The Later Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Cyril of Jerusalem to St. Leo the Great

by Henry Bettenson

Book Overview

The century and a quarter following the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) has been called the 'Golden Age of Patristic literature.' It is this period that Henry Bettenson covers in this companion volume to The Early Christian Fathers, selecting from the writings of Basil the Great, Gregory of
Nyssa, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Cyril of Alexandria, and other Fathers of the Christian Church. Their central concerns were formulating the doctrine of the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192830120
• ISBN13: 9780192830128
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

A Ready Reference for Beginners

Henry Bettenson, a teacher in Patristics and Classics has made an important contribution to the students who wish to delve into the Fathers of the Church. The present book provides an introduction. The book deals with the Church Fathers from the council of Nicea to Pope Leo the Great. This period from 325 to 461 is called the golden age of patristic literature. The Fathers represented here are Cyril of Jerusalem, Hilary of Poitiers, Basil of Caesaria, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Theodore of Mopsuestia, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Leo the Great. It contains short biographic sketches of the Fathers represented here and citations from their writings carefully categorized under different headings. The great contributions of the post-Nicene Fathers of the Church in the direction of the development of dogmas on Trinity, Holy Spirit and the nature of Christ are well brought out. A thorough study of the contexts in which these patristic writings appeared, is essential to understand the texts. Bettenson is short and sketchy in these contexts, since the book is intented to be only an introduction.