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Early Christianity

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. Early Christianity is the period of the history of Christianity between the life of Jesus, in the early first century, and the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine (306–337), who guaranteed religious freedom to Christians. During this period Christian groups existed within an environment that was periodically hostile and lived in relative isolation from one another. As the period of formation and rise of Christianity, it has been the object of both intense study and controversy. This bibliography does not cover all aspects of early Christianity, but instead focuses on its study as a part of the Classical world.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. Frend and Harrison 1965 and Chadwick 1967 were for a long time the standard introductions to early Christianity, focusing on the church, its doctrines, and its institutions. Recent approaches like Brown 1978, Fox 1986, and—in a less conventional way—Hopkins 2001, try to integrate Christians more fully among the Jews and pagans in the Roman Empire. Clark 2004 and Humphries 2006 are good introductions to this recent scholarship. Rousseau 2002 is an original survey of the topic.
  8.  
  9. Brown, Peter. 1978. The making of late antiquity. Carl Newell Jackson Lectures. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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  11. Brown’s lectures do not offer an overview of the topic but focus on the changes in the religious life of the Roman Empire and how it affected Christianity as well as the other religions. Reprinted in 1993.
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  13. Chadwick, Henry. 1967. The early church. London: Penguin.
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  15. A revised edition was published in 1993.
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  17. Clark, Gillian. 2004. Christianity and Roman society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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  19. Considers early Christianity in the context of Roman society.
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  21. Fox, Robin Lane. 1986. Pagans and Christians. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
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  23. A comparison of pagan and Christian religious practices.
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  25. Frend, William Hugh Clifford, and Carol Harrison. 1965. The early church from the beginnings to 461. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
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  27. New edition, London: SCM, 2003.
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  29. Hopkins, Keith. 2001. A world full of gods: The strange triumph of Christianity. New York: Plume.
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  31. An unconventional approach mixing traditional analysis with a TV drama and the memoirs of two travelers.
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  33. Humphries, Mark. 2006. Early Christianity. London: Routledge.
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  35. A good introduction through a few case studies to some of the major issues.
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  37. Rousseau, Philip. 2002. The early Christian centuries. London: Longman.
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  39. Each chapter has a Further Readings section and suggests one title to begin with.
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  41. Reference Works
  42.  
  43. Ferguson 1997 (with alphabetical entries) and Esler 2000, Mitchell and Young 2006, and Harvey and Hunter 2008 (with a series of chapters) offer a comprehensive coverage of the period. Robinson 1993 covers the bibliography to 1990. The Journal of Early Christian Studies is the major American periodical in the field. Vigiliae Christianae is a leading international periodical.
  44.  
  45. Esler, Philip Francis, ed. 2000. The early Christian world. 2 vols. London: Routledge.
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  47. A series of chapters on the major topics.
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  49. Ferguson, Everett, ed. 1997. Encyclopedia of early Christianity. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: Garland.
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  51. Comprehensive coverage through short alphabetical entries.
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  53. Harvey, Susan Ashbrook, and David Hunter, eds. 2008. The Oxford handbook of early Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
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  55. Introductory chapters to the period 100–600 CE.
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  57. Journal of Early Christian Studies. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
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  59. Major American journal in its field published 1993 to present.
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  61. Mitchell, Margaret M., and Frances M. Young, eds. 2006. The Cambridge history of Christianity. Vol. 1, Origins to Constantine. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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  63. Comprehensive on the pre-Constantinian period.
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  65. Robinson, Thomas A. 1993. The early church: An annotated bibliography of literature in English. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow.
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  67. Useful for the older bibliography.
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  69. Vigiliae Christianae. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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  71. Leading international journal in its field published 1947 to present.
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  73. Sources
  74.  
  75. Early Christianity can now be documented through various kinds of evidence: literary texts, inscriptions, papyri, and archaeology.
  76.  
  77. Biblical Texts
  78.  
  79. Pocket editions are Rahlfs 1935 for the Greek Old Testament (Septuaginta), Aland et al. 1998 for the Greek New Testament, and Fischer, et al. 1994 for the Latin text of the Vulgate. Ehrman 2000 provides a historical introduction to the texts of the New Testament. Metzger 1987 is authoritative on the development of the canon. Burton 2000 is important on the Old Latin Gospels.
  80.  
  81. Biblia sacra: iuxta Vulgatam versionem. 1994. Edited by Bonifatius Fischer, Robert Weber, and Roger Gryson. 4th ed. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
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  83. Edition of the Latin text of the Vulgate.
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  85. Burton, Philip. 2000. The old Latin gospels: A study of their texts and language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  87. On the old Latin translations of the Gospels.
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  89. Ehrman, Bart D. 2000. The New Testament: A historical introduction to the early Christian writings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  91. A historical introduction to the texts of the New Testament
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  93. The Greek New Testament. 1998. Edited by Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger. 4th rev. ed. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
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  95. Pocket edition of the Greek New Testament.
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  97. Metzger, Bruce M. 1987. The canon of the New Testament: Its origin, development, and significance. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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  99. Authoritative on the development of the canon.
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  101. Septuaginta; id est, Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes. 1935. Edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
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  103. Pocket edition of the Greek Old Testament. Reprinted in 1979.
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  105. Apocryphal Literature (New Testament)
  106.  
  107. James 1893–1897 is a standard collection of Greek and Latin texts. Elliott 1993 provides a good English translation. Schneemelcher 1991–1992 is an authoritative introduction.
  108.  
  109. Elliott, James Keith, trans. 1993. The apocryphal New Testament: A collection of apocryphal Christian literature in an English translation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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  111. English translation of the major texts.
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  113. Geerard, Mauritius, ed. 1992. Clavis apocryphorum Novi Testamenti. 2 vols. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
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  115. Index of texts and published editions.
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  117. James, Montague Rhodes, ed. 1893–1897. Apocrypha anecdota. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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  119. Edition of the texts in their original language.
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  121. Schneemelcher, Wilhelm, ed. 1991–1992. New Testament apocrypha. Translation edited by Robert McLachlan Wilson. 2 vols. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
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  123. Introduction to the questions of genre, authorship, and date.
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  125. Early Christian Texts Series
  126.  
  127. For the original texts, the major series are the Corpus Christianorum (both Latin [Corpus Christianorum 1953–] and Greek [Corpus Christianorum 1977–]), the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 1866– (Latin), the Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte 1891– (Greek). For English translations, the Ante-Nicene Fathers series 1950–1951, available both in print and online, must be used with caution. The Ancient Christian Writers series 1946- provides good translations and detailed commentaries; an alternative is the Fathers of the Church series 1947-. Several volumes of the Loeb Classical Library and the Translated Texts for Historians are relevant.
  128.  
  129. Ancient Christian Writers series. 1946–. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.
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  131. Some volumes are accompanied by an extensive annotation.
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  133. The Ante-Nicene fathers: Translations of the writings of the fathers down to A.D. 325. 1950–1951. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 10 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
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  135. Translations are based on texts that are not always reliable. (First edition published 1885–1897). Available online.
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  137. Corpus Christianorum. 1953–. Series Latina. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
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  139. Critical editions of Latin authors.
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  141. Corpus Christianorum. 1977–. Series Graeca. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
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  143. Critical editions of Greek authors.
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  145. Corpus Christianorum. 1983–. Series Apocryphorum. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
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  147. Critical editions of the Apocrypha.
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  149. Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum. 1866–. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
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  151. Critical editions of Latin authors.
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  153. Fathers of the Church. 1947–. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press.
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  155. No extensive commentary in this series, but good translations.
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  157. Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte. 1891–. Berlin: de Gruyter.
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  159. Critical editions of Greek authors.
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  161. Non-Christian Literary Sources
  162.  
  163. Most non-Christian literary sources relevant to early Christianity are available in the Loeb Classical Library (see Lucian 1913–1967, Pliny 1969, Suetonius 1914, and Tacitus 1931–1937).
  164.  
  165. Lucian. Works. 1913–1967. Edited and translated by A. M. Harmon, K. Kilburn, and M. D. MacLeod. 8 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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  167. Alexander the False Prophet in vol. 4; The Passing of Peregrinus in vol. 5.
