Source: http://waltzmn.brainout.net/Fathers.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 20:20:34+00:00

Document:
This article is incomplete and will be undergoing updates.(This is one of the areas of textual criticism about which I knowthe least.)As it stands now it comes from a limited list of sources and hasnot been checked. It is advised that the reader not place greatreliance on this information without confirming it elsewhere.
It should also be remembered that information about theFathers is perhaps subject to more disagreement than any otherarea in textual criticism. You can't expect everyone to agreeon everything!
If you have suggestions or can offer additional information,please contact me.
The text of the New Testament, it is said, is attested by a three-fold cord:the Manuscripts, the Versions, and the Fathers (often called Patristic Evidence).
Of the three, the Fathers (as we call citations of the New Testament in thewritings of various ancient authors) are perhaps the most problematic. Althoughit has been said, not too inaccurately, that we could reconstruct the entireNew Testament from the surviving quotations, the task would be much more difficult.The Fathers' texts are often loosely cited, and they are not well-organized.
Still, the Fathers are vital for reconstructing the history of the text,for only they can give us information about where and when a reading circulated.Properly used, they can also provide important support for readings otherwisepoorly attested. A proper appreciation of their value is thus an importantrequirement for textual criticism.
The number of authors who have left some sort of literary remains is probablybeyond counting. Even if we omit most of them -- which we should; there isn'tmuch critical value in a comment in an Easter table by an unknown monk, or in abrief citation of the Vulgate in a twelfth century Book of Hours -- thereare still hundreds who have appeared in one or another critical edition.For reasons of space, this page is devoted primarily to the Fathers cited inthe editions of Nestle-Aland and Merk. Readers who wish to learn about moreobscure Fathers, or to learn more about the Fathers cited here, are stronglyurged to consult a Patrology.
One other note: Just like the New Testament itself, the writings of the fathersneed to be critically reconstructed. And the methods of reconstruction oftendiffer from those of NT textual criticism. Although the works of some fatherswere copied repeatedly, most survive in very fragmentary form. This makes thetask of reconstruction much harder. The tools of classical criticism are oftenmore useful -- and conjectural emendation is often necessary.
The list below gives the names of every Father reported to be cited in theeditions of Nestle-Aland27 and Merk. The first line of each entry lists the name of each Father, his date, the languagein which he wrote (not always the language in which the writings are preserved),and the abbreviations usedby Nestle and Merk. This is followed by a brief biography. For moreimportant fathers I have also tried to give information about the text-type(s)found in their writings.
For a fuller list of fathers (but usually with shorter biographies)and a list of references one is referred to theAland/Aland volume The Text of the New Testament or to a Patrology.
The most convenient English translation of many of the Fathers are to befound in the series The Ante-Nicene Fathers and its followers(major portions of which were at one time available on-line athttp://www.sni.net/advent/fathers/,though the site has moved and I have not found its replacement-- but it should be noted that these translations are often rather rough, that manyare based on non-critical texts, and that a number lack scriptural indices.In addition, the on-line versions were scanned from the printed texts, and inmany instances have not been proofread and contain significant errors.The student would probably be better advised to seek more modern translations.
For those who wish to check my sources, I am slowly adding them at the endof each item, enclosed in square brackets. A list of the sourcesconsulted is found at the end of the document.
Acacius of Caesarea. d. 366. Greek. Nestle: Acac.
Adamantius. IV. Greek. Nestle: Ad. Merk: Ad.
Agathangelus. V. Armenian. Merk: Ag.
Ambrose. d. c.397. Latin. Nestle: Ambr. Merk: Amb.
Pseudo-Ambrose. Latin. Nestle: Ps Ambr.
Ambrosiaster. fl. 366-384. Latin. Nestle: Ambst. Merk: Ambst.
Name given to an author ofthe time of Pope Damasus (366-384 C.E.) whose writingswere credited to Ambrose (also sometimes to Hilary and Augustine).(The name "Ambrosiaster" was proposed by Erasmus, whodemonstrated that Ambrose was not the author of the works.) It is thought thathe was a high civil official, and very strongly Roman, with adisdain for Greek learning. Ambrosiaster's most importantwork is a Latin commentary on the Pauline Epistles (excluding Hebrews),unusual for its lack of allegorical interpretations. It is probablythe single most important source of Latin patristic quotations. The larger part of theEpistles is cited. He clearly worked from an Old Latin text, but itis very primitive (Souter thought it close to the prototype for the Vulgate,but this is not borne out by the citations in Nestle-Aland). Of all the"Western" witnesses to Paul, this one seems to have the mostpeculiar agreements with P46 and B. Agreements between P46, B, D, G,and Ambrosiaster can therefore be regarded as very ancient if not alwaysoriginal. In the Apocalypse, Souter compares his text to Primasius and gigas.
Ambrosius Autpertus. Late VIII. Latin.
The name "Ammonius" is the source of great confusion.The more important Ammonius is Ammonius, Bishop of Thmuis (in lower Egypt)around the time of Origen. He seemingly created theAmmonian Sections as anadjunct to his gospel harmony (built around Matthew). This was the systemthat Eusebius elaborated and improved in his canons.
Ammonius of Thmuis is often called "Ammonius of Alexandria" -- e.g.by Merk. This is not a good name, however, as there was another (thoughmuch less important) Ammonius of Alexandria in the fifth/sixth century.
Neither author has left us much. The earlier Ammonius survives mostlythrough the works of Eusebius, the later only in quotations in catenae.
Aphraates. IV. Syriac. Merk: Af.
Apostolic Constitutions/Canons. IV/V. Greek. Merk: Can Ap.
Apringius Pacensis. VI. Latin. Nestle: Apr. Merk: Ap.
Bishop of Pace (modern Beja, Portugal). His commentary on theApocalypse probably dates from shortly after 551.
Aristides. fl. c. 140. Greek. Merk: Arist.
Arnobius the Younger. V. Latin. Nestle: Arn.
