c. 198–203
Latin
On Baptism
De Baptismo
Tertullian · c. 155–c. 220
A defence of baptism against a teacher who denied its necessity, describing the rite in detail and advising that children wait until they can ask for it themselves.
101–200
The Second Century
1 work
201–300
The Third Century
2 works
c. 256–257
Latin
On Rebaptism
De Rebaptismate
Anonymous
The other side of the argument Cyprian's council settled, written anonymously and preserved among Cyprian's works: baptism in the name of Jesus is valid whoever performs it, and what the heretic cannot give is the Spirit, which the laying on of hands supplies.
c. 250–300
Greek
The Gospel of Philip
Anonymous
A loose collection of sayings and reflections on the sacraments — baptism, chrism, eucharist, redemption, and the bridal chamber — rather than a narrative gospel.
Valentinian · AnthologyFull text
301–400
The Fourth Century
2 works
c. 300–305
Greek
On the Mysteries of the Egyptians
De Mysteriis
Iamblichus of Chalcis · c. 245 – c. 325
An answer to Porphyry, who had asked why gods should need rites at all. Iamblichus replies that the soul cannot think its way up: it is joined to the divine by acts whose power lies in the acts themselves, not in the understanding of whoever performs them — names, stones, incense, and prayer.
c. 366–384
Latin
Against the Donatists
Optatus of Milevis
An argument that the North African schismatics have separated from a church that is catholic by definition, and that the validity of a sacrament does not depend on the holiness of the minister.
Western · PolemicRead elsewhere
401–500
The Fifth Century
2 works
c. 400–401
Latin
On Baptism, Against the Donatists
Augustine of Hippo · 354–430
An argument that a sacrament belongs to Christ and not to the minister, so a baptism performed by a traitor or a heretic is still a real baptism.
Western · PolemicRead elsewhere
401
Latin
On the Good of Marriage
De Bono Coniugali
Augustine of Hippo · 354–430
Written to steady a debate that had gone too far toward disparaging marriage, naming its three goods: children, fidelity, and the sacramental bond.
Western · EthicsFull text
801–900
The Ninth Century
1 work
c. 831, revised 844
Latin
On the Body and Blood of the Lord
Paschasius Radbertus · c. 785–c. 865
An argument that the bread and wine become the very flesh born of Mary and hung on the cross, no less real for being invisible to the senses.
Western · Sacramental theologyRead elsewhere
1001–1100
The Eleventh Century
1 work
c. 1065–1070
Latin
On the Holy Supper
De Sacra Coena
Berengar of Tours · c. 1010–1088
A defence, using grammatical and logical analysis, of the claim that the bread remains bread while becoming a sign that truly conveys Christ's body.
Western · Sacramental theologyRead elsewhere
1101–1200
The Twelfth Century
2 works
c. 1130–1137
Latin
On the Sacraments of the Christian Faith
Hugh of Saint Victor · c. 1096–1141
The whole of doctrine arranged as the work of creation and the work of restoration, with the sacraments as the medicines applied in the second.
Victorine · Systematic theologyRead elsewhere
c. 1150–1158
Latin
The Four Books of Sentences
Sententiae in IV Libris Distinctae
Peter Lombard · c. 1096–1160
Doctrine arranged in four books — the Trinity, creation, the incarnation, the sacraments and last things — with the authorities marshalled under each question and a cautious verdict given.
Scholastic · Systematic theologyRead elsewhere
1301–1400
The Fourteenth Century
2 works
c. 1360
Greek
The Life in Christ
Nicholas Cabasilas · c. 1322–c. 1392
Union with Christ through baptism, chrismation, and the eucharist, written by a layman for laypeople, with no suggestion that the monastic life is required for it.
Byzantine · TheologyRead elsewhere
1379–1381
Latin
Letter of Peace
Henry of Langenstein · c. 1325–1397
A call for a general council to judge both claimants, arguing that neither obedience can be certain and that the faithful must not be left in doubt about their own sacraments.
Western · Political theoryRead elsewhere
1401–1500
The Fifteenth Century
4 works
written 1333; printed from 1470s
Latin
The Manual of Parish Priests
Manipulus Curatorum
Guido de Monte Rochen · 14th century
What a parish priest must know to administer the sacraments and hear confessions, written for clergy with little formal training.
Western · HandbookRead elsewhere
c. 1420–1429
Greek
On the Sacred Liturgy and the Rites of the Church
Symeon of Thessalonica · d. 1429
A complete explanation of Orthodox worship — the church building, all the sacraments, the funeral rites, the ordinations — by the last archbishop of the city before it fell.
Byzantine · LiturgyRead elsewhere
22 November 1439
Latin
The Decree for the Armenians
The Council of Florence
A summary of Catholic teaching for the Armenian church, containing the first conciliar list of exactly seven sacraments with the matter and form of each.
Ecumenical · DecreeRead elsewhere
15th century
Latin
On Visiting the Sick
Anonymous
Instructions for priests attending the dying: what to ask, what to read aloud, how to prompt the acts of faith and contrition, and what to do when speech fails.
Western · HandbookRead elsewhere
1501–1600
The Sixteenth Century
1 work
October 1520
Latin
The Babylonian Captivity of the Church
Martin Luther · 1483–1546
A reduction of the seven sacraments to two or three, and an argument that the mass is a promise to be received rather than a sacrifice to be offered.
Lutheran · TreatiseFull text
1601–1700
The Seventeenth Century
1 work
1672
Greek
The Confession of Dositheus
The Synod of Jerusalem
A synodal confession rejecting Lucaris point by point and defining Orthodox teaching on scripture, the sacraments, and the church against Calvinism.
Byzantine · ConfessionRead elsewhere