexes in pagan thought; and friendship between the sexes in early Christian theory and practice. Clark proposes that there was within patristic Christianity an elevation of status for celibate women, but not for married ones.
Shore, Sally Rieger
1982 0-88946-543-6 204 pages
The first English translation of these treatises. Enhanced by Elizabeth Clark's superb introduction, which sets forth the context of the treatises and makes an extended comparison between John's teaching and that of Paul in 1 Corinthians.
Pater, Calvin Augustine
1993 0-7734-9357-3 364 pages
Presents a revolutionary appraisal of the origins of lay Protestantism in the Radical Reformation. Karlstadt's creative contributions are analysed, and the traditional picture of Karlstadt as an epigone of Luther, challenging his mentor out of spite, are discarded. Among the many surprises this book offers are the highly probably authorship by Karlstadt of most of Felix Mantz's Manifest to the Council of Zurich; the fact that the first Baptists of Zurich financially supported the printing of Karlstadt's treatises on the Lord's Supper, the contacts between Karlstadt and Melchior Hoffman; and finally the contacts between John Smyth and Thomas Murton with Mennonites in Amsterdam. The early history of the Reformation in Estonia, Latvia, and Sweden is newly and radically reinterpreted, and made available in English for the first time. (Reprint)
Hiigel, John
2003 0-7734-6757-2 204 pages
This study proposes that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in part to encourage the church as a whole to take responsibility for its own leadership. This monograph contributes to three current discussions in scholarly circles: socio-historical scholars of Greco-Roman Corinth have been studying the impact social phenomena such as patronage and a fashionable interest in competitive rhetoric might have had on the Corinthians’ conception of leadership; theological investigators have focused on Paul’s response to the church members’ zeal for eschatology and spiritual gifts; and a third group has examined Paul and politics.
Baker-Brian, Nicholas
2009 0-7734-4755-5 400 pages
The book is the first monograph-length study of Augustine’s Contra Adimantum. The work demonstrates that, despite previous neglect of the work by Patristic scholars, a full appreciation of Augustine’s reaction to the Manichaean exegesis of the Bible is absolutely essential in understanding the development of Augustine’s early theology.
Van Fleteren, Frederick
2005 0-7734-5965-0 468 pages
Augustine and Heidegger, the sixth volume in the Collectanea Augustiniana series, is an analysis of Heidegger’s interpretation of Augustine of Hippo. The first part deals with Heidegger’s phenomenological analysis of Confessions X from the perspective of both Augustine and Heidegger. The second part treats various themes common to both authors. This book is timely since there is presently no in-depth study of the relationship between Augustine and Heidegger on either side of the Atlantic.
Christo, Gus George
1997 0-7734-2290-0 216 pages
This unique contribution to the field of Chrysostomian studies is the first undertaking of a nearly exhaustive systematic and objective analysis of Chrysostom's understanding of Christian martyrdom from the original Greek sources. The text adds insight into the powerful, biblically founded and eloquent theology of the late fourth/early fifth century Father of the Church concerning Jesus Christ as the pivotal point of salvation history. Around that center emerge countless martyrs who imitate Christ's Martyrdom on the Cross either by death, asceticism, or other means. The section on holy relics carries special significance for the liturgical scholar. Through Chrysostom's eyes, the manuscript presents an original, objective view on martyrdom as understood by the early Church. A biographical sketch of Chrysostom appears in Appendix A, and a list of his writings on martyrdom in Appendix B.
