Translator's Foreword

Author's Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1. Apostolic Men. Sts. Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna

Chapter 2. The struggle against Gnosticism. St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Chapter 3. Early Christian apologists. St. Justin the Martyr

Chapter 4. Tertullian

Chapter 5. St. Cyprian of Carthage

Chapter 6. Clement of Alexandria

Chapter 7. Origen

Chapter 8. Origenism in the Third Century. History of Arianism

Chapter 9. St. Athanasius the Great

Chapter 10. St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Translator's Foreword

In 1979-81, I was fortunate enough to study at St. Vladimir's Theological Academy (New York), where I attended a course of lectures by Archpriest John Meyendorff on patristic theology. The translation of the recordings of these remarkable lectures was at first conceived with more modest aims than this publication. Yet, knowing from my own experience how difficult, almost impossible, it was to obtain books on theology in the Soviet Union, I welcomed the opportunity to publish this translation in book form. In my work, I was supported by the conviction that the freedom of religion that we enjoy in the West can be fully realized only if we share its fruits with those who are deprived of this freedom - our brothers and sisters in Christ living in Russia. The support of my friends strengthened me in this confidence. I very much hope that Father John's book will find its readers, and they will share with me the satisfaction and joy that I experienced while working on its translation.

Author's Foreword

The proposed synopsis of a course of lectures on patristics is based on student recordings of lectures given at St. Vladimir's Theological Academy (New York) in 1979-81.

The proposed course does not purport to be a comprehensive coverage of relevant material. Rather, its purpose was to determine the historical situation, the main trends of theological thought, and the main issues that needed to be explained and discussed. At the end of the course, students were expected to have a personal acquaintance with the literature of the subject and relevant written works.

In terms of the general content of the course, the most suitable textbook in Russian can be considered the course of the professor of the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, and then of St. John. Vladimir Theological Academy in New York, Archpriest. G. Florovsky's "Oriental Fathers of the Fourth Century", Paris, 1931, and "Byzantine Fathers of the V-V111 Centuries", Paris, 1933. For the understanding of historical development in the era of patristic writing, the books of Professor V.V. Bolotov of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy "Lectures on the History of the Ancient Church", St. Petersburg. 1907-18, and Professor of the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris A.V. Kartashev, "Ecumenical Councils", Paris, 1963. For acquaintance with patristic theology in general and especially with Trinitarian disputes, the book by A.A. Spassky "History of Dogmatic Movements", 1, Sergiev Posad. 1906. as well as the brilliant and more recent work of V.N. Lossky "Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church", Theological Works, Ed. Moscow. Patr., 1972. Some problems of patristic thought are objectively and profoundly expounded in the recently published book by V.V. Bychkov "Byzantine Aesthetics", Moscow, 1977.

Of the earlier works in Russian, the most important are: F.W. Farrar, "The Life and Works of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church", transl. Translated from English by A.P. Lopukhin. St. Petersburg, 1891; Rev. Philaret (Gumilevsky) "Historical Teaching on the Fathers of the Church". 1859: N.I. Barsov, "The History of Primitive Christian Preaching", St. Petersburg. 1885: S. Zarin "Asceticism in the Orthodox Christian Teaching", St. Petersburg. 1907: P. Minin "The Main Trends of Ancient Church Mysticism". Bogoslovsky Vestnik. 1911-14: Sergius (Stragorodsky, later Patriarch) "The Orthodox Doctrine of Salvation", Sergiev Posad. 1894: I.V. Popov "The Idea of Deification in the Ancient Eastern Church". Question. Filos. and Psychol.. 97 (1906). Additional bibliographic references to individual chapters are given at the end of the book.