The Beginnings of Patristic Literature from the Apostles Creed to Irenaeus

This book is hands-down one of the most scholarly reads on the subject of patrology and patristic literature. Quasten does the subject-matter justice with great research and compilation. Drawing on most of the material available us from the period dating post-Apostolic fathers to Irenaeus, Quasten keeps the material accessible and readable. Great book for people interested in early church literature. Im looking forward to reading Volume II.

Quasten's Patrology is a four-volume scholarly survey of writings by the church fathers in the first several centuries of the Christian era. Some online reviews give the impression that the Patrology is an anthology of those writings. In fact, it is a survey that includes many excerpts (in English), often a page in length, to give a fair idea of what the author under discussion is like. The bibliographies are also extensive. Like the Literary History of England, it's more of a reference book than something you would sit and read straight through.On the plus side, the Patrology is thorough and well written and has an excellent reputation. On the minus side, it is expensive (for a softcover) and needs to be supplemented for the study of heresies that have come to light since 1970. The texts discovered at Nag Hammadi, for example, are very important for the study of Irenaeus.Something of such enduring value as Quasten's Patrology deserves to be published in hardcover. It should be on the short list of must-haves for the library of any seminary or university that teaches church history, patristics, theology, or philosophy.Quasten's Patrology is a four-volume set. If you are considering buying any of them, you may find the following ISBN numbers handy: 0870610848, Patrology v1, Beginnings from Apostles' Creed; 0870610856, Patrology v2, Ante-Nicene after Irenaeus; 0870610864, Patrology v3, Golden Age Greek; 0870611275, Patrology v4, Golden Age Latin (from Nicea to Calcedon); 0870611410, set of four volumes. When ordering online, confirm the volume by ISBN number. Online vendors get the volumes confused with each other. Some are identified by the series title alone; others by the volume title; the cover art displayed may be for the wrong volume; and so on.