SCRIPTURA

Church Fathers

The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus

Various Church Fathers

Translated by A. Cleveland Coxe (ed.)

The earliest voices after the apostles: Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus.

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Contents · 125

  1. 1Preface
  2. 2Introductory Note to the First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
  3. 3Chapter VII.—An exhortation to repentance
  4. 4Chapter XX.—The peace and harmony of the universe
  5. 5Chapter XXXIII.—But let us not give up the practice of good works and love. God Himself is an example to us of good works
  6. 6Chapter XLVI.—Let us cleave to the righteous: your strife is pernicious
  7. 7Chapter LIX.—The Corinthians are exhorted speedily to send back word that peace has been restored. The benediction
  8. 8Chapter VII.—The manifestation of Christ
  9. 9Chapter II.—An exhortation to virtue
  10. 10Introductory Note to the Martyrdom of Polycarp
  11. 11Chapter IX.—Polycarp refuses to revile Christ
  12. 12Chapter XXII.—Salutation
  13. 13Introductory Note to the Epistles of Ignatius
  14. 14Chapter I.—Praise of the Ephesians
  15. 15Chapter IX.—Ye have given no heed to false teachers
  16. 16Chapter XVII.—Beware of false doctrines
  17. 17Chapter III.—Honour your youthful bishop
  18. 18Chapter XI.—I write these things to warn you
  19. 19Chapter III.—Honour the deacons, etc
  20. 20Chapter XI.—Avoid the deadly errors of the Docetæ
  21. 21Chapter V.—I desire to die
  22. 22Chapter II.—Maintain union with the bishop
  23. 23Chapter X.—Congratulate the inhabitants of Antioch on the close of the persecution
  24. 24Chapter VI—Unbelievers in the blood of Christ shall be condemned
  25. 25Epistle to Polycarp: Shorter and Longer Versions
  26. 26Chapter VIII.—Let other churches also send to Antioch
  27. 27Chapter VIII
  28. 28Chapter I
  29. 29Epistle to the Tarsians
  30. 30Chapter I.—Cautions against error
  31. 31Chapter XIV.—Conclusion
  32. 32Chapter I.—Reason for writing the epistle
  33. 33Chapter XIV.—Farewells and cautions
  34. 34Chapter III.—He had complied with her request
  35. 35Chapter I.—Desire of Ignatius for martyrdom
  36. 36Chapter I.—After the salutation, the writer declares that he would communicate to his brethren something of that which he had himself received
  37. 37Chapter XIII.—Christians, and not Jews, the heirs of the covenant
  38. 38I. From the exposition of the oracles of the Lord
  39. 39Introductory Note to the Writings of Justin Martyr
  40. 40Chapter V.—Christians charged with atheism
  41. 41Chapter XVII.—Christ taught civil obedience
  42. 42Chapter XXX.—Was Christ not a magician?
  43. 43Chapter XLIII.—Responsibility asserted
  44. 44Chapter LVI.—The demons still mislead men
  45. 45Chapter LXVIII.—Conclusion
  46. 46Chapter IX.—Eternal punishment not a mere threat
  47. 47Chapter II.—Justin describes his studies in philosophy
  48. 48Chapter III.—Justin narrates the manner of his conversion
  49. 49Chapter IV.—The soul of itself cannot see God
  50. 50Chapter V.—The soul is not in its own nature immortal
  51. 51Chapter X.—Trypho blames the Christians for this alone—the non-observance of the law
  52. 52Chapter XXI.—Sabbaths were instituted on account of the people’s sins, and not for a work of righteousness
  53. 53Chapter XXXII.—Trypho objecting that Christ is described as glorious by Daniel, Justin distinguishes two advents
  54. 54Chapter XLI.—The oblation of fine flour was a figure of the Eucharist
  55. 55Chapter XLVII.—Justin communicates with Christians who observe the law. Not a few Catholics do otherwise
  56. 56Chapter LII.—Jacob predicted two advents of Christ
  57. 57Chapter LVI.—God who appeared to Moses is distinguished from God the Father
  58. 58Chapter LVIII.—The same is proved from the visions which appeared to Jacob
  59. 59Chapter LXV.—The Jew objects that God does not give His glory to another. Justin explains the passage
  60. 60Chapter LXVII.—Trypho compares Jesus with Perseus; and would prefer [to say] that He was elected [to be Christ] on account of observance of the law. Justin speaks of the law as formerly
  61. 61Chapter LXVIII.—He complains of the obstinacy of Trypho; he answers his objection; he convicts the Jews of bad faith