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  169. Pliny. Letters and Panegyricus. 1969. Edited and translated by Betty Radice. 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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  171. Epistle X, pp. 96–97 in vol. 2.
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  173. Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars. 1914. Edited and translated by John Carew Rolfe. 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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  175. Lives of Nero and Claudius in vol. 2.
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  177. Tacitus. Works. 1931–1937. Edited and translated by John Jackson. 5 vols. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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  179. Book 15 in vol. 5.
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  181. Papyri and Inscriptions
  182.  
  183. Stevenson and Frend 1987 is good selection of documents in translation. The second volume of Beard, North, and Price 1998 offers a wider range of sources and places early Christianity in its Roman context. The series New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity 1981- compiles inscriptions and papyri relevant to the texts of the New Testament and offers detailed commentaries. Diehl 1925–1931 is the standard collection of Latin Christian inscriptions. Kraemer 1991 presents the methodological difficulties related to the criteria normally used to distinguish Jewish and Christian inscriptions from pagan ones. Choat 2006 reviews similar problems with papyri.
  184.  
  185. Beard, Mary, John North, and Simon Price, eds. 1998. Religions of Rome. Vol. 2, A sourcebook. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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  187. Documents in translation on Christianity in its Roman context.
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  189. Choat, Malcolm. 2006. Belief and cult in fourth-century papyri. Studia Antiqua Australiensia 1. North Ryde, Australia: Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Macquarie University.
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  191. On the criteria used to distinguish Christian from pagan papyri.
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  193. Diehl, Ernest, ed. 1925–1931. Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae veteres. 3 vols. Berlin: Weidmann.
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  195. Main collection of Latin inscriptions in their original language.
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  197. Kraemer, Ross S. 1991. Jewish tuna and Christian fish: Identifying religious affiliation in epigraphic sources. Harvard Theological Review 84: 141–162.
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  199. On the criteria used to distinguish Christian from pagan inscriptions.
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  201. New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity. 1981–. North Ryde, Australia: The Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Macquarie University.
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  203. Translation and commentary of inscriptions and papyri. Eight volumes published to date.
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  205. Stevenson, James, and William Hugh Clifford Frend, eds. 1987. A new Eusebius: Documents illustrating the history of the church to AD 337. London: SPCK.
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  207. Documents in translation on the early church history.
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  209. Archaeology
  210.  
  211. Pre-Constantinian evidence is scarce and difficult to interpret. Snyder 2003 offers a useful survey. Bowes 2008 provides a recent review of the main issues. White 1990 most recently addressed the problem of the house churches, the earliest meeting places of Christians. Rutgers 2000 is a good survey of the Roman catacombs. Rebillard 2009 and Bodel 2008 challenge the assumption that they were church-controlled, exclusive for Christian burial.
  212.  
  213. Bodel, John. 2008. From Columbaria to catacombs: Communities of the dead in pagan and Christian Rome. In Commemorating the dead: Texts and artifacts in context: Studies of Roman, Jewish and Christian burials. Edited by Laurie Brink and Deborah Green, 177–242. Berlin: de Gruyter.
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  215. Challenges the Christian exclusivity of the Roman catacombs.
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  217. Bowes, Kim. 2008. Early Christian archaeology: A state of the field. Religion Compass 2 (4): 575–619.
  218. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00078.xSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  219. A recent review of the main issues.
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  221. Rebillard, Eric. 2009. The care of the dead in late antiquity. Translated by Elizabeth Trapnell Rawlings and Jeannine Routier-Pucci. Cornell Studies in Classical Philology 59. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
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  223. Challenges the traditional interpretations of the catacombs.
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  225. Rutgers, Leonard V. 2000. Subterranean Rome: In search of the roots of Christianity in the catacombs of the Eternal City. Louvain, Belgium: Peeters.
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  227. A good introduction and description of the Roman catacombs.
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  229. Snyder, Graydon F. 2003. Ante pacem: Archaeological evidence of church life before Constantine. Rev. ed. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
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  231. An introductory survey of the evidence.
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  233. White, L. Michael. 1990. Building God’s house in the Roman world: Architectural adaptation among pagans, Jews, and Christians. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
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  235. On the early meeting places of Christians.
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  237. Early Christian Art
  238.  
  239. On early Christian art, Grabar 1968 is a classic presentation, partly challenged by Mathews 1999. Elsner 1998 offers a wider background.
  240.  
  241. Elsner, Jas. 1998. Imperial Rome and Christian triumph: The art of the Roman Empire AD 100–450. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  243. Considers early Christian art in the wider context of Roman art.
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  245. Grabar, André. 1968. Christian iconography: A study of its origins. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Reprinted, London: Tourledge and Kegan Paul, 1981.
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  247. A classic introduction to early Christian iconography.
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  249. Mathews, Thomas F. 1999. The clash of Gods: A reinterpretation of early Christian art. Rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
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  251. Challenges the role of imperial iconography in the formation of an iconography of Christ.
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  253. Origins and Spread of Christianity
  254.  
  255. The origins and spread of Christianity are topics that have attracted and still attract a lot of attention from scholars.
  256.  
  257. Figure of Jesus
  258.  
  259. Stanton 1995 is a balanced introduction to the main issues related to the historical figure of Jesus. Fredriksen 2000 focuses on the different portrayals of Jesus in the New Testament. Smith 1978 is an interesting attempt, if controversial, at looking at a role of Jesus with which the tradition was uncomfortable.
  260.  
  261. Fredriksen, Paula. 2000. From Jesus to Christ: The origins of the New Testament images of Christ. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
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  263. On the different portrayals of Jesus in the New Testament.
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  265. Smith, Morton. 1978. Jesus the magician. New York: Harper & Row.
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  267. An attempt to consider Jesus among other figures of “holy men.”
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  269. Stanton, Graham. 1995. Gospel truth? New light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International.
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  271. On the main issues related to the historical figure of Jesus.
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  273. Paul
  274.  
  275. Among many biographies of Paul, Murphy-O’Connor 1996 stands out, as it uses the letters as the prime source of biographical material. Segal 1992 considers Paul in his Jewish milieu. Gager 2000 helps to understand the development of Pauline scholarship on the topic of Paul’s views of Jews and Judaism.
  276.  
  277. Gager, John G. 2000. Reinventing Paul. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  279. On Paul’s views of Jews and Judaism.
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  281. Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. 1996. Paul: A critical life. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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  283. A major biography of Paul.
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  285. Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. 2004. Paul: His story. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  287. A shorter and more narrative presentation of Paul’s life.
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  289. Segal, Alan F. 1992. Paul the Convert: The apostolate and apostasy of Saul the Pharisee. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
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  291. On Paul and his Jewish milieu.
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  293. Judaism and Christianity
  294.  
  295. The Jewish background of Christianity is now fully acknowledged, and the image of “the parting of the ways” is a common shorthand for the process of separation between Judaism and Christianity. Dunn 1991 and 1999 are fundamental. Lieu 2002 compiles a number of her major contributions to the topic. Boyarin 2004 suggests that Judaism was in turn influenced by Christianity.
  296.  
  297. Boyarin, Daniel. 2004. Border lines: the partition of Judaeo-Christianity. Divinations. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
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  299. On the reciprocal influence of Judaism and Christianity over each other.
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  301. Dunn, James D. G. 1991. The partings of the ways between Christianity and Judaism and their significance for the character of Christianity. London: SCM Press.
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  303. On the process of separation between Judaism and Christianity.
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  305. Dunn, James D. G., ed. 1999. Jews and Christians: The parting of the ways, A.D. 70 to 135. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
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  307. On the process of separation between Judaism and Christianity.
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  309. Lieu, Judith. 2002. Neither Jew nor Greek? Constructing early Christianity. London: T & T Clark.
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  311. “‘The Parting of the Ways’: Theological Construct or Historical Reality” is an important introduction to the topic. “Accusations of Jewish Persecution in Early Christian Sources” is a careful analysis of the sources on the role of Jews in the persecutions f Christians.
