Where can I find writings of the Fathers?

[ransom14]

I’d love to get a collection of the writings of the father such as the 37 Volume (I think that’s how many) set edited by Philip Schaff. The only problem is that I’ve seen that he presents the material in a protestant perspective with all of this commentary and also it is a fairly old compilation that has been reprinted and is missed some new discoveries.

My question is where can I get a decent Catholic compiled collection? The one mentioned above seems so complete it would be an AWESOME resource but I’d love to have commentary that I can trust. Any ideas? I’ve seen many books but nothing so thorough.

 

[RoryMcKenzie56]

I have an English set of 38 volumers published by Hendrickson Publishers in 1994. But there are numerous editors, mostly Anglicans, including Schaff. One is by J.H. Newman before his conversion apparently. They have footnotes and disclaimer notes that you need to ignore, but it is the same English translation you will find on Catholic internet sites. I think the translation is trustworthy, and that is the main thing. I do not know of an all-English large Catholic edition of the Fathers. Even with 38 volumes a lot is left out. Origen’s huge corpus is represented with only part of one book, for instance. Overall, I am very satisfied. I like being able to highlight and make notes and run to the shelf when I need something.

You can get it for $300. I think I paid around $400 15 years ago. That is a great price. Also, these editors are mostly Anglicans of the high church type. Today, they would be those who are coming in to the Church, fleeing from Anglican liberalism. The notes are helpful much or even most of the time. Not always. They will take potshots at us every so often, but they aren’t talking about the rapture and once saved always saved. These guys seem more like us than they do Evangelicals.

christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=30815

 

[ransom14]

I have an English set of 38 volumers published by Hendrickson Publishers in 1994. But there are numerous editors, mostly Anglicans, including Schaff. One is by J.H. Newman before his conversion apparently. They have footnotes and disclaimer notes that you need to ignore, but it is the same English translation you will find on Catholic internet sites. I think the translation is trustworthy, and that is the main thing. I do not know of an all-English large Catholic edition of the Fathers. Even with 38 volumes a lot is left out. Origen’s huge corpus is represented with only part of one book, for instance. Overall, I am very satisfied. I like being able to highlight and make notes and run to the shelf when I need something.

You can get it for $300. I think I paid around $400 15 years ago. That is a great price. Also, these editors are mostly Anglicans of the high church type. Today, they would be those who are coming in to the Church, fleeing from Anglican liberalism. The notes are helpful much or even most of the time. Not always. They will take potshots at us every so often, but they aren’t talking about the rapture and once saved always saved. These guys seem more like us than they do Evangelicals.

christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=30815

Thanks a lot! That’s the set I was looking at and was wary about. The only reason I was worried is because someone in another thread had quoted some Schaff commentary from the collection that was obviously anti-Catholic. I’ll probably go ahead with the purchase and just pay attention to what I get from the commentaries.

 

[bpbasilphx]

\I have an English set of 38 volumers published by Hendrickson Publishers in 1994. But there are numerous editors, mostly Anglicans, including Schaff.\

Schaff was actually a German Calvinist.

The Ante-Nicene Fathers, and both series of Nicene and Post-NIcene Fathers, (Schaff was the general editor of the American edition) are about as good as any.

You can find it as a CD. Might not be the most convenient format, but it is the cheapest.

The only major discovery of Ante-Nicene writings, besides fragments such as the Nag-Hammadi library (which is available in English translation) is the Didache. to my knowledge.

Of course, mss of patristic writings are found all the time.