Fragments of Christianity: Fragmentary Witnesses to Early Christian Liturgies, Hymns, Homilies, and Prayers

by Rick Brannan

Publisher:

Appian Way Press

, 2021

Overview

What were early Christians like? How did they worship? How did they pray? How did they preach? Brannan sifted through volumes of papyrological evidence to provide transcriptions and translations of examples of prayers, homilies, hymns, liturgies, and theological treatises, each with an introduction and brief discussion. These fragmentary examples of Christian material provide a link to the people who created them and who practiced their religion with them. They are direct evidence of the practice of Christianity. They date from as early as the second century through the fifth century. These papyri provide a glimpse into the lives and practice of early Christians.

Key Features

• Explores the prayers, homilies, hymns, liturgies, and theological treatises
• Includes an introduction and brief discussion for each fragment
• Provides a link to the people who created them and who practiced their religion with them

Product Details

• Title: Fragments of Christianity: Fragmentary Witnesses to Early Christian Liturgies, Hymns, Homilies, and Prayers
• Author: Rick Brannan
• Publisher: Appian Way Press
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 202
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Early Christian liturgy; Greek sermons › 30-600 (Early Church); The Catholic Church › Hymns--History and criticism; Early Christian prayers
• Resource ID: LLS:FRGMNTSCHRPRYRS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2026-06-08T20:16:45Z

About Rick Brannan

Rick Brannan is the Principal Data Architect of the Bible Aquifer, an openly-licensed repository of biblical resources available in several languages of wider communication (LWCs). The Bible Aquifer directly supports church-based groups translating the Bible into minority languages. He and his family live in Bellingham, Washington. Rick’s academic work spans Bible translation, early Christian literature, and Greek textual studies. He served as Managing Editor of the Lexham English Septuagint and was a key contributor to both the Lexham English Bible and The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. He has translated the writings of the Apostolic Fathers and authored Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments, and Agrapha, an introduction and translation of the apocryphal gospels.

His most recent book, Fragments of Christianity: Fragmentary Witnesses to Early Christian Liturgies, Hymns, Homilies, and Prayers, presents transcriptions, translations, and introductions to thirty early Christian papyri. He is currently writing the Shepherd of Hermas volume for the Baylor Handbook of the Apostolic Fathers and co-editing a forthcoming Lexham Press collection of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha in translation.

Through his independent imprint, Appian Way Press, Rick also explores the use of machine learning and machine translation to make early Christian writings accessible in modern English. Titles published there include the Appian Way Greek Readers series (such as First Apocryphal Apocalypse of John and Acts of Pilate and the Descent of Christ to Hades), new translations like the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, and works of the early church such as Eusebius’s Preparation for the Gospel.