1. CHRISTOLOGY IN THE EARLY CHURCH: SURVEYS & INTRODUCTIONS

 

Brian E. Daley, “Christ and Christologies,” pp. 886-905, in Susan Ashbrook Harvey & David G. Hunter, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) hardcover, $120.  NEW.  A valuable brief overview.  The opening paragraphs eloquently state the issues at stake.

 

Brian E. Daley, “Nature and the ‘Mode of Union’: Late Patristic Models for the Personal Unity of Christ,” pp. 164-196, in Stephen T. Davis, Daniel Kendall & Gerald O’Collins, The Incarnation: An Interdisciplinary Symposium (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) hardcover.

Donald Fairbairn, Grace and Christology in the Early Church, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) paperback, $30.

Paul L. Gavrilyuk, The Sufferings of the Impassible God: The Dialectics of Patristic Thought, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) paperback, $35.  Excellent debunking of the widespread view that "impassibility" is an import from Greek philosophy and contradicts the Biblical conception of God.

Aloys Grillmeier, Christ in the Christian Tradition, Vol. 1: From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon, rev. ed., trans. John Bowden (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1975) hardcover.  A classic study.

J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 5th edition (reprint: New York: Continuum, 2000) paperback, $28.

John Meyendorff, Christ in Eastern Christian Thought (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1987) paperback, $14.  Valuable on Christology after Chalcedon.

Norman Russell, The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) paperback, $50.

Basil Studer, Trinity and Incarnation: the Fathers of the Early Church (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1994) paperback, $20.

 

 2. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Wendy Mayer & Pauline Allen, John Chrysostom, Early Church Fathers Series (New York: Routledge, 2000) paperback, $32.  John Chrysostom was the most eloquent preacher of the early church, but as Patriarch of Constantinople, he found himself ill-equipped to deal with the intricate and deadly politics of the imperial capital.  This is a good introduction to his life and writings.

 

J.N.D. Kelly, Golden Mouth: the Story of John Chrysostom (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995) paperback, $20.  The first book-length biography of Chrysostom in 50 years.  Superb.

Jaclyn Maxwell, Christianization and Communication in Late Antiquity: John Chrysostom and His Congregation in Antioch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) hardcover, $80.

Robert L. Wilken, John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late Fourth Century, Transformation of the Classical Heritage 4 (reprint of 1983 edition: Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004), paperback, $24.  Back in print.

 

 3. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Frederick G. McLeod, ed., Theodore of Mopsuestia, Early Church Fathers (New York: Routledge, 2008) paperback, $35.  NEW.  Theodore was a friend of John Chrysostom who spent much of his career as a presbyter in Antioch, but towards the end of his life became bishop of Mopsuestia. He pioneered the strong Antiochene emphasis on the full humanity of Jesus.  His reputation was posthumously tarnished by association with Nestorius, and many of his works were lost in the original Greek but preserved in Syriac. The 20th century saw the recovery of his works and new appreciation of his achievements (and limits).

 

Robert C. Hill, trans., Theodore of Mopsuestia: Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, Fathers of the Church 108 (Washington: Catholic University Press, 2004) hardcover, $50.

Frederick G. McLeod, The Roles of Christ’s Humanity in Salvation: Insights from Theodore of Mopsuestia (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2005) hardcover, $70.

Frederick G. McLeod, The Image of God in the Antiochene Tradition (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1999) hardcover, $62.

 

 4. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, NESTORIUS & THE COUNCIL OF EPHESUS

 

John A. McGuckin, St. Cyril of Alexandria: the Christological Controversy: Its History, Theology and Texts (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004) paperback, $23. A fine introduction to the disputes on the unity of the person of Christ that took place before and during the momentous Council of Ephesus.  McGuckins includes in his appendix a valuable collection of the key documents.

 

Norman Russell, Cyril of Alexandria, Early Church Fathers Series (New York: Routledge, 2000) paperback, $32.  Cyril, a brilliant theologian and an unscrupulous politician, was the great opponent of Nestorius and engineered his downfall at the Council of Ephesus.  This new volume provides a valuable introduction and selection of texts.

 

G.R. Driver & Leonard Hodgson, ed., Nestorius: The Bazaar of Heraclides (reprint: Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock) paperback, $33.  An old translation of the Syriac version of Nestorius' final treatise, now back in print.

