Customer Reviews

Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (Penguin Classics)

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Staniforth's is a superb translation of the Apostolic Fathers, the best I have ever come across. It is very readable. Each writing comes with an introdution by the editor detailing its history --- when and where it was written, etc. --- and discussing its main themes. This would make a excellent addition to the library of anyone interested in early Christianity.

The texts included in this volume are 1 Clement; the 7 epistles of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, and Polycarp; the epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians; the Martyrdom of Polycarp; the Epistle to Diognetus; the Epistle of Barnabas (despite what one of the previous reviewers says, it's included in this volume); and the Didache.

Conspicuously absent are the Shepherd of Hermas and the fragments of Papias. Both have usually been considered Apostolic Fathers, and I am a little baffled at their omission.

Other recommended Penguin Classics: "The Jewish War" by Josephus, "The History of the Church" by Eusebius.

Early Christian Writings is an excellent collection of the works of the Post-Apostolic Church Fathers. It is for anyone looking for literature that opens a window into the Post-Apostolic Early Church. The epistles included are The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians; The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, and to Polycarp; The Epistles of Polycarp to the Philippians; along with the Epistles to Diognetus and Barnabas. The book also includes the Didache and the martyrdom of Polycarp. For some reason Louth did not include the Shepherd of Hermas and the fragments of Papias, though he does mention them as being part of Cotelier's collection of writings by the Church Fathers.

If you are interested in the writings of the Church Fathers, and have never read such a collection, you can have some enjoyable and moving reading ahead of you. In reference to his pending martyrdom Ignatius writes, "I am His (God's) wheat, ground fine by the lions' teeth to be made purest bread for Christ" (Romans 4). He also says, "To die in Jesus Christ is better than to be monarch of earth's widest bounds. He who dies for us is all I seek; He who rose again for us is my whole desire" (Romans 6). The Epistle to Diognetus contains a vivid and compelling description of the early Christians. The second half of the Didache is full of interesting guidelines and instructions to the early believers on such things as baptism and fasting. Louth includes some good commentary about the fascinating account of the martyrdom of Polycarp.

The translation by Staniforth is very readable. The introductions by Louth are interesting, helpful, and well written. The notes following each book provide the author's commentary of the passage, assistance on difficult passages, insight into the mindset of the writer, important historical information, and other resources for further study. These early church writings are available on the Internet but I have not found any Internet sources that provide as good a presentation of the writings as Early Christian Writings. The inclusion of The Shepherd of Hermas and the fragments of Papias would have made it a more comprehensive collection. Despite this exclusion, for those looking for such a collection, I recommend Early Christian Writings.

This collection is a decent collection and translation of the Apostolic Fathers for the general reader. I have two gripes though.

One is that the Shepherd of Hermas is not included. I would imagine this was because of its length, but the collection seems woefully inadequate without it.

The second is that the verse and chapter numbers are not given in a form that makes them the least bit usable when looking up passages that are referenced in other books.

For research purposes, I would recommend the Loeb Classical Library editions or the excellent one volume reworking of the Lightfoot edition available from Baker Books edited by Michael Holmes.

But if you're not out to be the next Jarislav Pelikan or J.N.D. Kelley, then this should do just fine for some interesting and inspiring reading.

This is one of those paradigm-changing books. At least, its the one that has brought me closest to converting from Baptistic evangelicalism to Orthodoxy (or, to a lesser extent, Catholicism).

The letters of St. Ignatius were particularly troubling - in a good way. I was taken aback by his hardcore bishop-and-eucharistic centered theology, as well as his clearly defined tripartite form of church government of bishop, priest and deacon. His letters, which also powerfully attest to the martyr spirituality of the early church, really caused me to re-think whether congregationalism is right interpretation of Scripture. I mean, exegeting the Scriptures alone doesn't seem to yield a single conclusion, but to have a record of an episcopal form of church government from a bishop who was purportedly acquainted with the Apostle John... well that's got to count for something, right?

All of the works in this volume are elegantly translated, and would do any Christian a world of good to read, especially evangelicals who are wanting to be introduced to the writings of the Church Fathers and who don't know where to start. Without question, this is the book to begin with, for the best, and earliest source materials, in an easy to read, yet intelligent, translation.

Since I'm only beginning to study the history of the early church, I can't comment on the omissions other reviewers here cite as this book's major flaw. But I can say that the documents included in the book offer the average reader a fascinating insight into the beliefs, pracices and history of the earliest post-Apostolic church. And for religious polemicists, these documents show that it was not a congregationalist, Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide church that enshrined the right of the individual believer to interpret and practice the Faith according to his conscience. This was a hierarchical, sacramental, united church which believed in the necessity of works in addition to faith and believed that its gold standard of truth and teaching authority resided in the Apostolic succession of its bishops. Since some of the Church Fathers included in this book had actually known the Apostles or men who had been taught by the Apostles, this view of Christianity has to be given the greatest weight as that intended by Christ. Roman Catholic apologists specifically will also find support in the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (circa 96 AD) in which the bishop of Rome involves himself in the affairs of the Corinthian church and adjudicates their dispute. Whatever your religious perspective though, this book is a wonderfully informative glimpse into a age most people only know about through the filter of technicolor Hollywood epics (Quo Vadis) or the bare-bones hagiographies of martyrs.

A couple of reviewers mentioned the omission of Hermas and Papias in this edition. The editor also has omitted the so-called Second Epistle of Clement - not by Clement but still recognized as the oldest Chirstian sermon we have - apart from the Homily to the Hebrews, of course (Heb. 13:22).
Omissions like these are sad because the books omiited were key documents that influenced the Fathers (esp. Hermas and Papias). 2Clement also preserves some interesting "agrapha" - sayings of Jesus not written in the canonical Gospels.
Why were these omitted? It is a short book that would not have been greatly enlarged (less than 100 pages) by the addition of these three works that are always included in other editions of the Apostolic Fathers.

This book contains many post-apostolic writings of the early church. Most were written very soon after the apostolic age however. The translation and footnotes are for the most part rendered in modern English and flow well. The footnotes and introductions to each book are helpful. This would be a good book to buy if you wish to begin studying the early church.

I would go for a larger collection, even though this translation is more contemporary than most, there are larger collections available which is important so as to be able to compare and contrast the texts of different times. I wasn't a huge fan of it but I've read all of the texts in various different translations previous to this so I was able to compare in addition to having done quite a lot of study on the history, authors, and documents presented in this translation.

far more historical background is needed in this book so as not to allow these excellent works to be simply documents or writttings, but rather writtings expressing extremely important theology and facts or history. An antique vase is only a piece of glass in a funny shape until one knows how difficult it is to make one and get that "funny" shape and the history of the vase and the culture, ideology, and person(s) responsible for expressing the artistic nature which the vase expresses, then it becomes priceless. Such it is with these writtings, more historical background needed to be given for those less informed about it.

'Early Christian Writings' is a collection of various epistles, as well as an account of the martyrdom of Polycarp, a religious leader for 1st century Smyrnea. The language is beautiful and eloquent, worthy of any Christian library. Literature is noncanonical, although professionally accepted as authentic 1st century Christian writing.

I wholesomely recommend this book to all peoples, and, were I a minister, would encourage my congregation to partake of the wondrous sustenance it bears for the soul.

Peace to you in His name,
RSM

An excellent introduction to the apostolic fathers, including very helpful introductions and footnotes for context, and a much more modern translation of texts than is found in the Loeb Classical Library.