The Reception of the Church Fathers in the West: From the Carolingians to the Maurists [Hardcover]

Irena Dorota Backus (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

This 1000-page English-language reference work has been produced with the collaboration of 23 scholars from Europe and North America and is intended as a guide to some of the most important developments in the history of the reception of the Church Fathers in the West, from the Carolingians to the Maurists. Particular emphasis is placed on the history of patristic scholarship which, unlike classical scholarship, has tended to be neglected by historians. However, the reception of patristic doctrines and ideas is also included and patristic scholarship is placed in its doctrinal and cultural context. Articles do not confine themselves to summarising what has been done on a particular topic, but also suggest new approaches and areas of research to be opened up. In order to make this volume useful to graduate students and scholars from non-theological disciplines, full relevant bibliographical information is provided. The volume addresses the following general questions: (1) what is meant by the "Fathers"; (2) the problems of patristic as opposed to Scriptural authority; (3) the types (and amount) of patristic material available and the problems of attribution and misattribution; (4) the uses made of the Fathers in constituting a theological doctrine and in response to a doctrinal difference; (5) the abuses made of the Fathers, i.e. overly tendentious or polemical uses; (6) the value of the Greek and Latin Fathers; (7) the use made of the Fathers in defining heresy and orthodoxy. The volume is intended to open up a field of studies and is the first-ever work of its kind. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Twenty-six learned papers of high quality...[a] fine book...
Henry Chadwick, "Journal of Ecclesiastical History.
'..".these are volumes that should find a place on the shelves of everey research library.'
Mickey L. Mattox, "Church History, 1999.
'"The scholarly community will appreciate Irena Backus's editorial work for these two helpful volumes which should be in every library.'
Markus Wriedt, "Sixteenth Century Journal, 1999.
'"This work can become a classic as a starting point for further research.'
Martin Parmentier, "Bijdragen, tijdschrift voor filosofie en theologie, 2000.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1078 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub; Har/Cas edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004097228
• ISBN-13: 978-9004097223
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,091,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Seminal Work, November 16, 2010

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Quentin D. Stewart - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Reception of the Church Fathers in the West: From the Carolingians to the Maurists (Hardcover)

This massive opus is a seminal work that introduces the reader to how the church fathers have been used in the Western Church since the time of Charlemagne. A paper back edition is now available that lessens the cost significantly and various topics are covered by experts in their respective fields such that you are introduced to the role of the fathers during the Carolingian period, in Canon Law, the Church fathers in the "Ordinary Gloss," the fathers in Peter Lombard's all important "Sentences," the fathers viewed by Anselm, Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux, the fathers viewed by the Devotio Moderna of the late Middle Ages, how the fathers were used by Aquinas, Bonaventura, the reception of Augustine in the late Middle Ages, how the fathers were viewed by the luminaries of the Italian Renaissance, their use by Luther, Calvin and Calvinism in the seventeenth century, Zwingli, Erasmus, the pre-Tridentine Catholics, the Jesuits during the Catholic Reformation, by Roman Catholics and Anglicans in the seventeenth century, and the Benedictine monks of St. Maur up until the early eighteenth century.
This compilation is one thousand pages long and offers the student a broad and scholarly view of how the fathers were used and sometimes abused over a thousand year period. There really is no work comparable to this other than the two volumes entitled "Auctoritas Patrum" that offer further essays that are sometimes rather specific regarding the use of the church fathers by various Protestants and Roman Catholics during the Reformation era. This work, however, is less specific, more general and thus of more potential interest to a wider audience.