d.jpg

Resources and Links

Manuscripts

Digitized images, online catalogues, and more

Texts & Translations

Series of critical editions and English translations of patristic works

Research Projects

Learn about the latest research in Early Christian, Late Antique, and Byzantine Studies

Study Tools

Find databases, resources, websites, and other study tools online

d.jpg

Pinakes (Institut de recherche et d'histoire des textes)
A comprehensive database of information on Greek manuscripts.
This site will provide you with records such as this one, of Parisinus gr. 1171, a patristic miscellany.

Digitized Greek Manuscripts (Princeton University Library)
Find any digitized manuscript from any library to view online

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
Browse New Testament manuscripts and learn about the digitization of texts

Pyle - A Gateway to Greek Manuscripts
Catalogues, facsimiles, and teaching tools. Click here for the Pyle blog.

Browse different collections

Mount Athos Repository
Digitized manuscripts from the monasteries of Mt. Athos

Vatican Library
View digitized manuscripts in the Vatican Library

British Library
View and search digitized manuscripts in the British Library

Leipzig University Library
View Greek manuscripts from the Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig

Munich Manuscripts, Bavarian State Library (BSB)
Browse digitized manuscripts from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

Manuscripts of Interest

Codex Sinaiticus (The Codex Sinaiticus Project)
View this ancient manuscript of the Bible online and learn about its digitization

Vaticanus graecus 2200 (patristic texts)
An early attempt at Greek cursive. For the manuscript record, click here.

Catena of Niketas of Herakleia (Vat. gr. 1611)
Twelfth-century catena of patristic commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke. For the manuscript record, click here.

Angelicus graecus 120 (St. Maximos)
Arguably one of the most important manuscripts of the writings of St. Maximos the Confessor. For the manuscript record, click here.

Menologion of Basil II (Vat. gr. 1613)
The famous illuminated manuscript containing more than 400 ornate miniatures accompanying short notices of saints' lives.

 
 
 
 
 

Texts and Translations

Databases of Texts

Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) (subscription required)
A comprehensive, searchable database of all extant Greek literature from antiquity

Acta Sanctorum Full Text Database (subscription required)
Contains the complete Acta Sanctorum (material on the lives of saints organized by the saint's feast day) including all prefatory material, original texts, apparatus, and indices.

Perseus Digital Library
Open-access texts from antiquity and lexical aids.

Series of Critical Editions

Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum (ACO)
The Acta of the Ecumenical Councils and other important Church councils of antiquity, originally edited by E. Schwartz and published by De Gruyter (Berlin). For a very useful overview, see the 'Fourth Century Christianity' site of Dr. Glen Thompson here.

Athanasius Werke
Critical editions of the writings of St. Athanasios of Alexandria published by De Gruyter (Berlin).

Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca (CCSG)
Published by Brepols (Leuven), the CCSG began publishing patristic texts in 1977 to fill in the gaps and deficiencies of PG (Migne). There have been nearly 90 volumes published to date, including a series of the works of Gregory Nazianzen (the Corpus Nazianzenum). It will also be the home of the subseries Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus (on this project, see below).

Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller (GCS)
A series of editions of mostly pre-Nicene authors, founded by Adolf Harnack and Theodor Mommsen in 1891 and now published by De Gruyter (Berlin). Many of the volumes are available online. They are complemented by a monograph series, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur (TU), many volumes of which can also be found online.

Patrologia Orientalis (PO)
Designed to supplement PG and PL (Migne), PO (published by Brepols) focuses on editions of Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Coptic, Ge'ez, Georgian, and Slavonic texts, though PO 72 (1920) includes Byzantine texts relating to the Council of Florence (St. Mark Eugenikos and Bessarion of Nicaea).

Patristische Texte und Studien (PTS)
Published since 1963 by De Gruyter (Berlin), PTS is a series of editions, commentaries, and monographs on patristic texts. Among its most prominent editions are the writings of St. John of Damaskos. 

Monuments of Early Patristic Scholarship

Patrologia Graeca (Migne)
The classic collection of early editions is available in a number of places online, e.g., here, here, and here.

Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova Amplissima Collectio (Mansi)
The predecessor to the ACO, containing many more conciliar texts up to the modern period.

