The first major study in English of the Jovinianist controversy. David G. Hunter examines early Christian views on marriage and celibacy and the development of an anti-heretical tradition. Hunter sheds new light on the origins of Christian asceticism, and the formation of 'orthodoxy' and 'heresy' in early Christianity. Hunter's work is impressive... it takes on some of the most contentious doctrinal issues from the early Christian period and clearly shows a church in formative mode.