Early Christian Writers Before Nicea (325 A.D.)
Since there has been more interest in the Bible and what the early church believed due to Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code, let's ask, just how many early Christian authors do we have their writing preserved prior to 325 A.D.? The answer is than 64 or more, depending on how you count. The following is a list, and a quote or two by each.
1.'''' Clement of Rome (First Clement) 96/98 A.D. 16 pages
3.'''' Didache (= Teaching of the Twelve Disciples) < 125 A.D. 6 pages
4.'''' Aristides 125 A.D. (Greek) 5 pages
5.'''' Quadratus bishop of Athens 126 A.D. 1 paragraph'
6.'''' Letter to Diognetus c.130 A.D. (Greek) 6 pages
7.'''' The Letter of Barnabas 100-150 A.D. 13 pages.
8.'''' Polycarp to the Philippians 100-155 A.D. 4 pages
9.'''' Papias, disciple of John Fragments - died 163 A.D. 3 pages
10.'''''' Shepherd of Hermas 160 A.D. 47 pages
11.'''''' Justin Martyr - 138-165 A.D. 119 pages
12.'''''' Martyrdom of Polycarp - c.169 A.D. 5 pages.
13.'''''' Hegesippus 170-180 A.D. 12 1/2 pages
14.'''''' Melito of Sardis wrote 170-180 A.D. 11 pages
15.'''''' Christians of Vienna and Lugdunum: 177 A.D. 6 1/2 pages
16.'''''' Athenagoras - 177 A.D. 34 pages
17.'''''' Theophilus Bishop of Antioch - wrote 168-181/188 A.D. 33 pages.
18.'''''' Irenaeus - wrote 182-188 A.D. 264 pages
19.'''''' The Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs 7/17/180-202 A.D. 1 page
20.'''''' Caius Fragments and the Muratorian Canon - 190-217 A.D.' 3 pages
21.'''''' The Octavius of Minucius Felix - 210 A.D. 25 pages
22.'''''' Tertullian, at Rome 200-240 A.D. 830 + 24 pages
23.'''''' Clement, Bishop of Alexandria 193-217/220 A.D.' 424 pages
24.'''''' Bardaisan/Bardesan of Syria 154-224-232 A.D. 12 pages
25.'''''' Asterius Urbanus c.232 A.D. 3 pages
26.'''''' Hippolytus' Bishop of Portus 222-235/6 A.D.' 233 pages
27.'''''' The Instructions of Commodianus - c.240 A.D. 16 pages
28.'''''' Julius Africanus - wrote 232-245 A.D.3 + pages
29.'''''' Anonymous, called 2nd Clement - 200-250 A.D. 7 pages'
31.'''''' Origen of Alexandria - 225-254 A.D. 622 pages
32.'''''' Novatian the Schismatic - 250/254-256/7 A.D. 39 pages
33.'''''' Anonymous Treatise Against Novatian - 248-258 A.D. 7 pages
34.'''''' Anonymous Treatise on Rebaptism - 248-258 A.D. 11 pages
35.'''''' Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage - wrote 246-258 A.D. 270 pages including friends
36.'''''' Caldonius to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) 1/2 page p.297
37.'''''' Celerinus to Lucian (246-256 A.D.) 1 ' pages p.298'
38.'''''' Lucian to Celerinus (246-256 A.D.) 1 page p.299'
39.'''''' Moyses, et al. to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) 1 1/2 pages p.302
40.'''''' Cornelius to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) 2 pages Letters 45-47. p.324
41.'''''' Maximus to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) ' page p.326
42.'''''' Firmilian bishop of Caesarea to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) 7 ' pages p.390-397
43.'''''' Nemesianus, Dativus, Felix, and Victor to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) 1 page p.404,405; 421
44.'''''' Lucius and the brethren to Cyprian (246-256 A.D.) 1/2 page p.405-406
46.'''''' Theognostus of Alexandria - 260 A.D. 1 page
48.'''''' Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria - 246-265 A.D. 40 pages
49.'''''' Dionysius, Bishop of Rome - 259-269 A.D. 1 page
50.'''''' Malchion - 270 A.D. 3 1/2 pages
51.'''''' Pierius presbyter of Alexandria - 275 A.D. 1/2 page p.157
52.'''''' Archelaus - 262-278 A.D. 56 pages
53.'''''' Diodorus 262-278 A.D. 2 '' pages in Archelaus' Disputation with Manes
54.'''''' Anatolius of Alexandria - wrote 270-280 A.D. 8 pages
55.'''''' Theonas, Bishop of Alexandria - 282-300 A.D. 3 ' pages
56.'''''' Alexander, Bishop of Lycopolis - 301 A.D. 12 pages
