Welcome to Fourth-Century Christianity

68 Responses to “Welcome to Fourth-Century Christianity”

1. Austin Claflin on 03 Apr 2024 at 8:35 am #

   Hi Stephen,
   Thank you for pointing out the typo to us. It has been fixed.
   Regards,
   The Fourth Century team

2. Stephen Kolenic on 27 Mar 2024 at 12:10 am #

   Thank you for this excellent historical information.

   Please change the following
   https://www.fourthcentury.com/urkunde-20/
   Sometime at the end of 324 or very early in 325, Emperor Constantine sent a letter throughout the EMPIRE (not emperor), summoning church leaders everywhere to a council at Ancyra.

3. Austin Claflin on 08 Apr 2024 at 4:44 pm #

   Thank you for pointing this out to us! A note has been added, and we have included a link to your article addressing this issue.
   Regards,
   The Fourth Century team

4. Alistair C Stewart on 04 Oct 2023 at 2:15 pm #

   I have long been a fan of your site. Having recently returned to teaching in semi-retirement I am more grateful than ever.

   I’m sorry that it has taken a picky comment to get me to thank you. However, I note that under Alexander of Alexandria the homily on Soul and body is listed. Although it is attributed to Alexnder in the Syriac version (and, as you correctly note, to Athanasius in the longer Coptic version) it is now widely believed (a position accepted by Melito scholars) to have been the work of Melito of Sardis. Unfortunately the mammoth Habilitationsschrift of Gregor Wurst demonstrating this is unpublished.

5. Austin Claflin on 11 Jan 2023 at 10:32 am #

   Steve,
   Thank you for pointing out those typos to us! They have all been updated per your suggestions.
   Regards,
   Fourth Century Team

6. Steve Morrison on 25 Dec 2022 at 5:02 pm #

   One more small typo on Marcellus of Ancyra
   Change “heaven an things on earth” to “heaven and things on earth”

7. Steve Morrison on 24 Dec 2022 at 2:21 pm #

   I really appreciate the info you provide.
   However, on the Marcellus of Ancyra fragments I found a number of insignificant typos. You can fix them and then delete this comment
   from “hims” to “desire him”
   from “must have know” to “must have known”
   from “compostion” to “composition”
   from “the the statement” to “then the statement”
   from “he is sill willing” to “he is still willing”
   from “Pr 8:28-30” to “Pro 8:28-30” (You have “Pro” everywhere else, though “Prov” is more standard)
   from “having giving little thought” to “having given little thought”

8. Ian Beck on 23 Nov 2022 at 1:01 pm #

   Steven,

   We went ahead and removed the faulty link and will work on creating a functioning one

   Thanks.
   Fourth Century Team

9. Steven Dapra on 15 Nov 2022 at 2:41 pm #

   November 15

   At the bottom of the page linked here:
   https://www.fourthcentury.com/jerome-translations-of-scripture/

   is found this link:
   http://www.bombaxo.com/prologues.html

   I clicked on the bombaxo link and found that it is dead. Can you remove this link and offer a link that works.

   Thank you.

   Sincerely yours,

   Steven Dapra

10. GlenThompson on 29 Aug 2020 at 9:37 am #

    Prof. Grubbs: Thanks for your kind words, for using our site with your students, and for catching that translation error. We have corrected it. Pax te cum!

11. Judith Evans Grubbs on 19 Aug 2020 at 10:52 am #

    I am very grateful for this website which I and my graduate students use. But, I found a serious translation error in the first document of the Collectio Avellana. In paragraph 9, on the conflict between Liberius and Damasus’ supporters, the last phrase “quem in tantum matronae diligebant, ut matronarum auriscalpius diceretur” has been mistranslated. It should read: “whom [referring to Damasus] the matrons loved so much that he was called the ear-pricker of the matrons.” There have been many scholars commenting on this phrase, because it shows how Damasus had managed to insinuate himself into the confidences (and monetary support) of elite Roman Christian matrons. Even the emperors got involved, no doubt because the matrons’ male relatives complained about Damasus’ attentions. See Codex Theodosianus book XVI.2.20, addressed to Damasus, and read out in the churches of Rome. The law condemns clerics who cozy up to vulnerable widows and young women, and get them to hand over wealth to the clerics.
    I would really appreciate it if this translation error were corrected as soon as possible, so I can assign this letter in my classes to read.
    Thanks, Dr. Judith Evans Grubbs, History dept, Emory University

12. DABOH on 17 May 2020 at 10:53 am #

    I find this website very informative and resourceful. It is helping me in my notes on Church history. It is good for not only students and teachers and researchers but anyone who wants to know about the Church of yesteryears. Keep on keeping on with the great intellectual and informative enlightenment you are committed to. God bless.