Called "the Younger" because there was an earlier Arnobius (whoreportedly taught Lactantius and wrote a defence of Christianity, Libri vii adversusgentes, during Diocletian's persecution). The younger Arnobius probably was born inNorth Africa but fled to Rome to escape the Vandals. In Rome, some timearound 455, he compiled a set of scholia on the Gospels.
Athanasius of Alexandria. d. 373. Greek. Nestle: Ath. Merk: Ath.
The great defender of orthodoxy in the age of Arianism. As a young manof about 26,he attended the Council of Nicea, and espoused its principles for nearlyfifty years. Later chosen Bishop of Alexandria (from 328, succeedingthe equally orthodox Bishop Alexander), he was driven into exilefive times (the first time from 335-346, and not on doctrinal but practical grounds;thereafter usually for opposing Arianism). Despite being exiled by bothmonarch and church, he always managed to return. His works consistmostly of treatises against the Arians (many of these from the periodafter 350, when Arianism seemed to be threatening to destroy orthodoxy);the most important of these was probably On (the) Incarnation. He alsopenned some apologetic works and a handful of other writingssuch as the Life on Antony (Athanasius was friends with thesaintly monk, and helped encourage monasticism in Egypt). He also, having spent many yearsin exile in the West, introduced a handful of Western practices into theEgyptian church, and seems to have tried to introduce a more natural,personal worship. Despite his time in the west, his text is generallyregarded as Alexandrian (though not as pure as it might be). His text isnot as useful as might be expected, however; he does not provide enoughmaterial.
Athenagoras. fl. c. 175. Greek. Nestle: Athen.
Augustine of Hippo. b. 354; d. 430. Latin. Nestle: Aug. Merk: Aug.
A member of the Jacobite Syriac church, he was bishop first of Mabbûgand then Amida. He wrote commentaries on the Gospels and some works ontheology. His text is essentially that of the Peshitta, and so has littleinfluence on our text.
Basil of Ancyra. IV. Greek. Nestle: BasA.
Basilides. II. (Greek). Nestle: Basil.
John Cassian. d. c. 435. Latin. Nestle: Cn.
Born in the third quarter of the fourth century, probably inRumania, he became a monk (first in Bethlehem, then in Egypt).Made a deacon by Chrysostom around the turn of the century, hewas in Rome around 405 and in 415 founded a monastery in Marsailles.His writings struck something of a balance between those ofAugustine (whose doctrine of predestination more or less deniedthe human power to do anything) and Pelagius (who could be interpretedas denying God's grace).
Called "golden-mouthed."Born in Antioch to a well-to-do family around 345, John chose a monasticcareer around 375 (having previously studied rhetoric under Libanius).His fine speaking brought him to highfavour (although he tried to avoid clerical promotion). He was a pupil ofDiodorus of Tarsus, but his orthodoxy was unquestioned.Appointed Patriarchof Constantinople against his will in 398, he quickly found himself in conflictwith the Empress Eudoxia (wife of Arcadius, the first Eastern Roman emperor afterthe final split between the two halves); he apparently regarded her lifestyle astoo luxurious, and was in any case anti-feminist. After several years of argumentand reconciliation, court politics resulted in hisdeposition and exile (403-404). A final brief reconciliation ended in 404, andChrysostom died in 407 while still in exile.
It should not be assumed that he was entirely innocent in these disputes;John Julius Norwich, in Byzantium: The Early Centuries (Knopf, 1996), pp.129-131, writes, "This saintly but insufferable prelate, by his scorchingcastigations of the Empress and her way of life, had made himself dangerouslyunpoopular at court; and in 403 his long and impassioned debate withTheophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, gave Eudoxia the excuse for which she had beenwaiting: Chrysostom was deposed and exiled to Bithynia. But however many enemieshe may have had in high places, he enjoyed considerable support among the people;riots broke out.... That night, moreover, there was an earthquake -- which sofrightened the superstitious Empress... that the exiled prelate was recalled andreinstalled. [But Chrysostom soon after was referring to Eudoxia as Herodias.]On 24 June the recalcitrant bishop was eiled for the second time; once again disasterovertook Constantinope.... Pope Innocent I... summoned a synod of Latin bishops...[which] called on Arcadius to restore Chrysostom to his see... Meanwhile Honorius[the Eastern Emperor] had addressed a stern letter to his brother, deploring thevarious disturbances which his mishandling of the affair had brought upon the capital....To this letter a deeply offended Arcadius sent no reply.... At last, in 406, adelegation was sent jointly by Honorius and Innocent to Constantinople.... [O]nceagain Arcadius made his attitude plain enough. The envoys were not even permitted toenter the city. Instead, they were clapped into a Thracian prison.... Thus, whenSt. John Chrysostom died ina remote region of Pontus -- probably as a result ofill-treatement by his guards -- in September 407, he left the Roman Empireprofoundly split." In fact, the two halves would never reunite, exceptbriefly when Justinian conquered the west.
Titus Flavius Clemens was born in the mid-Second century,probably of pagan Athenian parents. In the latter part ofthat century, after years of travel and study under a variety of masters, he met Pantænus, the head of the Catechetical School. Clement became aninstructor around 190, and eventually became the school's leader. He leftAlexandria around 202/203 as a result of the persecution under Severus, anddied a few years later (after 211 but before 217) in Asia Minor.
Clement was apparently a prolific writer; Eusebius lists ten bookshe wrote (the Miscellanies (Stromateis), the Outlines,the Address to the Greeks, the Pædagogus, anda series of shorter works). A few other works are mentioned by other writers.Of these, we have most of the Miscellanies (apparently nevercompleted; Clement himself called it "not a careful literary composition"and "notes stored up for my old age"), the Address,and the Pædagogus. Thelatter two were designed to introduce non-Christians to the faith; theformer is a collection of philosophical reflections and notes.
