LibGuides: Introduction to Church History: Early

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception

The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception is an excellent database resource for a study of the church fathers with a focus on their biblical interpretation.

Access requires Concordia Seminary login.

Advanced: Dictionaries of Classical, Koine, and Byzantine Greek

A basic knowledge of Greek is required to use these dictionaries digitized as part of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae project.
Access requires Concordia Seminary login.

HIstories

Church of St. George in Korbinovo with images of church fathers (Tiffany Ziegler,

CC BY-SA 4.0, vis Wikimedia commons)

History and Thought of the Early Church by Henry Chadwick
ISBN: 0860781127
Publication Date: 1982-01-01
History and Thought of the Early Church is an account of early Christianity by one of its leading historians. Chadwick, who held professorships at both Oxford and Cambridge, was also a priest in the Church of England and this history reflects his engagement with the life of the church.
The First Thousand Years by Robert Louis Wilken
ISBN: 9780300118841
Publication Date: 2012-11-27
Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history.This story is not limited to the West; rather, Christian communities in Ethiopia, Nubia, Armenia, Georgia, Persia, Central Asia, India, and China shaped the course of Christian history. The rise and spread of Islam had a lasting impact on the future of Christianity, and several chapters are devoted to the early experiences of Christians under Muslim rule. Ten years in the making and the result of a lifetime of study, this is Robert Louis Wilken's summa, a moving, reflective, and commanding account from a scholar at the height of his powers.

Bibliographies

Patrology by Johannes Quasten

Publication date: 1951-2006

Patrology is the standard guide to the writings of the church fathers. The volumes are organized chronologically and treat patristic literature from its beginnings to the time of John of Damascus (750). Descriptions of the texts are included.