13. Rev. Deborah Halter on 21 Nov 2019 at 9:09 pm #

    Many thanks for your ongoing contribution to the study of fourth-century Christianity. Your website provides invaluable material for students and scholars in an organized, user-friendly format. I appreciate the immense and dedicated scholarly effort required to produce this collection. You are very much appreciated!

    Rev. Deborah Halter (ELCA)
    Department of Religious Studies
    Loyola University New Orleans

14. GlenThompson on 28 Oct 2019 at 7:02 pm #

    Eric: Many thanks for catching that. You are entirely correct. We will make the appropriate corrections. Thanks for taking the time to alert us to this. Any other suggestions will also be appreciated.

15. Eric Knibbs on 23 Oct 2019 at 4:10 am #

    Many thanks for a useful website.

    I just had an exceedingly minor correction to suggest for your run-down of Turner’s EOMIA here:
    https://www.fourthcentury.com/eomia-contents/

    It might be better to speak throughout of the “so-called Isidorian recension” or the like rather than “Pseudo-Isidore.” This Latin version of these Greek councils does not claim to be by Isidore of Seville; it was merely ascribed to him by scholars on the basis of its occurrence in the Collectio Hispana. In fact the same Latin version is present in other early collections beyond the Hispana and Turner dates it to the fifth century.

16. Harriet Baber on 01 Oct 2018 at 12:19 pm #

    You site is a life-saver! I’m just now finishing a book on the Trinity and the resources at your site have been invaluable! Thank you!!!

17. Jarek Stolarz on 22 Oct 2017 at 3:28 am #

    GlenThompson: Thank you very much. May main concern is that we have two tradinions presenting of “earthly Jesus” in the creeds and confessions.
    One is a general – He was born, He suffered, He was risen.
    The second one is with “location” in time and space – Pontius Pilate.
    Both formulas are circulating simultaneously even in works of the same authors.
    Thanks again
    Jarek

18. GlenThompson on 20 Oct 2017 at 7:00 pm #

    Jarek: Pontius Pilate is already mentioned in the creed subscribed to by Marcellus of Ancyra in a letter to Julius I of Rome in 340/341. Scholars debate whether he is quoting the early Roman baptismal creed or giving his own creed, but it is virtually identical with the Roman baptismal creed, which we now know as the Apostles’ Creed. The critical text, translation and commentary on the letter and creed can be found in my book “The Correspondence of Pope Julius I. Library of Early Christianity, vol. 3 (Catholic Univ. of America Press, 2015), pp. 3-23.

19. Jarek Stolarz on 18 Oct 2017 at 4:22 pm #

    Greetings from Poland,

    Great job. Collection of the conciliar creeds is my favourite.
    I’ma trying to find out the first creed or confession with Pontius Pilate inside from the time before Constantinople Council.
    My first guess is Epiphenius(374 CE).
    Do we have any creed with Pilate dated before 374 CE?
    Best regards
    Jarek

20. GlenThompson on 20 Oct 2017 at 7:02 pm #

    Dave: Thanks for pointing this out. We will link to it.

21. Dave Kinsella on 27 Sep 2017 at 1:06 pm #

    English translation of Fortunatianus of Aquileia’s Commentary on the Gospels is online at De Gruyter! It is under a Creative Commons non-commercial license, which means it could be put up on this website or downloaded by anyone for personal use for free!

    https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/469498

22. Daniel Locklair on 20 Jul 2017 at 1:25 pm #

    Dear Nathanael,

    Thank you for the detailed response. Your response completely answers both of my questions. I am so grateful for you taking the time to investigate my questions!

    Daniel

23. Nathanael Jensen on 19 Jul 2017 at 11:09 am #

    Daniel Locklair,

    We are pleased to be able to provide as many resources on 4th century Christianity as we can. Thank you for your kind words about the website as well as my translation work. Please do not hesitate to offer any suggestions as to how we can continue to improve both the website as a whole, as well as the translation of the Anonymous Church History.

