St. Irenaeus, undisputedly the most important theologian of the second century, laid a firmer foundation for all future Christian thinkers. Both in his work, Against the Heresies and in this present study, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, St. Irenaeus explains that there is but one God, made known to the human race by his one Son, Jesus Christ, through the one Holy Spirit; and this one God brings his creatures made from mud into intimate communion with himself. Writing in an age not unl...

The Popular Patristics Series (10 vols.) provides readable and accurate translations of a broad range of early Christian literature to a wide audience—from students of Christian history to lay Christians reading for spiritual benefit. Recognized Patristic scholars provide short but comprehensive and clear introductory essays according to their specializations for each volume. Texts include classics of Christian literature, thematic volumes, homily collections, letters, spiritual guidance, and poetical works from a wide variety of geographical contexts and historical backgrounds. The purpose of the series is to mine the riches of the early church and to make these invaluable writings available to all.

In his funeral oration for St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus calls him a “standard of virtue,” a “noble champion of the truth,” and a “second Joseph” for feeding the hungry in a time of famine. The centuries-long dissemination and study of Basil’s works has only confirmed Gregory’s appraisal of Basil’s great personal holiness, his profound insight into the eloquent defense of the Christian faith, his self-effacing generosity toward the poor and the needy, and his wise and expert guidance for t...

St. Gregory of Nazianzus, “The Theologian,” was recognized among the Cappadocian Fathers as a peculiarly vivid and quotable expositor of the doctrine of the Trinity. A brilliant orator and accomplished poet, he placed before the Church his interpretation of the sublime mystery of the God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These five sermons—probably delivered as a series at the small chapel of the Resurrection in Constantinople—contain Gregory’s penetrating teaching. Frederick Williams and Lionel Wickham’s English translation captures for the present-day reader the atmosphere of intellectual excitement and spiritual exhilaration experienced by St. Gregory’s first listeners. This volume also contains a new translation of St. Gregory’s letters to Cledonius, which contain more focused reflections on the person of Jesus Christ, laying the groundwork for later Christology.

Recognized as the most thorough pastoral treatise of the patristic era, this sixth-century work by St. Gregory the Great carefully details the duties and obligations of the clergy concerning the spiritual formation of their flock. Examine this important Early Christian document in fresh translation by George E. Demacopoulos.

The Formation of Christian Theology series traces developments in theology from the earliest days of Christianity to the Seventh Ecumenical Council. Through original and penetrating analysis of selected figures and controversies from the first through the fourth centuries AD, John Behr presents not only the history of theological reflection, but a sustained analysis of the resulting theology. The first volume, The Way to Nicaea, deals with the first three centuries of Christianity. In the two-volume sequel Behr turns his attention to the fourth century, in which Christian theology was formulated as the Nicene faith, the common heritage of most Christians to this day. Behr presents a powerful vision of Christian theology, centered upon Christ and his passion.

In the early fifth century the Christian world was racked by one of the fiercest theological disputes it had known since the Arian crisis of the previous century. The center of debate turned on the nature of the personhood of Christ, and how divine and human characteristics could combine in Jesus without rendering his subjectivity hopelessly divided, or without reducing his authentic humanness to an insubstantiality. These arguments soon polarized into the conflict between two great churches, Al...

This book contains sermons given by St John Chrysostom (ca 349-407), the "Golden Mouth," perhaps the greatest preacher of all time. David Ford selected these particular sermons to illustrate certain dramatic moments in Chrysostom's life, which highlight some of the most important themes of his preaching and elements of his remarkable character and personality. Chrysostom's passion for proclaiming the truth and his love for his flock and, above all, for God shine through in these homilies, delivered at pivotal moments in his eventful life.

The seven works in this volume (some translated for the first time) explore the great human mystery of death and the promise of eternal life. They present—along with 'On the Soul' and 'the Resurrection' (PPS 12)—a vision that is consistent, philosophically profound, and characteristic of Gregory’s wider theology. The first three works (On the Dead, On Infants Taken Away before Their Time, and On the “Final Subjection” of Christ) might be termed thematic essays; the fourth is a sermon celebrating Christ’s resurrection (On the Holy Pascha); and the remaining three are funeral homilies given for prominent people in Constantinople (Meletius, Pulcheria, and Flaccilla). This volume includes the critical Greek text.

