The Prophecies of Nostradamus has remained one of the most read and spoken of the book throughout the history. It was first published in 1555 and became quite popular already during the life of Nostradamus as some of his prophesies came true. Mostly, Nostradamus's predictions were about general types of events, like natural disasters and conflict-related events that tend to occur regularly as time goes on. No wonder people believe that his prophecies have predicted actual events through centuries. From the death of Henry II, the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon, the rise of Adolf Hitler, to the 9/11 attacks – all these events are believed to be foreseen by Nostradamus.

Papers presented at the Eleventh International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 1991 (see also Studia Patristica 24, 26, 27 and 28). The successive sets of Studia Patristica contain papers delivered at the International Conferences on Patristic Studies, which meet for a week once every four years in Oxford; they are held under the aegis of the Theology Faculty of the University. Members of these conferences come from all over the world and most offer papers. These range over the whole field, both East and West, from the second century to a section on the Nachleben of the Fathers. The majority are short papers dealing with some small and manageable point; they raise and sometimes resolve questions about the authenticity of documents, dates of events, and such like, and some unveil new texts. The smaller number of longer papers put such matters into context and indicate wider trends. The whole reflects the state of Patristic scholarship and demonstrates the vigour and popularity of the subject.