At the center of contemporary interest in Late Antiquity is the dramatic spread and development of Christianity. This collection of sixteen essays explores early Christianity by examining its architecture, its scriptures, and the writings of its eminent historians, apologists, monastic leaders, and theologians. Greek authors such as Origen, Athanasius, and Eusebius are studied, but also Latin authors from the Western part of the empire, such as Jerome and Augustine. The volume includes major studies by established scholars such as W. H. C. Frend and Robert F. Taft, S.J., as well as important new studies by younger scholars.
Ordained in the Society of Jesus in 1956, Fredric W. Schlatter has taught classical languages and ancient history at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, for over 40 years, holding the Powers Professor of Humanities Chair from 1983 to 1997. His research, which has appeared in 'Vigiliae Christianae, The Journal of Early Christian Studies', and elsewhere, has focussed on early Christian texts and art.