The Letters appearing here in translation were written approximately between the years 410 and 420. This period in Augustine's life coincides with the ending of the long controversy with the Donatists and the spread of the Pelagian errors concerning nature and grace. When compared with earlier letters there is more emphasis in these letters on intellectual and doctrinal matters.Perhaps the most important, and certainly the longest in this collection, (pp.141-190) is letter 185 addressed in 417 to the tribune Boniface. It gives a vivid description of the crimes committed by the Donatists against Catholics. Augustine writes: "Some (Catholics) had their eyes put out; one bishop had his hands and tongue cut off; some were massacred. I say nothing of the inhuman beatings, of the looting of homes in nightly raids, of fires set not only to private homes but even to churches; and into these flames some even cast the sacred books" (chapter 30).The civil authorities eventually intervened in these disturbances and at times with coercive measures. Finally on January 30, 412 the Emperor Honorius made the profession of Donatism a criminal offense and ordered clerics and ministers of such heretics removed from the African soil which they had polluted by sacreligious rites. Though initially opposed to coercion, Augustine changed his view.

Fathers of the Church : Saint Augustine : Letters, Vol. 4 (165-203

Literature & Fiction

St. Augustine

Wilfrid Parsons

Essays & Correspondence

The Catholic University of America Press

Letters: 204-270 (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

St. Cyprian works fall naturally into two groups: treaties ( sermons, libelli, tractus) and letters ( epistulae). A translation of the treatises will be found in volume 36 of this series. The letters, of which eighty-one have come down to us, written from c.249 until his death in 258 A.D., may be found translated in this volume.They give a penetrating insight into the affairs of the Church in Africa in the middle of the third century. They reveal problems of doctrine and of discipline which had to be decided in a period of crisis and persecution when the Church, still in its infancy, had not yet emerged from the catacombs. Most important of all, they make Cyprian vividly alive as an understanding bishop who could be both gentle and firm, enthusiastic and moderate. He was prudent enough to go into exile to direct his flock from afar when his presence was a potential source of danger to the people; he was courageous enough to face martyrdom that he knew would ultimately he his.Of these letters, fifty-nine were written by Cyprian himself and six more, emanating from Carthaginian Councils or Synods, were largely his work also. Sixteen letters were written by others; apparently eleven were lost.St. Cyprian's prestige and influence was great in Christian antiquity. Unfortunately, he is not well known or as widely read in modern times as he deserves. This is probably due to Cyprian's lack of complete orthodoxy, in the modern sense of the word, regarding the recognition of the See of Peter and the rebaptism of heretics. The modern reader must bear in mind that the period of the Fathers was the time of the laying of the foundation of so much which we accept and see so clearly today. In any case, both Lactantius (Div. Inst. 5.1.24) and St. Augustine ( De bapt. contra Donatistas), while acknowledging the weaknesses of St. Cyprian's stand on the questions mentioned, do not in the slightest detract from their respect and admiration for their fellow countryman. Prudentius pays St. Cyprian the following tribute in his Peristephanon 13.5.6 ff.):'As long as Christ will allow the race of men / to exist and the world to flourish, / As long as any book will be, as long as there / Will be holy collections of literary works, / Everyone who loves Christ will read you, O / Cyprian, will learn your teachings.'

Letters, (1-81) (Foc Patristic Series)

Religion & Spirituality

Cyprian

Christian Books & Bibles

In this volume, The Fathers of the Church returns to the Christian Latin writers of the Iberian Peninsula, hitherto represented only by Orosius (Vol. 50) and Prudentius (Vols. 43, 52).What is now Portugal embraces Braga, the sec-city of Martin, Pannonian-born missionary. While abbot of nearby Dumium, Martin had a pupil Paschasius, whose Questions and Answers of the Greek Fathers has never before been translated complete in any language. To what is now Spain belongs the third author in the volume, Leander, future bishop of Seville, where he was succeeded by his more famous and more prolific brother, Isidore. As with Paschasius, the works of Leander of Seville and of Martin of Braga are translated complete, many for the first time. The subjects range widely and include ethics (with the doctrine sometimes coming from Seneca or other pre-Christian writers), pastoral and ascetical theology, monastic discipline, liturgy, and the computation of the date of Easter.