Cushing, Dana
2001 0-7734-7425-0 472 pages
The Eracles text, a condensed Crusader chronicle driving from William of Tyre’s A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, concerns the march to and campaigning in the Holy Land, focusing on the suffering and heroism of the First Crusaders as they sought to gain glory for God and establish a Christian state in a distant and misunderstood environment. In 1481, William Caxton produced a Middle English translation of this text, which he named A Boke Intituled Eracles, or Godeffroy of Boloyne. This two-volume set is the first treatment of Caxton’s work in over a century. It is the first ever modern English translation of the work, providing an easily accessible translation combined with contextual and critical information. It examines two aspects of the Eracles chronicle. First, the book illuminates the history of the text by referring to the Latin and French ancestors of Caxton’s Eracles, as well as investigating Caxton’s methods, abilities and motivations. Previous treatments of the chronicle are examined, correcting discrepancies and providing alternative interpretations. Second, the book investigates the history in the text by using the latest research to further contextualize and clarify the military events described. The author has developed a striking new concept of understanding the interpersonal relationships between the Crusaders, allowing the reader to perceive the inner workings of the Crusade itself.
Cushing, Dana
2001 0-7734-7427-7 532 pages
The Eracles text, a condensed Crusader chronicle driving from William of Tyre’s A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, concerns the march to and campaigning in the Holy Land, focusing on the suffering and heroism of the First Crusaders as they sought to gain glory for God and establish a Christian state in a distant and misunderstood environment. In 1481, William Caxton produced a Middle English translation of this text, which he named A Boke Intituled Eracles, or Godeffroy of Boloyne. This two-volume set is the first treatment of Caxton’s work in over a century. It is the first ever modern English translation of the work, providing an easily accessible translation combined with contextual and critical information. It examines two aspects of the Eracles chronicle. First, the book illuminates the history of the text by referring to the Latin and French ancestors of Caxton’s Eracles, as well as investigating Caxton’s methods, abilities and motivations. Previous treatments of the chronicle are examined, correcting discrepancies and providing alternative interpretations. Second, the book investigates the history in the text by using the latest research to further contextualize and clarify the military events described. The author has developed a striking new concept of understanding the interpersonal relationships between the Crusaders, allowing the reader to perceive the inner workings of the Crusade itself.
Biechler, James E.
1991 0-88946-736-6 253 pages
The Latin original along with an English translation of Nicholas of Cusa's De Pace Fidei, a dialogue he wrote in reaction to the fall of Constantinople and to the general problem of interreligious strife. Supplemented by substantial annotation and commentary, concordance to the Latin text, and annotated bibliography. Latin and corresponding English translation on facing pages.
Miklósházy, S.J., Attila
2006 0-7734-5756-9 320 pages
These books on the origin and development of the Christian liturgy are the result of the author’s teaching the subject to university students. It is not an original work, but rather a collection, compendium and thesaurus of historical, and especially liturgical, data through the centuries, with names, dates, and an ample bibliography. This publication is a significant contribution to the liturgical literature, since no book of the history of liturgy exists in the English language.
The history of the liturgy is divided according to cultural epochs. If liturgy is the communal manifestation of religious encounter between God and his people, then this manifestation would be influenced in each age according to certain cultural patterns. The books do not provide the liturgical data in isolation, but considers them within their political, cultural and church-historical context.
The main purpose of the work is to give some tools to readers today for distinguishing the essential, permanent elements of liturgy and its historically conditioned manifestations. At the same time, besides the scientific apparatus of specialized bibliography, the reader will enjoy the political, cultural and ecclesial overview of each epoch before becoming familiar with the changes in the liturgy itself.
Miklósházy, S.J., Attila
2006 0-7734-5705-4 568 pages
These books on the origin and development of the Christian liturgy are the result of the author’s teaching the subject to university students. It is not an original work, but rather a collection, compendium and thesaurus of historical, and especially liturgical, data through the centuries, with names, dates, and an ample bibliography. This publication is a significant contribution to the liturgical literature, since no book of the history of liturgy exists in the English language.
The history of the liturgy is divided according to cultural epochs. If liturgy is the communal manifestation of religious encounter between God and his people, then this manifestation would be influenced in each age according to certain cultural patterns. The books do not provide the liturgical data in isolation, but considers them within their political, cultural and church-historical context.
