Library Guides: Church Fathers & Other Early Christian Literature: Patristic Reference

Online Patristic Lexicon

opens new windowA Patristic Greek Lexicon (Lampe)

Reference Works

A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers by Bercot, David, ed. A compendium of quotations culled from the ten volume Ante-Nicene Fathers and arranged by subject for quick reference. The quotes include comments on 700 theological, moral, and historical topics from prominent figures such as Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, and Hippolytus. Some entr
Call Number: BR66.5 .D53 1998 Ref
The Early Christian World by Esler, Philip F., ed. Early Christian Worldpresents an exhaustive, erudite and lavishly illustrated treatment of how the small movement which formed around Jesus in Galilee became the pre-eminent religion of the ancient world. The work begins by firmly situating early Christianity within its Mediterranean social, political and religious contexts, before charting the history of the first Christian centuries. The creation and perpetuation of Christian communities through various means, including mission and monasticism, is explored, as is the everyday experience of early Christians, through discussion of gender and sexuality, religious practice, communication and social structures. The intellectual (particularly theological) and artistic heritage of the period is fully considered, and a vivid picture painted of the internal and external challenges faced by early Christianity. The book concludes with profiles of the most notable figures of the age. Comprehensive and accessible, Early Christian Worldprovides up-to-date coverage of the most important topics in the study of early Christianity, together with an invaluable collection of visual material. It will be an indispensable resource for anyone studying this period
Call Number: ProQuest eBook
Publication Date: 2002
Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity by Di Berardino, Angelo, Thomas C. Oden; Joel C. Elowsky, and James Hoover, eds. 2014 Midwest Publishing Association Award of Excellence (Scholarly/Reference)2014 Readers' Choice Awards Honorable Mention the Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity covers eight centuries of the Christian church and comprises 3,220 entries by a team of 266 scholars from 26 countries representing a variety of Christian traditions. It draws upon such fields as archaeology, art and architecture, biography, cultural studies, ecclesiology, geography, history, philosophy, and theology.This three-volume encyclopedia offers unparalleled, comprehensive coverage of the people, places and ideas of ancient Christianity, including:cultural currentsevents and movementsphilosophyiconography and architecturearchaeologytexts and translationstheological termsdoctrinesliturgyspiritualitymonasticismChristian sectsheresiescontroversiescouncilsThe encyclopedia's A-to-Z coverage extends from "Aaron (iconography)" to "Zosimus, pope" and chronologically from Christianity's origins to Bede (d. 735) in the West and John of Damascus (d. ca. 749) in the Greek East, with detailed emphasis on the first four centuries of Christian history. Its geographical range reaches across:North AfricaMauretaniaNumidiaAfrica Proconsularis ByzacenaLibyaEgyptNubiaEthiopiaAsiaAdiabeneArmeniaBithynia & PontusGeorgiaCappadociaLycia and PamphyliaPhrygiaSyriaMesopotamiaArabiaPalestinePersiaChin aEuropeGaulSpain & PortugalItalyGermanyBritain and IrelandScotlandPannoniaDalmatiaMacedoniaMoesiaThraceCyprusCreteThis edition updates and expands on previous Italian and English-language editions with the addition of more than 500 new articles (added to the current Italian or English edition), including the following 30 articles exclusive to IVP's edition:apostolic seeCapuaCarmen de synodo TicinensiChin acosmopolitanismdeathdiakonia/diaconateDialogi de sancta Trinitate IV-Vdoorkeeper (porter)dynamis/energeiaeternityforgivenessfreedom/free willgoodHierotheusincubatioinfinity/infinitudelibelli miraculorumloveMara bar Serapion (letter of)oikeiosisold agepresanctifiedSerapeion (Serapeum)subdeacon theosebiaTriumphus Christi heroicusTychonunityVirgo ParensExtensive cross-referencing provides ease in exploring related articles, and helpful bibliographies, including primary sources (texts, critical editions, translations) and key secondary sources (books and journal articles), give access to the very latest in-depth scholarship in countless disciplines of study. IVP's new Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity (2014) is translated from Nuovo dizionario patristico e di antichita cristiane (2006-2008), produced by the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum, the world's foremost center for partristic studies, under the direction of Professor Angelo Di Berardino, and it greatly updates and expands the 1992 Encyclopedia of the Early Church (Oxford University Press/James Clarke).
Call Number: Credo Reference
Publication Date: 2014
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity by Ferguson, Everett, ed.
Call Number: EBSCO eBook
Also available in print: BR162.2 .E53 1997 V.1-2 Ref
Encyclopedia of Monasticism by Johnston, William M., ed.
Call Number: BL631 .J85 2000 V.1 -2 Reference

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception Online This link opens in a new window
From the De Gruyter website: "The encyclopedia contains the most current state of knowledge on the origins and development of the Bible in the canons within Judaism and Christianity. It documents the history of biblical reception, not only in Christian churches and the Jewish Diaspora, but also in Islam, other non-Western religious traditions and movements.
Unprecedented in breadth and scope, it innovates, however, by recording how biblical texts have been read, interpreted and integrated into thought, science and culture throughout the centuries."
More information about this Encyclopedia; video includes search tips