Iberian Fathers, Volume 1: Writings of Martin of Braga, Paschasius of Dumium, and Leander of Seville (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

Biographies & Memoirs

Iberian Frs

Leaders & Notable People

This is the fourth of five volumes of John W. Rettig's translation of St. Augustine's Tractates on the Gospel of John. In the Tractates, Augustine progressively comments on the Gospel text, using a plain yet compelling rhetorical style. With the keen insight that makes him one of the glories of the Latin church, he amplifies the orthodox doctrinal and moral lessons to be read therein.Modern scholars generally concede that Tractates 55-111 fall within a distinct group thought to have been composed between A.D. 414 and 420. In them Augustine deftly employs the sacred text to defend the teachings of Nicene orthodoxy. Among the more noteworthy theological features upon which the reader can focus is a defense of the much controverted Filioque in Tractate 99. There is also an examination of the paradoxes inherent in the Incarnation: the entrance into history of an immanent and transcendent God the Word; how that union of that Word with human nature; how that union in the Person of Christ does not confound or diminish either Nature. No less significant is Augustine's examination of predestination, the mystery of the elect, love of God as the fruit of contemplation, the Eucharist as the source of the martyr's strength, the divine Nature, and a source of other topics that remain significant in the discussion of the development of dogma.In these Tractates Augustine comments upon a discrete portion of the sacred text: the Last Supper and the priestly prayer of Jesus. The reader is left, in the end, in a state of watch with the Savior for his impending Passion, Death, and Resurrection, which will be discussed in the last volume of the Tractates.

Tractates on the Gospel of John, 55-111 (Foc Patristic Series)

Reference

Augustine, St.

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

As the vestiges of the Roman political machine began to collapse in the fifth century A.D., the towering figure of Pope St. Leo the Great came into relief amid the rubble. Sustained by an immutable doctrine transcending institutions and cultures, the Church alone emerged from the chaos. Eventually, the Roman heritage became assimilated into Christianity and ceased to have a life of its own. It would be practically impossible to understand this monumental transition from the Roman world to Christendom without taking into account the pivotal role played by Leo the Great. In this regard, his sermons provide invaluable data for the social historian. It was Leo--and not the emperor--who went out to confront Attila the Hun. It was Leo who once averted and on another occasion mitigated the ravages of barbarian incursions. As significant as his contribution was to history, Leo had an even greater impact on theology. When partisans of the monophysite heresy had through various machinations predetermined the outcome of a council held at Chalcedon in 450, Leo immediately denounced it as a latrocinium (robbery) rather than a concilium (council). A year later-- with cries of "Peter has spoken through Leo!"--the ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, a pillar of Catholic Christianity, adopted in its resounding condemnation of monophysitism the very language formulated by Leo. Pope Leo also developed the most explicit and detailed affirmations known up to that time of the prerogatives enjoyed by successors of St. Peter. Many theological principles find their clearest, and certainly their most eloquent, expression in his sermons. Leo spoke with all the refinement of a Roman orator, less the pagan trappings, and thus epitomized a Christian appropriation of the classical heritage. In the midst of it all, however, Pope St. Leo thought of himself simply as the humble servant of those entrusted to his care. This volume presents the first English translation of the complete Sermons. Sr. Jane Patricia Freeland earned a Ph.D. in medieval studies from Rutgers University. She is retired from her position as headmistress of St. John Baptist School in Mendham, N.J. Sr. Agnes Josephine Conway received her M.A. and Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. She retired from her teaching position at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia in 1993.

