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Ante-Nicene Fathers (book)

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Shelf containing the Ante-Nicene Fathers

The Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (abbreviated ANF)[1] is a collection of books in 10 volumes (one volume is indexes) containing English translations of the majority of Early Christian writings.[2] The period covers the beginning of Christianity until the promulgation of the Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea.

Publication

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The series was originally published between 1867 and 1873 by the Presbyterian publishing house T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh under the title Ante-Nicene Christian Library (ANCL), as a response to the Oxford movement's Library of the Fathers which was perceived as too strongly identified with the Anglo-Catholic movement. 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 the Christian Literature Company, first of Buffalo, then New York, began to issue the volumes in a reorganized form. This was done without permission, and was indeed a pirate edition. The new series was edited by the Episcopal bishop of New York, A. Cleveland Coxe. Coxe gave his series the title The Ante-Nicene Fathers. By 1896, this American edition/revision was complete. Unable to close down the pirate, T. & T. Clark were obliged to make what terms they could.

In 1897, a volume 9, which contained new translations, was published by T. & T. Clark as an additional volume, to complete the original ANCL. Apart from volume 9, the contents entirely derived from the ANCL, but in a more chronological order. Coxe added his own introductions and notes, which were criticized by academic authorities and Roman Catholic reviewers.[3]

T. & T. Clark then associated with the Christian Literature Company and with other American publishers for the publication of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.

Volumes

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  • Volume 1: Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus
  • Volume 2: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria
  • Volume 3: Tertullian
  • Volume 4: Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen
  • Volume 5: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
  • Volume 6: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius
  • Volume 7: Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, Homily, and Liturgies
  • Volume 8: Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Aprocryphal Gospels and Acts, Syriac Documents
  • Volume 9: Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Testament of Abraham, Epistles of Clement, Origen and Miscellaneous Works
  • Volume 10: Bibliography, General Index, Annotated Index of Authors and Works[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Citing Text Collections 6: ANF and NPNF". SBL Handbook of Style: Explanations, Clarifications, and Expansions. Society of Biblical Literature. 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2023-04-30. The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325 (ANF) and A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church (NPNF) are well over a century old, but they continue to be reprinted by publishers and cited by writers in the field.
  2. ^ Boston University website, Theology Library, TF701: Introduction to Christian Traditions
  3. ^ JStor website, Arthur Cleveland Coxe, the Ante-Nicene Fathers, and Roman Catholicism, article by Elizabeth A. Clark published in Anglican and Episcopal History, Vol. 85, No. 2 (June 2016), pp. 164-193
  4. ^ Reformed Christian Books website, Ante-Nicene Fathers, American Edition
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