The Early Christian Writings
A terrific, short collection of important early Christian writings in modern English. This is therefore a great, rapid introduction to the pre-Nicene church fathers for those that want a feel for the early apostolic churches.
You might want to read my suggestions for how to read the early church fathers before going through the writings that follow.
Also, I have an overview of early Christianity with links to individual early Christians if you'd like a general introduction before you read them.
- The anonymous Letter to Diognetus is beautiful, poetic, and the earliest general description of Christianity in existence.
- Minucius' Felix' late 2nd or early 3rd century The Octavius is a head-to-head debate between a Christian and a Roman pagan. I have shortened this and arranged it as a debate so that you can catch the most memorably and important points. (Unlike Christian History Magazine's video series on the early church, I have not changed it to make modern Christians more comfortable.)
- The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas belongs to the beginning of the 3rd century.
- 3rd Corinthians is an apocryphal work, forged in the 2nd century but orthodox in thought. It's from the Acts of Paul, which also has a letter from the Corinthians to Paul.
Don't forget the many quotes from the early Christian writings found on our Christian Quotes page! Those are not complete writings, but there are hundreds of passages on over a hundred topics.
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Time Periods
- Overview
- Pre-Nicene Era
- Nicene Era
- The Reformation
- Martin Luther
- Modern Evangelicals
- Roman Catholicism