57.'''''' Arnobius - 297-303 A.D.128 pages
58.'''''' Victorinus bishop of Petau in Austria (martyred 304 A.D.) 18 ' pages ANF vol. 7 p.341
59.'''''' Phileas of Thmuis Egypt - martyred 307 A.D. 4 pages
60.'''''' Pamphilus, disciple of Pierius of Alexandria 309 A.D. 3 pages
61.'''''' Peter, Bishop of Alexandria - 300-311 A.D. 17 1/2 pages
62.'''''' Methodius bishop of Olympus and Patara - 270-311/312 A.D. 90 pages
63.'''''' Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria - 313-326 A.D. 12 pages
64.'''''' Lactantius - 315-325/330 A.D. 321 pages
Venantius - (325 A.D?) 1 1/2 pages
Poem on the Passion of the Lord (315-325/330 A.D.) 1 ' pages ANF vol.7 p.327-328
314 A.D. Council of Ancyra (12 bishops)
315 A.D. Council of Neocaesarea (Basil and other bishops)
258 A.D. Seventh Council of Carthage. 85 Bishops Of Whom We Have Very Brief Individual Statements
Quote: "how precious that blood [of Jesus] is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world." 1 Clement ch.7 p.7
Quote: "Like stones of God's Temple ready for a building of God the Father, you are being hoisted up by Jesus Christ, as with a crane (that's the cross!), while the rope you use is the Holy Spirit. Your faith is what lifts you up while love is the way you ascend to God." (Letter to the Ephesians 9:1, parenthesis in the original English translation)
Quote: "baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if thou have not living water, baptize into other water; and if thou canst not in cold, in warm. But if thou have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Didache ch.6
Quote: "they [Christians] appeal to those who injure them, and try to win them as friends; they are eager to do good to their enemies; they are gentle and easy to be entreated." The Apology of Aristides (125 A.D.) p.277
Quote: "Our Saviour's works, moreover, were always present: for they were real, consisting of those who had been healed from their diseases, those who had been raised from the dead; who were not only seen whilst they were being healed and raised up, but were afterwards constantly present. Nor did they remain only during the sojourn of the Saviour on earth, but also a considerable time after His departure; and indeed, some of them have survived even down to our own times." (This is all we have preserved of Quadratus' apology.)
Quote: "He [God] gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked...." Letter to Diognetus ch.9 p.28
Quote: "Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born." Letter of Barnabas ch.19 p.148
As far as possible, be pure in your soul. Letter of Barnabas ch.19 p.148
"For to this end the Lord endured to deliver up His flesh to corruption, that we might be sanctified through the remission of sins, which is effected by His blood of sprinkling." He then quotes Isaiah 53 as referring to Jesus. Letter of Barnabas ch.5
Quote: "...Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins suffered even unto death, [but] 'whom God raised from the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave.'" Letter from Polycarp to the Philippians ch.1 p.33
Wrote six volumes, which have been lost.
Quote: "[Papias] says that there will be a millennium after the resurrection from the dead, when the personal reign of Christ will be established on this earth. ... we shall add, as being a matter of primary importance, a tradition regarding Mark who wrote the Gospel, which he [Papias] has given in the following words]: And the presbyter said this. Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord's sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements." Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History 3:39 (vol.1 p.154)
Quote: "Both of these are grievous to the Holy Spirit - doubt and anger. Wherefore remove grief from you, and crush not the Holy Spirit which dwells in you, less he entreat God against you, and he withdraw from you." book 2 ch.2 p.27.
