The Christian Classics Ethereal Liberay (CCEL) is a digital library which offers the service of free copies of various Christian scripture and writings of the Church Fathers. CCEL promotes their use for edification and study by interested Christians, seekers and scholars. CCEL is currently supported by Calvin College.
This website is very useful to Orthodox Christians since it contains the writings of the Church Fathers. While the Bible is extremely valuable as the written record of God's Revelation, it does not contain the full record of that Revelation in its entirety. To put things simply, John 21:25 states that "... there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." Many of these other things that our Lord did and said did not make it into the New Testament writings and remained oral Tradition. The Fathers, in many parts of their writings, greatly incorporated a lot of that oral Tradition into their writings as means to clarify and interpret the Bible or to present a teaching about the Holy Trinity etc. This is why the writings of the Church Fathers are very important to us as Orthodox Christians.
- The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
- The Second Epistle of Clement
- The Epistle to Diognetus
- The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
- The Martyrdom of Polycarp
The Epistles of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch
- The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians
- The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians
- The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians
- The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans
- The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians
- The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans
- The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp
- Alternative versions of St. Ignatius Translated from Syriac
THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS
The Writings of St. Justin Martyr
- The First Apology of Justin
- The Second Apology of Justin
- Dialogue of Justin to Trypho
- Justin's Hortatory Address to the Greeks
- Justin on the Sole Government of God
- Fragments of the Lost Work of Justin on the Resurrection
- Other Fragments from the Lost Writings of Justin
- The Martyrdom of the St. Justin
The Writings of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons
Against Heresies
The Shepherd of Hermas
First Book-Visions
Second Book-Commandments
- Commandment First
- Commandment Second
- Commandment Third
- Commandment Fourth
- Commandment Fifth
- Commandment Sixth
- Commandment Seventh
- Commandment Eighth
- Commandment Ninth
- Commandment Tenth
- Commandment Eleventh
- Commandment Twelfth
Third Book-Similitudes
- Similitude First
- Similitude Second
- Similitude Third
- Similitude Fourth
- Similitude Fifth
- Similitude Sixth
- Similitude Seventh
- Similitude Eighth
- Similitude Ninth
- Similitude Tenth
Tatian the Assyrian
Theophilus of Antioch
Athenagoras
Clement of Alexandra
Fragments of Clemens Alexandrinus
Who is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved?
The Writings of Minucius Felix and Origen