Early Editions and Incunabula

Opera S. Dionysii Areopagitae, ed. Corderius 1634 (editio princeps)
The first printed edition of the writings of St Dionysios the Areopagite by the Jesuit Balthasar Corderius (Antwerp)

S. Maximi Confessoris Opera, vols. I and II, ed. Combefis 1675 (editio princeps)
The first edition of the complete writings St Maximos the Confessor (only two of the three volumes were printed) by the Dominican François Combefis (Paris). Click here to read more about Combefis.

Texts with Translations

Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library
Extends the Loeb Classical Library by providing facing-page translations of Byzantine texts.

Loeb Classical Library (LCL)
Founded in 1911 and published by Harvard University, the LCL is a classic and extensive collection of Greek and Latin literature, both pagan and Christian, with facing-page translations in English.

Sources Chrétiennes (SC)
Founded in 1942 by Jean Daniélou, Claude Mondésert, and Henri de Lubac, of the Nouvelle théologie movement, SC features hundreds of editions of both Greek and Latin patristic texts with a facing French translation. Published in Paris by Les Éditions du Cerf.

Translation Series

Fathers of the Church (CUA Press)
A voluminous collection, now featuring a series of Shorter Works

Ancient Christian Writers (Paulist Press)
Seventy titles ranging from Origen to Julian of Toledo

Oxford Early Christian Texts
This series features original language editions with facing English translation

Corpus Christianorum in Translation
Based on the CCSG editions (not exclusively in English)

Popular Patristics Series (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)
Formerly edited by Fr. John Behr, now under the direction of Fr. Bogan Bucur

Translated Texts for Historians (Liverpool University Press)
Includes patristic texts and the Acts of the Ecumenical Councils

Translated Texts for Byzantinists (Liverpool University Press)
Includes saints' lives, the writings of St. Gregory Palamas, and other theological texts

Ancient Christian Texts (InterVarsity Press)
Full-length patristic texts from the people who brought you the Ancient Christian Commentary series

Find Translations Online

Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
This classic series of English translations is available in a number of places online, e.g. here and here.

Early Church Fathers (Roger Pearse)
Out of copyright English translations not included in ANF and NPNF. Includes Origen, Eusebius, Ephrem, Cyril of Alexandria and many others.

Internet Medieval Sourcebook (Fordham University)
A massive collection of online translations, including everything from Egeria and the Rule of St. Benedict to Anna Komneni's Alexiad.

Greek Liturgical Books

Electronic Catalog (Downloads) of Printed Liturgical Books
The Ponomar Project in this catalog has linked more than twenty-five liturgical books, from Goar's Euchologion to a number of printed Horologia, Menaia, and editions of the Octoechos, etc., containing the hymnography and compositions of Church Fathers like Romanos the Melodist, Andrew of Crete, John of Damaskos, Joseph the Hymnographer, and many more. The links and titles correspond to the liturgical books indexed in H. Follieri's Initia hymnorum Ecclesiae Graecae, 5 vols. (Rome: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1960-1966), which is also available for download on the site.

Greek Liturgical Texts (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese)
A comprehensive HTML library of Greek Orthodox liturgical texts, service books, prayers, and hymnography, much of which derives from patristic and Byzantine authors (the Menaia, Octoechos, Triodion, Pentecostarion, Horologion, and Euchologion).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Research Projects

Ephrem Graecus Project (The Pappas Patristic Institute)
Studying and translating the extensive Greek writings attributed to St. Ephrem the Syrian

Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams (Ghent University)
Search and read medieval Greek book epigrams and learn about the people who wrote them

Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus
A collaborative project to edit and study the Byzantine reception of Thomas Aquinas

Projet 'Pseudo-Chrysostomica' (Hypotheses)
A research project dedicated to the massive corpus of texts attributed to St. John Chrysostom

Repertorium Auctorum Polemicorum (RAP) (Ca'Foscari, Venice)
Headed by Alessandra Bucossi and Marie-Hélène Blanchet, RAP is a research project entirely dedicated to cataloguing Byzantine polemical literature for and against the Latin Church in the 9th-13th centuries. The goal is to publish the first online repertorium on the subject, integrated into the Pinakes database (see above). There is currently no website, but you can read about the project here.
 
