RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
I've spent the past decade reading the fathers and the leading monographs on them. I am not an expert, but I have a general idea of what they say. I am updating this list, so I will both link to it and list the key works.
When people ask, "Where should I start?" Maybe this can help. This list focuses more on the Eastern fathers simply because I've read them more.
https://tentsofshem.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/a-patristic-linkstorm/
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Set
Irenaeus, Against Heresies. Bailey links to this edition. I understand that AH is hard to read through, but books III-V are just too important to condense. However, it is very difficult to find an accessible edition, so I will go with that version.
Athanasius, Contra Arianos. Everyone links to On the Incarnation. I admit it is important, but it’s not that important and it is nowhere near as good as CA. Unfortunately, you have to go to the Schaff edition to find an accessible version.
Origen. On First Principles. Yes, you have to be careful reading Origen, but he is just too important to dismiss. I am aware of the 5th Council’s anathemas, but they aren’t part of the council itself (and are morally and historically suspect). Furthermore, it’s hard to imagine a Gregory or a Maximus without an Origen.
Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity. A so-called “Western” take on the Trinity before the Augustinian revolution. This volume is expensive, but you can find the Schaff edition online somewhere.
Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius.
Popular Patristics Paperbacks
Gregory of Nazianzus. On God and Christ. Read this before anything else.
Gregory of Nazianzus. Festal Orations.
Gregory of Nazianzus. On God and Man.
Irenaeus, On the Apostolic Preaching.
John Chrysostom, Six Books on the Priesthood.
Maximus the Confessor, The Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ. Read this at least three times. It is the most important book on this list.
Maximus the Confessor, Two Hundred Chapters of Theology.
Basil, On the Holy Spirit.
Basil, On Social Justice.
Basil, On Christian Doctrine and Practice.
Classics of Western Spirituality
Ps. Dionysius, On the Divine Names.
Ancient Christian Texts
Severian and Bede on Genesis 1-3.
Andrew of Caesarea on Revelation.
Other
Photios. Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the Filioque can be salvaged, but not by positing the Father-Son as a single cause.
Survey Texts
Pelikan, Jaroslav. I am not the fan of Pelikan that others are. Pace Orthodox Bridge, I don’t think merely citing him counts as an argument. Still, in many ways it is the foundational post-Harnack church history series.
Secondary Sources
This list could go on forever, but here is what I have found helpful. Since these are academic works, they are pricey. Try interlibrary loan.
Williams, Rowan. Arius: Heresy and Tradition. Kind of limited and scope and Williams tends to see Barth and Bonhoeffer as the Athanasiuses (Athanasii?) of our day, but his handling of ancient philosophy is masterful.
Ayres, Lewis. Nicea and its Legacy. Ayres has a tendency to use “simplicity” (aplosis) as a univocal term among the fathers, when it clearly isn’t. Notwithstanding, this will end up being the standard work in the field.
Ayres, Lewis. Augustine. Good read. I think he downplays any neo-platonic elements, but certainly will be a standard text.
Beeley, Christopher. The Unity of Christ: Continuity and Conflict in the Patristic Tradition. Tries to rehabilitate Origen somewhat; a fantastic read. Limited in scope, though. Origen and the immediate aftermath get a lot of attention.
Beeley, Christopher. Gregory of Nazianzus on the Trinity and the Knowledge of God: In Your Light We Shall See Light . outstanding discussio on Gregory’s usage of “cause” and “monarchia.” In fact, the best treatment on that in the English language, period.
Boersma, Hans. Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa.
de Lubac, Henri. History and Spirit.
Radde-Galwitz, Andrew. Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and the Transformation of Divine Simplicity. The best patristic book on divine simplicity.
McGuckin, John. Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy. One of the best texts on Cyril. Period.
McGuckin, John. St. Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography.
McGuckin, John. A History of Christianity.
Anatolios, Khaled. Athanasius: The Coherence of his Thought. Probably the best text on working out the God-world relationship in Athanasius. He tries to rescue Athanasius from the charge of of “instrumentalizing Christ’s humanity,” but I am not sure he succeeds.
Gavrilyuk, Paul. Suffering of the Impassible God: Dialectics of the Patristic Tradition. Excellent discussions. His goal is to close the gap between Cyril and modern critics of Cyril.. Not sure he succeeds.
Cooper, Adam. The Body in St. Maximus the Confessor: Holy Flesh, Wholly Deified. Great discussion of Maximus’s “Five Divisions” and their subsequent unities.
Bathrellos, Demetrios. The Byzantine Christ. The best discussion on Maximus the Confessor.
von Balthasar, Hans urs. Cosmic Liturgy: Maximus. Great section dealing with terms like hypostasis. He tries to make Maximus a hard-line neo-Chalcedonian. Other scholars have thoroughly attacked Balthasar on this point.
von Balthasar, Hans urs. Presence and Thought.
Thunberg, Lars. Microcosm and Mediator. Encyclopedic work on Maximus. No original ideas here, but an outstanding summary of the Nyssa-Maximus tradition.
Loudonikos, Nikolaos. A Eucharistic Ontology. My favorite work on Maximus.
Barnes, Michel. Dunamis in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa. The best discussion on what Gregory means by energy and power.
Tollefsen, Torstein. The Christocentric Cosmology of Maximus the Confessor.