Leo The Great: Sermons (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

Great, Leo the

Souls existing before their bodies, witches summoning dead prophets from the underworld, the return of the damned―and the Devil himself―to God in the end, and many other theological speculations surprise the reader of Origen's Homilies on Jeremiah and I Kings 28. Some of these very theses of the third-century priest from Alexandria, Egypt, were condemned in the Second Council of Constantinople. But plumbing the mystical depths of the Prophecy of Jeremiah is the central point of the homilies.
Presented in this volume are the remains of twenty-two homilies and a collection of fragments delivered by Origen around A.D. 240. The original texts of the homilies on Jeremiah have not come down to us completely; two of the homilies survive only in a Latin translation of St. Jerome. The homily on I Kings 28, while not a part of the homilies on Jeremiah, deals with the Witch of Endor and has been added to this volume in virtue of its own inherent interest.
In this collection, Origen seeks understanding of the significance of the hostility of the Chosen People towards the Prophet Jeremiah before their captivity in Babylon. Origen in many ways identified with the great prophet and thought of Jeremiah as a type for Christ in the Hebrew Scriptures. Origen realized that Jeremiah came at a crucial time in the history of Israel, the time of captivity, and he views this event and the events around it as pregnant with meaning for the people of his time.
Watching a master grapple with admittedly difficult, obscure texts and give them compelling, forceful delivery must have impressed Origen's congregation. Readers will find it no less engaging to read his homilies now and experience some of that exhilaration of hearing a true expert highlight every subtlety of the pericope and make plain what once was obscure.
John Clark Smith studied religion, theology, and philosophy at Syracuse University, Duke University, and the University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, where he was also a lecturer for several years. He is the author of The Ancient Wisdom of Origen and numerous articles.
"Smith's translation is first rate. It reads smoothly and clearly. . . . Smith has done a good service to the field."―Church History
"The decision to translate and publish the homilies on 1 Kings and Jeremiah together was a sound one for two reasons. First, they are the only homilies of Origen that have been preserved in Greek, rather than Latin. Second, neither has ever been published in English before. Thus this volume is to be greeted by anglophones with especially loud huzzahs. . . . A solid, respectable volume, which clearly sees its role as being as transparent a medium for Origen's thoughts as possible."―Laval theologique et philosophique

Origen: Homilies on Jeremiah and I Kings 28 (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

Origen

Born of an aristocratic pagan family at Neocaesarea in Pontus at the beginning of the third century, St. Gregory received his early training in literature and rhetoric in his birthplace. While visiting Caesarea in Palestine, he chanced to hear the Christian philosopher and theologian Origen and remained there for five years as his pupil. Deeply influenced by Origen, Gregory returned to Pontus a convinced Christian and became the first bishop of Neocaesarea. His dedication greatly influenced his people, and he became known as "Gregory the Great," "the Teacher," or "the Wonderworker."
St. Gregory's influence is clear from the many Lives (or narrations) that circulated in the fourth and fifth centuries, the prayers and invocations that asked for his patronage, and his place in Eastern canon law. Of his life, however, not much is known. No manuscript collection of his writings was made in antiquity.
This volume presents the earliest and most important life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, preached by St. Gregory of Nyssa, and all the works that can be attributed to Gregory Thamumaturgus himself. It includes his Address of Thanksgiving to his teacher Origen; his Christian adaptation and interpretation of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes; his regulations restoring order in the Christian community after an invasion by the Goths; a remarkable treatise on God's ability to suffer and another on the Trinity; and two small texts that may or may not have been written by him.
This is the first time that these texts have been brought together in any language. The extensive introduction and notes offer readers an unprecedented opportunity to learn about "The Wonderworker."
Michael Slusser is associate professor of theology at Duquesne University.

Fathers of the Church: St. Gregory Thaumaturgus Life and Works

Thaumaturgus

Often cited as a source of biographical information on ancient Christian authors, On Illustrious Men provides St. Jerome's personal evaluations of his forebears and contemporaries, as well as catalogs of patristic writings known to him. Heterodox writers and certain respected non-Christians (Seneca, Josephus, and Philo) are included in this parade of luminaries, which begins with the apostles and concludes with St. Jerome himself and a list of his own works prior to 393, the year in which On Illustrious Men was composed.
St. Jerome produced this work in his monastery at Bethlehem, to which he had retreated after his precipitous exit from Roman ecclesiastical politics. He had, however, maintained correspondences with several of his former associates, such as Dexter (the son of Pacian, bishop of Barcelona), to whom he addressed the work. Relying heavily on Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, St. Jerome attempts to demonstrate the erudition and nobility of character which render Christianity immune to the criticisms of its cultured despisers.
Since this work can be regarded as the patrology textbook of its day, its translator, Thomas P. Halton, has continued St. Jerome's mission by compiling bibliographical data on recent editions, translations, and studies of ancient writings mentioned in On Illustrious Men. Extensive footnote material and appendices furnish a wealth of information useful for patristic research. In addition, an index to all of the Fathers of the Church volumes published to date, listed by individual authors, appears in this, the hundredth volume of the series.
Thomas P. Halton is the Margaret H. Gardiner Professor of Greek at the Catholic University of America. He has served as the general editor of the Fathers of the Church series since 1983.
"A faithful translation of Jerome's 'Who's Who' of the ancient church, beginning with Simon Peter and concluding with Jerome himself. . . . Jerome's accounts are fascinating, filled with keen insight into some cases and characteristic spleen in others. The text itself, then, is well worth reading. . . . It is also extremely useful for the extensive annotations provided by Halton. . . . [Halton provides] massive bibliographic aid throughout the translation. It is this that will make this handy little book indispensable for anyone interested in early Christian history."―Heythrop Journal