The text of Clement is diverse; it has readings of all known text-types.Presumably he gathered all these different forms in his wide travels andwide studies (W. Bauer thought he was at one point a Gnostic, perhapsa Valentinian, but it seems more likely that hesimply lived in a mystical climate). A few of the problems with Clement'stext may result from his own rather casual style of quotation.He is thus better used as an indication of how old readings are than as anindication of where they originated.
The name "Clement" is often associated with the oldest knownnon-canonical Christian writing, which we call 1 Clement. This anonymousletter was written from Rome to Corinth (then experiencing stronginternal dissent) around 95 C.E.,and was for a time held in such high esteem as to be considered canonical.As such it is found in the Codex Alexandrinus.
1 Clement was held to be the work of Clement, the third bishopof Rome (following Linus and Anencletus, and omitting Peter andPaul). This Clement was held, in turn, to be the Clement ofPhil. 4:3 (so Eusebius, H. E. iii.15, followingOrigen. Others suggested the Roman nobleman Titus FlaviusClemens, executed by the Emperor Domitian in 95 on apparent suspicion ofChristianity. All of this is, at best, speculation. Eusebiustells us that Clement was Bishop of Rome from the twelfthyear of Domitian (about 93) to the third year of Trajan (100/101),crediting him with nine years of service.
The importance of 1 Clement lies not so much in its quotations (fewof which are important for textual criticism; they are usually allusionsat best) as for what it tells usabout the canon. It appears to refer to a collection of Paul's letters,and it alludes to both Hebrews (which is in fact a major influence onthe letter) and 1 Peter, showing that both were in circulation by itstime. Interestingly, 1 Clement shows no particular knowledge of anyof the Gospels.
II Clement. II. Greek. Nestle: 2Cl. See Clement of Rome.
Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus was born near the beginning of thethird century, probably in Carthage. He was well-educated, with a legalbackground (it has been speculated that this influenced his immenserespect for Tertullian), and taught rhetoric in the 240s. He became a Christian rather late in life, and was not baptiseduntil 246. Soon after (248/9), by popular demand, he became Bishop of Carthage.He fled Carthage during the Decian persecution of 249, and was subjectedto condemnation as a result. He nonetheless returned to his bishopric in 251.In the following years the Roman church split into factions under Cornelius(who was willing to forgive those who lapsed during the persecution) andNovatian (who was not). Cyprian argued strongly in favor of Cornelius, andhis arguments helped swing Catholic orthodoxy toward Cornelius.
When the Valerian persecution arose in 258, Cyprian decided notto flee again. He saw to it that he was arrested in Carthage, andwas executed soon after.
Cyprian's surviving works consist of a large number of letters andten or so treatises on church-related subjects. These includeOn Exhortation to Martyrdom, On the Lapsed, and On the Unity of the Church.The last is perhaps his most important work; unfortunately, two forms ofcertain key passages are in circulation.
Cyrpian derived many of his ideas from Tertullian, whom he called "the Master."His text is, not surprisingly,the African Old Latin, and is considered to be very similar to k of theGospels and h of the epistles.
Born in the third century of a well-known Alexandrian family, he becamePatriarch of Alexandria in 412. His opinions are rather diffuse; much ofhis thought seems to come from Platonic philosophy, and his argumentsare often rather vague, poorly supported, and illogical. Thus he cannotbe regarded as a great Christian thinker, though he accomplished muchfor the church. Although most of his writings are exegetical, buthe played a vigorous role in the controversies with the Monophysites.He should perhaps be credited with finally vanquishing Apollinarianism.Nestorius accused him of making Jesus imperfectly human, but Cyril, apassionate debater, managed to out-maneuver and out-argue Nestorius atevery turn (both Cyril and Nestorius were temporarily deposed in 431, butCyril's deposition, while passed by a small group of bishops, was confirmedby the authorities simply to keep the peace. He was soon restored, whileNestorius's punishment proved permanent). Cyril died in 444, and was later canonized.
Cyril of Jerusalem. d. 386. Greek. Nestle: CyrJ. Merk: Cyi.
Born in Jerusalem in the first quarter of the fourth century. He probablywas not much past twenty when he became a deacon in 325. In 345 he became apresbyter, and finally Bishop of Jerusalem from about 349. Repeatedly forcedinto exile, he died in 386/7. His surviving writings include a set of24 Catechetical Lectures for converts preparing for baptism.
Didache. II?. Greek. Nestle: Didache.
Also called The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles, and as such largelyincorporated into the Apostolic Constitutions and the Didascalia Apostolorum.A short pamphlet concerning the Way of Life and the Way of Death, with othermaterial on forms of worship, surviving in a Greek manuscript from the year 1056,plus fragments, aswell as in Georgian ad fragments in other languages. Very conservative and legalistic(and possibly based on aJewish original), it seems to derive most of itsChristian material from Matthew. Its dateis usually given as early second century (based on the fact that the Letter ofBarnabas appears to quote it). However, the possibility should not be excludedthat both the Didache and Barnabas derive their material from a common source,probably a Jewish document on "The Two Ways" (so Goodspeed).Similarly, it is possible that the material in the Apostolic Constitutionscomes from a lost common source. On this basis some wouldregard the Didache as a later compilation of early writings. Dates as lateas the fifth century have been mentioned. We should note, though, that it ismentioned by Eusebius and used (perhaps even treated as scripture)by Clement of Alexandria;this argues strongly for an earlier date. Still,dates as late as 180 or so are quite possible (some have thought thatChapter 16 describes the persecution under Marcus Aurelius, which beganin 177; of course, Chapter 16 coud be a later addition).
Didascalia Apostolorum (Teachings of the Apostles).III. Greek. Merk: Didasc. Apostol.
This name is sometimes used for the Didache, but Merk seems tobe referring to the third century instruction manual which the Alands callthe Didascalia. Although only fragments survive in Greek, we have acomplete Syriac and a partial Latin version.
Didymus (the Blind) of Alexandria. d. 398. Greek. Nestle: Did. Merk: Did.
