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  • Markell von Ankyra: Die Fragmente & Der Brief an Julius von Rom
  • Harriet A. Luckman
Markell von Ankyra: Die Fragmente & Der Brief an Julius von Rom. Herausgegeben, eingeleitet, & übersetzt von Markus Vinzent Leiden. Brill, 1997. Pp. ix + 192. $115.75.

In this volume, Markus Vinzent has assembled, translated into German, and provided a commentary on the surviving works of Marcellus of Ancyra (ca. 285/290-ca. 374), one of the prominent bishops who fought against the Eusebians at the Council of Nicea. Marcellus was the first to attack the theology of the Eusebians, particularly that of Asterius of Cappadocia, and it is to the theology and circumstances surrounding the life of Marcellus that Vinzent directs his attention in this volume. The book contains the fragments of Marcellus’ works, together with a letter which he wrote in 341 to Julius of Rome, and are the only undisputed works of Marcellus. Vinzent opens this volume with an introduction giving the background to the theological issues surrounding the Council of Nicea and the theology of Marcellus. He then provides the reader with the Greek text and a German translation. The reader will also find an extensive bibliography on [End Page 466] Marcellus, along with notes and indexes. In contrast to earlier editions of Marcellus works, Vinzent has chosen to follow closely the new order of the surviving fragments as established by K. Seibt in 1994. As a result, Vinzent provides us with a clearer view of how Marcellus’ work and ideas were originally structured.

In his foreword, Vinzent provides the reader with an overview and a critical look at scholarship on Marcellus beginning as early as 1628 with the work and translation of Richard Montagu. The first part of the book is the introduction, and spans 103 pages covering the life, the theology, and the works of Marcellus, as well as providing a thorough discussion of the critical editions of Marcellian fragments and the letter to Julius. Vinzents’ accounts of Marcellus’s theology and life do not appear to offer any substantially new or controversial conclusions about the writings or the person of the bishop of Ancyra, and discussions surrounding the factors and characters at play in this area of Nicean theology can be found in a number of other current treatments. Most notable among these will undoubtedly be the monograph by Joseph Lienhard on Marcellus, which at the time of this review was nearing publication. However Vinzent’s volume does offer the scholarly audience not only a fine treatment of Marcellus from within the German scholarly tradition, but a thorough analysis of Marcellus theology and the issues surrounding Nicea—political as well as theological—as has been discussed by Vinzent himself in his earlier works on Marcellus.

The second part of the book gives the reader access to what are considered the authentic fragments of Marcellus’s works and his letter to Julius. Vinzent’s rendering of the Greek into German is deserving of praise, with the text flowing easily and the translations of key concepts and terms remaining consistent throughout. The reader will find the Greek well annotated, and with the German running closely parallel on the opposite page, following the text in both languages is easily done. The one unfortunate element in the layout of the book is perhaps the necessity placed upon Vinzent by the desire to keep the Greek and German texts closely united. Due to the parallel texts, Vinzent’s translation notes and commentary are placed at the end of the book, leaving the reader needing to move ahead many pages to hunt down the endnotes, which in themselves are a fertile field for information and discussion.

This volume on Marcellus of Ankyra is without doubt a most valuable contribution to scholarship on the bishop of Ankyra, and for anyone seriously studying Marcellus it is certainly a book which must be consulted. The price is prohibitive, but for the serious student of Marcellus who would welcome a thorough discussion on his theology, together with the Greek text translated into German with extensive notes, the price may perhaps be worth it.

Harriet A. Luckman
Marquette University
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