Torononen, Melchisidec. Union and Distinction in Maximus the Confessor.
When people ask, "Where should I start?" Maybe this can help. This list focuses more on the Eastern fathers simply because I've read them more.
https://tentsofshem.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/a-patristic-linkstorm/
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Set
Irenaeus, Against Heresies. Bailey links to this edition. I understand that AH is hard to read through, but books III-V are just too important to condense. However, it is very difficult to find an accessible edition, so I will go with that version.
Athanasius, Contra Arianos. Everyone links to On the Incarnation. I admit it is important, but it’s not that important and it is nowhere near as good as CA. Unfortunately, you have to go to the Schaff edition to find an accessible version.
Origen. On First Principles. Yes, you have to be careful reading Origen, but he is just too important to dismiss. I am aware of the 5th Council’s anathemas, but they aren’t part of the council itself (and are morally and historically suspect). Furthermore, it’s hard to imagine a Gregory or a Maximus without an Origen.
Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity. A so-called “Western” take on the Trinity before the Augustinian revolution. This volume is expensive, but you can find the Schaff edition online somewhere.
Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius.
Popular Patristics Paperbacks
Gregory of Nazianzus. On God and Christ. Read this before anything else.
Gregory of Nazianzus. Festal Orations.
Gregory of Nazianzus. On God and Man.
Irenaeus, On the Apostolic Preaching.
John Chrysostom, Six Books on the Priesthood.
Maximus the Confessor, The Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ. Read this at least three times. It is the most important book on this list.
Maximus the Confessor, Two Hundred Chapters of Theology.
Basil, On the Holy Spirit.
Basil, On Social Justice.
Basil, On Christian Doctrine and Practice.
Classics of Western Spirituality
Ps. Dionysius, On the Divine Names.
Ancient Christian Texts
Severian and Bede on Genesis 1-3.
Andrew of Caesarea on Revelation.
Other
Photios. Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the Filioque can be salvaged, but not by positing the Father-Son as a single cause.
Survey Texts
Pelikan, Jaroslav. I am not the fan of Pelikan that others are. Pace Orthodox Bridge, I don’t think merely citing him counts as an argument. Still, in many ways it is the foundational post-Harnack church history series.
Secondary Sources
This list could go on forever, but here is what I have found helpful. Since these are academic works, they are pricey. Try interlibrary loan.
Williams, Rowan. Arius: Heresy and Tradition. Kind of limited and scope and Williams tends to see Barth and Bonhoeffer as the Athanasiuses (Athanasii?) of our day, but his handling of ancient philosophy is masterful.
Ayres, Lewis. Nicea and its Legacy. Ayres has a tendency to use “simplicity” (aplosis) as a univocal term among the fathers, when it clearly isn’t. Notwithstanding, this will end up being the standard work in the field.
Ayres, Lewis. Augustine. Good read. I think he downplays any neo-platonic elements, but certainly will be a standard text.
Beeley, Christopher. The Unity of Christ: Continuity and Conflict in the Patristic Tradition. Tries to rehabilitate Origen somewhat; a fantastic read. Limited in scope, though. Origen and the immediate aftermath get a lot of attention.
Beeley, Christopher. Gregory of Nazianzus on the Trinity and the Knowledge of God: In Your Light We Shall See Light . outstanding discussio on Gregory’s usage of “cause” and “monarchia.” In fact, the best treatment on that in the English language, period.
Boersma, Hans. Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa.
de Lubac, Henri. History and Spirit.
Radde-Galwitz, Andrew. Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and the Transformation of Divine Simplicity. The best patristic book on divine simplicity.
McGuckin, John. Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy. One of the best texts on Cyril. Period.
McGuckin, John. St. Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography.
McGuckin, John. A History of Christianity.
Anatolios, Khaled. Athanasius: The Coherence of his Thought. Probably the best text on working out the God-world relationship in Athanasius. He tries to rescue Athanasius from the charge of of “instrumentalizing Christ’s humanity,” but I am not sure he succeeds.
Gavrilyuk, Paul. Suffering of the Impassible God: Dialectics of the Patristic Tradition. Excellent discussions. His goal is to close the gap between Cyril and modern critics of Cyril.. Not sure he succeeds.
Cooper, Adam. The Body in St. Maximus the Confessor: Holy Flesh, Wholly Deified. Great discussion of Maximus’s “Five Divisions” and their subsequent unities.
Bathrellos, Demetrios. The Byzantine Christ. The best discussion on Maximus the Confessor.
von Balthasar, Hans urs. Cosmic Liturgy: Maximus. Great section dealing with terms like hypostasis. He tries to make Maximus a hard-line neo-Chalcedonian. Other scholars have thoroughly attacked Balthasar on this point.
von Balthasar, Hans urs. Presence and Thought.
Thunberg, Lars. Microcosm and Mediator. Encyclopedic work on Maximus. No original ideas here, but an outstanding summary of the Nyssa-Maximus tradition.
Loudonikos, Nikolaos. A Eucharistic Ontology. My favorite work on Maximus.
Barnes, Michel. Dunamis in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa. The best discussion on what Gregory means by energy and power.
Tollefsen, Torstein. The Christocentric Cosmology of Maximus the Confessor.
Torononen, Melchisidec. Union and Distinction in Maximus the Confessor.
