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The Study of Early Church History
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2009
Extract
A new feature at the December 1971 meeting of the American Society of Church History in New York was a series of historiographical seminars. These seminars (in early church history, Reformation history and American church history) were designed to give members of the society an opportunity to meet in a somewhat less formal setting than the customary paper-response session and to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern in their respective fields. Each seminar took a different form. In the section on early church, three panelists were asked to present brief statements on recent works in the field.
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References
1. See, for example, Grant, Robert M., “The Study of Early Christianity.” in Ramsey, Paul, ed., Religion. “Humanistic Scholarship in America: The Princeton Studies” (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1965), pp. 111–154Google Scholar, especially conclusion 4 on pp. 152–53. My comprehension, whatever its worth, of the problems of the early church owes very much to an ecumenical faculty seminar on “The Development of Catholic Christianity,” which was founded in 1966 by Professors Albert C. Outler and William R. Farmer precisely with the aim of overcoming such an isolation of New Testament and patristic studies. See the “Introductory Statement” to “The Development of Catholic Christianity: A Seminar,” Anglican Theological Review, 50 (1968), pp. 114–116Google Scholar, and also the subsequent papers by A. C. Outler, G. Florovsky and myself (reprinted also separately under the title: The Development of Catholic Christianity: Four Methodological Papers). This seminar has been meeting several times each year since then and is still being continued.
2. See in this sense, for example, Plongeron, Bernard, “Church History as the Point of Intersection of Religious Studies,” Concilium, Vol. 57Google Scholar: Church History in Future Perspective, ed. by Aubert, (New York: Herder and Herder, 1970), pp. 53–67.Google Scholar
3. See my paper on “The Encounter between Christianity and Contemporary Philosophy in the Second Century,” Anglican Theological Review, 50 (1968), pp. 131–43Google Scholar (and also in reprint, referred to above in note 1, pp. 20–32).
4. For a historical survey of church historiography see Meinhold, Peter, Geschichte der kirchlichen Historiographie. 2 Vols. “Orbis Academicus” (Mönchen: Karl Alber, 1967)Google Scholar —this work does not include post-Reformation Catholic historiography on which H. Jedin prepared a volume in the same series; H. Jedin, “General Introduction to Church History,” in Baus, op. cit. (See below I, 1), pp. 1–56 and 435–46 (bibl.). On American scholarship, see the article of R. M. Grant in op. cit. (above note 1) and also J. H. Nichols, “The History of Christianity,” Ibid. pp. 157–217; a general picture of the last decades is provided by Denzler, Georg, Beumer, Johannes and Crouzel, Henri, “Die historische Theologie im 20. Jahrhundert,” Bilanõ der Theologie im 20. Jahrhundert, ed. by Vorgrimler, H. and Gucht, H. Vander (Frieburg: Herder, 1970), Vol. 3, pp. 435–529.Google Scholar
5. The principal Catholic authors were Hergenröther-Kirsch, Funk-Bihlmeyer (last revised ed. by H. Tüchle in 19151—still valuable), Lebreton and Zeiller in the series FlicheMartin (1934–35, English translation 1942–48—still valuable); the principal Protestant authors: B. J. Kidd (Anglican), H. Lietzmann (4 vols., English translation also in paperback—still valuable). As R. M. Grant remarks (art. cit., p. 151) there appeared during this period only one American treatise that covers the whole area of early church history: The Early Christian Church (1957) by Philip Carrington. The most often used single textbook in America has been—and probably still is—Williston Walker's A History of the Christian Church (first published in 1918, last “updated” edition, 1970).
6. See, besides the survey referred to above (note 4), Davids, A., Goosen, L., Honée, E., Laarhoven, Jan van (Historians of the Theological Faculty of Nijmegen University), “Church History: A Survey of Major Modern Publications,” Concilium, 57 (1970), pp. 11–25Google Scholar. I am also indebted in selecting and reviewing the following items to conversations with Klaus Penzel and William Babcock of Perkins School of Theology, S.M.U., Dallas, and Everett Ferguson, Abilene Christian College, who also sent me his manuscript of a review article on histories of the early church.
