Ancient Christian Texts

Ancient Christian Texts is a series of new translations, most of which are here presented in English for the first time. The series provides contemporary readers with the resources they need to study for themselves the key writings of the early church. The texts represented in the series are full-length commentaries or sermon series based on biblical books or extended scriptural passages.

Ancient Christian Texts extends the ecumenical project begun with the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, promoting a vital link of communication between today's varied Christian traditions and their common ancient ancestors in the faith. On this shared ground, we gather to listen to the pastoral and theological insights of the church’s leading theologians during its earliest centuries.

Many readers of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture have wished to read the full-length works from which excerpts were selected. Several of those texts have not been available in English before or have existed only in cumbersome English in isolated libraries. The work begun by Thomas C. Oden and the Institute for Classical Christian Studies to make more of these texts available to the general reading public continues today.

The volumes, though not critical editions, provide notes, where necessary, to acquaint general readers with the background necessary to understand what the ancient authors are saying. Preachers, pastors, students, and teachers of Scripture will be refreshed and enriched here by the ancient wisdom of the church.