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  313. Expansion of Christianity
  314.  
  315. On the spread of Christianity during the first three centuries, Harnack 1908 remains fundamental. Mullen 2004 offers an updated but not very critical gazetteer. MacMullen 1984 analyzes the mechanism of conversion to Christianity in the Greco-Roman world. Stark 1996 proposes a sociological model that has been criticized in a special issue of the Journal of Early Christian Studies. Harris 2005 contains several essays that address similar issues. Goodman 1994 compares attitudes of Christians, Jews and pagans toward proselytizing.
  316.  
  317. Goodman, Martin. 1994. Mission and conversion: Proselytizing in the religious history of the Roman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  319. On the attitudes of Christians, Jews, and pagans toward proselytizing.
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  321. Harnack, Adolph von. 1908. The mission and expansion of Christianity in the first three centuries. Translated by James Moffatt. Second, enlarged and revised English edition. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
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  323. Still fundamental on the spread of Christianity.
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  325. Harris, William V., ed. 2005. The spread of Christianity in the first four centuries: Essays in explanation. Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition 27. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2005.
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. The contributions offer a critical review of the major explanations of the spread of Christianity.
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  329. MacMullen, Ramsay. 1984. Christianizing the Roman Empire (A.D. 100–400). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. On conversion to Christianity in the Greco-Roman world.
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  333. Mullen, Roderic L. 2004. The expansion of Christianity: A gazetteer of its first three centuries. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 69. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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  335. An updated but uncritical list of evidence on the spread of Christianity.
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  337. Rodney Stark’s The rise of Christianity: A discussion. 1998. Journal of Early Christian Studies 6 (2): 162–267.
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  339. A discussion by historians of Stark’s sociological model.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. Stark, Rodney. 1996. The rise of Christianity: A sociologist reconsiders history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
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  343. A sociological approach.
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  345. Regional Diversity
  346.  
  347. For Rome, Lampe 2003 is a systematic analysis of the written and material evidence; Brent 1995 focuses on the organizational issues. Judge and Pickering 1977 gathers the papyrological evidence from Egypt, while Griggs 1991 gives a general survey. On Antioch, some papers in Kondolean 2000 are a good complement to Meeks and Wilken 1978. For Asia Minor, to Mitchell 1993 can be added a few studies on specific cities: Ephesus, Sardis, and Smyrna. Rives 1995 is a good starting point for North Africa, on which much of the secondary literature is not in English.
  348.  
  349. Ascough, Richard S., ed. 2005. Religious rivalries and the struggle for success in Sardis and Smyrna. Waterloo, ON, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
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  351. On the evidence from Sardis and Smyrna.
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  353. Brent, Allen. 1995. Hippolytus and the Roman church in the third century: Communities in tension before the emergence of a monarch-bishop. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 31. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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  355. On the emergence of a monarch-bishop in Rome.
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  357. Griggs, C. Wilfred. 1991. Early Egyptian Christianity: From its origins to 451 C.E. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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  359. A general survey of early Christianity in Egypt.
  360. Find this resource:
  361. Judge, Edwin A., and S. R. Pickering. 1977. Papyrus documentation of church and community in Egypt to the mid-fourth century. Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 20:47–71.
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  363. A review of the papyrological evidence.
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  365. Koester, Helmut, ed. 1995. Ephesos, metropolis of Asia: An interdisciplinary approach to its archaeology, religion, and culture. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International.
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  367. On the evidence from Ephesos.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Kondoleon, Christine, ed. 2000. Antioch: The lost ancient city. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. Michael Maas, “People and Identity in Antioch” and Clive Foss, “Late Antique Antioch” provide up-to-date information on the city and its inhabitants.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Lampe, Peter. 2003. From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the first two centuries. Translated by Michael Steinhauser; edited by Marshall D. Johnson. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003.
  374. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  375. A systematic review of the evidence for Rome.
  376. Find this resource:
  377. Meeks, Wayne A., and Robert L. Wilken. 1978. Jews and Christians in Antioch in the first four centuries of the Common Era. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press.
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. On early Christianity in Antioch.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Mitchell, Stephen. 1993. Anatolia: Land, men, and gods in Asia Minor. Vol. 2, The rise of the church. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  382. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. On early Christianity in Anatolia.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Rives, James B. 1995. Religion and authority in Roman Carthage from Augustus to Constantine. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  386. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  387. Chapters 3 and 4 on Christians in Carthage.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Social and Religious Settings
  390.  
  391. It is increasingly recognized by scholars of early Christianity that the Christian groups need to be studied in their different social and religious settings.
  392.  
  393. Orthodoxy and Heresy
  394.  
  395. Most scholars recognize that there was no single church in the first three centuries, that Christians communities were diverse from the start, and that the labels “heresy” or “Gnosticism” need to be used with the greatest caution. On the diversity of the first Christian groups, Bauer 1971 remains fundamental. Williams 1989 is a balanced presentation of the issue. Le Boulluec 1985 deals with the history of the notion of heresy. On Gnosticism, Williams 1996 and King 2003 are a good starting point.
  396.  
  397. Bauer, Walter. 1971. Orthodoxy and heresy in earliest Christianity. Edited by Robert A. Kraft and Gerhard Krodel. Philadelphia: Fortress.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. Fundamental on the diversity of the first Christian groups.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. King, Karen L. 2003. What is Gnosticism? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,.
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403. A balanced overview of the topic.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Le Boulluec, Alain. 1985. La Notion d’hérésie dans la littérature grecque, IIe–IIIe siècles. Paris: Études Augustiniennes.
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. Masterful study of the notion of heresy.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Williams, Michael Allen. 1996. Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An argument for dismantling a dubious category. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  410. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. On the problems linked to the use of the label of “Gnosticism.”
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Williams, Rowan. 1989. Does it make sense to speak of pre-Nicene orthodoxy? In The making of orthodoxy: Essays in honour of Henry Chadwick. Edited by Rowan Williams, 1–23. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. A balanced presentation on the diversity of the first Christian groups.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Organization
  418.  
  419. The emergence of a church hierarchy was a gradual process, and there is debate on how early and firmly it was established. Bradshaw 2002 provides a good synthesis. Campenhausen 1997 traces the history of the tensions between spiritual and ecclesiastical power. Maier 1991 and Campbell 1994 consider the development of leadership in the early church. Brent 1995 challenges traditional assumptions on the unity of the church in Rome before the middle of the 3rd century. Hess 2002 looks at the earliest councils. For the organization of the church in the 3rd century, see Cyprian.
  420.  
  421. Bradshaw, Paul F. 2002. The search for the origins of Christian worship: Sources and methods for the study of early liturgy. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. Chapter 9 on “Ministry and Ordination.”
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Brent, Allen. 1995. Hippolytus and the Roman church in the third century: Communities in tension before the emergence of a monarch-bishop. Supplement to Vigiliae Christianae 31. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. On the transformations of the leadership in the 3rd-century Roman church.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Campbell, R. Alastair. 1994. The elders: Seniority within earliest Christianity. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. On household and Christian leadership down to the Apostolic Fathers.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Campenhausen, Hans von. 1997. Ecclesiastical authority and spiritual power in the church of the first three centuries. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
  434. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. On the tensions between spiritual and ecclesiastical power.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Hess, Hamilton. 2002. The early development of canon law and the Council of Serdica. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. More generally about the earliest church councils.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Maier, Harry O. 1991. The Social Setting of the Ministry as Reflected in the Writings of Hermas, Clement, and Ignatius. Reprinted 2002. Waterloo, ON, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. On patronage and Christian leadership in the first two centuries.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Social Position
  446.  
  447. Despite Celsus’ assertion in his pamphlet that Christianity appealed only to “the foolish, dishonorable and stupid, and only slaves, women, and little children” (Origen, Against Celsus 3.44), the range of social status among Christians seems to replicate that of Roman society. On the 1st century and the Pauline communities, Meeks 1983 is a good synthesis. Gager 1975, Judge 2008, and Theissen 1982 remain important. Schöllgen 1985 deals with the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
  448.  
