Bibliography #3:
Origen & the Rise of
Systematic Theology
| BIBLIOGRAPHIES |
| - New Testament |
| - Early Christianity |
| - Medieval Christianity |
| - The Reformation |
| - Spirituality & Mysticism |
| - Sacraments |
| - 20th-Century Theology |
| #1: Surveys, Intros |
| #2: Ignatius of Antioch |
| #3: Origen |
| #4: Athanasius |
| #5: Cyril of Alexandria |
| #6: Augustine of Hippo |
| #7: Antony |
| #8: Cyril of Jerusalem |
| #9: Melania the Elder |
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2. Clement of Alexandria: Studies 5. The Bible: Canon & Interpretation 6. Tertullian, Cyprian & North African Christianity
7.
1. CHRISTIANITY IN EGYPT
Christopher Haas, Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Conflict (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1997 / 2006) paperback, $30. Much of the story of early Christianity takes place in Alexandria, among both its educated elite and its rowdy crowds. Many leading theologians—Clement, Origen, Arius, Athanasius, Didymus, Cyril—called Alexandria home. This brilliant study brings alive the city—its layout, its leading monuments, its local politics. Haas particularly focuses on religious dynamics and conflicts among pagans, Jews, and Christians.
Roger S. Bagnall, Egypt in Late Antiquity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993) paperback, $25. An excellent study of the social world of Egypt, drawing mostly on recently discovered papyri. Alan K. Bowman, Egypt After the Pharaohs, 332 BC-AD 642: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986). A valuable overview. David Frankfurter, ed., Religion in Roman Egypt: Assimilation and Resistance (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998) paperback, $20. David Frankfurter, ed., Pilgrimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt (Leiden: Brill, 1999). James E. Goehring and Janet Timbie, eds., The World of Early Egyptian Christianity: Language, Literature, and Social Context, CUA Studies in Early Christianity (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2007) hardcover, $40. NEW. Edward R. Hardy, Christian Egypt: Church and People: Christianity and Nationalism in the Patriarchate of Alexandria (New York: Oxford University Press, 1952). Dated, but still valuable. Jill Kamil, Christianity in the Land of the Pharaohs: The Coptic Orthodox Church (New York: Routledge, 2002) hardcover, $55. Birger A. Pearson & James E. Goehring, eds., The Roots of Egyptian Christianity, Studies in Antiquity & Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1986).
2. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: STUDIES
Henry Fiska Hägg, Clement of Alexandria and the Beginnings of Christian Apophaticism, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006) hardcover, $85. NEW. Eric Osborn, Clement of Alexandria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) hardcover, $80.
3. ORIGEN: STUDIES
Joseph W. Trigg, Origen, Early Church Fathers (New York: Routledge, 1998) paperback, $31. Origen was both a brilliant biblical scholar and an adventurous theologian—and he shaped the course of Christian theology as profoundly as Augustine and Aquinas. Like others in this series, this volume includes both an overview of Origen’s life and doctrine as well as a selection of his writings.
Henri Crouzel, Origen, trans. A.S. Worrall (reprint of 1989 edition: Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998). For many years, Crouzel was the greatest living authority on Origen. Not always easy reading, but the most thorough overview of Origen’s theology.
