Apostolici & Ecclesiastici – William Cave – 1716 | Early Church Fathers & Saints

William Cave was a 17th-century English chaplain of the Church of England who wrote one of the most important histories of church fathers. Apostolici or The History of the Lives of Primitive Fathers is an ecclesiastical history of the first four centuries of the church containing biographies of some of the most influential church fathers. He continued the work with Ecclesiastici which included the biographies of figures from the fourth century and beyond. Notable figures covered in this work include Saint Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, Polycarp, Origen, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and Ambrose of Milan.

This 1716 folio edition of Cave’s survey of church fathers includes numerous illustrations and portraits depicting the early church leaders.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Apostolici : or the history of the lives, acts, death, and martyrdoms of those who were contemporary with, or immediately succeeded the apostles
• Author(s): William Cave
• Publisher: London, Printed by W.D. for J. Walthoe, J. Nicholson, B. Tooke, D. Midwinter, and B. Cowse
• Edition: Fourth Edition. 1716.
• Format: Folio, single volume
• Binding: Full leather
• Size: ~14.5 in x 9.5 in (36.8 cm x 24.1 cm)
• Collation: [12], xxii, 738 pp
  • Ecclesiastici has a separate, added title page but the pagination is continuous.
• Illustrations: Numerous full-page and in-text engravings
• Contents Include:
  • Apostolici (lives and martyrdoms of early Christian followers)
  • Ecclesiastici (accounts of fourth-century theologians and bishops)
  • Entries on Ambrose, Basil, Origen, Athanasius, Eusebius, and others

Condition:

Good. Full leather binding with professionally restored hinges and edge wear. Text block is tight and complete. Pages show mild age-toning with scattered foxing. All illustrations are present and well-preserved.

Why Collect This?

• Folio-format 1716 edition featuring both Apostolici and Ecclesiastici
• Illustrated throughout with engraved portraits and vignettes
• Includes extensive early Christian biographical content

Item Number: # 29499