(=Justin of Neapolis, Samaria)
Quote: "For whatever things are rightly said among all men, are the property of us Christians". Second Apology of Justin Martyr ch.13 p.193
God's foretelling does not does not prove fatal necessity or nullify free will because God's foretelling is through His foreknowledge. "The words cited above, David uttered 1500 years before Christ... But lest some suppose, from what has been said by us, that we say that whatever happens, happens by a fatal necessity, because it is foretold as known beforehand, this too we explain." First Apology of Justin Martyr ch.44 p.177 (end of the page)
"You threaten me with fire that can burn for an hour, and after a little while is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly." The Martyrdom of Polycarp ch.11 p.41
Quote: "James the Lord's brother, succeeds to the government of the Church, in conjunction with the apostle. He has been universally called the Just, from the days of the Lord down to the present time.... He alone, I say, was wont to go into the temple: and he used to be found kneeling on his knees, begging forgiveness for the people - so that the skin of his knees became horny like that of a camel, by reason of his constantly bending the knee in adoration to God, and begging forgiveness for the people." Concerning the Martyrdom of James, the Brother of the Lord, From Book 5 ch.1 p.762.
Quote: "Again, there are persons who say: Whatever our fathers have bequeathed to us, that we reverence. Therefore, of course, it is, that those whose fathers have bequeathed them poverty strive to become rich! And those who fathers did not instruct them, desire to be instructed, and to learn that which their fathers knew not? And why, forsooth, do the children of the blind see, and the children of the lame walk? Nay, it is not well for a man to follow his predecessors, if they be those whose course was evil; but rather that we should turn from that path of their, lest that which befell our predecessors should bring disaster upon us also." Discourse in the Presence of Antonius Caesar Ante-Nicene Fathers vol.8 p.755
A copy of Melito's Homily on the Passover 'and Phileas's Apology is contained in p72 (Bodmer 7 and 8) dated ca.300 A.D. according to The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts by Philip W. Comfort and David P. Barrett p.479.
Quote: "The servants of Christ who sojourn in Vienna and Lugdunum of Gaul to the brethren throughout Asia and Phrygia, who have the same faith and hope of redemption as ourselves, peace, grace, and glory form God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Lord. ... Then at last the holy Witnesses suffered tortures beyond all description, Satan striving eagerly that some of the evil reports might be acknowledged by them." Ante-Nicene Fathers vol.8 p.778,779
Quote: "that they know God and His Logos, what is one oneness of the Son with the Father, what the communion of the Father with the Son, what is the Spirit, what is the unity of these three, the Spirit, the Son, the Father, and their distinction in unity;" A Plea for Christians ch.12 p.134
Wrote a lost harmony/commentary on the gospels
Quote: "Yet it does not follow, because the blind do not see, that the light of the sun does not shine, but let the blind blame themselves and their own eyes. So also thou, O man, hast the eyes of thy soul overspread by thy sins and evil deeds." Letter to Autolycus Book 1 ch.2 p.89
Quote: Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperience (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than the truth itself" Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 1 preface 1 p.315.
"The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion [death], and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and his [future] manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father 'to gather all things in one,' and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, ..." Irenaeus Against Heresies book 1 ch.10.2 p.330.
Quote: "all [the Scillitan martyrs] together were crowned with martyrdom; and they reign with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever." The Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs p.285
Quote: Moreover, the Acts of all the Apostles are comprised by Luke in one book, and addressed to the most excellent Theophilus, because these different events took place when he was present himself; and he shows this clearly ... by the omission of the passion of Peter, and also of the journey of Paul, when he went from the city - Rome - to Spain." Muratorian Canon ch.2 p.603.