Byzantium and Beyond (Austrian Academy of Sciences Institute for Medieval Research) (IMAFO)
Highlights the cultural significance of Byzantium within the context of the global middle ages. Subprojects include 'Transmissions: Greek, Syriac, and Arabic,' 'Moving Byzantium,' and 'The Byzantine Heritage.'
 
Euchologia Project (IMAFO)
Devoted to the study of Greek prayer books as a source for understanding daily life and social history in Byzantium.
 
Priests, Books, and the Library at St. Catherine's, Sinai (IMAFO)
Devoted to the study of the 80 Euchologia from various parts of the Greek-speaking world held at Sinai. Affiliated with the Euchologia Project.

Beyond Canon: Heterotopias of Religious Authority in Ancient Christianity (Regensburg)
Part of the Centre for Advanced Studies at the Universität Regensburg, the Beyond CRG focuses on literary traditions beyond the biblical canon (understood as heterotopias, i.e. as “effective spaces,” serving as “abutments” in late ancient Christianity), on their diverse, often material forms of expression and starting points in “lived” and “popular” religion, and on their underestimated significance in the ritual life of the churches. 

Novum Testamentum Patristicum
The Novum Testamentum Patristicum (NTP) aims to explore the reception and various interpretations of the texts of the Christian Scriptures in the early Christian and late Roman eras. The main focus is on the creation of a comprehensive commentary, divided into forty-five volumes, which will provide a verse-by-verse commentary on the Patristic reception of each scripture passage. Interdisciplinary topics will also be explored via research symposia and relevant publications. The NTP group consists of approximately thirty scholars from different countries, disciplines and confessions.
 
The Making of the Byzantine Ascetical Canon: Monastic Networks, Literacy and Religious Authority in Palestine and Sinai (7th-11th centuries)
Investigates the role played by the multilingual Christian monastic communities of Early Islamic Palestine and Sinai (7th-11th centuries CE) in the formation of the Byzantine literary canon of ascetic works. There is no website for this project, but you can read it about on the website of the European Commission here.

Mount Athos in Medieval Eastern Mediterranean Society: Contextualizing the History of a Monastic Republic (ca. 850-1550)
A research project to analyse the role the monastic communities on Mount Athos played in the medieval society of the Eastern Mediterranean. The EU-funded MAMEMS project will study how this monastic republic was intimately connected with the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox principalities of the Balkans and Caucasus, South Italy, as well as the Ottoman Empire. The project will draw on a database containing information about every monk to have ever resided on the Holy Mountain, as well as every Athonite benefactor and each visitor between 850 and 1550. Click here for more information.

Polycentricity and Plurality of Premodern Christianities (circa 700–1800 CE)
Goethe University, Frankfurt. The purpose of the POLY research group, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, is twofold. First, we aim to facilitate and support comparative interdisciplinary research into preindustrial or premodern Christianities around the globe. Second, we will investigate the ways in which dynamic plurality works as a driving force of change across and within communities of belief. Our primary goal is to decentralise religious history before 1800. We will also historicize and question the unitary and universalist self-images nurtured by institutional churches, as well as the corresponding models of religious culture or transformation found in modern scholarship.

 
Research Centers

Το Πατριαρχικό Ίδρυμα Πατερικών Μελετών
 The Patriarchal Foundation for Patristic Studies at the historic Vlatadon Monastery in Thessaloniki, Greeces

Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik (Universität Wien)
Founded by Herbert Hunger in 1962, the Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies is devoted to the study of all aspects of Byzantine culture from Late Antiquity to the modern period. Through the work of A.E. Müller, Claudia Rapp, and others, the Institute oversees the Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik (JÖB).

The Louvain Center for Eastern and Oriental Christianity
The Center exists to promote the study of the Christian Orient and thus extends the legacy of such famous names as Jean-Baptiste Abbeloos, Thomas-Joseph Lamy, Joseph Lebon, Louis Théophile Lefort, and Joseph Muyldermans, specialists in the field of Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian studies.