7. See the changing “Gesamtübersicht” at the end of the fascicles.
8. According to the plan published with the fascicle of C. Andresen (Fall 1971), the following parts of the early church are still forthcoming: B. 2, Kretschmar, Georg, München: Von der Mitte des zweiten Jahrhunderts bis su Konstantin; C. 2, Lorenz, Rudolph, Mainz: Das vierte und füfte Jahrhundert (Osten)Google Scholar; D. 1, Hans-Georg Beck, München: Die Geschichte der byzantinischen Kirche; Detlef Müller, Heidelberg: Die Geschichte der Ostkirchen (ohne Russland)—I did not have access yet to C. Andresen's one-volume history of the early church or rather “churches”: Die Kirchen der alten Christenheit, in the series “Die Religionen der Menschheit,” ed. by Ch. M. Schröder. Vol. 29 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1970), xii + 760 pp.Google Scholar
9. The environment (Jewish and Roman) of the early church does not seem to receive sufficient attention.
10. John Tracy Ellis, “General Introduction,” op. cit., p. v.
11. Op. cit., pp. 221 ff.
12. Op. cit., pp. 1–4.
13. See, for example, the review of McGuire, M. R. P. in Theological Studies, 26 (1965), pp. 444–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Op. cit. (Anchor ed.), pp. 165–66, 187–189.
15. Op. cit. (Anchor ed.), pp. 180–81.
16. (Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1965; Anchor ed., 1967).
17. “Author's Preface,” op. cit., p. 7.
18. “Editor's Preface,” op. cit., p. 6.
19. Op. cit., pp. 15–156.
20. Op. cit., pp. 157–252.
21. “Avant-Propos,” op. cit., pp. 1–7.
22. The greater part of this history has been written by M. Simon; only chapters V, VI and IX of the part on Christianity were redacted by A. Benoit. The double authorship explains some overlapping (for example between chapters IV and VI).
23. He is the author of Verus Israel: Etude sur les relations entre Chrétiens et Juifs dans l'Empire romain (135–425), 2nd ed. (Paris, 1964).Google Scholar
24. “Preface,” op. cit., p. xii.
25. See, for example, his Gnosticism and Early Christianity (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1959; revised Harper Torchbook ed., 1966)Google Scholar; After the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967).Google Scholar
26. I was not able yet to examine Wilken's, Robert L. book, The Myth of Christian Beginnings (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1971)Google Scholar, reviewed by Pherigo, L. P. in Church History, 40 (1971), p. 476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27. On Qumran and Christianity see Baus, op. cit., pp. 63–66; Daniélou, op. cit., pp. 10–12 and passim; Chadwick, op. cit., pp. 12–15; and esp. M. Simon, op. cit., pp. 248–255.
28. Théologie du Juđéo-Christianisme, “Histoire des doctrines chrétiennes avant Nicée.” Vol. I. (Tournai: Desclée, 1958);Google Scholar English translation: Theology of Jewish Christianity Chicago: Regnery, 1964).Google Scholar From among the many reviews see Orbe, Antonio, “Unethéologie du Judéo-Christianisme,” Recherches de Science Réligleuse,” 47 (1959), pp. 544–59.Google Scholar
29 Op. cit., pp. 258–274. The importance of the relationship to Judaism also for the later centuries of the early Christian Church has been stressed by Wilken, Robert L., “Insignissima Religio, Certe Licita?: Christianity and Judaism in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries,” in The Impact of the Church upon Its Culture, ed. by Braner, J. C. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1968), pp. 39–66.Google Scholar
30 For a richly documented history of this model see especially Grillmeier, A., “Helleinisierung-Judaisierung des Christentums als Deuteprinzipien der Geschichte des kirchlichen Dogmas,” Scholastik, 33 (1958), pp. 321–355, 528–558.Google Scholar
31 Art. cit. (above note 3), pp. 30–31; see Waszink, J. H., “Der Platonismus und die altchristliche Gedankenwelt,” Recherches sur la tradition platonicienne (VandoeuvresGenève: Fondation Hardt, 1958), pp. 139–140.Google Scholar
32 See the studies referred to above (note 4); also Stockmeier, Peter, “Kirchengeschichte und Geschichtlichkeit der Kirche,” Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, 81 (1970), pp. 145–162.Google Scholar
33 History and Theology: Continuity and Change in Christian Doctrine. “Theological Resources.” (New York: Corpus; Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971).Google Scholar
34 Ebeling himself developed a broader view; see P. Meinhold, op. cit. (above note 4), Vol. II, pp. 482–485.
35 Gadamer, H. G., Wahrheit und Methode: Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik, 2nd edition. (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1965).Google Scholar
36 I have spelled out my evaluation and criticism briefly in a paper read at the 1971 regional meeting of the AAR in Fort Worth: “The Philosophical Hermeneutics of H. G. Gadamer and Its Implications for Theological Method.”