Quote: "How much more truly do dumb animals naturally judge concerning your gods? Mice, swallows, kites, know that they have no feeling: they gnaw them, they trample on them, they sit upon them, and unless you drive them off, they build their nests in the very mouth of your god. Spiders, indeed, weave their webs over his face..." The Octavius of Minucius Felix ch.24 p.187
"In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the foetus [fetus] in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing.; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed." Tertullian's Apology ch.9 p.25 (197-217 A.D.)
The Spirit is "just as the fruit of the tree is third from the root or as the stream out of the river is third from the fountain or as the apex of the ray is third from the sun." Against Praxeas ch.8 p.603
Quote: "The Scythians worshipped their sabers, the Arabs stones, the Persians rivers." Clement of Alexandria in Exhortation to the Heathen ch.4 p.184
He [Jesus] God in the form of man, stainless, the minister of His Father's will, the Word who is God, who is in the Father, who is at the Father's right hand, and with the form of God is God. The Instructor Book 1 ch.2 p.210
Quote: In the last chapter of The Instructor, Clement of Alexandria composed a hymn to sing. Here is the 2nd verse.
King of saints, Almighty Word; Of the Father highest Lord
Wisdom's head and chief; Assuagement of all grief
Lord of all time and space; Jesus Savior of our race;
Shepherd who does us keep;
Husbandman who tills
Bit to restrain us, Rudder to guide us as You will
Of the all-holy flock celestial wing,
...
Life that never can decay; Fount of mercy, virtue-sending,
Life august of those who raise
Unto God their hymn of praise, Jesus Christ!
Quote: "For he in whom there is no fear of God is a slave to all sorts of fears." The Book of the Laws of Diverse Countries p.724
Quote: "And what shall we say of the new race of us Christians, whom Christ a His advent planted in every country and in every region? For, lo! Wherever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ - Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together, and on the days of the readings we abstain from taking sustenance. The brethren who are in Gaul do not take males for wives, nor those who are in Parthia two wives; nor do those who are in Judaea circumcise themselves, nor do our sisters who are among the Geli consort with strangers; nor do those brethren who are in Persia take their daughters for wives; nor do those who are in Media abandon their dead, or bury them alive, or give them as food to the dogs; nor do those who are in Edessa kill their wives or their sisters when they commit impurity, but they withdraw from them, and give them over to the judgment of God... but wherever they are, and in whatever place they are found, the laws of the several countries do not hinder them from obeying the law of their Sovereign, Christ; nor does the Fate of the celestial Governors compel them to make use of things which they regard as impure." The Book of the Laws of Diverse Countries p.733.
Quote: "And those first heretics, who from the heresy of Marcion are called Marcionites, allege that they have a great multitude of martyrs for Christ. But yet they do not confess Christ Himself according to the truth." Ante-Nicene Fathers vol.7 book 3 ch.6 p.337
Quote: "If, then the Word was with God and was also God what follows? Would one say that he speaks of two Gods? I shall not indeed speak of two Gods but of one; of two Persons however and of a third economy (disposition), viz., the grace of the Holy Ghost." Against the Heresy of One Noetus ch.14 p.228
"For (the Naasene) [Gnostics of the Gospel of Thomas] says, there is the hermaphrodite man. According to this account of theirs, the intercourse of woman with man is demonstrated, in conformity with such teaching, to be an exceedingly wicked and filthy (practice). For, says (the Naassene), Attis has been emasculated, that is, he has passed over from the earthly parts of the nether world to the everlasting substance above, where, he says, there is neither female or male, but a new creature, a new man, which is hermaphrodite." Hippolytus' Refutation of All Heresies book 5 ch.2 p.49
Quote: "Warned by example, do not sin gravely; ... Flee far from the bait of the mouse-trap, where there is death. Many are the martyrdoms which are made without shedding of blood." The Instructions of Commodianus ch.48 p.212
Quote: "...Christ is the High Priest of His Father, who presents our prayers to Him, and a supramundane King, who rules by the Spirit those whom He has delivered, a co-operator in the government of all things."