Didymus the Blind wasborn around 313. Despite his handicap (acquired probably as the resultof childhood disease), he became director of the CatecheticalSchool of Alexandria during the time of Athanasius, and retained the postfor some decades. Ehrman believes that he worked primarily as an individualinstructor rather than a lecturer, but in any case his prodigious memoryhelped to re-establish the school's reputation after a period of uninspiredleadership. He died verynear the end of the fourth century. His literary output consists primarilyof commentaries on various Biblical books (both OT and NT), though histheological works were important in thecontroversies of his day. The exact extent of his writings isunclear; the authorship of several works is in dispute. Many of his writingswere lost until 1941, when a large collection of writings was found at Tourain Egypt. This included several commentaries of Didymus's, along withother works which seem to have been transcribed from his lectures.
Diodorus of Tarsus. IV. Greek. Merk: Diod.
Born in Antioch, where he directed a monastery, he became Bishop ofTarsus in 378. He wrote commentaries on much of the New Testament. He wasalso active in the Christological controversies of his age, arguing thatJesus became fully human when he was born and distinguishing betweenthe Son of God and the Son of Mary (but without considering them distinct).As a result, Cyril of Alexandria later portrayed him as a Nestorian -- butDiodorus, who was dead by 394, was long since past such controversies.
Dionysius of Alexandria. d. 264/5. Greek. Nestle: (Dion). Merk: Dion.
Dionysus of Alexandria was born around the turn of the third century, and cameto Christianity from paganism and Gnosticism. He studied under Origen, and becamedirector of the Catechetical School when Origen's successor Heraclas becamebishop. Dionysus succeeded to the episcopate following Heraclas's death in 247.From that time on he went in and out of exile as a result of various persecutions.(He took a certain amount of glee in pointing out that, during the Decianpersecution, he simply stayed at home while the authorities searched everywherebut there.) Finally he died in 264/5 during the famines that followed the revoltof the Roman governor of Egypt.
Pseudo Dionysus. V/VI. Greek. Nestle: (PsDion).
I believe this refers to theauthor who wrote under the name "Dionysus the Areopagite" -- although thePseudo Dionysus is not listed in the Nestle-Aland list of Fathers, so we cannot becertain. This author wrote between 475 and 550, but since his works were regardedas early, they were used during the Christological controversies of the seventhcentury to support the theory that God and Christ, whatever their distinctions, hadone "energeia."
Dionysus the Areopagite see the Pseudo Dionysus above.
Ephraem. d. 373. Syriac. Merk: Ef.
Born in Nisibis in 306, he became a deacon and fled to Edessa after that city was taken bythe Persians. He was the leading light of the school there, and produced a wide varietyof writings -- including a commentary on the Diatessaron which is our leading source forthat book. Although the larger share of his works are preserved in Armenian, Ephraemis our leading source of information about the Old Syriac outside the Gospels. He died in 373.
On a less distinguished note, the upper writing of C consists of treatises byEphraem. Sadly, these are among his less distinguished writings.
Epiphanius of Constantia. d. 403. Greek. Nestle: Epiph. Merk: Ep.
Epistula Apostolorum. c. 140? Greek. Merk: Ep Apost.
This curious work is the subject of much speculation, as the Greek original islost and the primary translations (Coptic and Latin) are fragmentary. The fullesttext is Ethiopic.
Even if we had a more reliable text of the work, it is clearly not the productof a particularly knowledgeable author. Although he gives a summary of Jesus's lifeand teachings, as well as a warning against gnosticism, the list of apostles is trulycurious. To achieve a total of eleven apostles, the author includes not only Nathanaelbut also Cephas, who is distinguished from Peter.
Eugenius of Cathage. fl. 484. Merk: Eug.
Eusebius of Cæsarea. d. c.340. Greek. Nestle: Eus. Merk: Eus.
Euthalius. IV. Greek. Merk: Euth.
Almost nothing is known of his life; we do not, for instance, know what role(if any) he had in the church. Nor are his dates firm; his edition has been datedfrom the fourth to the seventh (!) century, though the fourth century is most likely(this seems the earliest possible date, as he is dependent on Eusebius);he is reported as an Alexandrian deacon (so the prologue in 2004) and (later?)Bishop of Sulci (Euqaliouepiskopou Soulkhs; so the prologue in 181).We also know that he was a grammarian, and that hecreated a poetic edition of the Apostolos. Euthalius/Evagrius is also creditedwith a list of helps for the reader, including prologues, information aboutcross-references, chapter headings (which also serve as useful section divisions),and other material (see under Euthalian Apparatus).
Manuscripts written in Euthalius's sense-lines are very rare (Scrivenerbelieves they were too expensive in vellum). The apparatus, however, is common.
Filastrius. d. c. 390. Merk: Fil.
Firmicus Maternus. IV. Latin. Nestle: Firmicus.
Patriarch of Constantinople 458-471. His surviving works consistonly of fragments of commentaries on the Pauline Epistles.
Very little is known of this author, although Eusebius believedhe was Jewish (since he knew Aramaic and/or Hebrew; also, he listedno fewer than seven Jewish sects) and that he"belonged to the first generation after the Apostles." Having travelledwidely, he wrote a book of Memoirs containing much churchhistory. This was probably completed during the papacy of Eleutherus(174-189), since Eusebius reports that Hegesippus lived in Rome fromthe time of Pope Anicetus to that of Eleutherus.
A Valentinian Gnostic, he wrote a commentary on John (said to havebeen used by Origen despite its source). He also seems to have beenused by various fathers as a reference for the Preaching of Peter.
Hesychius of Jerusalem. V. Greek. Nestle: Hes.
Not to be confused with the author credited with an edition ofthe Septuagint. A monk who became a presbyter in Jerusalem sometime around 410-415, he wrote extensive commentaries (which, however,survive only in fragments). He seems to have been alive as late as 451.
