Recently released, and greatly needed in the intelligentsia of Early Church literature, are two of the last three volumes of the Oxford Apostolic Fathers Commentary series. This series not only will serve English scholarship, but will aid the coming trends of NT reception history, critical English scholarship of the Apostolic Fathers, and bring contemporary scholarship up-to-date. Each volume aims to reach students and scholars of the Early Church, of Patristic theology, and of New Testament studies.
Currently, the three published volumes are:
- Christopher Tuckett. 2 Clement: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. x + 328.
- Paul Hartog. Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xi + 402.
- Clayton N. Jefford. The Epistle to Diognetus (With the Fragment of Quadratus): Introduction, Text, and Commentary. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. ix + 281.
In the coming months, I will review each of these three volumes. I will attempt to publish Jefford's review in a 2nd-tier journal. Continuous in each volume is a thorough introduction, documenting background, date, authorship, theological themes, and other relevant data. A critical text is matched with fresh translations. Also, a thorough bibliography of English, German, and French scholarship is provided. These volumes do not appear to interact solely with American scholarship but are engaging trans-continental scholarship.
Whether or not students and scholars agree with the minor or major details of the present volumes, these three volumes, with the anticipation of others, will greatly enhance the academic terrain of Early Church literature.
A word of thanks and deep appreciation must be given to Oxford University Press for kindly allowing me to review their publications.