Ante-Nicene Fathers - Publication

Publication

The series was originally published between 1867 and 1873 by the Presbyterian publishing house T. & T. Clark in Edinburgh under the title Ante-Nicene Christian Library, as a response to the Oxford movement's Library of the Fathers which was perceived as too Roman Catholic. The volumes were edited by Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. This series was available by subscription but the editors were unable to interest enough subscribers to commission a translation of the homilies of Origen.

In 1885 a US firm, the Christian Literature Company, first of Buffalo, then New York, began to issue the volumes in a reorganised form, edited by the episcopalian bishop of New York, A. Cleveland Coxe. Coxe gave his "new" series the title: The Ante-Nicene Fathers.

In 1896, the American edition/revision was complete. In 1897, the volume 9 of this one which contained new translations, was published by T. & T. Clark as an additional volume to complete the original ANCL.

Apart of this volume 9, the contents entirely derived thus from the ANCL, but in a more chronological order. However Coxe took the liberty to add his own introductions and notes, which were criticised by many academic authories as well as Roman Catholic reviewers.

Surely convinced by the commercial success of the cheaper American version/revision of the ANCL - although of lesser quality on some minor points - the T. & T. Clark get associated with the Christian Literature Company and with others American editors for the publication of sequel: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.