Epistolary Prayer in the Apostolic Fathers

This book examines the prayer texts in the collection of ancient documents known as the Apostolic Fathers, written during the early second century. The book begins with an overview of the Apostolic Fathers and of the prayers found therein. Appendices include every prayer passage in the nine documents. The core of the book explores the function of prayer in the letters of the collection (1 Clement, The Letter of Ignatius, Polycarp to the Philippians, and the Martyrdom of Polycarp). Each letter includes an introduction (authorship, date, form, genre, sources, purpose, and theme), followed by a brief commentary on every prayer passage. The prayers are categorized by type: benedictions, doxologies, exhortations to prayer, petitions, prayer-reports, wish prayers, and references to the practice of prayer. The book closes with a brief summary of the function of epistolary prayer in the Apostolic Fathers.