W.A. Bienart & U. Kühneweg, eds., Origeniana Septima: Origenes in den Auseinandersetzungen des 4. Jahrhunderts (Leuven: Peeters, 1999). Henry Chadwick, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement, and Origen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1966) paperback, $35. A. Choufrine, Gnosis, Theophany, Theosis: Studies in Clement of Alexandria’s Appropriation of His Background (Patristic Studies 5; New York: Peter Lang, 2002). Elizabeth A. Clark, The Origenist Controversy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992). An essential study of the dispute over Origen that took place 150 years after his death. Brian E. Daley, “Origen’s ‘De principiis’: A Guide to the ‘Principles’ of Christian Scriptural Interpretation,” in John F. Petruccione, ed., Nova et Vetera: Patristic Studies in Honor of Thomas Patrick Halton (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1998) hardcover, $55. Robert J. Daly, ed., Origeniana Quinta, Papers of the 5th International Origen Congress, Boston College, August, 1989 (Leuven: Peeters, 1992). Gilles Dorival & Alain le Boulluec, eds., Origeniana Sexta: Origen and the Bible, Actes du Colloquium Origenianum Sextum, Chantilly, 30 août-3 septembre, 1993 (Leuven: Peeters, 1995). R.P.C. Hanson, Allegory and Event: A Study of the Sources and Significance of Origen’s Interpretation of Scripture, ed. Joseph W. Trigg (reprint of 1959 edition: Nashville: Westminster John Knox, 2003) paperback, $40. Richard Hanson & Henri Crouzel, eds., Origeniana Tertia, 3rd International Colloquium for Origen Studies, University of Manchester, September, 1981 (Rome: Edizioni dell’Ateneo, 1985). Charles Kannengiesser & William L. Petersen, eds., Origen of Alexandria: His World and Legacy (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1988). J. Christopher King, Origen on the Song of Songs as the Spirit of Scripture: The Bridegroom’s Perfect Marriage-Song, Oxford Theological Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) hardcover, $95. F. Ledegang, Mysterium Ecclesiae: Images of the Church and Its Members in Origen, BETL 156 (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2001). Rebecca Lyman, Christology and Cosmology: Models of Divine Activity in Origen, Eusebius, and Athanasius, Oxford Theological Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) hardcover $40. John A. McGuckin, The Westminister Handbook to Origen (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2004) paperback, $35. Fred Norris, “Origen,” in The Early Christian World, ed. P. F. Esler (New York: Routledge, 2000) 2:1005-1026. Lloyd G. Patterson, Methodius of Olympus: Divine Sovereignty, Human Freedom, and Life in Christ (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1997). Study of one of Origen’s opponents. L. Perrone, P. Bernardino, D. Marchini, eds., Origeniana Octava: Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition: Papers of the 8th International Origen Congress, Pisa, 27-31 August 2001, 2 vol. (Leuven: Leuven University Press; Peeters, 2003). Joseph W. Trigg, Origen: Bible and Philosophy in the 3rd Century (Atlanta: John Knox, 1983). Superb survey. Peter Widdicombe, The Fatherhood of God from Origen to Athanasius, Oxford Theological Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) hardcover, $55.
4. ORIGEN: TEXTS
Origen, Exhortation to Martyrdom, Classics of Western Spirituality, trans. Rowan A. Greer (New York: Paulist Press, 1979) paperback, $20. A fine selection of Origen’s works: it includes On First Principles, Book IV—his classic defense of allegorical interpretation and a summary of his controversial views on Trinity; it also has Origen’s On Prayer, the earliest Christian treatise on prayer—and one of the most influential; while essentially a commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, this work also addresses the problem of why one should pray even though God already knows what we need.
Origen, Contra Celsum, trans. Henry Chadwick (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980) paperback, $48. At last, back in print. Celsus was one of the most astute of Christianity’s ancient opponents, and around 180, wrote a devastating critique entitled On True Doctrine. In it he displayed both his philosophical sophistication and his knack for satire. In the 240s, Origen took Celsus on, rebutting his arguments point-by-point. In the process, Origen produced perhaps the greatest apology for Christianity, both its doctrines and its way of life. Only Augustine’s City of God can match its brilliance.
Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Fathers of the Church 103-104, trans. Thomas P. Scheck (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2001-2002), hardcover, $45 per volume. Origen, Commentary on the Gospel of John, trans. Ronald E. Heine, Fathers of the Church 80 & 89 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1989 & 1993). Origen, Homilies on Genesis and Exodus, trans. Ronald E. Heine, Fathers of the Church 71 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1982). Origen, Homilies on Jeremiah, trans. John Clark Smith, Fathers of the Church 97 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1998) hardocver, $37. Origen, Homilies on Joshua, trans. Barbara J. Brucel, Fathers of the Church 105 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2002). Origen, Homilies on Luke, trans. Joseph T. Lienhard, Fathers of the Church 94 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1996). Origen, Homilies on the Song of Songs, trans. R.P. Lawson, Ancient Christian Writers 26 (Westminster, MD: New Press, 1957). Origen, On First Principles [Peri Archon] trans. G.W. Butterworth (reprint of 1966 edition: Peter Firth, 1990) hardcover, $30. Origen, Treatise on the Passover and Dialogue with Heraclides, trans. Robert J. Daly, Ancient Christian Writers 51 (New York: Paulist Press, 1992). Ronald Heine, ed., The Commentaries of Origen and Jerome on St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) hardcover, $75. Alistair Stewart-Sykes, ed., Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen: On the Lord’s Prayer, Popular Patristic Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004) paperback, $12.
5. THE BIBLE: CANON & INTERPRETATION
Joseph T. Lienhard, The Bible, the Church, and Authority: the Canon of the Christian Bible in History and Theology (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1995) paperback, $18. A very simple, yet excellent introduction to understanding how the early Church chose the books for the New Testament.
John O'Keefe & R.R. Reno, Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 2005) paperback, $17. A valuable and provocative aid to understanding the unique--and often misunderstood--reading strategies of the Church Fathers. While the authors discuss traditional categories such as "allegory" and "typology," their approach challenges old dichotomies.
Thomas C. Oden & Christopher H. Hall, eds., The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, 17 volumes to date (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1998- ) hardcover, $40 per volume. The Ancient Christian Commentary revives the medieval tradition of the glossa ordinaria. It takes the biblical text verse by verse and quotes what various Church Fathers said about it. It is projected to be 27 volumes and will draw on ancient commentaries in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic. Now available:
Harry Y. Gamble, Books and Readers in the Early Church: A History of Early Christian Texts (New Haven: Yale, 1995) paperback, $25. A wonderfully original study. Gamble explores how ancient books were made, how scribes did their work of copying, how authors published their works, how libraries—pagan, Jewish, and Christian—worked, how Christians came to collect the books that made up the New Testament, and how reading came to be a highly favored spiritual activity for Christians.
Paul M. Blowers, ed., The Bible in Greek Christian Antiquity (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997) paperback, $30. Paul M. Blowers, ed., In Dominico Eloquio / In Lordly Eloquence: Essays on Patristic Exegesis in Honor of Robert Louis Wilken (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002) hardcover, $45. Charles A. Bobertz and David Brakke, eds., Reading in Christian Communities: Essays on Interpretation in the Early Church (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2002) hardcover, $35. David Brakke, “Canon Formation and Social Conflict in Fourth-Century Egypt: Athanasius of Alexandria’s Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter,” Harvard Theological Review 87 (1994) 395-419. Philip Burton, The Old Latin Gospels: A Study of Their Texts and Language, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) hardcover, $70. Hans von Campenhausen, The Formation of the Christian Bible (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972). David R. Cartlidge & J.K. Elliott, Art and the Christian Apocrypha (New York: Routledge, 2001) paperback, $32. Elizabeth A. Clark, Reading Renunciation: Asceticism and Scripture in Early Christianity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999) paperback, $22. David L. Dungan, Constantine’s Bible: Politics and the Making of the New Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007) paperback, $17. NEW. Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) paperback, $16. J.K. Elliott, ed., The Apocryphal New Testament (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) paperback, $55. A massive collection of non-canonical works. Everett Ferguson, ed., The Bible in the Early Church, Studies in Early Christianity 3 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1993). Karlfried Froelich, ed., Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church, Sources of Early Christian Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984). Anthony Grafton and Megan Williams, Christianity and the Transformation of the Book: Origen, Eusebius, and the Library of Caesarea (Cambridge, MA: Belknap / Harvard University Press, 2006) hardcover, $30. NEW. R.P.C. Hanson, Allegory and Event: A Study of the Sources and Significance of Origen’s Interpretation of Scripture (Richmond: John Knox, 1959). Alan J. Hauser & Duane F. Watson, eds., A History of Biblical Interpretation, Vol. 1: The Ancient Period (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002) hardcover, $45. Michael J. Hollerich, Eusebius of Caesarea’s Commentary on Isaiah: Christian Exegesis in the Age of Constantine, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University, 1999) hardcover. William E. Klingshirn and Linda Safran, eds., The Early Christian Book, CUA Studies in Early Christianity (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2007) hardcover, $40. NEW. J.L. Kugel & Rowan A. Greer, Early Biblical Interpretation, Library of Early Christianity 3 (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986). Bruce Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987) paperback, $20. John J. O’Keefe, “‘A Letter That Killeth’: Towards a Reassessment of Antiochene Exegesis, or Diodore, Theodore, and Theodoret on the Psalms,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 8 (2000) 83-104. Manlio Simonetti, Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church: An Historical Introduction to Patristic Exegesis (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1994) paperback, $25. Joseph Trigg, ed., Biblical Interpretation, Message of the Fathers 9 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1984). Daniel H. Williams, ed., Tradition, Scripture, and Interpretation: A Sourcebook of the Ancient Church, Evangelical Ressourcement: Ancient Sources for the Church’s Future (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006) paperback, $20. NEW. Megan Hale Williams, The Monk and the Book: Jerome and the Making of Christian Scholarship (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006) hardcover, $45. NEW.
6. TERTULLIAN, CYPRIAN, & NORTH AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY
Geoffrey D. Dunn, Tertullian, Early Church Fathers (New York: Routledge, 2004) paperback, $30. Tertullian (c.160-225) was the first Latin theologian, a writer at once prolific and brilliant in both thought and style. Tertullian was a hardliner in many ways, and his extremism led him, in the end, to move away from the great Church and towards the Montanists and their claims of new prophecy. Dunn opens this volume with a lengthy introduction to Tertullian and to early North African Christianity and then follows with a fresh translation of three of Tertullian’s lesser-read texts: Against the Jews, Antidote for the Scorpion’s Sting, and The Veiling of Virgins. J. Patout Burns, Cyprian the Bishop (New York: Routledge, 2002) paperback, $26. At last, an up-to-date book-length study of Cyprian, one of the most influential bishops and theologians of North Africa. Patout Burns, a scholar best known for his excellent studies of Augustine’s theology, brings great insight and lucidity to this survey of the career and context of Cyprian.
Timothy D. Barnes, Tertullian: a Historical and Literary Study, rev. ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985). Overall, unduly polemical, but there is much valuable material on Tertullian’s world and works. Brent Allen, trans. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Church: Select Treatises, Popular Patristics series (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007) paperback, $16. NEW. Brent Allen, trans., Cyprian of Carthage, On the Church: Select Letters, Popular Patristics series (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2006) paperback, $16. NEW. G.W. Clarke, trans. The Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage, Ancient Christian Writers 43-44 & 46-47 (New York: Newman Press, 1984-1989). A fine translation with detailed commentary. P. Monceaux, Histoire Littéraire de l’Afrique chrétienne (Paris: Leroux, 1901-1923). A classic and unusually thorough survey, dated in many respects, but still valuable. Eric Osborn, Tertullian, First Theologian of the West (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997) paperback, $32. David Rankin, Tertullian and the Church (New York: Cambridge University, 1995) hardback, $60. Cecil M. Robeck, Prophecy in Carthage: Perpetua, Tertullian, Cyprian (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1993). Michael M. Sage, Cyprian, Patristic Monograph Series 1 (Cambridge, MA: Philadelphia Patristics Foundation, 1975). Robert D. Sider, ed., Christian and Pagan in the Roman Empire: The Witness of Tertullian (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2001) paperback, $18. Alistair Stewart-Sykes, ed., Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen: On the Lord’s Prayer, Popular Patristic Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004) paperback, $12. David Wright, “Tertullian,” in The Early Christian World, ed. P. F. Esler (New York: Routledge, 2000), 2:1027-1047.
