One of the difficulties of Patristics as a field is that there are not many journals, and it is not necessarily so easy to get a sense of what journals there are. Certainly, compared to say New Testament studies, it is difficult.

In this post I have tried to compile an annotated list of journals that I’m aware of in the field. I would welcome your input to improve and expand this post into a useful resource for those entering the field. So please let me know what I’ve missed, and any details I should add.

 

Journal of Early Christian Studies

JECS is the official journal of the North American Patristics Society, and is one of the premier journals that focuses on the area of Patristics. It is published quaterly by John Hopkins University Press. Submission Guidelines here, and Editorial board here.

Vigiliae Christianae

Is the other flagship English-language journal for the field. It is published by Brill, and accepts articles in English, French, or German.

*Studia Patristica

Studia Patristica is something of a Hybrid. Since 1955 it has published conference papers from the four-yearly Oxford Patristics conference, but those papers are peer-reviewed, so it is not exactly ‘conference proceedings’ simpliciter. It is published by Peeters. A companion imprint, Studia Patristica Supplements, publishes monographs in the field.

Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum (Journal of Ancient Christianity)

A tri-annual published by De Gruyter, with articles in German, English, French, or Italian. A particular focus on interdisciplinary work on Christianity in Antiquity.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Published by Cambridge University Press, a quarterly that is very highly regarded. Article length no longer than 8000 words. The scope of the journal is not strictly limited to Late Antiquity, but the breadth of Church History.

Church History

Put out quarterly by the American Society of Church History, but published by CUP, this is more or less the US equivalent to the Journal of Ecclesiastical History (see above). Submission details can be found from this page. Article length is 6-11,000 words, so on the longer end of journal submissions.

Journal of Theological Studies

Published by Oxford University Press, twice a year. Has a fairly broad scope. Length of article is also is quite broad too

Journal of Roman Studies

JRS is another Cambridge publication. Its focus is less from the theological slant, but its diverse focus on Roman history and Latin literature provides some scope for Patristics.

American Benedictine Review

A quarterly published by the American Benedicitine Review..

Harvard Theological Review

HTR is published quarterly, also handled by CUP on behalf of Harvard. Significantly, they will not accept articles that “will likely be published as part of a book within the next three years or so”, so not a place for articles that will turn into chapters. On the other hand, their OA policy is not too bad. The purview of the journal is Theology fairly broadly, but Patristics finds its place.

Studia Monastica

Published by Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, a European journal with a focus on monastic studies, accepts articles in a number of languages.

Theological Studies

Published by the Society of Jesus, out of Marquette University. No strict submission length, but guidelines suggest ca. 10,000 words.

Catholic Historical Review

Published by CUA Press, this is the journal of the American Catholic Historical Association. Publishes across the breadth of church history.

Scottish Journal of Theology

Also published by CUP. Average word length of 5-6000, with a hard limit of 8000. Bills itself as an ecumenical forum, covering systematic, historical and biblical theology.

Augustinian Studies

From the Augustinian Institute at Villanova University. Unsurprisingly, the focus of this journal is Augustine of Hippo, and articles focused on him, or at least topics related to him. Articles 4-8000 words.

Journal of Theological Interpretation

Published by Eisenbraums, twice a year. Started in 2007, focuses on issues related to the intersection between hermeneutics and interpretation, and the recent turn to ‘theological interpretation’, which opens up many fruitful conversation possibilities for Patristics and exegesis. Standard article length up to 7,500, but submissions up to 10,000 considered.

The Patristic and Byzantine Review

Published by the American Institute for Patristic and Byzantine Studies. I can’t find any current information for this, it may have ceased publication. The most recent volume appears to be 2012.