    In regards to your first question, the word διήγησις itself does not seem at all to indicate or imply whether the source was written or oral. Much like with the English words “account” or “narrative” or “story,” that information must be deduced from the context. As Dr. Alan Thompson explains in his commentary on the book of Luke, “The term may be used of both written and oral accounts (F. Büchsel, TDNT 2.909; Bock 53). Elsewhere in Luke the cognate vb. διηγέομαι is used for oral accounts (cf. Luke 8:39; 9:10; Acts 8:33; 9:27; 12:17; cf. also Mark 5:16; 9:9; Heb 11:32; e.g., Acts 10:36-43, esp. 10:39, 41).” (Thompson, Alan. Luke. Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. Edited by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarbrough. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2016.)

    The same can be said about the way that Eusebius uses the term. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius uses a form of διήγησις 26 times. Because of Eusebius’s fondness for citing written sources and the fact that he was writing a history, in context, the word often refers to an “account” or “story” which Eusebius has read or is about to write down. He also uses the word to state that something is beyond “description.” The instance which you pointed out, in 3.39.9, appears to be the only time which Eusebius clearly uses the word διήγησις in this work to refer to an “account” which was transmitted orally.

    Nevertheless, in 3.39.12, nothing in the context compels one to understand the apostolic διηγήσεις from which Eusebius supposes Papias acquired his understanding of the millennium as transmitted either in writing or orally. While the words “the apostolic accounts,” with the article, seem to refer most naturally to the books of the New Testament, they would not necessarily exclude oral tradition. However, even if Eusebius is thinking of Scripture, he is only giving his guess as to from what Papias drew his millennial conclusions. In fact, Papias probably came to his understanding of the millennium from both written and oral accounts.

    In book 5, chapter 30, of his Against Heresies, Irenaeus promotes his millennial view with a reference from the fourth of Papias’s five books. This reference is to a saying of the Lord which is not recorded in Scripture but was supposedly passed down through his disciple John. It says, “The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me. In like manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds (quinque bilibres) of clear, pure, fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would produce in similar proportions (secundum congruentiam iis consequentem); and that all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man.” (translation taken from http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103533.htm).

    Irenaeus then goes on to quote a passage from the prophet Isaiah in an attempt to support his millennial view. This reference from Irenaeus, Eusebius’s remarks in 3.39.11, and the somewhat obscure remark of Papias which Eusebius quotes in 3.39.4, “For I did not think that what was to be gotten from the books would profit me as much as what came from the living and abiding voice” (translation taken from http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250103.htm), would all seem to indicate that Papias relied heavily on oral accounts. But since we know that his follower Irenaeus made use of both for his millennial views, and since Eusebius writes of Papias making remarks about and using testimonies from Matthew, Mark, 1 John, and 1 Peter (3.39.15-16), it would not be surprising if Papias also attempted to use portions of Scripture to support his millennial views.

    Thus, a suitable translation of Eusebius, H.E., 3.39.11-12 seems to be: “And he also includes other things which were passed down to him from unwritten tradition and some strange parables of the Savior and his teachings and some other rather fictional things. Among these things, he also says that there will be some thousand year period after the resurrection of the dead when the kingdom of Christ will be established physically on this earth. And I presume that he came to believe these things through a misunderstanding of the apostolic accounts, because he did not comprehend the things which they said in a spiritual sense by means of an illustration.”

    As for the word φέρεται, it is simply a form of the common verb φέρω. In these contexts, it simply carries the meaning of “to be extant” or “to be in circulation.” It does not carry any other connotation about the legitimacy or value of a document. That would have to be determined by the context.

    I hope these answers are helpful in your studies, and thank you again for your support!

    Nathanael Jensen

24. Daniel Locklair on 06 Jul 2017 at 2:41 pm #

    Dear Dr. Thompson et. al,

    Thank you for your hard work crafting fourthcentury.com into a useful web resource. I have been impressed with the quality of this site’s content – not the least of which is Nathanael Jensen’s excellent translation of the anonymous church history. Please know that your work is edifying.