A student of Irenæus, Hippolytus was probably born around 170and spent much of his early life in Rome (Origen was among those who heardhim speak). In the early third century he openly voiced his disgust withthe laxity of the Bishops of the time. This led to a schism in the Romanchurch in 217, with Hippolytus appointed Pope in opposition to the officialcandidate Calixtus. He continued to oppose the various Popes until235, when both Hippolytus and his rival Pontianus were sent to the minesduring the Persecution of Maximin. He probably died there, althoughthere is a chance that he lived to return to Rome in 236. In any case,he was buried in 236. His death healed the schism in Rome.
One of the most important early Fathers, known almost entirely for one work, theAdversus Hæreses, "Against Heresies." This work describes a numberof heretical movements of which we would otherwise have no knowledge, and soprovides important historical and textual information about the early church.
Born in the early-to-mid second century, probably near Smyrna,Irenæus studied under Polycarp, thenmoved to Lyons, where he was bishop from 177/178. His great work was written around 185(At least, the third book lists popes up to the reign of Pope Eleutherus -- i.e.174-189). He probably died late in the second century, although CM offers the date ?202.Gregory of Tours (who wrote inthe sixth century) reports that he succeeded the martyred bishop Photinus,converted "the whole city" of Lyons to Christianity, and was thenmartyred himself (the first of many local martyrs; History of the Franks I.29).All of this would inspire more confidence if it had more confirmation, e.g. inevidence that Lyons actually did turn Christian.
Sadly for posterity, the Greek original of the Adversus Haereses hasperished almost completely. All that endures, apart from fragments (one on a potsherd!)and quotationsin authors such as Epiphanius, is a Latin translation, probably from the fourthor perhaps the third century (in Africa?), plus some material in Syriac. (Souter argues, based on the fact thatone quotation follows the Lucianic recension of the Septuagint, that the Latin translationmust be from the fourth century; however, we now know that Lucianic readings precedesometimes Lucian.) While the translation seems to preserve the outline ofIrenæus's text fairly well, one may suspect the scriptural quotations of assimilationto the Old Latin (the Greek text, insofar as we have it, often disagrees with theLatin).
The Latin text of the Adversus Hæreses gives its quotations in adistinctly "Western" form, perhaps most closely resembling the EuropeanLatin. Irenæus is one of the chief supports for the belief in the antiquity ofthe "Western" text.
Born in Dalmatia sometime around 350 (347?; others have offered dates as early as 331),Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymoussoon showed immense potential as a scholar. He lived for a while in Jerusalem,then was summoned by Pope Damasus in 382 to revise the Latin versions. The result,of course, was the Vulgate. He completedhis revision of the Gospels in 383/4, but seems to have largely abandoned thework to devote his energies to the Hebrew Old Testament. He died in 419/20.In addition to his translations (which include patristic works as well as theVulgate), he left a number of letters and assorted commentaries plus biographiesof "Famous Men."
The text of Jerome is something of a puzzle. The Vulgate gospels havean obviously mixed text, with many Alexandrian readings, a few "Western"variants (presumably left over from the Old Latin), and a very strong Byzantineoverlay. In the Epistles -- where Jerome's work seems to have been cursory --the text again has Alexandrian readings, this time with more "Western"elements but hardly any Byzantine overlay. The text of the Apocalypse standsfairly close to A and C.
Julius Cassanius. II. Nestle: Jul.
Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus was an upper-class Roman citizen ofSpain. A presbyter but perhaps not a priest, he compiled a harmony of thegospels in Latin hexameters around 330 -- little of which, however, hassurvived.
Lactantius. d. after 317. Latin. Nestle: Lact.
Lucius Caecilius Firmanius Lactantius was born late in the first halfof the third century. Born a pagan, he seems to have been a publishedauthor before he turned Christian. He himself tells us that the EmperorDiocletian called him to Nicomedia to be a teacher. Whether he was aChristian at that time is unknown, but he must have converted by 303,as Diocletian's persecution forced him to limit his activities to writing.In 317 the Emperor Constantine called him to tutor his son Crispus. Thedate of his death is unknown.
Lactantius wrote over a dozen books, about half of which survive in wholeor in part. His most important extant works are the massive DivineInstitutes (of which we also have an epitome) andthe vicious little treatise On the Deaths of the Persecutors (sometimesdenied to Lactantius, but on rather weak grounds).
A set of writings on monasticism and asceticism. The date is uncertainand has been placed as late as the fifth century. The fact that it usesthe Diatessaron, however, argues for a somewhat earlier date.
In some ways the most important of the Fathers, since his editorial workon Luke and the Pauline Epistles may have given an important impetus to theformation of the New Testament canon.
Marcion was born in the late first century in Sinope(on the Black Sea in Pontus). The son of a bishop, and himself apparently asuccessful businessman, he went to Rome at around 138, but was expelled fromthe church there in 144. He went on to form a rival church. His death date is unknown.
Without going into detail about Marcion's theology, we should note thathe separated the Gods of the Old and New Testaments. This may have led him todownplay the Old Testament allusions from his New Testament(which consisted only of Luke and the ten Pauline Epistles to churches);it is often claimed that he removed these referemces. However, in 1 Corinthianswe have evidence that he retained at least nine of eleven Old Testament citations.
Marcus Eremita. IV/V. Greek. Nestle: Marc.
A prolific author whose works have largely been lost, he was for a timein charge of a monastery in Ancyra. He later retired and became a hermit.He died some time after 430.
Marius Victorinus. IV. Latin. Nestle: MVict.
Gaius Marius Victorinus moved from Africa to Rome in the fourth century.He became famous as a teacher of rhetoric, but, having turned Christian,he gave up the subject in 362 in response to a law of Julian the Apostate.His primary work was a commentary on the Pauline Epistles.
The earlier of two Bishops of Turin with the name Maximus. His literaryoutput consists of nearly a hundred sermons. Of his life we know onlythat Gennadius reports that he died between 408 and 423.
Originally Bishop of Sebaste, later translated to Antioch.Like so many in this period, he was sent into exile on severaloccasions. He died in 381 during the Council of Constantinople.