"This darkness [at the time of Christ] Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. For the Hebrews celebrate the Passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Savior falls on the day before the Passover, but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun." Fragment 18 p.136
Quote: "save refusing to deny him [Jesus] through whom we came to know the Father?" ch.3
Quote: Narcissus [retired previous bishop of Antioch] salutes you, who held the episcopate in this district before me, who is now also my colleague and competitor in prayer for you, and who, having now attained to his hundred and tenth year, unites with me in exhorting you to be of one mind." (Competitor in prayer is an interesting concept.)
Quote: "wax being melted and mud being dried by the same heat; so the same operation, which was performed through the instrumentality of Moses, proved the hardness of Pharaoh on one hand, the result of his wickedness, and the yielding of the mixed Egyptian multitude who took their departure with the Hebrews." Origen's De Principiis 3.1.11 p.311. Also elucidations p.384
Quote: "He [Jesus] was raised again in the same bodily substance in which He died, is proved by the wounds of that very body, and thus He shows the laws of our resurrection in His flesh, in that He restored the same body in His resurrection which He had from us." Treatise Concerning the Trinity ch.10 p.620.
Quote: "Let us, then, with the whole strength of our faith, give praise to God; let us give our full confession, since the powers of heaven rejoice over our repentance, all the angels rejoice, and Christ also rejoices, who once again with full and merciful moderation exhorts us, laden with sins, overwhelmed with crimes, to cease from wickedness...." Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian ch.18 p.663
Quote: "Moreover, I think also that we have not unsuitably set in order the teaching of the Apostle John, who says that 'three bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three are one.'" Treatise on Re-Baptism ch.19 p.677
Quote: "Let us confirm one another by mutual exhortations, and let us more and more go forward in the Lord; so that when of His mercy He shall have made that peace which He promises to give, we may return to the Church new and almost changed men, and may be received, whether by our brethren or by the heathen, in all things corrected and renewed for the better; and those who formerly admired our glory in our courage may now admire the discipline in our lives." Epistle of Cyprian 7 ch.6 (250 A.D.) p.285
Quote: "The necessity o the time induces us not hastily to grant peace. But it was well to write to you, that they who, after having sacrificed [to pagan gods] were again tried, became exiles. And thus they seem to me to have atoned for their former crime, in that they now let go their possessions and homes, and, repenting, follow Christ." Cyprian replied to grant them peace, i.e. to again welcome them into fellowship in the church.
Quote: "...rejoicing in that I had heard that you had been tried on behalf of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, and had confessed His name in the presence of the magistrates of the world;"
Quote: "I have received your letter, most dearly bellowed lord and brother, in which you have so laden me with expressions of kindness... For you, by God's will when you confessed, not only frightened back the great serpent himself, the pioneer of Antichrist (but) have conquered him, by that voice and those divine words, whereby I know how you love the faith, and how zealous you are to Christ's discipline, in which I know and rejoice that you are actively occupied."
Quote: "...persevering in the faith of the truth, in God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit, greeting. Placed, brother, as we are among various and manifold sorrows, on account of the present desolations of many brethren throughout almost the whole world, this chief consolation has reached us, that we have been lifted up by the receipt of your letter, and have gathered some alleviation for the griefs of our saddened spirit."
Quote: "I ... do render the greatest thanks without ceasing, dearest brother, to God the Father Almighty, and to His Christ the Lord and our God and Saviour, that the Church is thus divinely protected, and its unity and holiness is not constantly nor altogether corrupted by the obstinacy of perfidy and heretical wickedness."