    If I may, I have two questions concerning the translation of Eusebius’ of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History. First, I am wondering what the best translation for Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History 3.39.11-12 is. This hinges specifically on the interpretation of διηγήσεις in this context. Is Eusebius saying that Papias misunderstood apostolic writings concerning the millennium or is Eusebius condemning Papias for misinterpreting apostolic oral teaching? The translation of Lake specifically mentions Papias “reading” the “apostolic accounts” while some other translations (by CF Cruse, and Arthur Cushman McGiffert) leave open whether Eusebius condemns Papias for misunderstanding written works or oral tradition (in my mind, at least).
    I was consulting the Greek text Lake used for his translation (page 294 – from “the same writer adduces” to “symbolically”): https://archive.org/stream/ecclesiasticalhi01euseuoft#page/294/mode/2up/search/apostolic
    I am only aware of διήγησις appearing in Luke 1:1 in the New Testament where it seems to refer to written documents, but I am struggling with the best interpretation of the word in this context, especially since the same word is used in Ecclesiastical History 3.39.9 to refer to an account Papias received (orally?) from the daughters of Phillip.

    Secondly, do you have any thoughts on the word φέρεται that Eusebius uses multiple times? I notice Lake translates as “extant.” Does this word, whether in the third century or early fourth century, ever carry a negative connotation? It seems to me that Eusebius is using the word at multiple places (ex 1.12.1, 2.15.1, 2.18.6, 6.33.3) without intending to say that any of these writings are disputed, but I also notice that he uses the term at times when discussing “disputed” writings. Does the use of φέρεται alone presuppose that the author’s works are in question?

    If you have any ideas, I would welcome them!

    Thanks,
    Daniel

25. Nathanael Jensen on 19 Jul 2017 at 11:05 am #

    Dereje Sahile,

    Thank you for your words of encouragement. We are glad that you have found this website to be helpful, and we hope to continue to be able to provide new and useful resources for the study of the early Christianity.

    Nathanael Jensen

26. Dereje Sahile on 28 Jun 2017 at 5:32 am #

    This website is very necessary for the teaching of Early Christianity Culture, Ancient Tradition of Forefathers, and History of Ecumenism. So it must be motivating for young scholars who are much interested in Church History & Biblical Tradition. So, very much helpful for all of us as soon as possible. Sincerly, Dereje S., A.A., ETHIOPIA.

27. Nathanael Jensen on 10 Jul 2016 at 4:00 pm #

    Terry Young,

    Thank you for your continued use of this website and encouragement. We apologize for the long delay. The reason that we have put a link to epistle 73 of Cyprian to Jubaianus on the Council of Carthage (AD 256) page (the one which began on September 1), is because this epistle, although it was written prior to the council and only makes reference to the previous council, was read aloud at this council in the fall. We admit that this could have been stated more clearly and have adjusted our page to try to do so.

    Thanks again!

    Nathanael Jensen

28. Terry Young on 24 Mar 2016 at 11:51 am #

    Hello again,

    I noticed a mistake concerning a link on the page “Council of Carthage (AD 256).” This page deals with the Seventh Cyprianic Council of Carthage which took place on 1 September 256. The page incorrectly links to epistle 73 of Cyprian to Jubaianus (# 72 in the ANF). This Epistle was written BEFORE the VII Council of Carthage in the Spring of 256. The text itself does not mention council VII, but does mention council VI in referring to the seventy-one bishops who attended (Cyprian 73.1). This link should be removed from the page.

    Thanks and keep up the great work!

29. Nathanael Jensen on 28 Feb 2016 at 2:34 pm #

    Robert: Sorry for the delayed response. It has taken some time to check on the quotation.

    I could not find any ancient source with your quotation — “that on some occasions the bodies of the martyrs who had been devoured by wild beasts, upon the beasts being strangled, were found alive in their stomachs, even after having been fully digested.” It rather appears to be an often quoted saying made up long after Eusebius.

