Patro Lo Gy the Lives and Works of the Fathers of the Church 5?

699 Pages·2017·36.16 MB·English

PATROLOGY
THE LIVES AND WORKS OFTHE
FATHERS OFTHE CHURCH W
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OTTO BARDENHEWER D . D . PH . D . I )
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PROFESSOR OP THEOLOGY I N TH E U N IV ERS ITY OF MUN ICH
TRAN S L ATE D FRO M TH E S E C O N D E D I T ION
THOMAS . SHAHAN D . D .
J ,
PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY I N TH E CATHOL IC UN IVERS ITY OF AMERICA
WITH THE APPROBATI ON AND RECOMMENDATION OFTHEIR LO RDSHIPS THE
ARCHBISHO PS AND BISHOPS OF COVINGTON FREIBURG MILWAUKEE
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OGDENSBURG ST. LOUIS S I OUX FALLS AND SPRINGFIELD
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Coll . Chr isti Be g i n
BI BL. THEOL .
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TORO I rr.
FREIBURG I M BREISGAU AN D ST. LOUIS MO. 1 908
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B . H E R D E R
PUBLISHER TO TH E HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE
BERLIN KAR LSRUHE MUNICH STRASS
BURG VIENNA
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APPROBATIONS .
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M lzelauke e Wis an. TO 1 0 .
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9 7
M dear D r . Shahan
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Allow me to con ratulate you upon the happy thou ht of ivin us an
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E n lish translation of Dr. B ar amkewer s e xce lle nt Manual of Patrolo y.
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You know that I have b e e n lon wishin for just such a book which is a
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real desideratum for educated Catholic Americans especially the cler y
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and our candidates for the priesthood. Protestantism An lican and German
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is tryin to find in the primitive Church the historic foundation for its
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sectarian tenets while R ationalism seeks in the early Christian writin s for
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weapons with which to attack the credibility of the Gospels and the a o
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stOlicit of Catholic Do ma. H ow can the Catholic student successfully
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meet the enemies of the Church if he has no more knowled e of the
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Fathers and Doctors of the Church those early authentic custodians and
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exponents of the D e osztum dez than what he has athered from a few
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disjointed texts or patristic uotatI ons I n a Manual of Do matic Theolo y
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Or from the short sketches of the lives and writin s of the Fathers found
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in a Manual of Church History
Yet this is only what ma be called the apolo etic view of the study
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of the Fathers su ested by the contemporary stru le of the Church
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defendin her claim to be the ori inal Church of Christ . There ar e many
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other valuable advanta es of thorou h patristic studies. A close acquaint
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ance with the Fathers of the Church will furnish those who «search the
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Scriptures with a fuller and clearer understandin of the manifold and
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often hidden meanin of H ol Writ. I t will provide the Christian teacher
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called to preach the word with an inexhaustible Supply of solid and at
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tractive material . T o the student of Church History it will furnish a better
,
and more correct insi ht into the true causes and character of events by
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throwin a wonderful li ht upon many questions of early Church dis
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ci line and law. Nor shall we overlook the precious ems of poetry and
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oratory of narrative and description found in early Christian literature
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which compare quite favorably with the j ewels of the pa an classics.
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Dr. B aram/zewe/ s Manual is an excellent ke to the rich and varied
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literature of the «Be innin s of Christianity» of which you have iven us
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such interestin accounts. By your translation you have placed that k e
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in our hands. I t is now the duty of priest and seminarian to Open the
door to the treasury of our early classics. Ma the «Manual » have all the
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success that it so richly deserves !
Yours very sincerely in Christo
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S . G. MESSMER
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Archb ishop of Milwauk e e .
St. L ouis Mo. an . 1 0 .
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M dear Dr. Shahan
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I wish to con ratulate you on the appearance of your translation of
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B orden/waver : Patrolo y. I have heard much of the ori inal and am
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sure that in your hands it has lost none of its value. I bespeak for it a
lar e circulation and Shall take pleasure in commendin it when oc
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casion offers.
With best wishes I am
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Sincerely yours in Christo
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L
oHN . GLENNON
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Archb ishop of St . Louis.
S r in eld Mass an. 1 0 .
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M dear Dr. Shahan
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The appearance of B arden/zewe/ s P
atrolo y in an E n lish translation
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wi
ll el icit a scholar s welcome from all professors and students of Patristic
T heolo y and Church History.