On Illustrious Men (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

Halton, Thomas P.

This volume makes available for the first time in English the major biblical commentary by one of the leading exponents of Antiochene exegesis, Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus. Though originally intended as an opening to his exegetical work―in the manner of his predecessors in this school, Theodore of Mopsuestia and John Chrysostom―Theodoret's Psalms commentary comes from his later ministry in the decade before the Council of Chalcedon, which he was instrumental in convening. It thus documents current christological and trinitarian concerns and illustrates an Antiochene hermeneutic that rests firmly on the literal sense of the "inspired composition of the mighty David."
Though commentators less well acquainted with this lengthy work have been ready to dismiss Theodoret as lacking originality, a sounder assessment would acknowledge his willingness to take account of previous work, from both Alexandria and Antioch, and steer a middle course. He deliberately avoids the excesses of allegorical interpretation of Origen, on the one hand, and of the historicism found in Diodore and Theodore, on the other. Moderation and flexibility are the hallmarks of his own approach to the Psalms, to which he comes not as scholar or preacher but as teacher and pastor. He aims simply to offer his readers "some benefit in concentrated form."
 This translation respects the conciseness which the bishop sets as one aim for himself, his other principle being to let the text speak for itself. Theodoret emerges in this work as a measured commentator and balanced exponent of his school's hermeneutical and theological principles.
 Theodoret's Commentary on the Psalms, 73-150 will be the next volume published in The Fathers of the Church series. 
Robert C. Hill teaches in the School of Studies in Religion at the University of Sydney. He is the author of numerous works and the translator of Saint John Chrysostom's Homilies on Genesis, volumes 74, 82, and 87 in The Fathers of the Church series. 
With this 101st volume in The Fathers of the Church series, the Press continues its commitment to this remarkable series and to publication in early Christian studies. The first one hundred volumes have been widely praised for maintaining a uniform excellence in translation and for providing a core library of early Catholic literature. Commended for their accuracy and accessibility, these volumes continue to attract a diverse readership, students and laymen as well as historians, theologians, and patristic scholars. 
 "Hill's translation of the Commentary on the Psalms is the first in English, and the quality overall is superlative. It is fluid, lively, technically astute, and richly annotated with helpful comments on the biblical recensions with which Theodoret is working, the peculiarities of his interpretive method, and the nuances of specific exegeses. In numerous notes Hill brings Theodoret into conversation with modern commentators on the Psalms. . . . Hill's translation of this massive commentary is a welcome addition to the ever-expanding Fathers of the Church series. It will doubtless be received as a major contribution to the still-burgeoning study of patristic biblical interpretation and adds itself to a growing list of important studies of the bishop of Cyrus."―Journal of Early Christian Studies
"Robert C. Hill combines biblical and patristic expertise in presenting a translation, with copious notes, of the work of a major exponent of Antiochene exegesis."―Old Testament Abstracts
"[This book] represents the first fruits of the second stage in a long-term project which Robert Hill has set himself: to make available to biblical scholars and students of the patristic era the exegetical works of the fathers situated within the so-called Antiochene tradition, with emphasis on works which address the books of the Old T

Commentary on the Psalms, 1-72 (Fathers of the Church Patristic Series)

Theodoret Of Cyrus

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