Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series, 14 Volumes [Hardcover]

Alexander Roberts (Editor), James Donaldson (Editor), Philip Schaff (Editor), Henry Wace (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1565631161 | ISBN-13: 978-1565631168 | Publication Date: June 1, 1994

The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series contains in fourteen volumes the works of the Greek Fathers from Eusebius to John of Damascus and the Latin Fathers from Hilary to Gregory the Great. Several of the writings appear for the first time in English. The first three volumes are a complete collection of the historical writings of the Fathers, whose permanent value as the primary sources is universally acknowledged. Other volumes contain the works of eminent figures in early Christian history, such as Athanasius, Jerome, and Ambrose. The series concludes with the canons and decrees of the seven ecumenical councils, as well as canons of local synod with ecumenical acceptance. The Second Series is edited by Philip Schaff, eminent church historian and professor at Union Theological Seminary, NY, and Henry Wace, Principal of Kings College, London.

Volume Titles:
Volume 1: Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, Oration in Praise of Constantine
Volume 2: Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories
Volume 3: Theodoret, Jerome, Gennadius, Rufinus: Historical Writings
Volume 4: Anthanasius: Selects Works and Letters
Volume 5: Gregory of Nyssa: Dogmatic Treatises, etc.
Volume 6: Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Volume 7: Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen
Volume 8: Basil: Letters and Select Works
Volume 9: Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus
Volume 10: Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Volume 11: Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
Volume 12: Leo the Great, Gregory the Great
Volume 13: Gregory the Great, Ephraim Syrus, Aphrahat
Volume 14: The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Wace (1836-1924), former Dean of Canterbury and noted turn-of-the century scholar, author, and editor, is especially known for his work on the four-volume Dictionary of Christian Biography and with Philip Schaff on the fourteen-volume Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 8000 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Pub (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565631161
• ISBN-13: 978-1565631168
• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.1 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 32.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Standard Resource that needs to be Supplemented, December 14, 2011

By 

Quentin D. Stewart - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series, 14 Volumes (Hardcover)

The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (NPNF) series has long been something of a standard reference work for those interested in the church fathers. The series was begun initially by men of the Oxford Movement in the 19th century in Britain, i.e., Anglicans seeking to revive the church fathers for their day and age in the Church of England. That would explain the "thees" and "thous." Seeking to discover the mind of the fathers the men of the Oxford Movement translated primarily fathers of the late fourth and early fifth centuries. That explains the emphasis on Augustine and Chrysostom in the first series of the NPNF series. Being Anglicans seeking to remain Anglican the series offers a host of anti-Catholic commentary that will offend almost every sensible Roman Catholic, but the real service of these translations is not the anti-Roman polemic, but the translations themselves and the renewed interest in the church fathers that we now see once again in our own day. (The Ante-Nicene Fathers series had to be completed by another group since the Oxford men were not as preoccupied with the earliest of the fathers as they sought to ascertain and formulate what they believed to be a patristic consensus of the first five centuries.)

The series is by no means complete, neither for Augustine nor Chrysostom, and much less for other significant church fathers such as Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great, Jerome or Cyril of Alexandria among others. Still, the price alone makes this series worth having, though it needs to be supplemented by works found in other patristic series such as The Fathers of the Church series produced by Catholic University of America Press, and the more recent and much more readable translations of St. Augustine produced by New City Press.

Please know these volumes are available on CD ROM and individually through Kindle.

20 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everything but the commentaries are good, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series, 14 Volumes (Hardcover)

The writings of St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom are invaluable especially when wanting to study the foundations of the Latin West. (Of course with the exception of some of Augustine's seemingly pro-Reformation ideas.....)
This 14-volume set is excellent in providing a substantial amount of theological and spiritual prose. However, the commentaries by some of the books' editors seem to have an anti-Roman Catholic edge to them. (Especially the comments by Paul Schaff when referring to the "Popery and Romanism" of the Roman Catholic Church.) This I believe is in bad taste....even for an Anglican "scholar."