The volumes of Jacques Paul Migne’s Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca form the largest collection ever published of the extant writings of the ante-Nicene Greek Fathers of the Early Church—serving not only as the translation base for Philip Schaff’s Early Church Fathers, but also as the bedrock of theological and historical studies of the Early Church. The first piece of the Logos edition of the Patrologia Graeca represents the first 18 volumes (20 volumes in print) of the entire 161-volume set, roughly covering the ante-Nicene Fathers (pre-fourth century, prior to the epoch-marking Council of Nicaea). These volumes include the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, the post-Apostolic Fathers, apologists, and other ante-Nicene Fathers.
Between the years of 1857 and 1866, an industrious French monk, the abbé Jacques Paul Migne, published the 161 volumes that make up the Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca, roughly translated “Complete Course on Patrology, Greek Series,” and commonly referred to as “Patrologia Graeca” (PG). These volumes contain much of the available extant witness in Greek to the writings of the Fathers of the early church. Each volume of the Patrologia Graeca contains not only Greek editions of writings of the Fathers, but also includes lengthy dissertations, introductions, and other supplementary material. Many editions even contain notes on textual variants found among other manuscripts, along with explanatory material written in Latin.
The 38-volume edition of the Early Church Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff, used many of the Patrologia Graeca volumes as translation base, but Patrologia Graeca contains many works of the Church Fathers not translated by Schaff and not available in English. Where material is in common between Early Church Fathers and Patrologia Graeca, the Patrologia Graeca encodes links to Early Church Fathers, allowing access to an English translation for those who have the Logos edition of the Early Church Fathers.