  449. Gager, John G. 1975. Kingdom and community: The social world of early Christianity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. A pioneering book on the social setting of early Christianity.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Judge, Ewin A. 2008. Social distinctives of the Christians in the first century: Pivotal essays. Edited by David M. Scholer. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. A collection of major essays on the influence of the broader cultural context on the first Christian groups.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Meeks, Wayne A. 1983. The first urban Christians: The social world of the apostle Paul. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. On the organization and social composition of the Pauline communities.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Schöllgen, Georg. 1985. Ecclesia sordida?: zur Frage der sozialen Schichtung frühchristlicher Gemeinden am Beispiel Karthagos zur Zeit Tertullians. Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum. Ergänzungsband 12. Münster, Germany: Aschendorff.
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463. On the social status of Christians in the second and third centuries.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Theissen, Gerd. 1982. The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth. Translated by John H. Schütz. Philadelphia: Fortress.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. An exploration of the social levels of the Corinthian community.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Women
  470.  
  471. If the list of early Christian women authors is very short (see Perpetua), the sources for the study of women in early Christianity are abundant, as attested by the anthologies of texts collected by Kraemer 2004 and Miller 2005. The question of the offices held by women in the early church has focused a lot of attention: Eisen 2000 and Madigan and Osiek 2005 compile and discuss the evidence. Kraemer and D’Angelo 1999 and Osiek and MacDonald 2006 consider more generally women in their social and religious settings.
  472.  
  473. Eisen, Ute E. 2000. Women officeholders in early Christianity: Epigraphical and literary studies. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
  474. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  475. A study of epigraphical and papyrological evidence on women who were holders of official positions in the Church.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. Kraemer, Ross Shepard, ed. 2004. Women’s religions in the Greco-Roman world: A sourcebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  478. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  479. A general anthology on women with a good number of early Christian texts in translation.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Kraemer, Ross Shepard, and Mary Rose D’Angelo, eds. 1999. Women and Christian origins. New York: Oxford University Press.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. A series of chapters that provide an introduction on women and early Christianity.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Madigan, Kevin, and Carolyn Osiek. 2005. Ordained women in the early church: A documentary history. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. Collects all the evidence (literature, inscriptions, papyri) on women holding offices in the Church.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Miller, Patricia Cox, ed. 2005. Women in early Christianity: translations from Greek texts. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press.
  490. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. An anthology of Greek Christian texts in translation.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Osiek, Carolyn, and Margaret Y. MacDonald. 2006. The woman’s place: House churches in earliest Christianity. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.
  494. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. On women in their social and religious settings.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Witherington, Ben. 1991. Women in the earliest churches. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499. On women and the New Testament.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. Early Christianity and The Roman Empire
  502.  
  503. The relationships between the Roman Empire and the Christians during the first centuries are characterized by continuous tensions and sporadic persecutions. Sordi 1986 provides a good narrative and an introduction to the main issues. Fox 1986 presents a detailed analysis of the interactions of pagans and Christians up to the time of Constantine. Coleman-Norton 1966 collects all the laws governing the relationship of the Christians and the Roman authorities.
  504.  
  505. Coleman-Norton, P. R. 1966. Roman state and Christian church: A collection of legal documents to A.D. 535. 3 vols. London: S.P.C.K.
  506. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  507. A collection of the laws governing the relationship of the Christians and the Roman authorities.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Fox, Robin Lane. 1986. Pagans and Christians. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. On the interactions of pagans and Christians up to the time of Constantine.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Sordi, Marta. 1986. The Christians and the Roman Empire. Translated by Annabel Bedini. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. A good introduction to the topic.
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Acts of the Martyrs
  518.  
  519. Musurillo 1972 is the standard collection of texts in English. Bastiaensen 1987 provides more reliable texts in the original language. Barnes 1968 and Bisbee 1988 discuss the nature and dating of the earliest acts.
  520.  
  521. Barnes, Timothy D. 1968. Pre-Decian Acta Martyrum. Journal of Theological Studies 19:509–531.
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523. On the dating of the earliest Acts.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. Bastiaensen, A. A. R., ed. 1987. Atti e passioni dei martiri. Scrittori Greci e Latini. Rome: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla; Milan: Mondadori.
  526. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. Offers better original texts.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Bisbee, Gary A. 1988. Pre-Decian Acts of martyrs and Commentarii. Philadelphia: Fortress.
  530. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  531. On the form and genre of the Acts of the martyrs.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. Musurillo, Herbert, ed. and trans. 1972. The Acts of the Christian martyrs. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972.
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535. Standard collection of texts with an English translation.
  536. Find this resource:
  537. Martyrdom
  538.  
  539. Frend 1965 is the classic treatment in English. Bowersock 1995 gives a recent survey. Boyarin 1999 looks at contemporary Judaism. Droge and Tabor 1991 sets the topic in the broader context of the Greco-Roman world.
  540.  
  541. Bowersock, Glenn W. 1995. Martyrdom and Rome. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  542. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  543. On the historical context of the earliest Christian martyrs
  544. Find this resource:
  545. Boyarin, Daniel. 1999. Dying for God: Martyrdom and the making of Christianity and Judaism. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
  546. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  547. A comparison of Jewish and Christian matyrdom.
  548. Find this resource:
  549. Droge, Arthur J., and James D. Tabor. 1991. A noble death: Suicide and martyrdom among Jews and Christians in the ancient world. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.
  550. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  551. On voluntary death in the Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures.
  552. Find this resource:
  553. Frend, William Hugh Clifford. 1965. Martyrdom and persecution in the early church: A study of a conflict from the Maccabees to Donatus. Garden City, NY: Anchor.
  554. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  555. A good narrative of the persecutions.
  556. Find this resource:
  557. Legal Basis of the Persecutions
  558.  
  559. Keresztes 1979 is a good presentation of the topic. It is still important to start with the debate between Sherwin-White 1952, Ste. Croix 1963, and Ste. Croix 2006. In what remains a fundamental review of the evidence, Barnes 1968 established that there was no general law against the Christians before the mid-3rd century. Giovannini 1996 is a recent challenge to this position.
  560.  
  561. Barnes, Timothy D. 1968. Legislation against the Christians. Journal of Roman Studies 58:32–50.
  562. DOI: 10.2307/299693Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  563. A thorough review of the evidence on the legal basis of the persecutions.
  564. Find this resource:
  565. Giovannini, Adalberto. 1996. “L’interdit contre les chrétiens: Raison d’état ou mesure de police? Cahiers Glotz 7:103–134.
  566. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  567. New assessment of the evidence for the existence of a general edict against the Christians.
  568. Find this resource:
  569. Keresztes, Paul. 1979. The imperial Roman government and the Christian church, I: From Nero to the Severi. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II.23.1. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 247–315. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  570. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  571. A good survey of the evidence.
  572. Find this resource:
  573. Sherwin-White, A. N. 1952. The early persecutions and Roman law again. Journal of Theological Studies 3:199–213.
  574. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  575. On the crime of recalcitrance (contumacia) as the legal basis of the persecutions.
  576. Find this resource:
  577. Ste. Croix, G.E.M. de. 1963. Why were the early Christians persecuted? Past and Present 26:6–38.
  578. DOI: 10.1093/past/26.1.6Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  579. Refutes Sherwin-White 1952 and argues that defiance of the gods was the crime imputed to the Christians. The debate continues in A. N. Sherwin-White, “Why Were the Early Christians Persecuted? An Amendment,” Past and Present 27 (1964): 23–27, and Ste. Croix, G.E.M. de. “Why Were the Early Christians Persecuted? A Rejoinder,” Past and Present 27 (1964): 28–33.
  580. Find this resource:
  581. Ste. Croix, G.E.M. de. 2006. Christian persecution, martyrdom, and orthodoxy. Edited by Michael Whitby and Joseph Streeter. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583. A collection of Ste. Croix’s papers, with an introduction by Joseph Streeter on his contribution to the topic.
  584. Find this resource:
  585. The Mid-3rd Century Persecutions
  586.  
