Amazon.com description: Product Description: Early Christian writings form a body of literature that has shaped Western culture as a whole, as Enrico Norelli and Claudio Moreschini demonstrate in this comprehensive book. The first six centuries of Christian experience impacted art and developed a philosophy that faced opposition, resolved internal conflicts, transposed itself into medieval civilization, and continues to influence culture today.

Available for the first time in English, Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature highlights the special character of the gospel message, the nucleus of every Christian literary form. The earliest Christian works are presented along with respected contemporary writings through the fourth century. Then, the book moves to the Golden Age of Christian literature. The major personalities of the time—Ambrose, Jerome,Augustine, all writers of the highest rank—are matched with Greek-speaking authors such as Athanasius, the Cappadocians, and John Chrysostom, thinkers to whom present-day Christians turn once again for spiritual direction.

This two-volume edition organizes the material in chronological order. Each segment’s detailed discussion concludes with an up-to-date bibliography. The book also includes a general bibliography, and each volume includes an index of authors and anonymous works. Specialists in classics and medieval studies, as well as general theologians, art historians, archaeologists, and other students of culture will find in this work an in-depth survey, quality scholarship, and an original approach.