Originally posted by puritansailor
I would like some reading recommendations for getting started in understanding the theology of the Early Church fathers. Establishing connections or foundations for Protestant theology would be good too. Any good recommendations?
I would love a list like this:
Beginning level:
Intermediate level:
Advanced level:
Patrick,
Patristic studies involve one in a very diverse field and range of study. I suppose that the first thing one would want to master from a beginner´s perspective is to acquaint one´s self with their names, dates, and which ones were members of the eastern or western church.
To be honest, seminary left me with a very meager introduction/understanding of these early witnesses of the church, and I simply waded into them without much direction initially. My post seminary interest in patristic studies was first aroused by the claims of Roman apologists. But as I began study on my own, I discovered that there was far more diversity to be found in the ECFs than the simplicity with which they were represented (or I should say misrepresented) through the lens of Roman apologists. I think that the key is to commit yourself to reading profusely and diversely among various authors that have contributed to the field. I would encourage you to avoid any Roman Catholic author with an apologetic agenda. They tend to read the ECFs through the sieve of Romanism. My readings of the ECFs now mostly consist of individual works by individual ECFs rather than books (such as the ones below) that I´m suggesting for your exposure.
I´m not sure I could offer recommendations within the framework of the categories you´ve requested. But two basic, though by no means light reading, would first be...
1. J. N. D. Kelly,
Early Christian Doctrines, 4th edition (London: Adam & Charles Black, reprinted 1968).
2. Hans von Campenhausen,
The Fathers of the Church, combined edition (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., reprinted 1998).
Other books you may find helpful, perhaps out of print, but available in libraries are...
3. H. E. W. Turner,
The Pattern of Christian Truth: A Study in the Relations between Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Early Church (New York: AMS Press, Inc., reprinted 1978).
4. G. L. Prestige,
God in Patristic Thought (London: The Windmill Press, 1936).
5. G. L. Prestige,
Fathers and Heretics (London: S.P.C.K., reprinted 1958).
6. Richard P. C. Hanson,
Tradition in the Early Church (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1962).
7. R. P. C. Hanson,
The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy 318-381 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1988). This book is the most thorough study available (at least of which I know) on the Arian controversy of the 4th century. Hanson is not without his own theological problems, but as a historian he excels.
8. Oscar Cullmann,
The Early Church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology, trans. A.J.B. Higgins (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1956). Again, Cullmann is not orthodox by our standards, but his analysis in this work is extremely helpful.
9. Harold O. J. Brown,
Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present (Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1984).
For my part, I´m not convinced that the title "œfathers" aptly belongs to these Early Christians, though we´ve grown accustomed to that terminology. In many respects, I´m inclined to think of them as the Early Church Babies regarding their level of theological understanding in many areas. Even good orthodox men during the Arian period often had some strange views of God. You read for example, Hilary of Poitiers (315-67) who was regarded as the "œAthanasius" of the western church, and you find his Christology is very complicated, so much so that some have accused him of having an Apollinarian view of Christ. He depended heavily, but not exclusively, on the work of Tertullian. In general, the disputes on the doctrine of God, Trinitarian theology, and Christology in particular, among these early witnesses are so nuanced and complicated that it requires a great deal of study to understand their thought. Even when these views were "œsettled" by conciliar authority, room was often left in creedal expressions to satisfy (or leave undecided) each party represented. There was a great deal of politics involved, as well, in the proceedings of these councils, especially the council of Constantinople in 381. Gregory of Nazianzus presided over this council for a time, but resigned under duress, and left that city never to return. A year later, he made the following statement in a letter to a friend...
Gregory of Nazianzus (329/330-389): To tell you plainly, I am determined to fly every convention of bishops; for I never yet saw a council that ended happily. Instead of lessening, they invaribly augment the mischief. The passion for victory and the lust of power (you will perhaps think my freedom intolerable) are not to be described in words. One present as judge will much more readily catch the infection from others than be able to restrain it in them. For this reason, I must conclude that the only security of one´s peace and virtue is in retirement. Epistle 130 - To Procopium. See John Harrison, Whose Are the Fathers? (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1867), p. 468. Epistola CXXX - ad Procopium, PG 37:225.
These are just a handful with which to begin, but more than enough to keep you occupied for a while. If you're interested in this field of study, I encourage you to pursue it studiously.
Dr. R. Scott Clark can probably offer you some better recommendations.
Happy studies,
DTK
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