  62. 62Chapter LXXIII.—[The words] “From the wood” have been cut out of Ps. xcvi
  63. 63Chapter LXXXIII.—It is proved that the Psalm, “The Lord said to My Lord,” etc., does not suit Hezekiah
  64. 64Chapter XCI.—The cross was foretold in the blessings of Joseph, and in the serpent that was lifted up
  65. 65Chapter CIII.—The Pharisees are the bulls: the roaring lion is Herod or the devil
  66. 66Chapter CXV.—Prediction about the Christians in Zechariah. The malignant way which the Jews have in disputations
  67. 67Chapter CXXIV.—Christians are the sons of God
  68. 68Chapter CXXXVII.—He exhorts the Jews to be converted
  69. 69Chapter V.—Closing appeal
  70. 70Chapter VII.—Inconsistencies of Plato’s doctrine
  71. 71Chapter XVI.—Testimony of the Sibyl
  72. 72Chapter XXVI.—Plato indebted to the prophets
  73. 73Chapter XXXVI.—True knowledge not held by the philosophers
  74. 74Chapter V.—The vain pretensions of false gods
  75. 75On the Resurrection, Fragments
  76. 76Other Fragments from the Lost Writings of Justin
  77. 77XI
  78. 78The Martyrdom of Justin Martyr
  79. 79Introductory Note to Irenæus Against Heresies
  80. 80Chapter I.—Absurd ideas of the disciples of Valentinus as to the origin, name, order, and conjugal productions of their fancied Æons, with the passages of Scripture which they adapt to their opinions
  81. 81Chapter V.—Formation of the Demiurge; description of him. He is the creator of everything outside of the Pleroma
  82. 82Chapter IX.—Refutation of the impious interpretations of these heretics
  83. 83Chapter XIII.—The deceitful arts and nefarious practices of Marcus
  84. 84Chapter XVI.—Absurd interpretations of the Marcosians
  85. 85Chapter XXII.—Deviations of heretics from the truth
  86. 86Chapter XXVI.—Doctrines of Cerinthus, the Ebionites, and Nicolaitanes
  87. 87Chapter XXX.—Doctrines of the Ophites and Sethians
  88. 88Chapter I.—There is but one God: the impossibility of its being otherwise
  89. 89Chapter VI.—The angels and the Creator of the world could not have been ignorant of the Supreme God
  90. 90Chapter XI.—The heretics, from their disbelief of the truth, have fallen into an abyss of error: reasons for investigating their systems
  91. 91Chapter XIV.—Valentinus and his followers derived the principles of their system from the heathen; the names only are changed
  92. 92Chapter XVII.—Inquiry into the production of the Æons: whatever its supposed nature, it is in every respect inconsistent; and on the hypothesis of the heretics, even Nous and the Father Himself would be stained with ignorance
  93. 93Chapter XIX.—Absurdities of the heretics as to their own origin: their opinions respecting the Demiurge shown to be equally untenable and ridiculous
  94. 94Chapter XXII.—The thirty Æons are not typified by the fact that Christ was baptized in His thirtieth year: He did not suffer in the twelfth month after His baptism, but was more than fifty years old when He died
  95. 95Chapter XXVI.—“Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth.”
  96. 96Chapter XXX.—Absurdity of their styling themselves spiritual, while the Demiurge is declared to be animal
  97. 97Chapter XXXIV.—Souls can be recognised in the separate state, and are immortal although they once had a beginning
  98. 98Chapter IV.—The truth is to be found nowhere else but in the Catholic Church, the sole depository of apostolical doctrine. Heresies are of recent formation, and cannot trace their origin up to the apostles
  99. 99Chapter X.—Proofs of the foregoing, drawn from the Gospels of Mark and Luke
  100. 100Chapter XII.—Doctrine of the rest of the apostles
  101. 101Chapter XV.—Refutation of the Ebionites, who disparaged the authority of St. Paul, from the writings of St. Luke, which must be received as a whole. Exposure of the hypocrisy, deceit, and pride of the Gnostics. The apostles and their disciples knew and preached one God, the Creator of the world
  102. 102Chapter XVIII.—Continuation of the foregoing argument. Proofs from the writings of St. Paul, and from the words of Our Lord, that Christ and Jesus cannot be considered as distinct beings; neither can it be alleged that the Son of God became man merely in appearance, but that He did so truly and actually