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The excellency of the work in the
ori inal and the well known fitness
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of the translator make our approval and recommendation an easy and
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illin
g evidence of our pleasure and satisfaction in its publication .
I t
should easily find space upon the library Shelf of every seminarist
and every priest.
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THOMAS D. BEAVEN
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Bishop of Sprin fie ld.
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Sioux Falls S
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M dear Doctor
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I
rejoice to learn that you have translated into
E n lish B ar amfiewe/ s
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The L
ives and Works of the Fathers of the Church »
and that I fem er
,
w
ill publish the translation within the comin year
. This is the best
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Ma
nual of Patrolo
gy that I know
; it will be a boon to our seminaries and
our priests. I n these days
, when the historical aspect of Theolo y its
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development and evolution ar e becomin as prominent and necessary as
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the Scholastic exposition of revelation our seminarians and priests ou ht
,
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to have in hand the very best that has been done on the lives and works
of the Fathers of the Church since they are the exponents and witnesses
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of the rowth of theolo y.
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I r e maI n dear Doctor
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Frate rnall yours
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THOMAS O GORMAN
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Bishop of Sioux Falls.
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Covzn fon K . an. 1 0 .
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M dear Dr. Shahan
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The cler y of America ou ht to be deeply rateful to you for the
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translation of Dr. B ar amfiewef s Manual of Patrolo y. The lives and
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works of the Fathers are not sufficiently known amon st us. Whilst fe w
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priests have the leisure to study them thorou hly they should be ac
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uainte d in a eneral wa with the teachin s of the Fathers of the
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Church. They ar e the fountain heads of Tradition the keys to the under
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standin of the do mas of the Faith they supply the most effectual
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armory in defence of Christian truth which the Catholic Church alone has
kept in its apostolic purity of doctrine.
Hopin that both yourself and your publication will receive adequate
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reco nition of your labors
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Devotedly yours in Christo
,
CAMILLUS P. MAES
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Bishop of Covington .
O dmsbur N. Y . an. 1 0 .
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M dear Dr. Shahan
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The readin public of America is deeply indebted to you for under
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takin to present to it in an E n lish dress the reat work of Dr. B ar rie ”
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fiewe r on the L ives and Works of the Fathers of the Church. A Patro
lo y of that thorou hness was still a want amon us. Hereafter no one
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will be excusable for misreadin or I nis uotin those indispensable sources
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of the history of reli ion. You have my best wishes for a wide diffusion
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of your translation .
Faithfully yours in . C.
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H. GABRIELS
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Bishop of Ogdensburg .
PREFACE TO THE FIRST GERMAN EDIT ION
I n the year 1 88 I was requested by the publisher H e r de r
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t o undertake a new edition of . Alz o s Manual of Patrolo y
7
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e d. Freibur i . Br . External circumstances prevented me
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from acceptin this flatterin offer at once the new sphere of labor
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to which I was called claimed fo r a l on time nearly all my leisure
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and stren th . The publisher entrusted to another the preparation
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of an improved edition of Alz o Freibur On the Other
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hand as soon as circumstances permitted I undertook the prepara
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tion of an entirely new work.
This work which I now offer to the public undertakes to present
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in a very concise and comprehensive manner the actual condition
of patrolo ical knowled e and research. I t also aims throu h its
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biblio raphical para raphs to interest and uide a lar er number of
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students in the investi ation of special problems . I t has been my
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purpose to quote from the earlier patrolo ical l iterature only what
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seems most important and similarly to omit nothin that is impor
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tant amon the numerous later researches . AS the subj ect matter is
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very extensive I have found it necessary to confine myself often to
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mere indications and su estions to omit too close specific discussion
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and to leave aside wh
at seemed of minor value . T he nature of the
work seemed also to impose a mere reference apropos of countless
disputed points and questions. A t some later time I hope God
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w
il lin to fol low up this outline with a more thorou h investi ation
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of the entire field of patrolo y.
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My collea ue D r . C. We man kindly undertook to share with
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me the labor of correctin the proofs of this work. I find it dif
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ficult
to decide whether I owe more to the patience and accuracy of
my friend in the revision of the printed pa es or to the sol id eru
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dition of the savant in his concern for the correctness of the text.
M u n i c h September 1 8 .
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94
T HE AUTHOR