A very shadowy figure, believed to have been the bishop of LycianOlympus (though even this is uncertain). He may have been martyred in311. He was evidently a prolific writer, and though we have onlyfragments in Greek, much of his work survives in Slavonic and othereastern languages.
A group of Gnostics known primarily from Hippolytus. They arebelieved to have been active during the reigns of Hadrian andAntoninus Pius. Their theology is typical Gnostic, replete withodd dieties, flute players, and the like. They have been equated with theOphites, but the evidence is at best thin.
Nicetas was bishop of Remesiana (in what was then Dalmatia andis now Serbia). He died some time after 414. What little we know ofhim comes mostly from the writings of his friend Paulinus of Nola.
Nilus of Ancyra. V. Greek. Nestle: Nil.
Director of a monastery in Ancyra in Asia. He died some time around430.
Very little is known of this author's life; we know neither the dateof his birth nor that of his death. He probably was not born a Christian,as we are told that he received baptism on his sickbed. Other than thiswe know nothing of him till the time of Decius's persecution, when we findhim writing a letter to Cyprian on behalf of the Roman congregation.
Novatian's career reached its somewhat dubious height in 251, when theRoman church split over the question of whether to re-admit those who hadlapsed from the faith during the persecution. When Cornelius was electedBishop of Rome by those willing to forgive lapses, the stricter partyelected Novatian as a rival Pope. Thus, although entirely orthodox, hebecame one of the first schismatics of the western church.
Little else can be said of further career. That he at some point leftRome seems likely. The fifth century historian Socrates says that he diedin 257 during the persecution of Valerian, but there is some evidence thathe was alive in 258.
Born of a Christian family in 184/5, his father Leonidas died in the persecution in the tenth year of Severus (202;Eusebius tells us thatOrigen wanted to be martyred at the same time but was prevented by his mother,who hid all his clothing to keep him from going out). Even at this early agethe formidably able Origen was already able to support his motherand siblings by teaching rhetoric. About a year later Bishop Demetriusappointed him to direct the Alexandrian Catechetical School, succeedingClement of Alexandria. Soon after this, ifEusebius is to be believed, he neutered himself to fulfill Jesus'scomment about those who made themselves eunuchs for the sake ofthe kingdom of heaven (Ecc. Hist. vi.8; the story of Origen occupiesa large portion of this book of Eusebius's history.
Origen left Alexandria during Caracalla's 215 persecution,and spent a few years in Cæsareabefore Demetrius called him back to Egypt and chastised him forpreaching without being ordained. In 230/1 he was ordained apresbyter while on a journey. Demetrius felt that Origen wasflouting his authority and managed to have Origen barred fromteaching in Alexandria. He left Alexandria for Cæsarea, where he spent therest of his life. He suffered during the Decian persecution, and this may havehastened his death, which took place in the reign of Decius (so Eusebius)or soon after (so most moderns).
Although Origen's views were later to be condemned (he believed, e.g.,in the pre-existence of souls), his scholarship during his lifetime wasunquestioned. He had trouble with the church hierarchy, but this seemsto have been due to jealousy rather than doctrinal reasons.
The catalog of Origen's works is immense. Unlike the majority ofearly Christians, he took the trouble to learn at least some Hebrew, and so was ableto comment on the Hebrew Bible and even compile his massive six-column"Hexapla" edition of the Old Testament (comprising the Hebrewtext, the Hebrew transcribed in Greek, and the four translations ofAquila, Symmachus, LXX, and Theodotion) -- a work which alone was largerthan most scholars' lifetime output. He also wrote massivecommentaries on large parts of the Bible -- often several times thesize of the original volume (e.g. his Commentary on Matthewcontained 21 books, that on John 32, and those on Romans and Galatians15 each). Alongside this were several apologetic and theologicalworks, although little of this has survived except the work Against Celsus(arguably the best Christian apology ever written, compiled in answer to arguablythe ablest assault on the faith). In addition, about 575 of hishomilies were transcribed (though, again, only a handful survive in Greek andfewer than half even in Latin). The sheer volume of his writings workedagainst him; it was almost impossible for any library to contain themall, and even Eusebius complained about the fragmentary state of manyof Origen's works.
The text of Origen is a complex riddle. Part of the problem is thespotty survival of his works. As noted, a large fraction of his output exists onlyin Latin (much of it translated by Rufinus, who often rewrote what hetranslated). These sections have at times been accomodated to the variousLatin versions. Even the portions preserved in Greek are often conformedto the Byzantine text, so that the lemmata of Origen's commentaries areonly to be trusted where they are supported by his exposition.
Aside from these difficulties, Origen seems to have used severalsorts of texts. In Alexandria, he apparently used a very earlyAlexandrian text (by no means identical to the later text of Sinaiticusetc., especially in Paul, although it is closer to Vaticanus and the papyri).Once he moved to Cæsarea, he apparently took to using local,presumably "Cæsarean," manuscripts for some books --but by no means all.
Orosius. IV/V. Latin. Nestle: Oros.
Paulus Orosius was born in what is now Portugal (Braga) in the fourthcentury. By 414 he was a priest visiting Augustine in Hippo, and in 415 hemet Jerome in Bethlehem. Returning to Africa, he wrote a history whichextends through the year 417. Charles E. Chapman describes this history as "of apronouncedly anti-pagan, pro-Christian character." Nothing is known of his life afterit was finished.
Bishop of Barcelona, respected by Jerome. He died around 380-390.
Prosper of Aquitaine. V. Latin. Nestle: Prosp.
Prosper Tiro was a monk and lay theologian from near modernMarsailles. He corresponded with Augustine and supported hisrigid doctrines during the period from 428 to 435 when they weremost strongly under attack. Although he had received only lukewarmsupport from Pope Celestine, from 440 he served in the court of Pope Leo I.He died some time after 455. Previously thought to have written Depromissionibus, now attributed to Quodvultdeus.
Ptolemy the Gnostic. before 180. (Greek). Nestle: Ptol. Merk: Ptol.