Also Roman clergy to Cyprian Letter 30. 3 pages p.309-310
Quote: "This was done with the joy of the whole Church, and even with the forward affection of the brethren." Letter 49 p.326
Quote: "it is sufficient shortly to say in sum, that they who do not hold the true Lord the Father cannot hold the truth either of the Son or of the Holy Spirit..." Letter 74.7 p.392
Quote: "Let us, then, be in our prayers helpers of one another; and let us ask, as you have bidden us, that we may have God and Christ and the angels as supports in all our actions." Letter 77 p.405
Quote: "... as being certain of the heavenly rewards, and of the crown of martyrdom, and of the kingdom of God, from the prophecy which, being filled with the Holy Spirit, you have pledged to us in your letter." Letter 78 p.406
Quote: "To our dearest and best beloved Cyprian, Felix, Jader, Polianus, together with the presbyters and all who are abiding with us at the mine of Sigua, eternal health in the Lord. ...And we have given and do give thanks to God the Father Almighty through His Christ," Letter 79 p.406 [Health, and eternal health, might be foremost on their thoughts, since people usually worked in the mines until their health broke and they died.]
Quote: "For as the sun remains the same and suffers no diminution from the rays that are poured out by it, so neither did the substance of the Father undergo any change in having the Son as an image of itself." Ante-Nicene Fathers vol.6 Part of fragment 1 from Seven Books of Hypotyposes or Outlines.
Quote: "There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged... And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abideth ever. " A Declaration of Faith p.7.
Quote: "But God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail. Therefore the eternal brightness shines forth before Him, and co-exists with Him, in that, existing without a beginning, and always begotten, He always shines before Him;... Since therefore, the Father is eternal, the Son also is eternal, Light of Light.... Since God is the Light, Christ is the Brightness." Epistle to Dionysius Bishop of Rome 4.3-4 p.92.
Quote: "For the doctrine of the foolish Marcion, which cuts and divides the monarchy into three elements, is assuredly of the devil, and is not of Christ's true disciples... For these [true disciples] indeed rightly know that the Trinity is declared in the divine Scripture, but that the doctrine that there are three gods is neither taught in the Old nor the New Testament." Dionysius of Rome Against the Sabellians ch.1 p.365
Quote: "...in the instance of Jesus Christ, who was made one (person), constituted by God the Word, and a human body which is of the seed of David, and who subsists without having any manner of division between the two, but in unity." Acts of the Disputation Conducted by Malchion Against Paul of Samosata ch.3 p.172.
Quote: "...whom Pierius when he was expounding and unfolding the meaning of the apostle, and purposed to explain the words, 'For I would that all men were even as I myself, added this remark: In saying this, Paul, without disguise, preaches celibacy." Quoted from Jerome p.157. Pierius was a head of the school at Alexandria and the teacher of Pamphilus
Quote: [Against Manicheans and Gnostics in general] "And to whom, then, did the Lord Jesus address Himself, when in these terms He taught men to pray: 'When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven,' and again, 'Pray to your Father which is in secret?'" Disputation with Manes ch.20 p.194
Q: "This man [Manes] then maintained that the law of Moses, to speak shortly, does not proceed from the good God, but form the prince of evil; and that it has no kinship with the new law of Christ, but is contrary and hostile to it, the one being the direct antagonist of the other. When I heard such a sentiment propounded, I repeated to the people that sentence of the Gospel in which our Lord Jesus Christ said of Himself: 'I am not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil it.'" Disputation with Manes ch.40 p.214
Quote: "...for now it remains for us with unveiled face to behold ever as in a glass Christ Himself and the doctrines and sufferings of Christ."
Quote: "Let no day pass by without reading some portion of the Sacred Scriptures, at such convenient hour as offers, and giving some space to meditation. And never cast off the habit of reading the Holy Scriptures; for nothing feeds the soul and enriches the mind so well as those sacred studies do." Epistle to Theonas Bishop of Alexandria ch.9 p.161.