Encyclopedia of the Early Church by Di Berardino, Angelo, ed., and Adrian Walford, trans. The Encyclopedia of the Early Church is a two-volume reference work providing concise and precise information on all topics concerning the first eight centuries of Christianity. Valuable to historians, archaeologists, philosophers, and philologists as well as theologians, this work extends the knowledge of how Christianity evolved to become the most important influence in the history of Western civilization. Tracing the growth of the church from its tiny beginnings in an upper room to its domin ance of Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa in the eighth century, scholars from many disciplines produced articles ranging from a few sentences to ten thousand words on all the major and most of the minor people, works, ideas, and issues of the formative period of Christianity. The first major encyclopedia to cover the life, thought, and growth of Christianity, this work offers full treatment of doctrines, creeds, and heresies, of iconography and art history, of archaeology and geography, and of monasticism and asceticism.
Call Number: BR66.5 .D5813 1991 V.1-2
New Catholic Encyclopedia
by Catholic University of America Staff 2nd ed. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003
Call Number: BX841 .N44 2003 LRC-R

New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Classical World This link opens in a new window
Covers Greco-Roman culture and history, both in antiquity and early modern eras as well as current areas of research. Includes maps, illustrations.
Information for Researchers and Students from Brill.

The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History by Benedetto, Robert, ed.
Call Number: BR95 .W496 2008 V.1
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium by Kazhdan, Alexander P., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three-volume, comprehensive dictionary of Byzantine civilization. The first resource of its kind in the field, it features over 5,000 entries written by an international group of eminent Byzantinists covering all aspects of life in the Byzantine world. According to Alexander Kazhdan, editor-in-chief of the Dictionary: "Entries on patriarchy and emperors will coexist with entries on surgery and musical instruments. An entry on the cultivation of grain will not only be connected to entries on agriculture and its economics but on diet, the baking of bread, and the role of bread in this changing society." Major entries treat such topics as agriculture, art, literature, and politics, while shorter entries examine topics that relate to Byzantium such as the history of Kiev and personalities of ancient and biblical history. Each article is followed by a bibliography, and numerous maps, tables, architectural designs, and genealogies reinforce and clarify the text. The new Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium will be the standard research tool and reference work for Byzantinists from graduate students to advanced scholars, and an essential resource for college and school libraries. It will also be an invaluable guide for classicists, Western medieva lists, Islamicists, Slavicists, art historians, religious historians, and scholars of archaeology.
Call Number: DF521 .O93 1991 V.1 -3 Reference

Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia
The Coptic Encyclopedia is now available online and is being updated and expanded by the Claremont Graduate University (CGU) School of Religion.

The Coptic Encyclopedia by Atiya, Aziz Suryal, ed. Beginning with the first-century teachings of Mark the Evangelist, the founder and first patriarch, the Coptic church was arguably the primary shaper of Christianity until the fifth century. Today, the Copts claim a following of over 30 million, and maintain a strong religious influence in Africa and the Middle East.
Call Number: BX130.5 .C66 1991 V.1-8 Ref

Dictionnaire de théologie catholique = Dictionary of Catholic Theology

Vacant, Alfred, Eugène Mangenot, and Emile Amann. Dictionnaire de théologie catholique : contenant l'exposé des doctrines de la théologie catholique, leurs preuves et leur histoire. Paris:Letouzey et Ané. The publication year varies.

This French theological dictionary offers in-depth articles on the church fathers and church history.

Below are links to digitized versions of the volumes of this dictionary available in Archive.org.

v. 1, pt. 1 opens new windowA – Apollinaire
v. 1, pt. 1 opens new windowAaron – Apollinaire
v. 1, pt. 2 opens new windowApollinaire de Saint-Thomas – Azzoni
v. 2, pt. 1 Baader – Cisterciens
v. 2, pt. 2 opens new windowCajétan – Cisterciens
v. 3, pt. 2 opens new windowConstantinople (IV^eConcile de) – Cyrus
v. 3, pt. 2 opens new windowClarke – Czepanski
v. 4 opens new windowDabillon – Démocratie
v. 4 opens new windowDabillon – Emser
v. 4, pt. 2 opens new windowDieu – Dogme
v. 5, pt. 1 opens new windowEnchantement – Fiume
v. 5, pt. 2 opens new windowEucharistie – Fiume
v. 6, pt. 1 opens new windowFlacius Illyricus – Géorgie
v. 6, pt. 2 opens new windowGéorgie – Hizler
v. 7, pt. 1 opens new windowHobbes – Immunités
v. 7, pt. 2 opens new windowImpanation – Irvingiens
v. 8, pt. 1 Iopens new windowsaac – Jeûne
v. 8, pt. 2 opens new windowJoachim de Flore – Latrie
v. 9, pt. 1 opens new windowLaubrussel – Lyre
v. 9, pt. 2 opens new windowMabillon – Marletta
v. 10, pt. 1 opens new windowMaronite – Messe
v. 10, pt. 2 opens new windowMesse – Mystique
v. 11, pt. 1 opens new windowNaasséniens – Ordalies
v. 11, pt. 2 opens new window Ordéric Vital – Paul (Saint)
v. 12, pt. 1 opens new windowPaul I^we – Philopald
v. 12, pt. 2 opens new windowPhilosophie – Prédestin ation
v. 13, pt. 1 opens new windowPréexistence – Puy (Archange du)
v. 13, pt. 2 opens new windowQuadratus – Rosmini
v. 14, pt. 1 opens new windowRosney – Schneider
v. 14, pt. 2 opens new windowScholarios – Szczaniecki
v. 15, pt. 1 opens new windowTabaraud – Trincarella
v. 15, pt. 2 opens new windowTrinité – Zwinglianisme