A Valentinian, known from the writings of Irenæus (who cites hiscommentary on the prologue to John) and Epiphanius (who preserves his Letterto Flora). He taught that Christ had a soul and a "psychic" body,and that God is one, not two. This made him sort of a moderate by Gnostic standards.
Quodvultdeus. d. c. 453. Latin. Nestle: Qu.
Born probably in the late fourth century, and became Bishop of Carthage in437. He was banished by Geiserich the Vandal in 439, and died some years later.Believed to be the author of certain works once attributed to Augustine.His most important work, however (if it is truly his), is De promissionibus etpraedictionibus dei, a study of prophecies about Christ and the Church.
de Rebaptismate (Pseudo-Cyprian). III. Latin. Merk: Rebapt.
A sort of proto-Donatist tract, claiming to be by Cyprian (andsometimes included in his works) but in fact opposed to his doctrineson how to treat those who left the church during persecutions.
Remigius of Auxerre. c. 841-c. 908. Latin.
Rufinus. d. 410. Latin. Merk: Ruf.
Serapion of Thmuis. IV. Greek. Merk: Sar.
After a time as head of a monastery, he became Bishop of Thmuis (in lowerEgypt) in 339. He is responsible for the Euchologion, a collectionof liturgical prayers. He died around 360.
Severian of Gabala. IV/V. Greek. Merk: Sev.
Bishop of Gabala (in Syria). He wrote a commentary on the PaulineEpistles which is now lost but which is quoted in various catenæ. He diedsome time after 408.
de Singularitate. III. Merk: Sing.
Socrates. V. Greek. Merk: Socr.
Although a layman, his importance is as a church historian (his workis considered the sequel to Eusebius). He was born in Constantinople probably around 380, and died around 439/40.
Speculum (Pseudo-Augustine). V?. Latin. Nestle: Spec. Merk: (cited as Old Latin m).
A collection of statements and precepts drawn from the Old Latin Bible (both Oldand New Testaments). It has been attributed to Augustine,but this is not likely. Alanddates it c. 427. Except in editions associated with the Alands, it is usuallycited as m of the Old Latin. In Paul at least, the text seems to be generallymore primitive than the European Latin of the bilingual uncials. In the Catholics,it has many links with the text of Priscillian.
Tatian. II. Greek/Syriac. Merk: Ta.
The problems of Tatian and his Diatessaron simply cannot be covered here;they belong in their own article (some additional information can be found in thearticle on the Versions under Diatessaron).In any case, Tatian is not truly a Father; ifhe wrote works about orthodox Christianity, they have not survived. Even his magnumopus has effectively disappeared in the original language (we can say thisconfidently even though we do not know what language it was!).
Tatian, a resident of Syria or Assyria, was born at an unknown date in the firsthalf of the second century. In the middle years of the century he moved toRome (where he knew, among others, Justin Martyr) and became a member of theChristian community. Around 167, however, he left the Roman church; most scholarsthink this was for doctrinal reasons -- and probably not entirely voluntary.Tatian has been regarded as the founder of the Encratites;in any event, he encouraged chastity and various other forms of self-disciplinenot accepted by the Orthodox. Jerome, for instance, describes him as "Tatian,who maintaining the imaginary flesh of Christ, pronounces all sexualconnection impure, [and] who was also the very violent heresiarch of theEncratites" (Commentary on Galatians; English translationfrom the Nicene Fathers series).
From Rome, Tatian returned to Syria, where he gathered followers,wrote, and at some point assembled his great work, the Diatessaron.
Tatian seems to have been the first to attempt something which has sincebecome very popular: He created a harmony of the Gospels. (It is generally believedthat he used only the canonical four, but the lack of knowledge about his texthas led some to speculate that he used the Gospel of the Hebrews or someother work in addition.) It is not certain whether the original language wasGreek or Syriac; whichever it was, the author soon turned it into the other.
That Tatian's work was very skilled can hardly be denied. But it was not thegospel, and it came from an apparent heretic. Most parts of the church refused to use it.
Not so the Syriac Christians. Perhaps lacking a Bible of their own, theyadopted the Diatessaron and clung to it for probably two centuriesbefore the organized church managed to substitute the regular gospels.
Despite this widespread popularity, the Diatessaron has been very poorlypreserved. No certain fragments of the Syriac version are known, and of theGreek we have only the single uncial fragment0212, from Dura. Our primaryknowledge comes from the Armenian version of Ephraem's commentary. Many othersources are quoted as having "Diassetaric" texts -- but the studentshould always be careful lest a gospel harmony be mistaken for thegospel harmony. Some of these harmonies (particularly the more recent versionsfrom Western countries) are probably independent.
Tertullian. II/III. Latin. Nestle: Tert. Merk: Tert.
Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus was born shortly after the middle ofthe second century to a pagan family in Carthage (his father was a Romancenturion). Early in life he practiced law in Rome, returning to his nativecity as a Christian shortly before the turn of the third century. His witand sprightly tongue made him a gifted controversialist, and he wroteextensively against the various enemies of the church. But -- like manyconverts -- the staid life of the official church was not sufficientfor him. He wanted a return to prophecy. After some years of trying andfailing to restore the spiritual nature of the Catholic church, he became a Montanist(c. 207. Jerome reportson this explicitly: "Remaining a presbyter of the church until... middleage, ...Tertullian was, by the envy and false treatment of the Romanclergy, driven to embrace the opinions of Montanus, which he has mentioned...under the title "The New Prophecy"). This inturn apparently wore thin for him, and in his last years he seems tohave tried to form an independent congregation. Last heard from around220, he probably died shortly thereafter.
No list of Tertullian's works is extant, but historians have identifiedat least 43 titles. Of these, all or part of 31 survive. Some of these, however,date from after he left the Catholic church. Even so, Cyprian called him"the Master," and made it a policy to read from his works every day.
Theodore of Mopsuestia. d. 428. Greek. Merk: Thd.
Theodoret of Cyrrhus. V. Greek. Nestle: Thret. Merk: Thdt.
