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The Ante-Nicene Fathers, subtitled "The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325", is a collection of books in 10 volumes (one volume is indexes) containing English translations of the majority of Early Christian writings. The period covers the beginning of Christianity until before the promulgation of the Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea. The translations are very faithful, but sometimes rather old-fashioned.

[edit] Publication

The series was originally published between 1868 and 1873 by the Presbyterian publishing house T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh under the title Ante-Nicene Christian Library, as a response to the Oxford movement's Library of the Fathers which was perceived as too much catholic. The volumes were edited by Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. This series was available by subscription but the editors were unable to interest enough subscribers to commission a translation of the homilies of Origen.

In 1885 a US firm, the Christian Literature Company, first of Buffalo, then New York, began to issue the volumes in a reorganised form, edited by the episcopalian bishop of New York, A. Cleveland Coxe. Coxe gave his "new" series the title: The Ante-Nicene Fathers.

In 1896, the American edition/revision was complete. In 1897, the volume 9 of this one which contained new translations, was published by T. & T. Clark as an additional volume to complete the original ANCL.

Apart of this volume 9, the contents entirely derived thus from the ANCL, but in a more chronological order. However Coxe took the liberty to add his own introductions and notes, which were criticised by many academic authories as well as Roman Catholic reviewers. One approved the faithfulness of the translations, but wrote that Coxe:

…deemed it his duty to distort the sense and purpose of the text by the addition of prefatory notices and footnotes, and to indulge in sectarian bigotry by endeavoring to explain away the evidence of Catholic doctrine taught by the Fathers... the notes of Dr Coxe abound in similar falsehoods and vile insinuations, and that no open-minded and honest student, Catholic or non-Catholic, of the Fathers, can profit by such interpretations of the Patristic books.^{[cite this quote]}

Surely convinced by the commercial success of the cheaper American version/revision of the ANCL - although of lesser quality on some minor points - the T. & T. Clark get associated with the Christian Literature Company and with others American editors for the publication of sequel: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.

[edit] Contents

The volumes include the following:

Volume I. Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus

• Apostolic Fathers: Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Barnabas, Hermas, Epistle to Diognetus, Papias
• Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Writings. Didache

Volume II. Fathers of the Second Century

• Tatian, Theophilus of Antioch, Athenagoras of Athens, Clement of Alexandria

Volume III. Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian

• I. Apologetic
• II. Anti-Marcion
• III. Ethical

Volume IV. The Fathers of the Third Century

• Tertullian IV. More Ethical writings; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen

Volume V. The Fathers of the Third Century

• Hippolytus; Cyprian; Caius; Novatian; Appendix

Volume VI. The Fathers of the Third Century

• Gregory Thaumaturgus; Dionysius the Great; Sextus Julius Africanus; Anatolius and Minor Writers; Methodius of Olympus; Arnobius

Volume VII. Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries

• Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus of Pettau, Dionysius of Corinth, Apostolic Constitutions, Homily, Liturgies, Liturgy of St James,

Volume VIII. Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries

• Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Clementia , Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac Documents, Remains of the First Ages, Decretals,
• Apocrypha
  • Gospel of Thomas,
• Pseudo-Clementine Literature
  • Recognitions of Clement
  • Clementine Homilies
  • Epistle of Peter to James

Volume IX. Recently Discovered Additions to Early Christian Literature; Commentaries of Origen

• The Gospel of Peter, The Diatessaron of Tatian, The Apocalypse of Peter, The Visio Pauli, The Apocalypses of the Virgin and Sedrach, The Testament of Abraham, The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, The Narrative of Zosimus, The Apology of Aristides, The Epistles of Clement (Complete Text), Origen's Commentary on John, Books I-X, Origen's Commentary on Mathew, Books I, II, and X-XIV

[edit] See also

Christianity portal

• Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
• Jacques Paul Migne

[edit] External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Ante-Nicene Fathers

• The full text of the Ante-Nicene Fathers is freely available at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
• Details of the creation and piracy of the ANCL
• http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=&scope=books#q=ante-nicene%20christian%20library%20review&filter=all&start=1&t=9XE3TR4jAsypdrQohHeY2w&sq=ante-nicene%20christian%20library%20review^{[dead link]} American Ecclesiastical Review at Live Books. Vol. 24 (1901) Pp 210–11 contain the review criticising Coxe