Library of the Fathers
Encyclopedia
The Library of the Fathers, more properly A library of fathers of the holy Catholic church: anterior to the division of the East and West, was a series of around 50 volumes of the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...

, annotated in English translation, published 1838 to 1881 by John Henry Parker
John Henry Parker
John Henry Parker CB , English writer on architecture and publisher, was the son of John Parker, a London merchant....

. Edited by Edward Bouverie Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey was an English churchman and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Christ Church, Oxford. He was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement.-Early years:...

 and others including John Keble
John Keble
John Keble was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.-Early life:...

 and John Henry Newman, this series of editions is closely associated with the origins of the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...

.

Overview

The series was planned by Pusey in summer 1836, and Pusey, Keble and Newman jointly signed the Prospectus which announced it. Over 600 subscribers had been secured by 1838, including nine English bishops as well as both Archbishops, William Howley
William Howley
William Howley was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848.-Early Life, education, and interests:...

 and Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt. By 1853 thirty-seven volumes had appeared, and the number of listed subscribers had doubled to over 1,200. However, by that time editorial costs were swallowing any profits, and the fragmentation of the Oxford Movement had also caused some of the early subscribers to discontinue their support. The new Archbishops, Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...

 and Thomas Musgrave
Thomas Musgrave
Thomas Musgrave was archbishop of York from 1847 to 1860.Born on 30 March 1788, his first senior Church of England appointment was when he was installed Dean of Bristol on 13 or 14 May 1837. Three months later, he was nominated Bishop of Hereford by the crown on 5 August and consecrated on 1...

, never subscribed. "After 1853 [...] there is a clear sense of the winding down of the series."

Though most of the works in the library were translations, a few were editions of original texts. The first volume issued, in 1838, was a translation edited by Pusey of Augustine's Confessions; the last, in 1881, were works of Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...

. There were sixteen volumes of Chrysostom published in the Library, twelve of Augustine, five of Athanasius and four of Gregory the Great on Job
Job (Biblical figure)
Job is the central character of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. Job is listed as a prophet of God in the Qur'an.- Book of Job :The Book of Job begins with an introduction to Job's character — he is described as a blessed man who lives righteously...

.

Most translations in the series were signed. Some anonymous translations may be due to Charles Marriott
Charles Marriott (Tractarian)
Charles Marriott was an Anglican priest, a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and one of the members of the Oxford Movement. He was responsible for editing more than half of the volumes of their series of translations, the Library of the Fathers....

, who replaced Newman as editor after Newman converted to Roman Catholicism, and who "shouldered the greatest part of the editorial burden from 1845 to 1853".
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