The Popular Patristics Series (PPS) published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (SVS Press), has gained the attention of Logos Research Systems, Inc., the largest developer of Bible software in the world. It is a surprising but highly welcome overture for the seminary’s academic press.
PPS provides accurate and annotated translations of the church fathers and other early Christian writings, and Logos typically partners with publishers to produce electronic Bible study resources. In its venture with SVS Press, Logos has decided to link biblical and patristic writings for the benefit of pastors, students, and lay readers. This month the software company introduced a PPS pre-publication package that will allow readers not only to search the digitized texts of early Christian writings but also will allow readers to cross-reference between biblical passages and the sayings of the Fathers.
On its website, Logos describes this exciting venture: “With the Logos Bible Software edition, you can reap the maximum benefit from the Popular Patristics Series (10 vols.) by getting easier access to the contents of the collection—helping you use these volumes more effectively for scholarly pursuits, sermon preparation, or personal study. Every word from every book is indexed and catalogued to help you search the entire series for a particular verse or topic. For example, you can search the letters written by St. Cyprian for every instance of the word ‘baptism.’”
Priest Benedict Churchill, director of SVS Press, noted, “This is an exciting undertaking by Logos, but we need the help of our PPS readers—especially our alumni—to bring it to fruition. I’m asking our loyal SVS Press fans to ‘nudge’ Logos into the publication phase by pre-ordering a package, thus indicating their interest in this venture.
“If Logos receives indication of high interest in the project, they will proceed to full publication status, which will be a boon not only to our press but also to the thousands of readers who regularly use our PPS titles,” he concluded.
The package includes 10 PPS titles: On Social Justiceby St. Basil the Great; On the Human Condition by St. Basil the Great; On the Church: Select Treatises by St. Cyprian of Carthage; On the Church: Select Letters by St. Cyprian of Carthage; On the Apostolic Tradition by Hippolytus; On the Christian Sacramentsby St. Cyril of Jerusalem; On the Soul and the Resurrection by St. Gregory of Nyssa; On Wealth and Poverty by St. John Chrysostom; On the Lord’s Prayer by Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen; and On Pascha: with the Fragments of Melito and Material Related to the Quartodecimans by Melito of Sardis. The pre-publication package is selling for $89.95, a savings of 44% off the normal list price.