Description
This is a comparative study in the language of the Greek Fathers with the purpose of discerning differences and similarities in vocabulary and literary styles as they appear in selective Christian writings of the first four centuries of the Christian Era. Excerpts from classical, New Testament, Septuagint, and patristic texts are used as points of reference for the study of the development of Greek forms of diction and for an in-depth understanding of the texts under consideration. The study of the texts is done using the tools of classical philology. Selective excerpts from the writings of the early Apologists and the Cappadocian Fathers are studied with concentration on the writings of St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Athanasios, and Cyril of Alexandria.