Born late in the fourth century in Antioch, he became a monk and was reluctantlyconsecrated Bishop of Cyrrhus in 423 (he probably wasn't much past thirty). Relativelysoft on Nestorianism (he tried to avoid condemning Nestorius at the Council ofChalcedon in 451), he was the first vigorous opponent of Eutychianism. As a result,he was deposed without a hearing at the "Robber Council" of 449 -- onlyto be restored at Chalcedon in 451. In addition to writings on these subjects(which have probably been supplemented by pseudonymous works) he wrote a commentaryon the Pauline Epistles and on large portions of the Old Testament. He died around 466,although controversies continued to swirl about him for many decades.
Theodotus II. Greek. Merk: Thdot.
From the information in Merk it is not clear if this is Theodotus theGnostic, a Valentinian, or Theodotus/Theodorus of Byzantium, a developerof dynamic Monarchianism (who was excommunicated by Victor of Rome in 198).
Theophilus of Alexandria. d. 412. Greek. Nestle: Theoph.
Author of a commentary in the form of sermons on Luke. It survivesonly partly in quotations and catenae. He also wrote a work against the Manichaeans;this exists primarily in Syriac. Little is known of his life save that hewas Bishop of Bostra and died before 378.
A Gnostic group founded by Valentinus in the second century.Valentinus spent time in Rome (c. 135-160), but the centerof the cult was in Egypt. Valentinus and his followers (such asPtolemaeus, Heracleon, and Theodotus) created a system whichbegan with "Depth" and "Silence" and involved thirtyaeons of which Wisdom was the youngest and the mother of Jesus. (Trustme, I'm not making this up, just expressing it in very short form.)Details vary, but the heresy was strong enough to have provokedreactions from Irenæus, Tertullian,and Clement of Alexandria. (Of course, the accuracyof those authors' discussions of the sect is questionable.)Much of their system is now known from the writings at Nag Hammadi.
An anti-Arian work probably to be dated in the period 445-480.The compiler is unknown; Vigilius of Thapsus and Idacius Clarus ofOssonuba have been mentioned.
Bishop of Vita in Africa. His known work is the Historiapersecutionis Africanæ provincia.
Victorinus was an inhabitant of Poetovio, Pannonia (now known asPettau, Styria). Little is known of his early life, but he is knownto have died in Diocletian's persecution. He wrote commentaries on manybooks -- mostly in the Old Testament; in the New, he seems to have writtenonly on Matthew and the Apocalypse. It is the last-named which hassurvived; it is also one of the sources used by Primasiusand Beatus, and a modified version was propagated byJerome. His Latin style is curious;several scholars think his native language was Greek.
Bishop of Thapsus in Africa; died after 484. He wrote to combatvarious heresies. He has been mentioned as a possible author of thecontra Varimadum arianum. Several other works have also beenattributed to him by the "Pseudo Vigilius."
A Mauretanian, Bishop of Verona from 362 to 371/2.
The table below gives equivalent data for Merk. Unless marked L, figuresare for the Greek apparatus. Note that some writers are cited in both theGreek and Latin apparatuses.
The first problem in dealing with the Fathers is order: Except for a fewcommentaries, the Fathers don't quote the New Testament chapter by chapterand verse by verse. Instead, they cite passages as they are useful in whateverargument they are making. So we must endeavor to sort out their citationsinto an orderly whole. This is not really a problem with their texts, but itmeans that significant effort must be undertaken to use their witness.
The second problem is one of accuracy of citation. Most fathers did notrefer to manuscripts when they quoted scripture. They just used the wordingthey remembered. And they did not always remember accurately. Even if theydid recall the passage with precision, they might omit or paraphasepart of it for effect.
And, finally, there is the problem of transmission. We no more have theoriginal manuscript of Irenaeus or Tertullian than we have the originalautographs of the New Testament itself. Often the textual transmission ofthe Father's writings has been troubled. Before we can rely on theirtestimony, we must subject it to textual criticism itself.
Why, then, do we bother with such difficuly sources of information?Because the Fathers, unlike manuscripts or versions, can be so preciselylocated. In most instances, we know with fair precision both whereand when a particular author wrote. Thus, a judicious use of theirtestimony can allow us to localize particular readings and text-types.
In addition, many of the Fathers are early, and their texts predateall but our earliest continuous-text witnesses. They thus give us insightinto a periodwhere the history of the text would otherwise be completely dark. Theearliest Greek witnesses to the "Western" text, for instance,date from the fifth century and after. The earliest Latin witnesses comefrom about the fourth. But in the quotations of Irenaeus, Tertullian,Cyprian, and others, we have fragments of "Western" texts goingas far back as the second century.
A reading should not be accepted on patristic evidence alone, but thetestimony of a Father gives valuable dated support to readings found inparticular Greek manuscripts.
If a Father, particularly in the lemma of a commentary, has a Byzantinereading, the context must be checked carefully to be sure that copyistshave not conformed the reading to the Byzantine text.
If the writings of a Father exist only or primarily in translation,care must be taken to ensure the translation has not been conformed tothe prevailing text in that language (the Latin texts of Origen andIrenaeus, for instance, both seem to have been influenced by Old Latinmanuscripts, yielding a much more "Western" text). One shouldalso be sure that the translations are correct translations (Rufinus,e.g., was quite capable of paraphrasing or even rewriting what he wastranslating).
It is hard to imagine a summation of both the strengths and weaknessesof patristic evidence more succinct than Ehrman's: "Patristicsources provide primary evidence for the history of the text but onlysecondary evidence for the original text itself" (Didymusthe Blind and the Text of the Gospels, p. 5).
Thanks to all the folks who came forward with information for thisarticle, including Ulrich Schmid, Jean Valentin, Christopher Eyton, and Vincent Broman.
Note: The larger portion of this work was completed before I startedlisting sources, and I am still reconstructing the materials. So for anygiven entry, many sources may have been consulted which are not listed.

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