The main purpose of the work is to give some tools to readers today for distinguishing the essential, permanent elements of liturgy and its historically conditioned manifestations. At the same time, besides the scientific apparatus of specialized bibliography, the reader will enjoy the political, cultural and ecclesial overview of each epoch before becoming familiar with the changes in the liturgy itself.
Baasten, Matthew
1986 0-88946-606-8 216 pages
Examines the ethical teachings of Gregory the Great and demonstrates the degree of continuity in medieval theology by discussing the influence of Augustine on Gregory and then Gregory on Thomas Aquinas.
Voiku, Daniel J.
1997 0-7734-2230-7 152 pages
This study demonstrates that, of the four levels of interpretation associated with analysis of medieval literature, the literal level is, contrary to accepted opinion, the most sophisticated and difficult for the modern mind to understand. It combines considerations currently taken up under the headings of linguistics, semantics, epistemology, aesthetics, grammar, logic and theology. This study, by a close reading of the works, traces the connections between Augustine's thought and issues in modern composition, linguistics, and language theory, establishing that the basic Christian conception - Augustine's conception - of literacy in the tradition of the liberal arts has been lost to the modern age.
Gorday, Peter
1983 0-88946-602-5 430 pages
Concentrates on the precise connection of Rom. 9-11 with the first eight chapters of Paul's letter by surveying the ways in which Pauline exegesis has been understood and represented in postpastristic exegesis.
Phillips, Thomas E.
2001 0-7734-7473-0 416 pages
This book applies Wolfgang Iser’s theories about the reading process to Luke-Acts in order to determine how reading these documents affects the reader’s understanding and behavior relating to issues of wealth and poverty which has two emphases. On one hand, the reader will understand that these documents advocate a renunciation of the desire for wealth and possessions. On the other hand the reader will understand that these documents advocate actions of generosity toward persons in need.
Hillar, Marian
2015 1-4955-0336-4 160 pages
This book is Servetus exposition and analysis of the early Church Fathers, theology of the Trinity and is considered to be the best of his total corpus. It represents the fifth and final volume of his treatise translated into English.
Pawlikowski, John T.
2013 0-7734-4361-4 136 pages
This volume outlines some of the attempts to produce a theology to replace super-sessionary theology since the Nostra Aetate and the issues that remain, including the question of mission and the Jews.
Martin, Thomas F.
2001 0-7734-7535-4 276 pages
This study makes a three-fold contribution to scholarship. On a general level, it demonstrates the impact of rhetorical culture on early Christian approaches to the Bible. It also demonstrates how Augustine’s interpretation of Paul was shaped by a ‘persuasive’ rhetorical milieu. Finally, it shows the history of a critical text (roman’s 7:24-25a) that Augustine employs from first to final writings. As such, it provides a lens for viewing and interpreting his theological and exegetical development over the course of his career.
Burton, Keith A.
2001 0-7734-7708-X 192 pages
Many have come to the conclusion that Romans 7: 1-6 indicates a deficiency in Paul’s ability to construct a coherent argument. This study suggests that interpretive problems will be eliminated if the pericope is approached with the right methods. Romans 7: 1-6, examined as a rhetorical treatise, is a paradeigmatic argument which is both structurally and logically coherent. A full understanding also demands a re-evaluation of the meaning and reference of ‘law’ in Romans. Utilizing semantic analyses, Burton suggest that ‘law’ most often refers to the Decalogue. In this pericope, Paul demonstrates how a sinful individual who is condemned by law is transformed to a spiritual individual who is commended by law.
Countryman, Louis William
1980 0-88946-970-9 256 pages
Discusses early Christian attitudes toward wealth, including the writings of Clement of Alexandria and Cyprian of Carthage on the subject and such topics as redemptive almsgiving, stewardship of time and treasures, the danger of riches for both possessor and church, and rivalry between the clergy and rich members of their congregations.
Armstrong, Jonathan J.
