The ''Library of the Fathers'', more properly ''A library of fathers of the holy Catholic church: anterior to the division of the East and West'', was a series of around 50 volumes of the Church Fathers, annotated in English translation, published 1838 to 1881 by John Henry Parker. Edited by

Edward Bouverie Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement. Early years ...

and others including

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouce ...

and

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

, this series of editions is closely associated with the origins of the Oxford Movement.

Overview

The series was planned by Pusey in summer 1836, and Pusey, Keble and Newman jointly signed the Prospectus which announced it. Over 600 subscribers had been secured by 1838, including nine English bishops as well as both Archbishops,

William Howley William Howley (12 February 1766 – 11 February 1848) was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848. Early life, education, and interests Howley was born in 1766 at Ropley, Hampshire, w ...

and

Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (10 October 1757 – 5 November 1847) was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807 and then the Archbishop of York until his death. He was the third son of the George Venables- ...

.Richard W. Pfaff, The Library of the Fathers: The Tractarians as Patristic Translators, ''Studies in Philology'', Vol. 70, No. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp. 329-344 By 1853 thirty-seven volumes had appeared, and the number of listed subscribers had doubled to over 1,200.Pfaff rejects as 'fanciful' the figure of over 3,700 subscribers claimed in

Henry Liddon Henry Parry Liddon (1829–1890), also known as H. P. Liddon, was an English theologian. From 1870 to 1882, he was Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford. Biography The son of a naval capt ...

's ''Life of Pusey'', and followed by the ''DNB''. However, by that time editorial costs were swallowing any profits, and the fragmentation of the Oxford Movement had also caused some of the early subscribers to discontinue their support. The new Archbishops,

John Bird Sumner John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury. Early life John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the R ...

and Thomas Musgrave, never subscribed. "After 1853 ..there is a clear sense of the winding down of the series." Though most of the works in the library were translations, a few were editions of original texts. The first volume issued, in 1838, was a translation edited by Pusey of

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

's ''Confessions''; the last, in 1881, were works of Cyril of Alexandria. There were sixteen volumes of Chrysostom published in the Library, twelve of Augustine, five of

Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

and four of

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

. Most translations in the series were signed. Some anonymous translations may be due to Charles Marriott, who replaced Newman as editor after Newman converted to Roman Catholicism, and who "shouldered the greatest part of the editorial burden from 1845 to 1853".

Notes

{{reflist Christian theology books Publications of patristic texts Series of books

Overview

See also

Notes