Joseph A. Hallman, “The Seed of Fire: Divine Suffering in the Christology of Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius of Constantinople,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 5 (1997) 369-391; reprinted in Everett Ferguson, ed., Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity, Recent Studies in Early Christianity 4 (New York: Garland, 1999) 71-94.

Daniel A. Keating, The Appropriation of Divine Life in Cyril of Alexandria, Oxford Theological Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) hardcover.

Steven A. McKinion, Words, Imagery, and the Mystery of Christ: A Reconstruction of Cyril of Alexandria’s Christology (Leiden: Brill, 2000) hardcover, $97.

John A. McGuckin, trans, St. Cyril of Alexandria: On the Unity of Christ (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995) paperback, $7.  Includes an excellent introduction.

Bernard Meunier, Le Christ de Cyrille d’Alexandre: L’humanité, le salut, et la question monophysite, Théologie historique 104 (Paris: Beauchesne, 1997).

John J. O'Keefe and Philip Amidon, ed. and trans., St. Cyril of Alexandria: Festal Letters, 1-10, Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2009) hardcover, $40.  NEW.

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.

John J. O’Keefe, “Impassible Suffering?  Divine Passion and Fifth-Century Christology,” Theological Studies 58 (1997) 39-60.

Norman Russell, Theophilus of Alexandria, Early Church Fathers (New York: Routledge, 2007) paperback, $35.  Theophilus was Cyril's controversial predecessor.

Thomas G. Weinandy & Daniel Keating, eds., The Theology of St. Cyril of Alexandria: A Critical Appreciation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2003) hardcover, $60.

Susan Wessel, Cyril of Alexandria and the Nestorian Controversy: The Making of a Saint and of a Heretic, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) hardcover, $125.

Lionel R. Wickham, ed., Cyril of Alexandria: Selected Letters (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983) Excellent translations with the facing Greek text.

Robert L. Wilken, Judaism and the Early Christian Mind: A Study of Cyril of Alexandria's Exegesis and Theology (reprint of 1971 edition: Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2004) paperback, $25.

 

 5. LEO THE GREAT, THEODORET OF CYRRHUS
      & THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON

 

Paul B. Clayton, The Christology of Theodoret of Cyrus: Antiochene Christology from the Council of Ephesus (431) to the Council of Chalcedon (451), Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York / Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) hardcover, $145.

Bernard Green, Soteriology of Leo the Great, Oxford Theological Monographs (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) hardcover, $130.  NEW.

W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of the Monophysite Movement: Chapters in the History of the Church in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972).

Robert C. Hill, trans., Theodoret of Cyrus: Commentary on the Psalms 1-72, Fathers of the Church 101 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2000).

Robert C. Hill, trans. and ed., Theodoret of Cyrus: The Questions on the Octateuch, Vol. 1: On Genesis and Exodus, Library of Early Christianity 1 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2007) paperback, $30.

Robert C. Hill, trans. and ed., Theodoret of Cyrus: The Questions on the Octateuch, Vol. 2: On Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, Library of Early Christianity 2 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2007) paperback, $25.

István Pásztori-Kupán, Theodoret of Cyrus, Early Church Fathers (New York: Routledge, 2006) paperback, $31.

Richard Price & Michael Gaddis, trans., Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, 3 vol., Translated Texts for Historians (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2007) paperback, $50 for the complete set.

 

 6. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Andrew Louth, Maximus the Confessor, Early Christian Fathers Series (London: Routledge, 1996) paperback $32.  Maximus was a 7th-century Byzantine monk and a brilliant theologian who was brutally tortured because of his devotion to Chalcedonian christology and his defense of the human will of Christ.  He spent a long while in exile in the Latin West and became one of the last to bridge the gap between East and West.  A good study of his life and work and includes a valuable selection of his works.

 

Pauline Allen & Bronwen Neil, Maximus Confessor and His Companions: Documents From Exile (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) hardcover, $65.

Demetrios Bathrellos, The Byzantine Christ: Person, Nature, and Will in the Christology of Saint Maximus the Confessor, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) hardcover, $98.

George C. Berthold, trans., Maximus Confessor: Selected Writings, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1985) paperback, $25.

Paul M. Blowers, Exegesis and Spiritual Pedagogy in Maximus the Confessor: An Investigation of the Quaestiones ad Thalassium, Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity 7 (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991) hardcover, $35. 

