Patristic An adjective used by some scholars to refer to the first centuries in the history of the church, following the writing of the New Testament (the “patristic period”), or thinkers writing during this period (the “patristic writers”). For many writers, the period thus designated seems to be c. 100–451 (in other words, the period between the completion of the last of the New Testament writings and the landmark Council of Chalcedon). The adjective “early Christian” is now widely used in preference to this older term.
Pietism An approach to Christianity, especially associated with German writers in the seventeenth century, which places an emphasis upon the personal appropriation of faith, and the need for holiness in Christian living. The movement is perhaps best known within English- language world in the form of Methodism.