The Netherlands Center for the Study of Early Christianity
The NCSEC is supported by the Faculty of Religion and Theology (FRT) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Tilburg School of Catholic Theology. The directors are Dr. Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte (VU) and Dr. Bart Koet (TST).  The research institute is the successor of the Center for Patristic Studies (CPO), founded in 2008 on the initiative of Dr. Paul van Geest (TST).

The Elizabeth A. Clark Center for Late Ancient Studies at Duke University
EAC-CLAS seeks to promote the interdisciplinary study of the culture of the Roman Empire, its neighbors and successors, from the second to the eighth century. The Center was formally established in 2000, as a successor to the Late Ancient Studies Forum. In addition to its annual lecture series, the Center is active in creating and maintaining reading and discussion groups at Duke University as well as in arranging conferences.

Center for the Study of Christian Origins (Edinburgh)
The Centre for the Study of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh (New College) is a collection of scholars committed to the study of early Christianity and the world that it was born in. Their interests range from New Testament studies to Patristics, to the world of Late Antiquity, and many of our members have specializations within these fields. More than that, they are interested in encouraging and supporting study in these areas and put on a range of conferences and seminars to this end.

The Centre for the Study of Greek and Roman Antiquity (Corpus Christi College, Oxford)
The Centre was set up in 1993 as a focus for the College's various postgraduate activities in classical research. The Centre consists of Senior Members (all Corpus Fellows and lecturers with classical interests), Members (all classical graduates at Corpus  Visiting Members), Short-term visiting graduates and academics, Associate Members (Classical scholars who are not members of the college but who maintain a close relationship with the Centre). The Centre organises the Corpus Christi Classical Seminar Series in Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity Terms each year, conferences, one-off lectures and occasional social events.

The North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature (NASSCAL)
Founded in 2014. The Society is currently involved in the e-Clavis database of apocryphal texts and resources and the 'Early Christian Apocrypha' series of pocket-size editions, published in conjunction with the Westar Texts and Translation Series. 

Mеждународный институт афонского наследия (International Institute of the Athonite Legacy)
A very active center devoted to the study of the spiritual and cultural heritage of Mt Athos in Central and Eastern Europe. Involved in publishing and the organization of conferences. Among its projects is afonit.info, dedicated to the connection between Russia and the Holy Mountain.

Center for the Study of Early Christian Texts (Concordia Seminary, St. Louis)
Concordia Seminary’s Center for the Study of Early Christian Texts (C-SECT) aims to acquaint the church with the early Church Fathers and their contribution to Christianity. It is directed by Joel Elowsky, editor of the Biblical Commentaries published by InterVarsity Press.

Center for Ancient Christian Studies
Founded by Dr. Coleman Ford to be an Evangelical Protestant voice in the academic study of Ancient Christianity, the CACS boasts a Fellows program, an annual symposium, and publishes the journal Fides et Humilitas. 

Center for Early African Christianity
Founded by Thomas Oden, CEAC is a center for collaborative research and education on the depth of African intellectual literary achievements, especially those from the Christian tradition of the first millennium. 

Istanbul Research Center
A source of funding, research, exhibitions, publications, and events related to the city of Constantinople and its cultures, including Byzantine Studies.

Scholarly Associations

North American Patristics Society (NAPS)
Produces the Journal of Early Christian Studies and hosts an annual meeting of patristic scholars.
 
International Association of Byzantine Studies (AIEB)
Established in 1948, the AIEB brings together the National Committees of Byzantine Studies of member countries around the world. It is responsible for the International Congress of Byzantine Studies held every five years. Their site hosts a 'List of Editions and Translations in Progress' as well as a very useful newsletter.

Digital Medievalist
An international web-based community for medievalists working with digital media, established in 2003 to help scholars meet the increasingly sophisticated demands faced by designers of contemporary digital projects; publishes an open access journal, sponsors conference sessions, and runs an email discussion list.
 
Academic Journals
This section of the webpage is coming soon.

Open-Access Scholarship and Journals
 
The Byzantine Review
An open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes reviews of new publications and short articles from all areas of Byzantine studies.
 
Parekbolai
An electronic journal for Byzantine Literature, including papers of relevance for theology.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Study Tools

Bibliographies and Research Aids

Syri.ac
A comprehensive, annotated, open-access bibliography of Syriac resources online. Features a database of digitized Syriac manuscripts, a table of editions and translations of Syriac texts in progress, a survey of editions of Syriac Bibles and much more.