    Your English version of the quotation with its addition about Eusebius seems to have come from a book by the American atheist and free-thinker Joseph Wheless, Forgery in Christianity (1930); and he seems to have been citing another book, Diegesis, by Robert Taylor (1829, p. 364). Both of these authors were anti-Christian propagandists, and the latter may well have invented the quote and attributed it to Eusebius as part of his attempt to show early Christian writers as liars. For his quotation, Taylor footnotes the work of the 18th century cleric Nathaniel Lardner, “Credibility,” vol. 4, p. 91. This does not match any of the works of Lardner that I have checked. And Lardner himself was quite effusive in his praise of Eusebius as a historian, so Taylor is really misrepresenting him totally. The citation of Gibbon also seems to be an invention. While Eusebius at times reproduced hearsay, and certainly was not totally objective in his biography of his hero Constantine, he remains a well-respected early Christian historian, many of whose accounts have been repeatedly confirmed. Both Wheless and Taylor appear more dishonest or gullible than Eusebius.

30. Robert on 15 Dec 2015 at 8:15 pm #

    I have so far been unable to verify this quote allegedly by Eusebius –

    ” “that on some occasions the bodies of the martyrs who had been devoured by wild beasts, upon the beasts being strangled, were found alive in their stomachs, even after having been fully digested” taken from the following –

    Another scholar, Joseph Wheless charged that Eusebius was one of the most prolific forgers and liars of his age in the church, and a great romancer; in his hair-raising histories of the holy Martyrs, he assures us “that on some occasions the bodies of the martyrs who had been devoured by wild beasts, upon the beasts being strangled, were found alive in their stomachs, even after having been fully digested”! (FORGERY IN CHRISTIANITY: A Documented Record of the Foundations of the Christian Religion, 1930; quoted Gibbon, History, Ch. 37; Lardner, iv, p. 91; Diegesis, p. 272)

    I can’t locate it in Gibbons, History Ch. 37 either?

    I wrote to the State Library of Western Australia where I live but they do not have a Copy of Eusebius’ works only in Sydney, and they can’t investigate for me there!

    Do you have confirmation of that quote or can suggest how I might track it down apart from Search engines?

    Thanks

31. Jacob Werre on 01 Apr 2015 at 10:40 am #

    Hello Terry,

    Thank you for another great suggestion. We will look into this as a project that we can pursue in the future.

    Jacob

32. Terry Young on 26 Mar 2015 at 8:46 pm #

    Another suggestion I have is for your pages on “Imperial Laws and Letters Involving Religion.” I think it would help if the addressee(s) is/are named. Often the laws and letters of the Roman Emperors were responses to specific and regionally/locally based issues. Giving the recipient(s) of each law would help put them in context. Thanks, and keep up the awesome work.

33. Jacob Werre on 11 Feb 2015 at 11:19 am #

    Hello Terry,

    Thanks for the suggestion. We will definitely look into providing more specific dates for the individual councils. Let us know if you have any other ideas or suggestions as we are always trying to grow and improve.

    Jacob

34. Terry Young on 01 Feb 2015 at 10:56 pm #

    Hello, love your website! Excellent source of information. However, I think it would be helpful to give more specific dates for individual councils listed on the “Early Christian Councils” page. For instance, the Council of Ephesus (the 3rd Ecumenical Council) is given a date of 431, but giving the specific dates of June 22 to July 31, 431 A.D. would be more helpful. Even if the exact dates are not available, at least give the month(s) or season. Just a suggestion. Keep up the awesome work!

35. Natalie on 13 Nov 2014 at 9:25 am #

    Thank you for information on the martyr project! To the creators and sustainers of this fourth-century site “thank you!” This site has been very helpful. I do have an update, however. ICUR is now accessible and searchable online at the Epigraphic Database Bari site:

    http://www.edb.uniba.it/search/basic

    Happy Scholarship!

36. badrelmers on 22 Apr 2014 at 3:15 pm #

    The Roman Martyrs Project can be found in the archive.org database https://web.archive.org/web/

    https://web.archive.org/web/20120718030416/http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/cla/projects/romanmartyrsproject/

    the archive.org contains copies of every page in the net including deleted or expired sites

37. Marta Stahlfeld on 04 Apr 2014 at 9:05 am #

    Dear Natalie,

    Thank you for pointing that out. The Roman Martyrs Project is apparently no longer active. It does not appear that the information from the project can be accessed anymore.

    Marta

38. Natalie on 27 Mar 2014 at 2:45 pm #

    I love this site, it is tremendously helpful. I just wanted to let you know, however, that the Rome Martyrs Project is no longer at Manchester. Any idea where it went? Surely all of their work did not just disappear!

    Thanks!