Quote: [Against the Manichaeans and Gnostics in General] "Is matter, in respect of alteration, an evil cause? It is thus proved that it is not more evil than good." Of the Manichaeans ch.8 p.244
Quote: "If, therefore, you have confidence what is done, disclose, point out why ... wine is poured on the altars. For do the bodies of the [Greco-Roman] deities feel parching thirst, and is it necessary that their dryness be tempered by some moisture? ... that their food may be more easily softened, and thoroughly digested? Give, I beg, to the immortal gods to drink; bring forth goblets, bowls, ladles, and cups; and as the stuff themselves with bulls, and luxurious feasts, and rich food, - lest some piece of flesh hastily gulped down should stick in passing through the stomach, run up, hasten, give pure wine to Jupiter, the most excellent, the supreme, lest he be choked. He desires to break wind, and is unable; and unless that hindrance passes away and is dissolved, there is very great danger that his breathing will be stopped and interrupted, and heaven be left desolate without its rulers." Arnobius Against the Heathen book 7 ch.29 p.529. [Some might suspect Arnobius did not fully share the Romans' respect for their idols.]
Quote: "But as an animal cannot fly unless it have wings, so, too, the announcement of the New Testament gains no faith unless it have the fore-announced testimonies of the Old Testament, by which it is lifted form the earth, and flies." Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John p.349
Quote: "And thus then, when they were commanded to make their choice between these two alternatives,... or else to refuse to sacrifice, and thus expect the judgment of death to be executed on them, they never hesitated, but went cheerfully to death." Letter to the People of Thmuis ch.3. He was a martyr, so he apparently practiced what he preached.
A copy of Melito's Homily on the Passover' and Phileas's Apology is contained in p72 (Bodmer 7 and 8) dated ca.300 A.D. according to The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts by Philip W. Comfort and David P. Barrett p.479.
Quote: "Then the acknowledgement of the supercelestial glory of Jesus Christ which was revealed to Stephen himself, on account of which Stephen himself stoned, and fell asleep piously." "H" in his Exposition of the Chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. p.166
Quote: "...the Creator and Lord of every visible and invisible creature, the only-begotten Son, and the Word co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and of the same substance with them, according to his divine nature, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ,..." Fragment 5 ch.7 p.282
Quote: "and the dead in Christ shall rise first;' that is the tabernacles, for they died, being put off by their souls. 'Then we which are alive shall be caught up together with them,' meaning our souls. For we truly who are alive are the souls which, with the bodies, having put them on again, shall go to meet Him in the clouds, bearing our lamps trimmed, not with anything alien and worldly, but like stars radiating the light of prudence and continence, full of ethereal splendour." The Banquet of the Ten Virgins Discourse 6 ch.4 p.330
Quote: "For see! The Lord Himself hath shown His charity towards us, not only in words but also in deeds, since He hath given Himself up as the price of our salvation." Epistle 5 on the Soul and Body and the Passion of the Lord ch.2 p.299-300.
Quote: "for He was with us on the earth, when He assumed flesh; and He was not less God in man, and man in God. That He was both God and man was declared before by the prophets." The Epitome of the Divine Institutes ch.44 p.239.
Quote: "O Christ, Thou Saviour of the world, merciful Creator and Redeemer, the only offspring from the Godhead of the Father..." Poem of Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus, On Easter p.329 This was probably written before Nicea, but the date is very uncertain, so this is not numbered with the others.
Mentions the virgin birth of Christ. However, while it was written about the time of the Council of Nicea, it is not known when it was written, so it is not numbered with the others.
Quote: "Concerning women who commit fornication, and destroy that which they have conceived, or who are employed in making drugs for abortion, a former decree excluded them [from the church] until the hour of death, and to this some have assented. Nevertheless, being desirous to use somewhat greater lenity, we have ordained that they fulful ten years [of penance], according to the prescribed degrees." Canon XXI NPNF2 p.73
Quote: "The deacons ought to be seven in number, according to the canon, even if the city be great. Of this you will be persuaded from the Book of Acts." Canon 15 p.86
These usually have very brief statements. Therefore these are not counted as writers themselves per se based on just this.
