Patrology
A Clarification of Terms
As noted earlier, the term “early Christian theology” is now used increasingly to refer to the period between c.100 and 451. Older textbooks use the term “patristic” to refer to this field of studies. The term “patristic” comes from the Latin word pater, meaning “father,” and designates both the period of the church fathers and the distinctive ideas that came to develop within this period. The term is non-inclusive; no generally acceptable inclusive term has yet to emerge in the literature, although there is a growing tendency to refer to this as the “early Christian period.” The following related terms are frequently encountered and should be noted.
The Patristic Period
This is a vaguely defined entity, which is often taken to designate the period from the closing of the New Testament writings (c.100) to the definitive Council of Chalcedon (451).
Patristics
This term is usually understood to mean the branch of theological study that deals with the study of “the fathers (patres).” It is now being displaced by the alternative term “early Christian theology.”
Patrology
This term once literally meant “the study of patristic writers” (in much the same way as “theology” meant “the study of God (theos)).” Many now use the phrase “early Christian theology” to refer to this field of studies. In recent years, the word “patrology” has shifted its meaning. It now refers to a manual of patristic literature, such as the four-volume work Patrology by the noted German scholar Johannes Quasten (1900–1987). This work allows its readers easy access to the leading ideas of early Christian writers, and introduces and assesses some of the problems of interpretation associated with them.