39. Wijnand on 05 Aug 2013 at 3:04 am #

    In response to my former post, I found out that FCC is more complete than I thought: the example of the Synod of Jerusalem in 335 can be found at the bottom of this page http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/urkunden-chart-2007/

    But as a methodological approach it still works in case there is no translation provided from a document that is only available in German.

40. Wijnand on 05 Aug 2013 at 2:31 am #

    Dear Seth,

    If you look for all Arian documents in one document, you are looking in vain. Some documents can be found in the appendix of R. Williams, Arius: Heresy and Tradition, 1987, 2nd ed. 2001. Other documents might be found in R.C.P. Hanson, The Search for the

    The most crucial part to realize about the Arian documents is that they are to be found in the documents from the (mainly) fourth and fifth centuries. Athanasius, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret, Epiphanius. If you consult the volume of Opitz from 1934, or the continuation of his project by others in the series Athanasius Werke 3.1.3, you can find the place where it is originally located. In case of Urkunde 1, the letter from Arius to Eusebius of Nicomedia, it is indicated on the FCC website where it is to be found. In Ephiphanius 69.6 and Theoderet’s Church History I.5 (but NPNF I.4).

    In case, a document is not found in Opitz, Athanasius Werke 3.1.3 gives the original text and a german translation, but also the original location of the source “Fundstelle”. If you are for example interested in the Encyclical Letter of the Synod of Jerusalem in 335 (Dokumente 39 in AW 3.1.3 (just after the period available in translation at FCC), you can note that it is found in two works of Athanasius. You can look to the translation of these works of Athanasius to be able to find the early Arian documents.

    Probably this procedure sounds a bit complicated. But that is the situation in which the Arian documents are preserved. May be it is too much information, but it is crucial to understand the nature of transmission to interpret such documents correctly.

    Good luck with the research!
    Wijnand

41. Jacob Werre on 16 Jul 2013 at 9:25 pm #

    Dear Seth,

    The only place you can find English translations of early Arian documents is on fourthcentury.com. Hopefully these will prove to be useful for you.

    Jacob

42. Seth Bloomsburg on 11 Jul 2013 at 8:08 pm #

    I’m looking for English translations of early Arian documents in one volume. I’ve looked at the Opitz documents but they’re in German. Your site has some translations but I was hoping to find a way to get all these together so I could read them?

43. Jonathan Li on 20 May 2013 at 8:26 pm #

    Kairete! What a brilliant website, Hope I can learn more in biblical knowledge and biblical language from here.

44. Jacob Werre on 14 May 2013 at 4:13 pm #

    Lindsay,

    We do not have a link on Facebook, but we appreciate your interest in our website.

    Jacob

45. Lindsay Reid on 11 May 2013 at 1:23 pm #

    Do you have a link to like on Facebook?

46. Publius Quinctius Petrus Augustinus on 18 Jan 2013 at 3:58 pm #

    As an academic, I am indeed impressed by this website and the enormous amount of dedicated scholarship and work that goes into its development.

47. Edmundo Laughton on 18 Oct 2012 at 5:15 pm #

    Just wanna state that this is very helpful , Thanks for taking your time to write this.

48. Rowena Clayton on 20 Jun 2012 at 1:35 pm #

    This is a fascinating, scholarly and useful collection; I shall be browsing daily from Languedoc. Rowena

49. Rick@churchpartner on 28 May 2012 at 9:29 pm #

    I had fun surfing on this page. I learn a lot when it comes to Christianity. It is really a good site to stop by. I can get more information here. Thanks for sharing!

50. Joe Badir on 20 Feb 2012 at 9:44 pm #

    Please be cautious reporting on fourth century Papacy, since there was no Roman Pope before John I, who first borrowed the title in 527, three centuries after the first Coptic Papa (Dady), Archaelas (Origen’s assistant, dean of Catechetical school of Alexandria). Historically, this office has held the title of Papa, Father in Coptic, since Papa Heracleus, 13th Alexandrine Patriarch (232-249 AD) who was first to associated with the title three centuries before it was assumed by John I, the Bishop of Rome (523- 526), who ratified the Alexandrian computation of the date of Easter. Bestowing the title on the Roman Pontiff did not strip it from the Archbishop of Alexandria, and the Roman Catholic Church recognizes this ecclesiastical fact, to this day.