  587. Keresztes 1979 gives a survey of the topic and its historiography. Rives 1999 established that the edict of Decius was not originally directed against the Christians. Selinger 2002 considers more broadly the religious policies of Decius and Valerian.
  588.  
  589. Keresztes, Paul. 1979. The imperial Roman government and the Christian church, II: From Gallienus to the Great Persecution. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II.23.1. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 375–386. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  590. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  591. A good survey of the evidence.
  592. Find this resource:
  593. Rives, James B. 1999. The decree of Decius and the religion of empire. Journal of Roman Studies 89:135–154.
  594. DOI: 10.2307/300738Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  595. Establishes that the edict of Decius was not originally directed against the Christians.
  596. Find this resource:
  597. Selinger, Reinhard. 2002. The mid-third century persecutions of Decius and Valerian. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang.
  598. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  599. In appendix an updated list and translation of the certificates of sacrifice.
  600. Find this resource:
  601. The “Great Persecution” of Diocletian
  602.  
  603. Ste. Croix 1954 is the classical treatment of the topic. Keresztes 1983 and Davies 1989 discuss the role of Galerius and the situation in the West. Barnes 1994 and Schott 2005 explore the role of the philosopher Porphyry in the launching of the persecution.
  604.  
  605. Barnes, Timothy D. 1994. Scholarship or propaganda? Porphyry against the Christians and its historical setting. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 39:53–65.
  606. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  607. On the date and circumstances of Porphyry’s treatise.
  608. Find this resource:
  609. Davies, P.S. 1989. The origin and purpose of the Persecution of AD 303. Journal of Theological Studies 40 (1): 66–94.
  610. DOI: 10.1093/jts/40.1.66Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  611. On the role of Galerius and the timing of the persecution.
  612. Find this resource:
  613. Keresztes, Paul. 1983. From the Great Persecution to the peace of Galerius. Vigiliae Christianae 37 (4): 379–399.
  614. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  615. A thorough comparison of the different sources.
  616. Find this resource:
  617. Schott, Jeremy M. 2005. Porphyry on Christians and others: “Barbarian wisdom,” identity politics, and anti-Christian polemics on the eve of the Great Persecution. Journal of Early Christian Studies 13 (3): 277–314.
  618. DOI: 10.1353/earl.2005.0045Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  619. Considers the larger philosophical project of Porphyry.
  620. Find this resource:
  621. Ste. Croix, G.E.M. de. 1954. Aspects of the Great Persecution. Harvard Theological Review 47:75–113.
  622. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  623. On the different edicts of Diocletian.
  624. Find this resource:
  625. Pagan Criticism of Christianity
  626.  
  627. Observations of pagan writers on Christians in the first three centuries are interesting material for the history of early Christianity. Labriolle 1948 remains the best survey of pagan literature dealing with the Christians. Benko 1979 provides a list and a translation of passages from Greek and Latin works which mention the Christians. Benko 1984 expands on this material and offers a more thematic treatment. Wilken 2003 (1st edition, 1984) places these views within the context of the religious, intellectual, and social world of the pagans.
  628.  
  629. Benko, Stephen. 1979. Pagan criticism of Christianity during the first two centuries. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II.23.2. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 1054–1118. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  630. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  631. A list and an English translation of the main passages from Greek and Latin works which mention the Christians.
  632. Find this resource:
  633. Benko, Stephen. 1984. Pagan Rome and the early Christians. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  634. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  635. A thematic approach.
  636. Find this resource:
  637. Labriolle, Pierre de. 1948. La Réaction païenne. 2nd ed. Paris: L’Artisan du Livre.
  638. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  639. The most complete survey of pagan literature dealing with the Christians.
  640. Find this resource:
  641. Wilken, Robert L. 2003. The Christians as the Romans saw them. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
  642. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  643. Places the pagan material within the context of its religious, intellectual, and social world.
  644. Find this resource:
  645. Pliny and Trajan
  646.  
  647. Pliny is the first Roman writer to offer detailed testimony about the Christians. During his mission in Bithynia (112 CE), he had to prosecute Christians and asked Trajan for his advice about what to do with apostates (Ep. X, 96–97). Sherwin-White 1966 offers a thorough commentary of the two letters. Fishwick 1984 brings some precision on the procedure.
  648.  
  649. Fishwick, Duncan. 1984. Pliny and the Christians. American Journal of Ancient History 9:123–130.
  650. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  651. An analysis of the procedure.
  652. Find this resource:
  653. Pliny. 1963. The letters of the younger Pliny. Translated by Betty Radice. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin.
  654. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  655. English translation of the letters. For the Latin text, see Sources.
  656. Find this resource:
  657. Sherwin-White, A. N. 1966. The letters of Pliny: A historical and social commentary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  658. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  659. For a commentary on Ep. X, 96–97. (Reprint: Sherwin-White, A. N. 1985. The letters of Pliny: A historical and social commentary. New York: Oxford University Press.)
  660. Find this resource:
  661. Tacitus and Suetonius
  662.  
  663. Both Tacitus (Annals 15.44) and Suetonius (Nero 16) mention that Christians were persecuted after the burning of Rome in 64. Gray-Fow 1998 offers a review of previous treatments. Slingerland 1997 does the same with the passage of Suetonius (Claudius 25.4) about an edict of Claudius against people conducted by some Chrestus and on their identification as Jews or Christians.
  664.  
  665. Gray-Fow, Michael J. G. 1998. Why the Christians? Nero and the Great Fire. Latomus 57 (3): 595–616.
  666. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  667. On Nero and the first persecution of the Christians.
  668. Find this resource:
  669. Slingerland, H. Dixon. 1997. Claudian policymaking and the early imperial repression of Judaism at Rome. Atlanta: Scholars Press.
  670. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  671. On the edict of Claudius.
  672. Find this resource:
  673. Suetonius. 2007. The Twelve Caesars. Translated by Robert Graves. Revised by James B. Rives. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin.
  674. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  675. English translation. For the Latin text, see Sources.
  676. Find this resource:
  677. Tacitus. 2004. Annals. Translated by A. J. Woodman. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
  678. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  679. An English translation with valuable notes. For the Latin text, see Sources.
  680. Find this resource:
  681. Lucian
  682.  
  683. Lucian mentions the Christians in On the Death of Peregrinus and in Alexander or the False Prophet with a declared hostility. Jones 1986 analyzes the relevant passages, while Francis 1995 sets them in the larger context of the reception of asceticism in the 2nd century.
  684.  
  685. Francis, James A. 1995. Subversive virtue: Asceticism and authority in the second-century pagan world. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
  686. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  687. Chapter 3, “Lucian, Ascetics as Enemies of Culture,” pp. 53–81.
  688. Find this resource:
  689. Jones, Christopher P. 1986. Culture and society in Lucian. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  690. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  691. Sociohistorical analysis of Lucian’s works.
  692. Find this resource:
  693. Lucian. 2005. Selected Dialogues. Translated by C. D. N. Costa. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  694. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  695. English translation. For the Greek text, see Sources.
  696. Find this resource:
  697. Galen, Marcus Aurelius, and Celsus
  698.  
  699. For these authors, the Christians are still to be disliked, but they are granted some intellectual respectability. Galen offers positive testimony about the Christians and their philosophy in passages collected by Walzer 1949. Brunt 1979 analyzes Marcus Aurelius’s testimony. Celsus’ treatise, known through its refutation by Origen, is reconstituted by Hoffmann in Celsus 1987. Frede 1994 gives a thorough treatment to the question of the identity of Celsus, and Frede 1997 an analysis of his attack.
  700.  
  701. Brunt, Peter A. 1979. Marcus Aurelius and the Christians. In Studies in Latin literature and Roman history, Vol. 1. Edited by Christian Deroux, 483–520. Collection Latomus 164. Brussels, Belgium: Latomus.
  702. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  703. On Marcus Aurelius and his attitude towards the Christians.
  704. Find this resource:
  705. Celsus. 1987. On the true doctrine: A discourse against the Christians. Translated by R. Joseph Hoffmann. New York: Oxford University Press.