7. CONSTANTINE & THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
H.D. Drake, Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance, Ancient Society and History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2000) paperback, $40. It was Constantine who ended the persecutions and opened the path for the flowering of Christianity in the 4th century. He was a complex character, brutal at times, often misunderstood. This offers an important revisionist reading of Constantine’s underlying political considerations.
Eusebius [of Caesarea], The Life of Constantine, eds., Averil Cameron & Stuart Hall, Clarendon Ancient History Series (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) paperback, $40. Eusebius of Caesarea, The Proof of the Gospel, ed. W.J. Ferrar (reprint: Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock) paperback, $32. An older translation, now back in print. Lactantius, Divine Institutes, Translated Texts for Historians, trans. Anthony Bowen & Peter Garnsey (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003) paperback, $22. Timothy D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981). Peter Brown, Authority and the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianisation of the Roman World (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995) paperback, $10. Peter Brown, Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire, The Curti Lectures 1988 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992) paperback, $18. Peter Brown, “Christianisation and Religious Conflict,” in Averil Cameron & Peter Garnsey, eds., The Late Empire, A.D. 337-425, Vol. 13 of The Cambridge Ancient History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) pp. 632-664. Averil Cameron & Stuart Hall, trans., Eusebius’ Life of Constantine, Clarendon Ancient History Series (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) hardcover, $80. Averil Cameron, Christianity and the Rhetoric of Empire: the Development of Christian Discourse (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991) paperback, $18. John R. Curran, Pagan City and Christian Capital: Rome in the Fourth Century, Oxford Classical Monograph (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) hardcover, $80. Elizabeth DePalma Digeser, The Making of a Christian Empire: Lactantius and Rome (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2000) hardcover, $46. David L. Dungan, Constantine’s Bible: Politics and the Making of the New Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007) paperback, $17. NEW. Mark Edwards, Martin Goodman, & Simon Price, eds., Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) hardcover, $82. T.G. Elliott, The Christianity of Constantine the Great (Scranton: University of Scranton Press, 1997) paperback, $19. W.J. Ferrar, ed. Eusebius: The Proof of the Gospel (originally 2 vol., now 1; reprint: Wipf & Stock, 2001) paperback, $40. Everett Ferguson, ed., Missions and Regional Characteristics of the Early Church, Studies in Early Christianity 12 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1993). Garth Fowden, Empire to Commonwealth: Consequences of Monotheism in Late Antiquity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993) paperback, $20. Martin Goodman, Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) paperback, $20. R. Ross Holloway, Constantine and Rome (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004) hardcover, $35. This focuses especially on Constantine as a sponsor key building projects in Rome. Aaron P. Johnson, Ethnicity and Argument in Eusebius’ Praeparatio Evangelica, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006) hardcover, $90. NEW. A.M.H. Jones, Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching 4 (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1978) paperback, $14. D.G. Kousoulas, The Life and Times of Constantine the Great: The First Christian Emperor, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2003) paperback, $20. Noel Lenski, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) paperback, $32. NEW. Ramsay Macmullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984) paperback, $16. Doron Mendels, The Media Revolution of Early Christianity: An Essay on Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999) paperback, $24. Arnaldo Momigliano, ed., The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963). Classic essays. A.D. Nock, Conversion: the Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo (reprint: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998) paperback, $22. A classic study back in print. Charles M. Odahl, Constantine and the Christian Empire, Roman Imperial Biographies (New York: Routledge, 2004) hardcover, $105. Claudia Rapp, Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity: The Nature of Christian Leadership in an Age of Transition, Transformation of the Classical Heritage (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005) hardcover, $50. Michele Renee Salzman, The Making of a Christian Aristocracy: Social and Religious Change in the Western Roman Empire (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002) paperback, $20. Raymond Van Dam, The Roman Revolution of Constantine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) hardcover, $85. NEW.
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