Apostolic Fathers

The term Apostolic Fathers refers both to a group of early Christian writers (the first among the Church Fathers) and to a particular collection of their writings. These writings comprise the first known Christian writings after the composition of the New Testament, and some were even considered for inclusion in the canon (i.e., the epistles of St. Clement of Rome).

The most common lists of these writings usually include most or all of the following:

• The Epistle to Diognetus
• The First Epistle of Clement
• The Second Epistle of Clement
• The Didache
• The Epistle of Barnabas
• Seven short Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch (the longer forms of these Epistles, and those beyond the seven, are widely considered later emendations and forgeries)
• The Epistle of Polycarp
• The Martyrdom of Polycarp
• The Shepherd of Hermas

Published works

The following are published collections of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, listed by the faith of the editor(s):

Orthodox

• Sparks, Fr. Jack N. The Apostolic Fathers. (ISBN 0840756615)

Catholic

• Aquilina, Michael J. The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers. (ISBN 0879736895)
• Jefford, Clayton N.; Harder, Kenneth J.; Amezaga Jr., Louis D. Reading the Apostolic Fathers: An Introduction. (ISBN 1565631544)

Protestant

• Lightfoot, J.B. The Apostolic Fathers. (ISBN 0943575273)
• Lightfoot, J.B.; Harmer, J. R., ed. The Apostolic Fathers. (ISBN 0766164985)
• Lightfoot, J.B. (translator); Harmer, J. R. (translator); Holmes, Michael W., ed. The Apostolic Fathers. (ISBN 0801021995, ISBN 9780801021992)
• Richardson, Cyril C. Early Christian Fathers. (ISBN 0684829517)