Monastica
Developed by the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Monastica is an open-access digital platform for research and scholarly sharing on the transmission of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers in Greek, Latin, Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Georgian, Slaovnic, and Syriac.

L’Année philologique (APh)
L’Année philologique (usually available through academic libraries) is published by the Société Internationale de Bibliographie Classique. It is a specialized bibliographic database of scholarly works relating to all aspects of Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, including Early Christian and patristic scholarship. The bibliography is published in print and online. The online database includes all volumes of the annual index, beginning with Volume I published in 1928.

Other Databases and Catalogs

Online Catalogue of Byzantine Coins (Dumbarton Oaks)
This catalog supplements the print catalog of Dumbarton Oaks' more than 12,000 coins.
 
People of the Ancient and Medieval World

Prosopography of the Byzantine World
Learn about the individuals and personages who lived in Byzantium from 1025-1180

Places of the Ancient and Medieval World

Tabula Imperii Romani
Digital map of the Roman world. Archaeological sites, toponymy, and cartographical data.

Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
Developed and run by Johan Åhlfeldt of the Centre for Digital Humanities at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Pleiades
Online gazetteer and graph of ancient places. It publishes authoritative information about ancient places and spaces, providing unique services for finding, displaying, and reusing that information under open license.

Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations
Harvard University 'Mapping Past Societies'

Digital Corpus of Early Christian Churches and Monasteries in the Holy Land
Project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology.

Open-Access Encyclopedias and Reference Works
 
Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online
Intended to bridge the gap between the fields of New Testament studies and patristics, covering the whole period of early Christianity up to AD 600; aims to provide a critical review of the methods used in Early Christian Studies and to update the historiography.
 
Digital Humanities

EpiDoc: Epigraphic Documents in TEI XML
EpiDoc provides guidelines and tools for encoding scholarly and educational editions of ancient documents. It uses a subset of the TEI's standard for the representation of texts in digital form and was developed initially for the publication of digital editions of ancient inscriptions (e.g. Inscriptions of Aphrodisias, Vindolanda Tablets). Its domain has expanded to include the publication of papyri and manuscripts (e.g. Papyri.info). It addresses not only the transcription and editorial treatment of texts themselves, but also the history and materiality of the objects on which the texts appear (i.e., manuscripts, monuments, tablets, papyri, and other text-bearing objects).

Sites devoted to Specific Church Fathers

Thesaurus Linguae Maximi Confessoris
The TLMC provides a synoptic view of the word usage in the most popular writings of St. Maximus the Confessor. It is an exhaustive word forms index to the modern editions.
 
Evagrius (Luke Dysinger)
Greek text and translations of the writings of Evagrius

Guide to Evagrius Ponticus (Joel Kalvesmaki)
Includes an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources
 
Lexica and Dictionaries

Lexikon zur Byzantinischen Gräzität (LBG)
Online dictionary of Byzantine Greek

Greek Lexica Online
Open-access lexica available from the TLG

Diccionario Griego-Español
Digital edition of the seven published volumes of the Greek-Spanish Dictionary (DGE), which so far cover α - ἔξαυος.

Medieval Greek Dictionary (Kriaras)
Abridged Dictionary of Medieval Vulgar Greek Literature (1100-1669), from α - παραθήκη

Bible

Rahlf's Septuagint Online
The Greek Old Testament, presented by the German Bible Society

Nestle-Aland 28 (Novum Testamentum Graece)
The critical text of the New Testament, presented by the German Bible Society

The Septuagint (Apostoliki Diakonia)
The Old Testament according to the text of the Church of Greece

The New Testament (Apostoliki Diakonia)
The New Testament according to the text of the Church of Greece

Vulgata Clementina (The Clementine Vulgate)
Tridentine edition of St. Jerome's Latin Version of the Old and New Testaments
 
Resources for the Study of Ancient Greek

Handouts for Studying Greek
Webpage of Helma Dik, Associate Professor of Classics at UChicago

Ancient Greek Tutorials (UCBerkeley)
Paradigms, drills, and practice for mastering ancient Greek grammar