About

What is patrology? Patrology or patristics are names used to designate the study of the texts, languages, history, theology, and culture of early Christianity (c. 150-750) in the political and social contexts of the Roman and late antique worlds. A patrologist is the traditional name for a scholar of this discipline. Patrology and patrologist are the analogues of Classics — the study of ancient Greek and Roman texts, history, and culture — and classicist or classical philologist — a student of classics. Early Christian Studies is the more common name for this field of study today, and my Ph.D. is in Early Christian Studies. Both patrology and classical philology are by nature interdisciplinary fields, though the core disciplines are languages and texts.

Currently, I teach in the History and Philosophy Department at Northwestern College (IA), but my first academic job was in the Theology Department at Creighton University. This captures well the liminal academic space patrologists often occupy. While I do consider myself a historian, I am often writing about and studying topics in early Christian theology.

Shelf full of editions in the Sources Chrétiennes series.