  103. 103Chapter XXI.—A vindication of the prophecy in Isa. vii. 14 against the misinterpretations of Theodotion, Aquila, the Ebionites, and the Jews. Authority of the Septuagint version. Arguments in proof that Christ was born of a virgin
  104. 104Chapter XXIV.—Recapitulation of the various arguments adduced against Gnostic impiety under all its aspects. The heretics, tossed about by every blast of doctrine, are opposed by the uniform teaching of the Church, which remains so always, and is consistent with itself
  105. 105Chapter I.—The Lord acknowledged but one God and Father
  106. 106Chapter VI.—Explanation of the words of Christ, “No man knoweth the Father, but the Son,” etc.; which words the heretics misinterpret. Proof that, by the Father revealing the Son, and by the Son being revealed, the Father was never unknown
  107. 107Chapter XI.—The old prophets and righteous men knew beforehand of the advent of Christ, and earnestly desired to see and hear Him, He revealing himself in the Scriptures by the Holy Ghost, and without any change in Himself, enriching men day by day with benefits, but conferring them in greater abundance on later than on former generations
  108. 108Chapter XVI.—Perfect righteousness was conferred neither by circumcision nor by any other legal ceremonies. The Decalogue, however, was not cancelled by Christ, but is always in force: men were never released from its commandments
  109. 109Chapter XX.—That one God formed all things in the world, by means of the Word and the Holy Spirit: and that although He is to us in this life invisible and incomprehensible, nevertheless He is not unknown; inasmuch as His works do declare Him, and His Word has shown that in many modes He may be seen and known
  110. 110Chapter XXV.—Both covenants were prefigured in Abraham, and in the labour of Tamar; there was, however, but one and the same God to each covenant
  111. 111Chapter XXX.—Refutation of another argument adduced by the Marcionites, that God directed the Hebrews to spoil the Egyptians
  112. 112Chapter XXXIII.—Whosoever confesses that one God is the author of both Testaments, and diligently reads the Scriptures in company with the presbyters of the Church, is a true spiritual disciple; and he will rightly understand and interpret all that the prophets have declared respecting Christ and the liberty of the New Testament
  113. 113Chapter XXXV.—A refutation of those who allege that the prophets uttered some predictions under the inspiration of the highest, others from the Demiurge. Disagreements of the Valentinians among themselves with regard to these same predictions
  114. 114Chapter XXXVIII.—Why man was not made perfect from the beginning
  115. 115Chapter II.—When Christ visited us in His grace, He did not come to what did not belong to Him: also, by shedding His true blood for us, and exhibiting to us His true flesh in the Eucharist, He conferred upon our flesh the capacity of salvation
  116. 116Chapter IX.—Showing how that passage of the apostle which the heretics pervert, should be understood; viz., “Flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God.”
  117. 117Chapter XIV.—Unless the flesh were to be saved, the Word would not have taken upon Him flesh of the same substance as ours: from this it would follow that neither should we have been reconciled by Him
  118. 118Chapter XX.—Those pastors are to be heard to whom the apostles committed the Churches, possessing one and the same doctrine of salvation; the heretics, on the other hand, are to be avoided. We must think soberly with regard to the mysteries of the faith
  119. 119Chapter XXVI.—John and Daniel have predicted the dissolution and desolation of the Roman Empire, which shall precede the end of the world and the eternal kingdom of Christ. The Gnostics are refuted, those tools of Satan, who invent another Father different from the Creator
  120. 120Chapter XXXIII.—Further proofs of the same proposition, drawn from the promises made by Christ, when He declared that He would drink of the fruit of the vine with His disciples in His Father’s kingdom, while at the same time He promised to reward them an hundred-fold, and to make them partake of banquets. The blessing pronounced by Jacob had pointed out this already, as Papias and the elders have interpreted it
  121. 121V
  122. 122XVIII
  123. 123Xxxi
  124. 124Xliii
  125. 125LV