By any standard, this is a classic of Christian theology. Composed by St. Athanasius in the fourth century, it expounds with simplicity the theological vision defended at the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople: that the Son of God himself became “fully human, so that we might become god.” Its influence on all Christian theology thereafter, East and West, ensures its place as one of the few “must read” books for all who want to know more about the Christian faith. This product contains the English translation as well as the original Greek text.

The last half of the twentieth century saw the establishment of the reputation of St Maximus the Confessor as the greatest of all Byzantine theologians, with a wholeness of vision that speaks directly to many of our concerns today. Until very recently, however, little of his work has been available in English translation, save for some collections of brief reflections arranged in centuries and a few brief treatises, too easily classified as “spirituality.” This volume provides translations from ...

Considered by many to be the final and crowning work of the patristic age, St John of Damascus’ 'On the Orthodox Faith' addresses all the major areas of Christian belief: Trinitarian theology, Christology, soteriology, the sacraments, the veneration of icons, saints, and relics, and much more. This new translation by Norman Russell includes a helpful introduction discussing the origin and reception of the text. This diglot edition, reproducing the critical Greek text on the facing page, is sure to become the standard and classic edition of this central and important patristic work.

In the second half of the fourth century the mystery of the Holy Spirit was the subject of fierce debate. Those who fought against the Nicene Creed opposed the idea that the Spirit was God. Even some of those willing to accept the equality of the Father and the Son saw the Spirit as more angelic than divine. The first great testament to the Spirit’s divinity—showing how the Spirit creates and saves inseparably with the Father and the son—is St. Athanasius’ Letters to Serapion. Only a few years ...

The Church in History Series from St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press balances the abundance of church histories written from a Western Christian point of view. The series authors—in the unique position of being Orthodox scholars conversant with Western scholarship—have taken on the task of analyzing complicated primary sources and critiquing modern scholarly literature to guide readers through the maze of centuries of church formation and life.

These are the only three existing ante-Nicene treatises on the Lord’s Prayer, and they became the starting point for many other commentaries. Of the three, however, only the discourse of Cyprian is an address to catechumens. Tertullian’s treatise contains additional material on the conduct of worship and on prayer in the assembly, and Origen’s commentary is a vast work on the whole subject of prayer, as much suited to advanced learners in the school of Christ as to those preparing for baptism.

St. Basil’s homilies on the subject of wealth and poverty, although delivered in the fourth century, remain utterly fresh and contemporary. Whether you possess great wealth or have modest means, at the heart of St. Basil’s message stands the maxim: simplify your life, so you have something to share with others.

Drawing on C.S. Lewis’s broad corpus, both his beloved classics and his less well-known writings, Humphrey brings Lewis into conversation with Orthodox thinkers from the ancient past down to the present day, on subjects as diverse and challenging as the nature of reality, miracles, the ascetic life, the atonement, the last things, and the mystery of male and female.

St Isaac of Nineveh (7th c), or Isaac the Syrian, is renowned for his spiritual writings—after only five months as bishop of Nineveh, he returned to a life of solitary stillness in the desert of modern-day Iran. His 'Spiritual Homilies' (homilies 1–6 in PPS 11) quickly became treasured throughout the Christian world, not only inspiring monastic and spiritual life through the ages, but influencing culture more broadly, as in the works of Dostoevsky.

God seems to have chosen the Apostle Paul to demonstrate—arguably more than in any other person in Christian history—how the life “in Christ” arrives at insight through experience. If this is the case of Paul more than any other person in Christian history, the reason may be simply that Paul’s words are the Word of God. His epistles stand forever as the divinely chosen model of how the Christian arrives at truth through experience. Unlike so many theologians of later times, Paul did not inherit a Christian worldview. His vocation, rather, was to create such a thing from his own experience. For this reason, Paul’s thought ever remains the Church’s cutting blade, the biting edge of her apologetics and evangelism.

The Biblical Theology Collection gives you everything you need for diving deep into the Bible most important theological topics. Taking a text-centric approach rather than working with broad theological systems, these volumes give contextualized insight into the contemporary significance of the Biblical text. With a wide variety of experts in theology and biblical studies, you will be able to jump start the effectiveness of your Factbook, Passage Guide, and Theology Guide with these 187 resources.