2014 0-7734-4254-5 324 pages
The book evaluates the canonization process from a new angle in that, according to Eusebius of Caesarea, the Rule of Faith served as a criterion of canonicity, encompassing both the subcriteria of apostolicity and catholicity.
Chyutin, Michael
2002 0-7734-6931-1 368 pages
Sectarianism in the Jewish religion increased during the Second Temple period. One of the prominent manifestations of their differences was the establishment of a different religious calendar for each sect, causing a ‘war of the calendars.’ The first part of this book provides a comprehensive survey of the various calendars found in the ancient world. The second part discusses the redaction of the Book of Psalms in this light. It argues that the redactional Book of Psalms is according to the lunar calendar, while that of the “Psalms Scroll” (11QPs) is according to the solar calendar as practiced at Qumran. Variations in the redaction of the Masoretic, the Septuagint and the other five identified Psalter Scrolls found in Qumran are interpreted as corresponding with the variations in the lunar and solar calendars.
Robinson, Tom
1990 0-88946-374-3 276 pages
A collection of essays that trace a new self-understanding which emerged during the early evolution of Christianity.
Garrison, Roman
2004 0-7734-6384-4 140 pages
Few studies of Luke’s Gospel (or Acts) give much attention to Theophilus and his potential significance despite the fact that Luke indicates specifically that he is writing ‘for Theophilus’. Those which do not recognize the importance of Theophilus nevertheless dismiss him because almost nothing is known about the individual.
Fiensy, David
1991 0-88946-272-0 216 pages
A study of land ownership in first-century Palestine with emphasis on the Little Tradition vis-à-vis the Great Tradition. Under the former, land was viewed in a somewhat traditional and egalitarian sense as a gift of God; in the latter, land was seen in an entrepreneurial, capitalistic light. The concepts of the Great Tradition led the Ptolemies, Seleucids, Herods, and Romans to form large estates. This movement cost many peasants their patrimonial farm plots, reducing them to day laborers and tenants and causing deterioration of the extended family. Shows that Palestine in the Herodian period was a typically agrarian ancient society with a very small group of wealthy and powerful aristocrats and rural masses that barely achieved subsistence.
Blasi, Anthony J.
1996 0-7734-8753-0 456 pages
This study uncovers the first-century community dynamics that occurred among the people to whom the Gospel of John is addressed. It first separates early from late passages, then portrays the local social situation around each layer of literary tradition. Following the successive portrayals, the study finds a change from the 'forum' social situation to a 'jurisdictional dispute', and then to a schism between Christians and non-Christians within a local synagogue. Following the schism came the formation of separate Jewish and Christian identities, a high christology among the Christians, and a conformance on the part of part of the Johannines to the practices of other Christian groups. Special discussions focus on Johannine conceptions of ultimacy, the desyncretizing activity among the Johannine Christians, and their similitude of modernity.
Cho, Dongsun
2010 0-7734-3676-6 232 pages
The thesis of this work is that Augustine’s doctrine of eternal punishment is not the result of his employment of the Platonic concept of the immortal and divine soul but the product of his theological conviction, based on sound exegetical conclusions, that the Bible clearly teaches the eternity of hell.
Bubacz, Bruce
1981 0-88946-959-8 234 pages
States that there exists in St. Augustine's work a unified theory of knowledge, attempts to analyze the individual elements in Augustine's epistemology and relate them to a unified structure, and relates Augustine's theory of knowledge to others in the history of philosophy. "Bubacz's synthesis of Augustine's thought around the central problem of knowledge is a valuable contribution." - Religious Studies Review
Azkoul, Michael
1995 0-7734-8993-2 238 pages
This study refutes the ordinary description of St. Gregory as would-be philosopher in the Greek tradition. First, it describes the world-view of the holy Fathers, holding that it is to their fellowship that he belonged, not the Platonic tradition of the philosophies of Plotinus, Philo, and Origen of Alexandria. Chapters compare St. Gregory to these alleged models and sources, and he matches none of them. The study also holds that the works of St. Gregory were adulterated by his enemies, probably during the sixth-century Origenist revival, as his orthodoxy was never questioned by anyone until the time that the latter followers of Origen associated him with their cause. This study opens up a new direction in the study of religion, contributes to the 'rehabilitation' of St. Gregory and the Christian Tradition to which he was a preeminent witness.