  706. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  707. An English translation of a reconstitution of Celsus’ treatise.
  708. Find this resource:
  709. Frede, Michael. 1994. Celsus philosophus platonicus. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II.36.7. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 5183–5213. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  710. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  711. On the identity of Celsus.
  712. Find this resource:
  713. Frede, Michael. 1997. Celsus’ attack on the Christians. In Philosophia togata. Vol. 2, Plato and Aristotle at Rome. Edited by Jonathan Barnes and Miriam Griffin, 218–240. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  714. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  715. Analysis of Celsus’ treatise.
  716. Find this resource:
  717. Walzer, Richard. 1949. Galen on Jews and Christians. London: Oxford University Press.
  718. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  719. Translation and analysis of Galen’s testimony.
  720. Find this resource:
  721. Charges of Immorality and Cannibalism
  722.  
  723. Christian authors frequently mentioned the accusations of cannibalism and immorality made against them by the pagans. Henrichs 1970 and Grant 1981 view these accusations as a misunderstanding of Christian practices (the Eucharist and the kiss of peace). Edwards 1992 and McGowan 1994 suggest that these deviant behaviors are characteristics shared by a number of other groups in the representation of the foreigner in the Greco-Roman world. Rives 1995 places these accusations in the context of the social meaning of human sacrifice in antiquity.
  724.  
  725. Edwards, Mark J. 1992. Some early Christian immoralities. Ancient Society 23:71–82.
  726. DOI: 10.2143/AS.23.0.2005873Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  727. Places the pagan charges against Christians in the context of the representation of the foreigner in the Greco-Roman world.
  728. Find this resource:
  729. Grant, Robert M. 1981. Charges of “immorality” against various groups in antiquity. In Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic religions. Edited by R. Van den Broeck and M. J. Vermaseren, 161–170. EPRO 91. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
  730. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  731. On pagan charges against Christians.
  732. Find this resource:
  733. Henrichs, Albert. 1970. Pagan ritual and the alleged crimes of early Christians. In Kyriakon: Festschrift Johannes Quasten. Edited by Patrick Granfield & Josef A. Jungmann, 1:18–35. Münster, Germany: Verlag Aschendorff.
  734. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  735. On some pagan misunderstandings of Christian practices.
  736. Find this resource:
  737. McGowan, Andrew. 1994. Eating people: Accusations of cannibalism against Christians in the second century. Journal of Early Christian Studies 2:413–442.
  738. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  739. On accusations against Christian cannibalism and deviant behavior in the Greco-Roman world.
  740. Find this resource:
  741. Rives, James B. 1995. Human sacrifice among pagans and Christians. Journal of Roman Studies 85:65–85.
  742. DOI: 10.2307/301058Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  743. On the social meaning of human sacrifice.
  744. Find this resource:
  745. Profiles
  746.  
  747. The major Christian writers of the period can now be studied in their historical and literary contexts.
  748.  
  749. Apostolic Fathers
  750.  
  751. Since the 17th century (de Jonge 1978) a group of five writers of the generation immediately following the Apostles and trained by them came to be known as the Apostolic Fathers: Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Hermas, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp. Original texts and translations are found in Ehrmann 2003. Osiek 2000 provides summaries of contents, discussion, and bibliography. Dehandschutter 1993 is important on the issues of authenticity and date of the acts of Polycarp.
  752.  
  753. Dehandschutter, Boudewijn. 1993. The Martyrium Polycarpi: A century of research. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, II.27.1. Edited by Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase, 485–522. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  754. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  755. On the authenticity and date of the acts of Polycarp.
  756. Find this resource:
  757. de Jonge, H. J. 1978. On the origin of the term “Apostolic Fathers” Journal of Theological Studies n.s. 29:503–505.
  758. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  759. On the history of the corpus of the Apostolic Fathers.
  760. Find this resource:
  761. Ehrman, Bart D., ed. and trans. 2003. The Apostolic Fathers. Loeb Classical Library 24–25. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  762. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  763. Original texts and English translations.
  764. Find this resource:
  765. Osiek, Caroline. 2000. The Apostolic Fathers. In Early Christian world, vol. 1. Edited by Philip Francis Esler, 503–524. London: Routledge.
  766. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  767. A survey of the texts with a bibliography.
  768. Find this resource:
  769. Greek Apologists
  770.  
  771. A number of authors from the 2nd century wrote treatises in defense (“apology”) of Christianity. Grant 1988 provides a general introduction to their works. The papers in Edwards, Goodman, Price, and Rowland 1999 place the Christian apologists in the larger context of religious apology in the Roman Empire, and Wilken 1970 attempts to understand them in the social context of the 2nd century.
  772.  
  773. Edwards, Mark, Martin Goodman, Simon Price, and Chris Rowland eds. 1999. Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  774. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  775. On the broader literary and cultural contexts.
  776. Find this resource:
  777. Grant, Robert M. 1988. Greek Apologists of the Second Century. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
  778. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  779. An introduction to the works of the Apologists.
  780. Find this resource:
  781. Wilken, Robert L. 1970. Toward a social interpretation of early Christian apologetics. Church History 39:437–458.
  782. DOI: 10.2307/3162925Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  783. On the social context of the 2nd century.
  784. Find this resource:
  785. Justin Martyr
  786.  
  787. A Greek from Palestine, Justin taught philosophy in Rome around 150 and was martyred between 163 and 168. Barnard 1967 provides a basic introduction to his life and works. Justin wrote two Apologies (Greek text in Munier’s Justin 2006; English translation by Barnard in Justin 1997b) that might constitute a unique text (Justin 2006, but see also Keresztes 1986 on the issue). His other work is the Dialogue with Trypho, which supposedly records a debate Justin had with a Jew named Trypho (Greek text in Marcovich’s Justin 1997a; English translation by Williams in Justin 1930). Lieu 1996 places it in the larger context of Christian anti-Jewish literature.
  788.  
  789. Barnard, Leslie W. 1967. Justin Martyr: His life and thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted 2008.
  790. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  791. Introduction to Justin’s life and works
  792. Find this resource:
  793. Justin Martyr. 1930. Dialogue with Trypho. Translated by A. Lukyn Williams. London: S.P.C.K.
  794. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  795. English translation.
  796. Find this resource:
  797. Justin Martyr. 1997a. Dialogus cum Tryphone. Edited by Miroslav Marcovich. Patristische Texte und Studien 47. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  798. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  799. Critical edition of the Greek text.
  800. Find this resource:
  801. Justin Martyr. 1997b. The first and second apologies. Translated by Leslie William Barnard. Ancient Christian Writers 56. New York: Paulist Press.
  802. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  803. English translation and commentary.
  804. Find this resource:
  805. Justin Martyr. 2006. Apologie pour les chrétiens. Edited by Charles Munier. Sources chrétiennes 507. Paris: Cerf.
  806. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  807. Critical edition of the Greek text and useful annotations (in French).
  808. Find this resource:
  809. Keresztes, Paul. 1986. Justin, Roman law and the logos. Latomus 45:339–346.
  810. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  811. On the issue of one or two texts.
  812. Find this resource:
  813. Lieu, Judith M. 1996. Image and reality: The Jews in the world of the Christians in the second century. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
  814. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  815. Places Justin in the larger context of Christian anti-Jewish literature.
  816. Find this resource:
  817. Tatian
  818.  
  819. A Greek from Syria, Tatian was the student of Justin in Rome before going back to the East. His work To the Greeks (Greek text and English translation in Whittaker’s Tatian 1982), a severe criticism of Greek culture, may be best understood as a protreptic text rather than an apology (McGehee 1993). Tatian was reported to have turned to heresies after he left Rome, but see Hunt 2003 for a modern perspective on this question.
  820.  
  821. Hunt, Emily J. 2003. Christianity in the second century: The case of Tatian. Routledge Early Church Monographs. London: Routledge.
  822. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  823. On the life and works of Tatian.
  824. Find this resource:
  825. McGehee, Michael. 1993. Why Tatian never “apologized” to the Greeks. Journal of Early Christian Studies 1:143–158.
  826. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  827. On the genre of To the Greeks.
