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Research Library / Early Church Documents

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Historical portrait associated with Hermas

Historical depiction associated with Hermas.

WolfgangRieger · Public domain

Hermas · Author Profile

The Shepherd of Hermas (Ancient Greek: Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, romanized: Poimēn tou Herma; Latin: Pastor Hermae), sometimes just called The Shepherd, is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, but not considered canonical scripture by the early Church Fathers such as Irenaeus. In this library, Hermas is linked to 1 document, including The Shepherd of Hermas.

Activity
c. AD 140
Documents in this library
1
Corpus date window
AD 140

History and Context

The Shepherd of Hermas (Ancient Greek: Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, romanized: Poimēn tou Herma; Latin: Pastor Hermae), sometimes just called The Shepherd, is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, but not considered canonical scripture by the early Church Fathers such as Irenaeus. The Shepherd was popular among Christians in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. It is found in the Codex Sinaiticus. The Muratorian fragment identifies the author of The Shepherd as Hermas, the brother of Pope Pius I. The Muratorian Fragment also explicitly states that The Shepherd of Hermas is useful for private reading but not to be read publicly in the church because it is not apostolic. The documents preserved here span AD 140 and include The Shepherd of Hermas (1 total).

What We Know

  • Activity window in reference data: c. AD 140.
  • Roles in major reference data: The Shepherd of Hermas (Ancient Greek: Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, romanized: Poimēn tou Herma; Latin: Pastor Hermae), sometimes just called The Shepherd, is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, but not considered canonical scripture by the early Church Fathers such as Irenaeus. In this library, Hermas is linked to 1 document, including The Shepherd of Hermas.
  • Authorship remains debated; surviving evidence associates the text with a figure named Hermas in second-century Roman Christianity.
  • Place associations are limited or uncertain in surviving evidence.
  • Tradition labels vary across sources; classification should be read with historical caution.
  • Languages linked to writing or transmission: Koine Greek.
  • No additional notable-work list is consistently preserved in reference metadata.
  • Documents in this corpus: 1 (The Shepherd of Hermas).
  • Corpus date range for attributed texts: AD 140.

Works in This Library

Legacy

Some have seen here a reference to Marcion, who came to Rome c. 140 and desired to be admitted among the priests (or possibly even to become bishop of Rome). Hermas's reception in theology and church history is closely tied to ongoing study of The Shepherd of Hermas. The documents preserved here span AD 140 and include The Shepherd of Hermas (1 total).

Source Notes