Caecilia of Bilta p.565-566
Primus of Misgrpa p.566
Polycarp from Adrumetum p.566
Novatus of Thamugada p.566
Nemesianus of Thubunae p.566
Januarius of Lambesis [in Numidia] p.566
Bishop Lucius of Castra Galbae/Gilba quotes Matthew 28:19 about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Seventh Council of Carthage (258 A.D.) p.566-567
Crescens of Cirta [Cirta Julia in Numidia] p.567
Nicomedes of Segermae p.567
Bishop Munnulus of Girba mentions the Trinity and quotes Matthew 28:19 "...in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" The Seventh Council of Carthage (258 A.D.) p.567
Secundinus of Cedias [perhaps in Mauretania] p.567 mentions friends of God
Felix of Bagai [in Numidia] p.567
Polianus of Mileum p.567
Theogenes of Hippo Regius p.567
Dativus of Badis p.567
Successus of Abbir Germaniciana p.567
Fortunatus of Tuccaboris p.567
Sedatus of Tuburbo p.567
Privatianus of Sugetula p.568
Privatus of Sufes p.568
Hortensianus of Lares p.568
Cassius of Macomadae p.568
Another Januarius of Vicus Caesaris p.568
Another Secundinus of Carpi p.568
Victoricus of Thabraca p.568
Another Felix of Uthina p.568
Quietus of Baruch [Bourka in Numidia?] p.568
Castus of Sicca p.568
Euchratius Bishop of Thenae quotes Matthew 28:19 "...in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" and mentions heretics as blasphemy of the Trinity. The Seventh Council of Carthage (258 A.D.) p.568
Libosus of Vaga p.569
Lucius of Thebeste [in Numidia] p.569
Eugenius of Ammedera [in Numidia] p.569
Another Felix of Amaccora p.569
Another Januarius of Muzzuli [Mazula in Numidia] p.569
Adelphius of Thasvalte [a city of Byzacena] p.569
Demetirus of Leptiminus p.569
Bishop Vencentius of Thibaris [in Mauretania Caesariensis] also quotes Matthew 28:19 about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Seventh Council of Carthage p.569
Marcus of Mactaris [a city of Byzacena] p.569
Sattius of Sicilibba p.569
Victor of Gor p.569
Aurelius of Utica p.569
Iambus of Germaniciana p.570
Lucianus of Rucuma p.570
Pelagianus of Luperciana p.570
Jader of Midila p.570
Another Felix of Marazana p.570
Paulus of Obba p.570
Pomponius of Dionysiana p.570
Venantius of Timisa [a city of Zeugitana] "Christ the Lord and our God, going to His Father,..." p.570.
Ahymnus of Ausvaga p.570
Saturninus of Victoriana p.570
Saturninus of Thucca p.570
Marcellus of Zama p.570
Irenaeus of Ululi p.570
Donatus of Cibaliana p.570
Zosimus of Tharassa [in Numidia] p.570
Julianus of Telepte p.570
Faustus of Timida Regia p.570
Germinius of Furni p.571
Rogatianus of Nova p.571
Therapius of Bulla p.571
Another Lucius of Membresa p.571
Another Felix of Bussacene p.571
Another Saturninus of Avitini p.571
Quintus of Aggya p.571
Another Julianus of Marcelliana p.571
Tenax of Horrea Caeliae p.571
Another Victor of Assuri p.571
`Donatulus of Capse p.571
Verulus of Rusiccada p.571
Pudentianus of Cuiculis p.571
Peter of Hippo Diarrhytus p.571
Another Lucius of Ausafa p.571
Another Felix of Gurgites p.571
Pusillus of Lamasba p.571
Salvianus of Gazaufala p.571
Honoratus of Thucca p.571
Victor of Octavum p.572-572
Clarus of Mascula also quotes Matthew 28:19 about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Seventh Council of Carthage (258 A.D.) p.572
Secundianus of Thambei p.572
Another Aurelius of Chullabi quotes 2 John 10,11 saying it is by John the apostle in his epistle. p.572
Litteus of Gemeli p.572
Natalis of Oea p.572 He mentions two other people who were not present: Pompey of Sabrata and Dioga of Leptis Magna
Junius Neapolis p.572
Cyprian of Carthage p.572
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