Читать книгу Second Clement - William Varner - Страница 8

I developed an academic interest in the Apostolic Fathers by exposure to the Greek texts of the Didache and Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians during courses that I taught on translating various Koine Greek texts. This interest eventually developed into a commentary on the Didache that was published in 2007.31 Because of my special interest in texts that are often overlooked, my initial interest in 2 Clement was based on the fact that far more attention has been given to its larger “sister,” 1 Clement, in the scholarly literature. A significant amount of secondary literature has developed on many of the other individual works that are styled “Apostolic Fathers,” especially the Didache and 1 Clement. This is not the situation with 2 Clement. This commentary addresses this lack of attention and hopefully provides an introduction to 2 Clement that will help rescue it from its shadows of neglect. I have sought to interact with everything to my knowledge that has been written in English on 2 Clement, and I have consulted a representative selection of secondary literature written in German.

I would like to thank those classes that worked through the Greek text of 2 Clement with me in the last few years. My thanks are also to The Master’s University for a sabbatical in the spring of 2019, when most of the writing of this commentary took place. Further gratitude is offered to the staff of the library for offering a quiet place to research and write and for providing the resources to finish such a project. Students Jeremiah Seidman and Brent Niedergall also provided valuable proofreading of the manuscript. I have cited the magisterial commentary on 2 Clement by Christopher Tuckett more than any other work, and he has been a fruitful dialogue-partner on every chapter, even when we disagreed! Finally, Professor James A. Kelhoffer took time from his own research on 2 Clement to share with me his articles on the book. He has greatly influenced my approach while writing this commentary.

I come from an ecclesial tradition that has not always shown a deep interest in early Christian literature beyond those works that came to be included in the New Testament. I offer my thanks to the editors of this series of commentaries for seeing the importance of such literature and for their patience and diligence in walking me through the editing process. I extend my special thanks to Professor Daniel Wallace also, whose interest in preserving the written texts of the New Testament and Christian literature has always provided me with encouragement likewise to study and to preserve this great literary heritage of early Christianity. My wife, Helen, has supported my interest in the Didache and 2 Clement with patience beyond what I could expect.

William Varner

Santa Clarita, California

Pentecost, 2020

31. Varner, Way of the Didache.