Forgotten Early Church Fathers?

[Charles Purrgeon]

Hi,

Does anyone know of a list of forgotten/lesser known early church fathers? Perhaps ones without a large body of work, or ones that have been largely looked over in terms of church history and historians/scholars? Any resources at all would be helpful. Thank you.

 

[CasualWestminsterEnjoyer]

My recommendation would be to look over a list of all the church fathers, and to see which ones you haven't heard of. It is likely to be more than half.
All the Latin fathers are listed here, and all the Greek fathers here.

 

[Regi Addictissimus]

Hi,

Does anyone know of a list of forgotten/lesser known early church fathers? Perhaps ones without a large body of work, or ones that have been largely looked over in terms of church history and historians/scholars? Any resources at all would be helpful. Thank you.

What is the context of this question? IVP's Ancient Christian Doctrine is an excellent resource to dive into Patristic writings. Popular Patristics is also a great introductory series.

 

[RamistThomist]

Forgotten in reference to what? If they are found in any church history list, then they aren't forgotten. On the other hand, one could say that some are underappreciated and some are overappreciated. That could be a legitimate exercise.

 

[CasualWestminsterEnjoyer]

Here are some I think are underappreciated:
Theodoret of Cyrus. Very learned, and one of the best patristic bible commentators. Amandus Polanus references his Cure for Greek Affections constantly.
Hervé de Bourg-Dieu. One of the most talented pre-reformation commentators. He discarded medieval readings of many NT passages in favor of proto-protestant ones, including a reading of Romans favoring the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and a reading of 2 Thes. 2 teaching that the Pope would become the Antichrist "when he abandoned the gospel."
Jerome. A good bible commentator.
Bede. A talented preacher, and one of the most learned men of his day.

 

[TheInquirer]

On the other hand, one could say that some are underappreciated and some are overappreciated. That could be a legitimate exercise.

Not having read much of them at all, I'd definitely be interested in opinions on that adding to what Charles has already given.