  828. Find this resource:
  829. Tatian. 1982. Oratio ad Graecos and Fragments. Edited and translated by Molly Whittaker. Oxford Early Christian Texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  830. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  831. Greek text and English translation.
  832. Find this resource:
  833. Athenagoras
  834.  
  835. Nothing is known about Athenagoras, whose floruit is the end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius (d. 180). Barnard 1972 is the standard introduction in English. Athenagoras addressed to Marcus Aurelius and Commodus an Embassy (Greek text and translation in Schoedel’s Athenagoras 1972): on its setting, see Schoedel 1989 and Buck 1996. Malherbe 1969 compares it with contemporary handbooks of philosophy, and Schoedel 1973 places it in the context of the attitude of the Roman power toward the Christians.
  836.  
  837. Athenagoras. 1972. Legatio and De resurrectione. Edited and translated by William R. Schoedel. Oxford Early Christian Texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  838. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  839. Greek text and English translation.
  840. Find this resource:
  841. Barnard, Leslie W. 1972. Athenagoras: A study in second century Christian apologetic. Théologie historique 18. Paris: Beauchesne.
  842. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  843. Introduction to the life and works of Athenagoras.
  844. Find this resource:
  845. Buck, P. Lorraine. 1996. Athenagoras’s Embassy: A Literary Fiction. Harvard Theological Review 89 (3): 209–226.
  846. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  847. Rejects Schoedel’s interpretation.
  848. Find this resource:
  849. Malherbe, Abraham J. 1969. The structure of Athenagoras, supplicatio pro Christianis. Vigiliae Christianae 23:1–20.
  850. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  851. Compares the text with contemporary philosophy handbooks.
  852. Find this resource:
  853. Schoedel, William R. 1989. Apologetic literature and ambassadorial activities. Harvard Theological Review 82 (1): 55–78.
  854. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  855. Interprets the text as written to be delivered before the emperor.
  856. Find this resource:
  857. Schoedel, William R. 1973. Christian “atheism” and the peace of the Roman Empire. Church History 42:309–319.
  858. DOI: 10.2307/3164388Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  859. Places the text in the context of the attitude of the Roman power towards the Christians.
  860. Find this resource:
  861. Theophilus of Antioch
  862.  
  863. Theophilus was bishop of Antioch in Syria from 169 to 188. His only extant works are the three books of To Autolycus (Greek text and translation by Grant in Theophilus 1970), which he wrote to explain his conversion to his friend Autolycus. Rogers 2000 is a recent survey of his life and works.
  864.  
  865. Rogers, Rick. 2000.Theophilus of Antioch: The life and thought of a second-century bishop. Lanham, MD: Lexington.
  866. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  867. Introduction to the life and works of Theophilus.
  868. Find this resource:
  869. Theophilus. 1970. Ad Autolycum. Edited and translated by Robert M. Grant. Oxford Early Christian Texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  870. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  871. Greek text and English translation.
  872. Find this resource:
  873. To Diognetus
  874.  
  875. This anonymous work was written in the last years of the 2nd century. In Anonymous 1949 Henry Meecham gives the Greek text and an English translation. An important commentary is Marrou 1965. Lieu 1998 looks at it in the context of an emerging Christian identity.
  876.  
  877. Anonymous. Epistle to Diognetus. 1949. Edited by Henry G. Meecham. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
  878. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  879. Greek text and English translation.
  880. Find this resource:
  881. Lieu, Judith. 1998. The forging of Christian identity and the letter to Diognetus. Mediterranean Archaeology 11:71–82.
  882. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  883. Places the text in the context of an emerging Christian identity.
  884. Find this resource:
  885. Marrou, Henri Irénée, ed. À Diognète. 1965. Sources chrétiennes 33bis. Paris: Cerf.
  886. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  887. An important commentary in French.
  888. Find this resource:
  889. Clement of Alexandria
  890.  
  891. Clement (c. 150–215) lived and taught in Alexandria. Within a perspective that is widely considered anachronistic today, Eusebius portrays Clement as the head of a catechetical school controlled by the bishop (Ecclesiastical History 6.6.1), but he was more likely one teacher among many (van den Hoek 1997). Clement wrote an apology, the Exhortation to the Greeks; a handbook on Christian life, the Paedagogus; and eight books of miscellanies, the Stromateis. Osborn 2005 is an analysis of his thought and its relation to classical philosophy. Dawson 1992 places him within the intellectual milieu of Alexandria. The most extensive English translation of his works is in volume 2 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. His complete works are edited by Otto Stählin and Ursula Treu in Clement of Alexandria 1970–1985.
  892.  
  893. Clement of Alexandria. 1970–1985. Clemens Alexandrinus. Edited by Otto Stählin and Ursula Treu. Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte 12, 15, 17, 39. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
  894. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  895. Edition of the Greek text.
  896. Find this resource:
  897. Dawson, David. 1992. Allegorical readers and cultural revision in ancient Alexandria. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  898. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  899. Places Clement within the intellectual milieu of Alexandria.
  900. Find this resource:
  901. Osborn, Eric. 2005. Clement of Alexandria. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  902. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  903. Introduction to Clement’s thought.
  904. Find this resource:
  905. van den Hoek, Annewies. 1997. The “catechetical” school of early Christian Alexandria and its philonic heritage. Harvard Theological Review 90 (1): 59–87.
  906. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  907. On the myth of the Alexandrian catechetical school.
  908. Find this resource:
  909. Irenaeus of Lyons
  910.  
  911. Very little is known about the life of Irenaeus (c. 140–200). He was born in Asia Minor, and the later tradition was that Polycarp sent him in Gaul to evangelize the Celts. He settled in Lyons, where he wrote the five books Against Heresies. Grant 1997 presents a very traditional account of his life and translations of significant parts of his work. Irenaeus 1962–1985 gives the original Greek text. Le Boulluec 1985 is the fundamental study of his role in the development of the notion of heresy.
  912.  
  913. Grant, Robert M. 1997. Irenaeus of Lyons. Early Fathers of the Church. London: Routledge.
  914. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  915. Introduction to the life and works of Irenaeus.
  916. Find this resource:
  917. Irenaeus. Against heresies. 1962–1985. 10 vols. Edited by Adelin Rousseau, et al. Sources chrétiennes. Paris: Cerf.
  918. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  919. Edition of the original Greek text. (Reprint: Irenaeus. Against heresies. 2002. 2 vols. Edited by Adelin Rousseau, et al. Sources chrétiennes. Paris: Cerf.)
  920. Find this resource:
  921. Le Boulluec, Alain. 1985. La notion d’hérésie dans la littérature Grecque, IIe–IIIe siècles. Paris: Études Augustiniennes.
  922. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  923. On the role of Irenaeus in the development of the notion of heresy.
  924. Find this resource:
  925. Origen
  926.  
  927. Origen (c. 184–254) was born and educated in Alexandria, where he learned rhetoric and philosophy. After having taught at Alexandria for many years, in 234 he moved to Caesarea in Palestine, where he was ordained a presbyter. There he continued his work on the text and the interpretation of the Bible. Trigg 1998 provides a short biography and a selection of representative writings in English. Most of his works are edited in Origen 1899–. Grafton and Williams 2006 describes his scholarship in the context of his time.
  928.  
  929. Grafton, Anthony, and Megan Williams. 2006. Christianity and the transformation of the book: Origen, Eusebius, and the library of Caesarea. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  930. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  931. On Origen’s scholarship in the context of his time.
  932. Find this resource:
  933. Origen. Origenes Werke. 1899–. 12 vols. Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte. Leipzig, Germany: Hinrichs.
  934. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  935. Edition of the Greek texts.
  936. Find this resource:
  937. Origen. Contra Celsum. 1965. Translated by Henry Chadwick. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted 1980.
  938. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  939. With an important introduction to Origen’s apology.
  940. Find this resource:
  941. Trigg, Joseph W., ed. and trans. 1998. Origen. Early Church Fathers. London: Routledge.
  942. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  943. A short biography and a selection of representative writings in English.
