St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria for thirty-two years in the first half of the fifth century, was a great champion of the faith against heresy; he opposed Novatianism, Neoplatonism, and Judaism. His principal struggle, however, was with Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Cyril vehemently defended the application of the word Theotokos, which ......
This second and final volume of the letters of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria (412-444), takes up in medias res the great Christological controversy about the term Theotokos and the events which lead up to its resolution at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Defending the doctrines of the Trinity and the Person of Christ in the Alexandrian ......
This volume presents for the first time in the Fathers of the Church series the work of an early Christian writer who did not write in either Greek or Latin. It offers new English translations of selected prose works by St. Ephrem the Syrian (c. A.D. 309-373). The volume contains St. Ephrem's Commentary on Genesis, Commentary on Exodus, Homily on ......
Not much has survived its condemnation by the imperial Church in 448, but here is a new edition of the fragments of Porphyry of Tyre's (ca. 232 - ca. 305) attack on the beliefs and doctrines of Christianity, the divinity of Christ, the integrity of the apostles, and the reality of the resurrection.
Was Jesus of Nazareth a real historical person or a fictional character in a religious legend? What do the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal about the origins of Christianity? Has there been a conspiracy to suppress information in the Scrolls that contradicts traditional church teaching? This book addresses these and many other questions.
Deceit and Ambition in Catholic Reformation Lisbon
No Saints tells a story of the Catholic Reformation from an unexpected vantage point. Instead of saints, it follows frauds, abusers, and opportunists whose lives-preserved in trial records and Inquisition casefiles-offer a different view of religious reform in the late sixteenth century. Set in Lisbon, one of the largest and most dynamic cities ......
The Quest for Episcopal Authority in Medieval Iberia
As Western Christendom expanded dramatically along its frontiers in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Church leaders debated how to organize and administer newly captured diocesan lands. These questions were especially pressing in the Iberian Peninsula, where conquests ushered in piecemeal, multidimensional processes of consolidation and ......
Spectacle, Dress, and Appearance in Ancient Christian Martyr Texts
In the second and third centuries, Christian martyr narratives were written to evoke spectacle. In Dying in Style, James Petitfils demonstrates how these accounts transform scenes of suffering into displays that assert the dignity and ethical distinction of Christians during a time of widespread belittlement and persecution. Attending to ......