Paul M. Blowers & Robert L. Wilken, trans., St. Maximus the Confessor: On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003) paperback, $14.

Adam G. Cooper, The Body in St. Maximus the Confessor: Holy Flesh, Wholly Deified, Oxford Early Christian Studies; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) hardcover, $110. 

Lars Thunberg, Man and the Cosmos: the Vision of St. Maximus the Confessor (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1985).

Lars Thunberg, Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the Confessor (reprint of 1965 edition: Open Court Publishing, 1995) paperback, $55.

Melchisedec Törönen, Union and Distinction in the Thought of St. Maximus the Confessor, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) hardcover, $74.

 

 7. JOHN OF DAMASCUS & LATER GREEK FATHERS: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Andrew Louth, St. John Damascene: Tradition and Originality in Byzantine Theology, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) paperback, $35.  John of Damascus is best known for his defense of Christian art against the 7th-century Iconoclasts.  His views would be ratified by the 2nd Council of Nicaea.

 

Andrew Louth, Denys the Areopagite, Outstanding Christian Thinkers Series, (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1989) paperback.  Denys the Areopagite (also called Pseudo-Dionysius) was a 5th- or 6th-century Syrian monk writing under the pseudonym of St. Paul’s Athenian convert.  He composed a set of treatises that have powerfully shaped mystical currents both in the Greek East and the medieval West; they even influenced the development of the Gothic cathedral.

 

Patrick T.R. Gray, ed., Leontius of Jerusalem: Against the Monophysites; Testimonies of the Saints and Aporiae, Oxford Early Christian Texts (New York / Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) hardcover, $95.

Andrew Louth, trans., St. John of Damascus, Three Treatises on the Divine Images, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003) paperback, $12.

Colm Luibheid, trans. Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works, Classics of Western Spirituality 54 (New York: Paulist Press, 1987) $23.

Paul Rorem, Pseudo-Dionysius: A Commentary on the Texts and an Introduction to the Their Influence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) hardcover, $42.

Paul Rorem & John C. Lamoreaux, John of Scythopolis and the Dionysian Corpus: Annotating the Areopagite, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Ppress, 1998) hardcover.

Theresa Ubrainczyk, Socrates of Constantinople: Historian of Church and State (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997) hardcover, $40.

 

 8. EPHREM THE SYRIAN & OTHER SYRIAC FATHERS: TEXTS & STUDIES

 

Sebastian Brock, The Luminous Eye: The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Cistercian Studies 124 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1992) paperback, $15.  Like Dante, Ephrem was a poet-theologian, in fact, the greatest poet of the early Church.  He composed in Syriac, the third language of the early church (after Greek and Latin), and his mind was saturated with biblical images.  This is the only book-length study of Ephrem in English, and is a fine introduction by the dean of Syriac studies.

 

Hilarion Alfeyev, The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian, Cistercian Studies 175 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2000) paperback.

Sebastian Brock, trans., The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, Cistercian Studies 101 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1987) paperback.

Sebastian Brock, trans., Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns on Faith, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1990) paperback, $10.

Sebastian Brock, ed., Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian): 'The Second Part', Chapters IV-XLI, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium 555 (Louvain: Peeters, 1995) paperback.  Important, newly discovered text.

Robert Doran, trans., Stewards of the Poor: The Man of God, Rabbula and Hiba in Fifth-Century Edessa, Cistercian Studies 208 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press / Cistercian Publications, 2006) paperback, $20.

Mary Hansbury, trans., St. Isaac of Nineveh: On the Ascetical Life, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1989) paperback, $10.

Edward G. Mathews & Joseph P. Amar, trans. Ephrem the Syrian: Selected Prose Works, Fathers of the Church #91 (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1994).

Kathleen E. McVey, trans. Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1989) paperback, $30.

Robert Murray, Symbols of Church and Kingdom: A Study in Early Syriac Tradition (reprint of 1975 Cambridge U. Press: T&T Clark, 2003) paperback, $65.

Paul S. Russell, “Ephrem the Syrian on the Utility of Language and the Place of Silence,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 8 (2000) 21-38.

Joel Walker, The Legend of Mar Qardagh: Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq , Transformation of the Classical Heritage 40 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006) hardcover, $50.

 

 

Revised: April 23, 2009

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