    Owen Chadwich: An illustrated History of Christianity
    Amazon.com: So you’d like to… Get to Know Popes of East & West, by Theognostus

51. Karen Park on 24 Aug 2011 at 12:33 pm #

    This is a fantastic resource for me and my students! Thank you!

52. David D. Driscoll on 23 Feb 2011 at 10:43 am #

    Your collection of the works of Arius has been of invaluable assistance in my study of early Christian heterodoxy and I should like to express to you my gratitude for making these documents easily available to visitors to your website. Your website is brilliantly laid out, clear, orderly, and a pleasure to use. My very best thanks.

53. Matthew W. I. Dunn on 26 Dec 2010 at 6:04 pm #

    Thank you for this site. It reminds me of St. John Henry Newman’s comment about Christians needing to be “deep in history.”

54. Brad on 18 Sep 2010 at 7:57 pm #

    An outstanding resource. Thanks!

55. Charles Freeman on 17 May 2010 at 1:33 am #

    Thanks, Glen, for providing this resource. The vitality of fourth century theological thought is often underestimated and having access to it here is important. Charles Freeman ( Author of The Closing of the Western Mind, AD 381 and A New History of Early Christianity.) P.S. I haven’t checked out the site properly yet but I hope you find space for Eunomius, one of the most interesting theologians of the period whose works have suffered from intense abuse over the centuries but which deserves to be read ( see the fine biography by Vaggione).

56. Shannon on 17 Feb 2010 at 11:41 pm #

    This website was extremely helpful for a class project I’m doing with the PL and Jerome (amongst others). Thank you so much!

57. Kirsten Bak Thygesen on 17 Feb 2010 at 2:13 am #

    Thank you all for this wonderfully interesting and informative site. It saves an enormous amount of time that you have done all the hard work and served it on this silver plate for people around the world to make use of and enjoy.

    All the very best
    from Kirsten
    Danish student of theology…

58. JacobBehnken on 21 Apr 2009 at 3:33 pm #

    Thank you for your comment. We will look into maps for the site.

59. Ken Hash on 03 Apr 2009 at 9:36 am #

    this is a great site and the info is invaluable and accessible…many thanks. But I agree with another reader, this site needs maps. Again, thank you for your work.

60. Tina Bradley on 03 Feb 2009 at 12:13 pm #

    You did a fantastic job on this and I will be sharing this with my friends!
    God Bless you
    Tina

61. Austra Reinis on 29 Jan 2009 at 3:35 pm #

    Great job! However — could you also add maps to your website, showing the extent Christianity had spread by the beginning, middle, and end of the century? That would be a great help, for example, in showing students the distances that bishops had to travel to attend the various councils!

62. Lance on 11 Jan 2009 at 2:58 pm #

    This is an incredible website with information that is very difficult to find anywhere else (at least not in such a well organized form).

    It is very intersting studying Arianism and how Christianity changed over time, especially because my religion has closer ties to Arianism than post-Nicea Christianity.

    I would have to say that MOST Christians do not know the history of the early Church and would be very surprised by some of the events that took place.

    Thank you again and I will be passing this web site on to other people that are intersted in the same things as I am.

63. brother Michael on 27 Dec 2008 at 2:01 pm #

    I am currently reading Wylie’s “The Papacy: Its History, Dogmas, Genius, and Prospects” and with this was doing some research on the edict of Gratian and Valentinian II. In doing so, I stumbled across your website. Wow – what a great site to have all of the documentation available that you do. Thanks for all that you have done to compile this information. I look forward to using this in my studies.

64. Richard O';Connell on 23 Dec 2008 at 3:24 pm #

    Many thanks for the material. I’m presently preparing some lectures on Christology and Arianism and this material is extremely helpful for me. Excellent job. Many thanks and may the Lord continue to bless you.

65. Jason Amato on 21 Dec 2008 at 12:21 pm #

    This site is fantastic, I stumbled across it doing some reading up on Arianism and Macedonianism. Presently I and many of the people I know don’t fall far from these theological perspectives. So it is interesting for me to learn about them. Please feel free to email me to discuss this!

66. Michael Pettinger on 30 Nov 2008 at 10:06 am #

    this is brilliant!

67. Liviu on 08 Nov 2008 at 3:00 pm #

    Great job!

    LD,
    Bucharest University

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