The Library
1577 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.
1–100
1 work
c. 96
Greek
Clement of Rome · d. c. 99
A letter from the church at Rome to the church at Corinth, which had deposed its presbyters. Clement argues from creation, from Israel's history, and from the apostles that the Christian community is ordered rather than improvised, and pleads with the ringleaders to step aside for the sake of peace.
201–300
2 works
251
Latin
De Unitate Ecclesiae
Cyprian of Carthage · c. 210–258
Written during a schism over how to receive Christians who had lapsed under persecution. Cyprian argues that the church's unity is not an aspiration but a given, and that a bishop who breaks from it takes nothing with him.
256
Latin
De Bono Patientiae
Cyprian of Carthage · c. 210–258
Written while the rebaptism quarrel was at its most bitter, commending patience as the virtue that holds a divided church together, and taking Tertullian's treatise as its starting point.
1201–1300
1 work
1260–1263
Latin
Bonaventure · 1221–1274
A life of Francis written by the order's minister general to settle its internal quarrels, presenting him as a figure of contemplative ascent rather than of dispute.
1401–1500
1 work
1409
Latin
Jean Gerson · 1363–1429
An argument that the church may act to heal itself when the papacy will not, since the church exists for the salvation of souls and not for the convenience of its officers.
5 of 1577 works