  944. Find this resource:
  945. Tertullian
  946.  
  947. Tertullian lived in Carthage at the end of the 2nd century. Barnes 1985 casts doubts on most of what Jerome says about Tertullian in the De viris: he was a layman, and not a priest; his father was not a soldier. The idea that Tertullian lapsed into Montanism must also be revised in the light of what we know about the pluralism of early Christian groups (Rankin 1995, Trevett 1996). Dunn 2004 gives an updated introduction and a selection of representative writings in English. Sider 1971 shows how much Tertullian’s treatises owe to classical rhetoric. A critical edition of the Latin texts is provided in the Series Latina of the Corpus Christianorum (Tertullian 1954). English translations of the major works are listed in Dunn 2004. Much information and many translations from the public domain are available on the Tertullian Project, a website maintained by Roger Pearse.
  948.  
  949. Barnes, Timothy D. 1985. Tertullian: A historical and literary study. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  950. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  951. A historical study of Tertullian.
  952. Find this resource:
  953. Dunn, Geoffrey D. 2004. Tertullian. Early Church Fathers. London: Routledge.
  954. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  955. Updated presentation of Tertullian and a selection of texts in translation.
  956. Find this resource:
  957. Rankin, David. 1995. Tertullian and the church. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  958. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  959. On the ecclesiology of Tertullian.
  960. Find this resource:
  961. Sider, Robert D. 1971. Ancient rhetoric and the art of Tertullian. London: Oxford University Press.
  962. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  963. On the debt of Tertullian to classical rhetoric.
  964. Find this resource:
  965. Tertullian. 1954. Opera. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 1–2. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
  966. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  967. Critical edition of the Latin texts.
  968. Find this resource:
  969. The Tertullian Project. Edited by Roger Pearse.
  970. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  971. Much information and many translations from the public domain.
  972. Find this resource:
  973. Trevett, Christine. 1996. Montanism: Gender, authority and the new prophecy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  974. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  975. Compares Tertullian’s Montanism with the Asia Minor movement.
  976. Find this resource:
  977. Perpetua
  978.  
  979. Perpetua was persecuted along with other Christians in Carthage at the end of the 2nd century. If we accept the claim that the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas incorporates her own diary, Perpetua would be the only woman among the early Christian writers. Amat 1996 gives the full dossier of texts. Kraemer and Lander 2000 provide a good review of the text and its issues. Brent 1993 looks at how Perpetua was perceived in her own time and later.
  980.  
  981. Amat, Jacqueline, ed. and trans. 1996. Passion de Perpétue et de Félicité; suivi des Actes. Sources chrétiennes 417. Paris: Cerf.
  982. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  983. Critical edition of the Latin text with a French translation and a commentary.
  984. Find this resource:
  985. Kraemer, Ross S., and Shira L. Lander. 2000. Perpetua and Felicitas. In Early Christian World. Edited by Philip Francis Esler, 1048–1068. London: Routledge.
  986. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  987. A good introduction to the text.
  988. Find this resource:
  989. Shaw, Brent D. 1993. The passion of Perpetua. Past and Present 139:3–45.
  990. DOI: 10.1093/past/139.1.3Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  991. How Perpetua was perceived in her own time and later.
  992. Find this resource:
  993. Cyprian
  994.  
  995. Cyprian was bishop of Carthage from 249 to 258, when he was martyred under the reign of Valerian. Sage 1975 is the standard biography in English. His Letters are very important documents on the development and the organization of the church in Africa (English translation and abundant commentary by G. W. Clarke in Cyprian 1984–1989). They also provide invaluable evidence on the persecution of Decius and its consequences for the Christian communities (Burns 2002). Cyprian’s works are edited in the Series Latina of the Corpus Christianorum (Cyprian. 1972–).
  996.  
  997. Burns, James Patout. 2002. Cyprian the Bishop. London: Routledge.
  998. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  999. How Cyprian ruled the Carthaginian church through the successive periods of persecution and peace.
  1000. Find this resource:
  1001. Cyprian. 1972–. Opera. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 3. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
  1002. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1003. Critical edition of the Latin texts.
  1004. Find this resource:
  1005. Cyprian. 1984–1989. Letters. Translated and annotated by G. W. Clarke. 4 vols. Ancient Christian Writers 43–44, 46–47. New York: Newman.
  1006. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1007. English translation with a major commentary.
  1008. Find this resource:
  1009. Sage, Michael M. 1975. Cyprian. Patristic Monograph Series 1. Cambridge, MA: Philadelphia Patristic Foundation.
  1010. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1011. Good biography.
  1012. Find this resource:
  1013. Lactantius
  1014.  
  1015. Lactantius (c. 250–325) was probably born in Africa, where he was trained in Latin rhetoric. He was appointed by Emperor Diocletian to teach in Nicomedia, where he converted to Christianity. His wanderings during the Great Persecution are the object of speculation. In his old age, he became the tutor of Constantine’s son Crispus. Peter Garnsey (in Lactantius 2003) provides an extensive analysis of the Divine Institutes, which Lactantius wrote in defense of Christian doctrine during the persecution. On the Death of the Persecutors is the fullest contemporary account of the years 303–313 (Lactantius 1984). Digeser 2000 places Lactantius’s writings in their historical context. Jackson Bryce maintains a list of editions, translations, and secondary literature on his Bibliography of Lactantius.
  1016.  
  1017. Bryce, Jackson. Bibliography of Lactantius.
  1018. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1019. A list of editions, translations, and secondary literature.
  1020. Find this resource:
  1021. Digeser, Elizabeth DePalma. 2000. The making of a Christian empire: Lactantius and Rome. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
  1022. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1023. A historical interpretation of the works of Lactantius.
  1024. Find this resource:
  1025. Lactantius. 1984. De mortibus persecutorum. Edited and translated by J. L. Creed. Oxford Early Christian Texts. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  1026. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1027. Edition of the Latin text, with an English translation and a commentary.
  1028. Find this resource:
  1029. Lactantius. 2003. Divine institutes. Translated with introduction and notes by Anthony Bowen and Peter Garnsey. Translated Texts for Historians. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool University Press.
  1030. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1031. With an important introduction.
  1032. Find this resource:
  1033. Eusebius
  1034.  
  1035. Eusebius (c. 260–340) was born in Palestine at Caesarea, where he became bishop in 312. He was primarily a biblical scholar (Grafton and Williams 2006 is a recent study of this aspect of his works), but is mostly known for his Ecclesiastical History, which was the first history of the church from the resurrection of Christ to the triumph of Constantine. Barnes 1981 gives a portrait of Eusebius and analyzes his writings in their historical context. Chesnut 1986 is a good complement on his historiographical project, and Eusebius 1999 on the Life of Constantine. The Loeb Classical Library offers the most convenient version of the Greek text of the Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius 1926–1932). Most of his works are edited in Eusebius Werke (Eusebius 1956–).
  1036.  
  1037. Barnes, Timothy D. 1981. Constantine and Eusebius. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  1038. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1039. On the historical context.
  1040. Find this resource:
  1041. Chesnut, Glenn F. 1986. The first Christian histories: Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret, and Evagrius. 2nd ed. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
  1042. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1043. On Eusebius’s historiographical project.
  1044. Find this resource:
  1045. Eusebius. 1926–1932. Ecclesiastical history. Translated by Kirsopp Lake and J. E. L. Oulton. 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library 153, 265. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  1046. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1047. Greek text and English translation.
  1048. Find this resource:
  1049. Eusebius. 1956–. Eusebius Werke. Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
  1050. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1051. Critical edition of the Greek texts.
  1052. Find this resource:
  1053. Eusebius. 1999. Life of Constantine. Translated with introduction and commentary by Averil Cameron and Stuart G. Hall. Clarendon Ancient History Series. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  1054. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1055. English translation with a rich commentary.
  1056. Find this resource:
  1057. Grafton, Anthony, and Megan Williams. 2006. Christianity and the transformation of the book: Origen, Eusebius, and the library of Caesarea. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  1058. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1059. On Eusebius the biblical scholar.
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