Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature examines early Christian writings with particular attention paid to their literary characteristics and their effect on the development of Western culture.
Christian literature has typically been looked upon as a tool for historians of the early church or of patristic thought. Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature,however, considers Christian literature as being more broadly useful because of its contribution to the shaping of Western culture as a whole. These influences include not only Christianity’s artistic achievements but also the philosophy Christians developed to confront problems and produce solutions to them. In these volumes students and scholars alike will discover ancient contents and genres that transitioned into medieval civilization—and continue to influence the culture today.
Moreschini and Norelli offer an in-depth survey, quality scholarship, and an original approach intended to appeal to specialists in classical and medieval studies, as well as to theologians, art historians, archaeologists, and other readers interested in the development of culture. The authors introduce the ancient literature in chronological order, subdivided into manageable segments. Each segment covers the ancient author and his or her works and concludes with up-to-date bibliographical annotations.
CLAUDIO MORESCHINI is Professor of Latin Literature at the University of Pisa.
He has published critical editions of Tertullian and Gregory of Nazianzus in the Sources chretiennes; of Jerome in the Corpus Christianorum; and of Apuleius in the Bibliotheca scriptorum graecorum et romanorum teubneriana. He has translated and been the editor of many works including those of Tertullian, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus, as well as Apuleius, Boethius, Latin neo-Platonism, and the Cappadocian Fathers. He is a member of the scientific committee of Centro di Ricerche di Metafisica at the Catholic University of Milan.
ENRICO NORELLI is Professor of Apocryphal Christian Literature in the theological faculty of the University of Geneva. Among his publications are editions of Mathetes’ Ad Diognetus,Hyppolytus’s De antichristo,and, for the Corpus Christianorum, a historical-literary commentary on the Ascension of Isaiah.He has also published many studies on the Christian literature of the first two centuries and was editor of the collective work La Bibbia nell’antichita cristiana.He is co-editor of the collection Poche Apocryphes.

CONTENTS
Preface to the Second Volume xvii
Abbreviations xix
Chapter 1, Christianity and Late Antiquity 1
1. Decadence and End of the Roman Empire in the West 1
2. Exhaustion of Pagan Thought in the Western World 3
3. Decadence and Late Antiquity 6
4. Christianity and Classical Culture in Late Antiquity 7
5. Christian and Late Antique Literary Forms 9
6. Some Christian Literary Forms 12
Chapter 2, Greek Writers of the Arian Controversy 20
1. Arius and Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria 21
2. Asterius 24
3. Arian Controversy in Church and Empire 25
4. The Council of Nicea 27
5. Eustathius of Antioch 29
6. Athanasius, Champion of the Nicene Faith 30
a. Exemplary Life 31
b. Dogmatic Works 33
c. Historical Works 36
d. Exegetical Works 37
e. Hagiographical and Ascetical Works 38
f. Correspondence 40
g. Historical and Religious Role of Athanasius 44
7. Serapion of Thmuis 46
8. Cyril of Jerusalem 47
9. John of Jerusalem 49
10. Eusebius of Emesa 50
11. Marcellus of Ancyra 51
12. Photinus of Sirmium 52
13. Epiphanius of Salamis 53
Chapter 3, Greek Controversialists, Ascetics, and Exegetes of the Fourth Century 57
1. Anti-Manichaen Writers 57
a. Hegemonius 59b. Serapion of Thmuis 60
c. Titus of Bostra 60
2. Writers on Monasticism 61
3. Writings Attributed to Macarius-Simeon 64
4. Apollinaris of Laodicea 67
a. Literary Activity of Apollinaris 67
b. The Thought of Apollinaris 69
c. Exegetical Works 69
5. Didymus of Alexandria 70
a. Exegetical Works 71
b. Dogmatic Works 75
Chapter 4,The Cappadocian Fathers 81
1 Civilization and Culture in Cappadocia 81
2. Basil of Ancyra 82