Ground your understanding of the church today with an understanding of the church in history. Get the context your sermon or research needs with the Church History Collection. Cover the gaps in your library with 22 volumes selected to fortify your church history section.

In this volume, John Behr treats the first three centuries of the Christian era. Part I examines the establishment of Christianity in the first century based on the tradition of the Gospel, and briefly sketches the scriptural Christ as inscribed in the New Testament. Part II analyzes selected figures from the second century—Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons—considering how they understood Christ to be the Word of God. Part III turns to the third century, treating Hippoly...

The Quartodecimans were early Christians who maintained the tradition derived from Judaism, and observed Pascha on the same occasion that the Jews observed Passover. In this work, Alistair Stewart-Sykes, the leading authority on Melito and the Quartodecimans, presents a unique collection of material in a format ideal for classroom use as well as for the general reader.

This informative and enjoyable volume serves as a valuable introduction to major themes in Greek Patristic anthropology—the image of God in the human form, the Fall of humanity, and the cause of evil—and brings together the main writings of St Basil the Great, fourth-century archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, on these subjects. St. Basil deftly addresses the questions posed by the human condition with characteristic clarity and sobriety. He formulates a balance between humility grounded in our creation from the earth and confidence based on the dignity of being created according to God’s image.

This is the second edition of this Popular Patristics volume, enhanced with freshly edited text, an updated cover, and a new foreword by Hank Hanegraaff. The sermons of St John Chrysostom are some of the richest classical commentaries on the Christian life. Knowing well the realities of life in the world, the temptation of rich and poor alike, this great orator—“the golden-mouthed”—addresses the questions of wealth and poverty in the lives of the people of his day. And yet, as the modern reader is confronted with his words, it becomes apparent that he, too, is being addressed; Chrysostom’s words are words proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to all people of all times. The message of the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) is brought home to every person in these six sermons of Chrysostom with clarity, insight into the human dilemma, compassion, and judgment.

St Gregory of Nyssa wrote the Catechetical Discourse as a handbook for his catechists, to help them defend and articulate the foundations of the faith, the Trinity, creation and the image of God, the fall and the nature of evil, the saving work of Christ, and the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. The Discourse draws upon the previous tradition—especially Origen, St Methodius of Olympus, and, above all, St Athanasius’ On the Incarnation (PPS 44)—and influences later fathers like St John of Damascus in his On the Orthodox Faith.

None of the Fathers of the early church is better known or loved than St. John Chrysostom, and none of his works is more popular than On the Priesthood. Its stylistic brilliance demonstrates the appropriateness of St. John’s enduring title, “the golden-mouthed.” Yet the rhetorical eloquence of the work is not simply camouflage for lack of substance. As Graham Neville observes in his Introduction, Chrysostom “had a mind both practical and idealistic, that brought into close connection the evils and injustices of the world and the perfection of moral life demanded by the gospel.”

When Jesus gave his disciples a model prayer, he demonstrated both the simplicity of praying to the Father but also the weightiness of approaching God. The resources included in this collection provide you with both breadth and depth for studying the Lord’s Prayer, the historical context, and utilizing it in your own prayer habits. With contributions and perspectives from Tertullian, Cyprian of Carthage, Origen, Thomas Aquinas, A. W. Pink, R. C. Sproul, N. T. Wright, and others, this collection provides multiple resources covering a great span of church history.

This is no book for biblical beginners, and one suspects it is a work more often misinterpreted than correctly understood. Unless a person is extraordinarily familiar with all the rest of Holy Scripture, understanding very much of the Book of Revelation will be an extremely arduous task. Since the book’s arcane symbolism is so rich and subtle, Christian humility will especially prompt the devout reader to be more than usually careful and tentative in his study of it, bearing in mind that the book’s purpose is not to satisfy our curiosity about the final times (inasmuch as not even the angels in heaven—and therefore certainly no one on earth—truly know the day and hour, as our Lord insisted in the Gospels) but to summon our ongoing repentance.

In the fourth century, the Christian church emerged from the catacombs as a spiritual and intellectual force, and many believers struggled to explain their faith within prevailing philosophical systems. Among them was St. Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, who examined the doctrine of the bodily resurrection.