Trevett, Christine
1992 0-7734-9495-2 264 pages
This study examines the letters of this bishop-martyr as products of both Antiochene and Roman Asian influences. After an overview of scholarship on Ignatius, there is an examination of the Christian situations in Antioch and Asia. The writer concludes that relations were troubled between Ignatius and other Christians in Antioch and that the circumstances of his martyrdom included Ignatius having given himself up to the authorities. The emerging `catholic' tradition, which Ignatius represented, was among a variety of Christianities, whose identities are considered in chapter five. The Ignatian letters preserve interesting parallels with Matthean, Johannine and Pauline thought, as well as with the language and ideas of IV Maccabees and of later Gnosticism. Attention is also given to the possible influence on Ignatius and his opponents of the Didathe, the letter of Clement to the Corinthians and of the Apocalypse.
Buckley, Susan
2001 0-7734-7656-3 408 pages
This study maintains that the religious teaching on ‘usury’ had a marked and different effect on the economic development within each of the three monotheistic communities.
Berry, Paul
2002 0-7734-6996-6 120 pages
de Paulo, Craig J.N.
2006 0-7734-5689-9 348 pages
This book on Augustine and Heidegger represents the single most important contribution to the study surrounding the historical and philosophical influence of St. Augustine of Hippo on Martin Heidegger’s early thought and on his magnus opus, Being and Time. This work sets the record straight about the profound influence of Augustine on Heidegger’s work, Being and Time, which promises a renaissance in phenomenology, the emergence of a new field within this discipline, and the restoration of religion to phenomenological speculation.
Rollo-Koster, Joëlle
2009 0-7734-4680-X 464 pages
This work cross-references the persons mentioned in each document with the remaining documents and other biographical resources and offers a critical analysis of all three. The diplomatic analysis challenges many of Bernard Guillemain's conclusions regarding the documents’ dates and purposes, and these challenges can only enhance our understanding of the Avignonese population during the late fourteenth century.
Hillel, Vered
2013 0-7734-4480-7 336 pages
This book is an investigation of the pseudepigraphical Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (TPatr) as a complete literary product. TPatr is examined with the underlying hypothesis that such an analysis will provide a key to enhance our understanding of the document’s inner logic and composition, as well as of the writer’s adaptation of sources.
Steinhauser, Kenneth
2012 0-7734-3073-3 572 pages
This book examines the textual emendations to patristic writings to showcase the theological preoccupations of early Christian teachings. The debate around the formation of a unified church produced several key texts in the history of Christianity, and they are discussed in these scholarly essays. These seventeen chapters examine a shift in textual interpretations, notice a change in literary genre, and also identify ancient editing techniques. Two essays actually show an intentional change in a text to make it palatable to a different audience.
Wilson, J. Christian
1993 0-7734-2382-6 192 pages
This study contends that the Shepherd of Hermas, a non-canonical early Christian document generally classified among the writings called the Apostolic Fathers, has been wrongly understood by most scholars as typifying the traits of "early Catholicism." The document is more accurately understood as being Jewish Christian. The study deals first with the authorship and date of the Shepherd of Hermas, concluding that it was written by a single author in the last two decades of the first century. The greater part of the book deals with Hermas's pneumatology, that is, his understanding of the Holy Spirit. It shows that it is derived from Judaism, specifically from the type of Judaism evidenced in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Leaves much to be debated.
Dolan, James C.
