I'm looking for a dictionary that will cover people, places, and theological terms geared to a high school graduate just starting to read the early Church Fathers/writers/heretics … Any suggestions?
Depends on what you mean by early? And if it needs to reflect a tradition(s).
Old but good, Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (in-depth for a question in the Fathers).
Or lighter, Pocket Dictionary of Church History.
Out of pure curiosity, I copied your exact words and tossed them into Logos AI Smart Search, and it spat out a pretty interesting response!
It suggested A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs by David W. Bercot, which covers over 700 topics from the Church Fathers—sounds like a solid fit for a beginner. Then there’s the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church for a broad overview, and the Encyclopedia of Early Christianity for a deeper dive (it’s a two-volume beast!). For something more concise, it mentioned John Farrar’s Ecclesiastical Dictionary and the Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines by Smith and Wace for patristic details. It did note you might need to mix a few of these to cover people, places, and theology at a high school grad level. Honestly, I was surprised by how thorough the answer was, but I’m not 100% sure if it’s spot-on for what the graduates need.