3. The Cappadocians 83
a. In Cappadocia, at Athens, in the Hermitage 83
b. Beginnings of Basil's Theology: Against Eunomius 86
c. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea 89
d. Gregory, Orator in Nazianzus 90
e. First Years of Gregory of Nyssa as a Writer 93
f. Basil's Correspondence 94
g. Basil the Preacher 96
h. Asceticism 99
i. Debate on the Holy Spirit 104
j. Other Works of Gregory of Nyssa 107
k. After the Death of Basil 109
l. Last Years of Gregory of Nazianzus 113
m. Correspondence of Gregory Nazianzus 116
n.Poems of Gregory of Nazianzus 117
o. High Point in the Work of Gregory of Nyssa 120
1) Life of Macrina and the Soul and the Ressurection 121
2) Refuting Eunomius 123
3) Other Works on the Trinity 126
4) Homilies on Ecclesiastes 127
5) Theology, Exegesis, andCorrespondent 128
4. Amphtlochms of Iconium 131
5. Evagrius Ponticus 133
a. Works of Evagrius 133
b. Teaching of Evagrius 134
Chapter 5, The Antiochene School 136
1. Diodorus of Tarsus 139
2. Theodore of Mopsuestia 141
a. Exegesis of Theodore of Mopsuestia 141
b. Theodore's Theological Thought 142
c. Reply to Emperor Julian 145
3. Polichronius of Apamea 146 4. John Chrysostom 146
a. Moral Writings in Defense of Monasticism and Asceticism 147
b. Preaching of the Antiochene Period 149
c. Homilies with a Theological Content 151
d. Catechetical Homilies 152
e. Moral Homilies 152
f. Liturgical Homilies 153
g. Panegyrics 153
h. From Antioch to Constantinople 155
i. Works of the Constantinople Period 157
j. Chrysostom as Writer and Exegete 158
5. Theodoret of Cyrrhus 162
a. Exegetical Works 163
b. Apologetical and Rhetorical Works 165
c. Dogmatic and Polemical Works 168
6. Nemesius of Emesa 174
7. Severian of Gabala 175
Chapter 6, Christianity and Ancient Education: Synesius of Cyrene and
Nonnus of Panopolis 178
1. Synesius of Cyrene 178
a. Philosophy and Christian Conversion 179
b. Correspondence 181
c. Pagan Works 181
d. Hymns 1 182
2. Nonnus of Panopolis 185
a. Identity of the Poet and Authenticity of the Works 185
b. The Christianity of Nonnus 186
c. Paraphrase of the Gospel of John 186
3. Vision of Dorotheus 188
4. Eudocia Augusta 190
Chapter 7, Canonico-Liturgical Literature of the Fourth to the Sixth Centuries 193 The Large Collections 195
Chapter 8, Developments in Apocryphal Literature 200
1. The Canon and the Apocrypha 200
2. Genres and Works of Apocryphal Literature 207
a. Tradition about Jesus and Mary 207
1) Birth and Childhood 207
2) Passion of Jesus and Descent into the Lower World 209
3) Passing or Dormition of Mary 212
b. Apostolic Letters 215
c. Acts of Apostles 217
1 Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles 217
2 Texts with Protagonists Already Found in the Early Acts 219
3 Acts of Other Apostles 222
The Pseudo-Clementine Novel 223

Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature examines early Christian writings with particular attention paid to their literary characteristics and their effect on the development of Western culture.
Christian literature has typically been looked upon as a tool for historians of the early church or of patristic thought. Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature, however, considers Christian literature as being more broadly useful because of its contribution to the shaping of Western culture as a whole. These influences include not only Christianity’s artistic achievements but also the philosophy Christians developed to confront problems and produce solutions to them. In these volumes students and scholars alike will discover ancient contents and genres that transitioned into medieval civilization—and continue to influence the culture today.
Moreschini and Norelli offer an in-depth survey, quality scholarship, and an original approach intended to appeal to specialists in classical and medieval studies, as well as to theologians, art historians, archaeologists, and other readers interested in the development of culture. The authors introduce the ancient literature in chronological order, subdivided into manageable segments. Each segment covers the ancient author and his or her works and concludes with up-to-date bibliographical annotations.