1991 0-7734-9666-1 76 pages
A critical edition with translation of Richard Rolle's tropological commentary on Psalm XX. Of interest to biblical scholars, especially since, despite the fact that Rolle wrote complete Latin and English psalters, it is the only psalm he chose for separate treatment. It is an essay in commentary form that marks an important step in his developing understanding of mystical experience. The general reader will enjoy Rolle's way of bringing the mystical down to earth; his warm, often passionate prose style; and his lively sense of life in the fourteenth century.
McGuckin, John A.
1986 0-88946-609-2 352 pages
A study, both biblical and patristic, that bridges the gap that has developed between dogmatics and biblical exegesis. Presents the basic texts on the transfiguration of Christ in Mark and their exegesis, then discusses the interpretation of this theme in the early Greek and Latin Church Fathers. Includes translations of the basic Latin and Greek texts dealing with the transfiguration.
Papandrea, James Leonard
2008 0-7734-5026-2 496 pages
This work explores Novatian’s historical context, his use of Latin terminology, and his New Testament exegesis, in order to discover and clarify how he solved the Christological problem of how Christ could be fully divine without compromising the oneness of God. The study includes a new translation of his De Trinitate and shows that Novatian’s christology is not only progressive for his time, it anticipates Nicaean and Chalcedonian christology.
Jensen, Brian Møller
2002 0-7734-7073-5 472 pages
"Brian Moller Jensen proposes a wide-ranging reading and interpretation of the liturgy in Piacenza through a rigorous itinerary which recovers the salient points of the codicological production and checks the most significant products which give evidence to the creative qualities of the local liturgies. Its concern is to search for the animus who has inspired the liturgical poetry within the knowledge to approach an exceptional work of mystagogy, of a fascinating catechism performed to introduce and involve the liturgical community in an intense expression of experienced faith. The analysis is all-embracing and investigates in particular, 'the literary aspect, liturgical function and theological contents of these compositions in order to identify the compiler's possible reasons for composing this selection of items.'" -Giacomo B. Baroffio (from The Commendatory Preface)
Van Fleteren, Frederick
1996 0-7734-8957-6 356 pages
The first two articles present a status quaestionis on Anselm. C. Viola reviews and critiques Anselm research presented at L'Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec in July, 1982. Along with a brief critique, F. Van Fleteren submits a bibliography garnered from English sources. W. Fröhlich gives Anselm's itinerary from birth c. 1033 to death in 1109. A. Nadeau treats the circumstances and textual tradition of the Vita Anselmi by John of Salisbury. I. Sciuto indicates the strong ties that link Anselm's argument for God's existence to Augustine's demonstration from eternal truth. K. Kienzler compares Anselm's thought with Descartes, Feuerbach, Hegel, and Levinas. A. Cantin discusses Lanfranc's theology of the Eucharist, relates it to and distinguishes it from Berengarius'. E. Recktenwald then discusses the significance of truth as rectitudo in Anslem. T. Losoncy contributes to the discussion of human knowledge of God aliquatenus, and R. Herrera speaks of the sources of Scotus' demonstration of God's existence from materia in Anselm. The most significant contribution in the volume is made by C. Viola's treatment of Anselm's theological method, showing it to be based on Augustine's exegesis of Sacred Scripture. Viola compares and distinguishes Anselm's method from modern and contemporary methodologies of Kant and Heidegger. Includes reviews of several contemporary interpretations and translations of Anselm's works..
Patten, Priscilla
1991 0-88946-598-3 276 pages
A portrait and analysis of the environment in which the Christian faith first grew, as well as an account of the Church's responses to that environment. Provides the student and reader with a perspective on the world surrounding the Church that is at once immersed in that world and informed with a sense of the unique mission of the Christian faith. Covers not only the world of the advent of Christ and the work of the apostles, but also the much less studied world "before the times" -- in the "gap" between the Old and New Testaments. Familiarizes the reader with the cultural, social, political, and religious landscape as it was shaped in the five centuries preceding the appearance of Christ.