giving offence. What I list here, then, reflects my personal tastes
as much as anything else. I regret that I have little time for many
modern translations. I recommend the excellent study version of
the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) prepared under the
general editorship of Wayne A. Meeks (1993): it includes suc-
cinct but insightful introductions and commentaries on individual
books. A recent trend has been to publish New Testament texts
side-by-side with other early Christian writings (especially those
of the ‘apostolic fathers’): excellent recent specimens are Ehrman
1998, and Mason and Robinson 2004.
Early Christian literature outside the BibleApostolic materials can be found in the works of Ehrman and
Mason and Robinson just cited. For apocrypha, see Schneemelcher
- For other texts, such as those from Nag Hammadi (chapter
5), see Layton 1987 and Robinson 1988.
A number of long-established series present English trans-
lations of a broad range of early Christian sources. The most
important are:
The Ante-Nicene Fathers(abbreviated as ANF). Originally
published in the nineteenth century, this series has been
reprinted by Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI, 1973– ). It
includes many Christian writers from the period before the
council of Nicaea in 325. The translations, however, are
often based on inferior texts, and their archaic style is often
difficult for students to understand. For authors after Nicaea,
there is a complementary series, The Nicene and Post-
Nicene Fathers, again a nineteenth-century work being
reprinted by Eerdmans. It is divided into two series: the first
is devoted to Augustine and John Chrysostom; the second
includes, amongst other things, the ecclesiastical histories
by Eusebius, Socrates, and Sozomen.
Ancient Christian Writers(abbreviated as ACW), published
by the Newman Press (Westminster, MD; later New YorkDISCOVERING EARLY CHRISTIANITY1
2
3
4
5
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1711
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