The Church Fathers
The writings of the first Christians after the apostles, in the original Greek beside an older public-domain English translation and a modern English version made to be easy to read. Every text is free and open to the public.
We follow the historic, orthodox faith of the whole church. The section draws on the Greek East, the Latin West, the Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox churches (including the Thomas Christians of India), and the desert fathers.
Start here
Three good doors into the Fathers.
The Didache
Sixteen short chapters on the Two Ways, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, fasting, and how to receive travelling teachers.
Read it1 Clement and Ignatius
A letter from Rome to Corinth, and seven letters written by a bishop on his way to martyrdom.
Read itJustin Martyr
How Christians worshipped in Rome around AD 150, and how they answered the charges made against them.
Read itFully prepared texts
The earliest Christian writings after the New Testament, in date order, laid out in columns: the original Greek where we have it, an older public-domain English translation, and a modern English version. Pseudonymous and forged writings are left out, and where an author’s name is only a tradition, we say so.
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c. AD 50–120 (debated)Read now
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c. AD 70–135Read nowAnonymous (attributed to Barnabas) · Apostolic FathersAnonymous; traditional attribution doubted
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c. AD 95–96Read now
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c. AD 105–115Read nowIgnatius of Antioch · Apostolic FathersAuthorship secure (shorter Greek recension)
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c. AD 110–135Read now
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c. AD 100–160Read now
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c. AD 125–140Read now
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c. AD 100–160 (debated)Read now
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c. AD 130–200Read now
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c. AD 155–165Read now
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c. AD 155–165Read now
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c. AD 155–160Read now
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c. AD 170Read now
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c. AD 177Read now
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c. AD 177–200Read nowAthenagoras of Athens (attributed) · ApologistsAuthorship accepted by most scholars, doubted by some
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c. AD 180Read now
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c. AD 180–190Read now
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c. AD 190–200Read now
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c. AD 190–200Read now
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c. AD 325Read now
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c. AD 318–337Read now
New translations from the Greek
Works that had no English translation we could find online, or only one under copyright. Each is translated directly from the Greek and shown beside it. They are first reading versions made with AI and not yet checked line by line by a person.
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c. AD 231–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 233–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 240Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 230–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 233–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 230–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 230–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 240–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 240–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 240–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 240–250Read nowOrigen of Alexandria · The third century
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c. AD 290–311Read nowMethodius of Olympus · The third century
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early fourth centuryRead nowEusebius of Caesarea · The age of Nicaea
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c. AD 335Read nowMarcellus of Ancyra · The age of Nicaea
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c. AD 336–337Read nowEusebius of Caesarea · The age of Nicaea
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c. AD 337–339Read nowEusebius of Caesarea · The age of Nicaea
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AD 374Read nowEpiphanius of Salamis · The golden age of the Fathers
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c. AD 444Read nowTheodoret of Cyrus · The golden age of the Fathers
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c. AD 475Read nowAnonymous of Cyzicus · The later Fathers
Browse by tradition
The early church was never only Greek and Latin. Each tradition has its own page with its authors and their works.
Greek East
Fathers who wrote in Greek, from Antioch, Alexandria, Asia Minor and Constantinople.
BrowseLatin West
Fathers of Rome, North Africa, Italy, Gaul and Spain, who wrote in Latin.
BrowseSyriac and the Church of the East
Writers of the Syriac-speaking churches of Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia.
BrowseChurch orders, liturgies and councils
Early church manuals, ancient liturgies and the canons of the councils.
BrowsePseudonymous, apocryphal and doubtful writings
Writings put under an apostle’s or Father’s name that he did not write, apocryphal gospels and acts, and works of doubtful authorship. They are kept apart so that no one mistakes them for the genuine works.
BrowseArmenian, Coptic, Arabic and other Eastern writers
Writers and chroniclers of the Armenian, Coptic, Arabic and Ethiopic churches, in older public-domain English translations.
BrowseBrowse by period
From the generation after the apostles to the eighth century.
The Apostolic Fathers
The Didache, Epistle of Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Apocalypse of Abraham, Testament of Abraham and more.
BrowseThe second century
Justin Martyr, Claudius Apollinaris, Dionysius of Corinth, Hegesippus, Athenagoras of Athens and more.
BrowseThe third century
Irenaeus of Lyons, Perpetua and Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Acts of Thomas, Tertullian and more.
BrowseThe age of Nicaea
Victorinus of Pettau, Phileas of Thmuis, Pamphilus of Caesarea, Methodius of Olympus, Peter of Alexandria and more.
BrowseThe golden age of the Fathers
Council of Constantinople (AD 381), Ambrosiaster, Egeria, Philastrius of Brescia, Cyril of Jerusalem and more.
BrowseThe later Fathers
Psalms of Solomon, Dioscorus of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyrus, Paulinus of Pella, Leo the Great and more.
BrowseThe early Middle Ages
Thomas of Marga, Apocalypse of the Virgin, Early papal decretals (Pseudo-Isidore), Photius of Constantinople, Hunayn ibn Ishaq and more.
BrowseBrowse by subject
What the Fathers wrote on a given theme, passage by passage, with a link to every work it comes from. Each entry will be reviewed by a person before it goes live.
Browse by Bible verse
Choose a book to see which Fathers quoted or explained its verses. Each verse links to the Bible text on SermonIndex, and each Father to the page where he says it.
How to read a text
Every work follows the same layout, so you can move between them.
The Greek
The original text, beside the English. Greek flags show where the digital text needs checking.
Translations
The older public-domain English translation, with its translator and year, so you can compare it with the Greek and the modern version.
Modern English
A plain-language version made from the older translation and checked against the Greek. Translator’s notes appear beside every place where the translation and the Greek differ or a word needs explaining.
Scripture links
Every Bible reference links to the Berean Standard Bible on SermonIndex.
How we made this
Greek texts come from the Perseus Project and the First Thousand Years of Greek project. Older English translations are in the public domain; most of the wider library is taken from the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers and similar editions through the Writings-Database. The modern English versions are prepared with AI from the older translations, checked against the Greek, and marked as such on every page. Where a source has a licence that asks for credit, the credit is on the page.