The Christian funeral oration is one of the most elaborate of Christian literary forms. It represents an attempt to adapt to Christian use a pagan Greek form with many hundreds of years behind it. . . . The Christian masterpieces presented in this volume reflect a long, rich, and varied pagan literary tradition in East and West, and at the same time exhibit modifications and new elements which give them their specific Christian character. (From the Introduction by Martin R. P. McGuire) The volume presents the most generally admired ancient Christian funeral orations--four from the Greek...

Caesarius, Bishop of Arles in post-Roman Gaul from 503 to 543, served as the spiritual and administrative leader of an ecclesiastical province that placed twenty-seven bishops under his supervision. During most of his episcopacy Caesarius was subjected to Arian rulers, Visigothic and Ostrogothic, but his vigorous adherence to Catholic doctrine was not weakened. His concern in these translated sermons is the spiritual and moral welfare of ordinary lay folks. This collection comprises the first of five categories established by Dom Morin, the editor of the Latin texts: namely, the category of...

Eusebius was commonly known among the ancients as Eusebius of Caesarea or Eusebius Pamphili. The first designation arose from the fact that he was bishop of Caesarea for many years; the second from the fact that he was a close friend and admirer of Pamphilus, a proselyte of Caesarea and a martyr. At least forty contemporaries bore the same name, among which the most famous were Eusebius of Samosata--and so arose the necessity of distinguishing him from these others by specific designation.The year of the Edict of Milan, which divides the first from the second epoch of Church history, does...

A contemporary of the emperor Constantine, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea invested a considerable portion of his scholarly energy in a sweeping history of the Church from the era of the apostles until his own. In this volume of the Fathers of the Church series, Books Six through Ten of his Historia ecclesiastica describe the actors and events from the persecution of Septimius Severus (Roman emperor, 193-211) until the Constantinian era of toleration and the restoration of the churches. An oft-consulted source on the life of Origen (mid-third century), Eusebius's writing reveals his own...

The Julian mentioned in the title is Julian of Eclanum who was born at Eclanum in Italy in 380 and died in Sicily ca. 455. After the death of his wife, Julian joined the clergy of his native diocese and eventually succeeded his father as bishop. With a mastery of Greek and Latin Julian combined a great store of theological learning which, however, was tainted with Pelagian errors. Because of his support of Pelagius Julian himself was condemned, deposed and expelled from Italy. In his authentic work, four books to Turbantius, three letters, and eight books to Florus, Julian's heterodox...

This volume presents several treatises of St. Cyprian (200/10?-258) in translation. To Donatus (Ad Donatum) is a monologue written shortly after Cyprian's baptism in 246 in which he extols his spiritual rebirth in the sacrament of baptism. Literary criticism has come to view this treatise as a model for St. Augustine's Confessions. The Dress of Virgins (De habitu virginum) written in 249 is addressed to women (""flowers in the Church's garden"") who have dedicated their lives to God's service. In this treatise on virginity Cyprian warns these women against seeking finery and the pitfalls of...

St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan A.D. 373-397, enjoyed a great contemporary reputation for his sermons and homilies, to whose eloquence St. Augustine of Hippo himself gives witness. But, while we have from Augustine hundreds of sermons in virtually their original form, Ambrose's pulpit oratory has not come down to us as delivered. However, Ambrose would often recast his sermons as treatises, and seven of these are presented in this volume. These works are mainly an exegesis of many parts of the Bible, particularly of portions of Genesis, Deuteronomy, Job, and the Song of Songs (on which Issac, or...

Steeped in Greek Christian writings, Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is known for (among other achievements) his allegorical exegesis of the Old Testament. This volume offers English translations of Ambrose's interpretations of three stories in the Old Testament: of the six days of creation, of the Fall (Adam and Eve's loss of Paradise), and of the brothers Cain and Abel. From these stories are drawn lessons on morality and God's will for humankind.