Early Christianity

and Mahwah, NJ, 1949– ). Translations are often supported

by detailed commentaries of various apostolic authors, and

second- and third-century writers such as Athenagoras,

Minucius Felix, Origen, Cyprian, and Arnobius.

Fathers of the Church(abbreviated as FC), published by the

Catholic University of America Press (Washington, DC,

1947– ). This series provides alternative translations of

several works found also in ACW (e.g. Minucius Felix,

Cyprian). Many other works are translated, but the quality

of commentary is not as good as ACW.

TheHermeneiaseries of biblical commentaries contains

also several volumes of some very early non-scriptural texts:

theApostolic Tradition(Bradshaw, Johnson, and Philips

2002); Hermas’ Shepherd (Osiek 1999); and Ignatius of

Antioch (Schoedel 1985).

For those who can read French, Sources Chrétiennes(Paris:

Editions du Cerf, 1943– ) provides detailed introductions,

translations, and commentaries, but above all new editions

of many of the texts in their original languages.

Other useful series include Translated Texts for Historians

(Liverpool: Liverpool University Press), which generally focuses

on a later period than that covered by this volume, but includes

translations of Lactantius’ Divine Institutesand some texts rele-

vant to the Donatist schism of the fourth century; and Oxford

Early Christian Texts, providing original texts with introductions,

translations, and commentaries. Some early Christian texts are

also published in the handy Penguin Classics and Loeb Classical

Library series.

Some modern translations of early Christian texts are

masterpieces in their own right. On Cyprian of Carthage, Clarke

1984–9 is outstanding, as is Clarke 1974 on Minucius Felix’s

Octavius. On Lactantius see especially Creed 1984 for On the

Deaths of the Persecutors, and Garnsey and Bowen 2004 on the

DISCOVERING EARLY CHRISTIANITY

232