The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 2

Bart D. Ehrman

Harvard University Press, 2003 - Religion - 496 pages

The writings of the Apostolic Fathers give a rich and diverse picture of Christian life and thought in the period immediately after New Testament times. Some of them were accorded almost Scriptural authority in the early Church. This new Loeb edition of these essential texts reflects current idiom and the latest scholarship.

Here are the Letters of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, among the most famous documents of early Christianity; these letters, addressing core theological questions, were written to a half dozen different congregations while Ignatius was en route to Rome as a prisoner, condemned to die in the wild-beast arena. Also in this collection is a letter to the Philippian church by Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and friend of Ignatius, as well as an account of Polycarp's martyrdom. There are several kinds of texts in the Apostolic Fathers collection, representing different religious outlooks. The manual called the Didache sets forth precepts for religious instruction, worship, and ministry. The Epistle of Barnabas searches the Old Testament, the Jewish Bible, for testimony in support of Christianity and against Judaism. Probably the most widely read in the early Christian centuries was The Shepherd of Hermas, a book of revelations that develops a doctrine of repentance.

What people are saying

Review: The Apostolic Fathers 2. Epistle of Barnabas/Papias & Quadratus/Epistle to Diognetus/The Shepherd of Hermas

User Review  - Joseph Richardson - Goodreads

Well edited; it's just the content that's not exciting as the first volume. I kept stalling in the Shepherd of Hermas, which is interesting but awfully long and rather tedious. Good for theology and history; not good for light bedtime reading.

About the author

New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and graduated from Wheaton College in 1978. He earned his Masters of Divinity and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and has taught at Rutgers University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor. He has published more than 20 scholarly and popular books, including three New York Times bestsellers, plus numerous articles and book reviews.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 2; Loeb classical library ; 24-25; The Apostolic Fathers, Bart D. Ehrman; Volume 25 of The Loeb Classical Library: Greek Authors
• Editor: Bart D. Ehrman
• Translated by: Bart D. Ehrman
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0674996089, 9780674996083
• Length: 496 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament; Religion / Christianity / History