AGAPE is an open-access database which aims to map the reception of the Greek Church Fathers in print throughout early modern Europe. It represents the main outcome of the four-year FNS Ambizione project The Greek Imprint on Europe: Patristics and Publishing in the Early Swiss Reformation, led by Paolo Sachet and based at the Institut d’histoire de la Réformation, University of Geneva.

In contrast to the Renaissance interest in the pagan antiquity and classical literature, the story of the rediscovery of the Greek Fathers remains, for the most part, untold and understudied. The number of inaccuracies in the regional, national and collective online repertoires available at present means that bibliographical research becomes a time-consuming and largely unrewarding exercise, severely hindering the progress of patristic studies.

To remedy this situation, AGAPE records every edition of Greek patristic works printed in Europe from 1465 to 1600, in the original language, as well as in Latin and vernacular translations. AGAPE refines the available data and substantially improves the level of detail: not only does it link each work to the unique identification number established by the Clavis Patrum Graecorum (CPG), the standard authority in the field, but it also thoroughly describes all the contents (texts and paratexts) and relies on the first-hand inspection of at least one copy of each edition. Further information on AGAPE's IT features, bibliographical criteria and editorial choices can be found here.

A bibliographical database with an eye to book history and reception studies, AGAPE exploits the relational mode of data and employs a very popular open-source database, MySQL. For the server-side, PHP 7 is used together with Zend 1 as framework, while jQuery and Bootstrap are supporting the client-side. All information and entries are freely downloadable in multiple formats, in order to assure legibility, transferability and durability.

The versatile Greek word ἀγάπη describes a selfless, charitable, brotherly form of love, a communal meal celebrated in early Christianity and the bond between God and mankind. Appearing many times in the New Testament, ἀγάπη was analysed by the Greek and Latin Fathers, debated in the Eucharistic disputes of the Reformation and adopted, with various meanings, by modern theologians and philosophers. In this light, the term recalls the complex routes taken by the Jewish-Christian tradition, which the database helps to elucidate, as well as a strong commitment to sharing information, which lies behind open-access scientific research in general.

According to Chrysostom (hom. XIII on Hebrews, 7:19), the Law was “of great use; but to make men perfect, it was of no use”. So, too, no amount of human effort can make a database perfect; nevertheless, we hope to eradicate as many flaws as possible in order to ensure that AGAPE is of great and ever-increasing use. Therefore, we welcome any comments, reports of mistakes and requests for special research needs. Please address your questions to: info@agapepatristics.net.