Selected Reference Databases

Church Fathers

The Early Church Fathers is a 38-volume collection of writings from the first 800 years of the Church. The collection is divided into three series, Ante-Nicene (ANF), Nicene and Post-Nicene Series I (NPNF1), and Nicene and Post-Nicene Series II (NPNF2).

In the Library Catalog, try a subject search for "Fathers of the Church" or an author search for a Church Father (e.g., Augustine of Hippo). Or for print books in the library, browse the BR60 call number section. 

In an ebook database, try similar searches.
• opens new window"Fathers of the Church" (eBook Collections, EBSCO, Subject search)
• opens new window"Fathers of the Church" (Gale Virtual Reference, phrase search)

Browse the Reference Collection in the Library

Use the opens new window Library of Congress Classification Outline: opens new windowB--Philosophy, Psychology, Religion or the ORU Library Theology Bookmark that lists general theological and biblical call numbers to identify reference sections to browse. Books are shelved in Library of Congress (LC) call number order, so similar subjects will be shelved next to each other.

Reference books cannot be checked; however, some titles may have a duplicate in the main collection that is available for checkout. Search the title you need in the library catalog to see if the book is located elsewhere in the library or online. Assistance is available at the Library Services Desk.

Search the ORU Library Catalog

Try a subject search for your topic. From the list of subjects, click a subject to view the book titles. Change "View Entire Collection" to "Reference Collection."

Try a keyword search using truncation:
-
church* (searches church, churches)
-theolog* (searches theology, theologies, theological, theologian, -s)
-Christian* (searches Christian, Christians, Christianity)

For general information, use a subject encyclopedia or dictionary to look up a religion, movement, or country. Get background information on politics, cultural and social environment, education, religion, etc. Although you cannot include general encyclopedias in a bibliography, they may be helpful as a preliminary source.
-religio* AND encyclopedia
-bibl* AND dictionary

To get the citation for a book, go to the detailed record in the library catalog, click How do I Cite this?, and then select a citation style, such as Chicago/Turabian: Humanities. Copy/paste/edit the citation, as needed. Always check the citation references for accuracy with your professor's requirements.

Selected Reference Ebooks