Christology of the Later Fathers

by Edward Rochie Hardy (Editor)

This volume includes selections from the works of Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa. Through these works and those of other early Christian thinkers, this book surveys the development of early church theology. Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works--each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century--contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.

Genres: Theology, Church History, Religion, History, Christian History, Christianity, Catholic

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis says, "if you want to know what Plato says, read Plato." I would add, if you want to know what the ancient church thought, read the writings of the church fathers.

This is a nice collection of writings from Athanasius, and the Cappadocian Gregories. The translations are very readable and the text closes with some of the letters that went back and forth confronting heresies and summarizing the creeds confirmed by the early councils. It is really a valuable exercise to understand the work of the early church in formulating the doctrines we so easily take for granted, the Trinity and Christology in particular.

Hardy provides nice context in the intro of each section. I would have like there to be more footnotes throughout defining some of the terms and people brought up. The book is probably meant for someone who is more familiar with them than I am.

[David Goetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection featuring Athanasius (only On the Incarnation), Gregory of Nazianzus (the famous five Theological Orations along ith some good letters on the Apollinarian controversy), Gregory of Nyssa (the answer to Ablasius and the Address on Religious Instruction), and several other of the more important documents (the best of which were one of Cyril's Dogmatic Letters and the Tome of Leo) for understanding the Christological debates of the fourth and fifth centuries.

If you don't own, or haven't read, any of these writers, this book is a great place to start. Athanasius, the Gregories, and Cyril are, in my judgment, easily 4 of the 10 most significant figures in the first millennium of the Church's life.

[Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

After some delay finished my Lenten reading. As typical of this series, this volume has excellent introductions. The choice of the Address on Religious Instruction from St. Gregory of Nyssa is a bit of a mixed result for me; there are many excellent passages but Gregory's, shall we say, simplifying mode of arguing can sometimes leave one headscratching. The St. Gregory of Nanzianzus selections are a tour de force, and the St. Athanasius selection is the obvious On the Incarnation of the Word. The documents appendix is extremely interesting for filling in historical gaps as well.

[Olquidia Garner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t a light or casual book, it’s very academic, but Hardy’s selections highlight how seriously the early Church Fathers took theology and how carefully they tried to articulate Christ’s divinity and humanity. Reading it made me slow down and really engage with ideas that are often taken for granted today.
Best suited for readers with a strong interest in church history or theology, but definitely valuable if you’re willing to put in the effort.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow this was boring. I still just don't understand why the important thing to argue about after the life of Jesus was what percentage of Jesus was God and what percentage was man. Weren't we all supposed to be busy loving and helping each other?

[Connor Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easily the driest book I have read this year. I would not have read it if it wasn't a required textbook.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had Cyril Richardson for the "Early Christianity" sourse at Union Theological Seminary and read the first volume of The Library of Christian Classics then. I read this one later, simply because I had liked the old fellow and he had, as with the first volume, edited it. Overall, it contributed to my appreciation of the Greek Fathers over the Latin ones as the Greeks were generally more intelligent, more philosophically oriented and more accurate when it came to interpreting the canon. This, of course, may be simply attributed to their having known Greek well, a skill not shared by most of the Latin Fathers. Again, generally speaking, when the Greeks disputed an interpretation with the Latins, the Greeks were usually right.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection, good for those wanting a digest / anthology. The introductions to each text are fine, if dated, as also are the translations. Because this presents you with whole texts and not proof-texts or excerpts, you do get a real sense of what the patristic authors were saying in their own rhetoric and literary form. That is, this doesn't try to systematize the material according to contemporary dogmatic categories, and that's why it gets 4 (rather than 3) stars from me.

[Michael Philliber · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good way to spend some time reading through these older writings, mainly by Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus. Here are earlier pastors and theologians tackling important issues, primarily about Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. It doesn't contain all of their works, but a strong sampling of documents to get a good handle on what was said and what was going on. The end matters of the book are other source documents like Leo's Tome, etc. I highly recommend it.

[Joshua]

I've only read a couple of selections from this one so far, mostly pertaining to the trinitarian controversy of the fourth century. It is fascinating to read a text from centuries ago about an issue that still confounds the faithful today. It's also incredible how accessible the reading is. I am constantly amazed at the ability words have to transcend time, culture and geography.

[Jennifer Layte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely good stuff, extremely difficult to read. Technically, I didn't read the WHOLE thing . . . but the majority of it, and I don't think I'll ever go back to it--at least, not to portions I didn't already underline! If Eugene Peterson were to do one of his paraphrastic translations of these dudes, it might be a little more approachable.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a "Foundations in Church History" class in 2001. I'm rereading "On the Incarnation" by Athanasius with a friend at Church. We'll get together at a coffee shop and talk about it when we are done. It is a wonderful classic of the faith and I highly recommend it.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful for understanding the doctrine of the person of Christ in the period of the ecumenical councils. Includes writings of Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa. Also includes a couple fascinating Arian writings.

[P Chulhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another informative collection of primary sources

[John]

nonfiction,theology,patristics,history

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed