Did the early Church Fathers have a complete agreement on how to interpret 1 Peter 3:18-20?

Question

Did the early Church Fathers have a complete agreement on how to interpret 1 Peter 3:18-20 or did they also have some differences in the way they interpreted these words by Peter? I specifically mean the words highlighted in the verses below:

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. (1 Peter 3:18-20 ESV)

1. Who are the spirits?
2. What is the prison?
3. What, exactly, did Jesus proclaim to them?

Answer 1

The conclusion of the Fathers is that these words mean the Descent into Hades. The Orthodox Icon depicts Christ raising the dead from beneath the earth (as our hymns say) which occurs eternally, that is, outside of time and at no particular time in relation to our understanding of time.

Thus, to answer your question:

1. The spirits are the dead from all time outside of Christ - who formerly didn't obey refers to the fall of Adam.
2. The prison is Hades, also known as Sheol, the place of the dead or the grave. The Psalmist calls it 'the Land of Forgetfulness'
3. The gospel, by which he raised them from the dead, or by which they were finally condemned, according to the disposition of their hearts as they were shaped by the deeds of their lives and their faith or lack thereof.

See: http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/the_descent_of_jesus_into_hades

The only disagreement the Fathers seem to have is on who were the Spirits he preached to. However, Orthodox Tradition has come to understand that the 'formerly disobedient' refers even to those who have not yet died and will be outside of Christ. This is not universalism, but on the other hand does not condemn those outside of the Church outright.

Answer 2

Yes I believe they were in agreement. A Christian Fundamentalist Sermon (starts at 12:09) on the verses of 1 Peter 3:18-22 from my Church it thoroughly explains the 3 predominant views on it (Catholic / Prostant Reformer / and Fundamentalist). He gives our view (the Fundamentalist one) as the main one and he goes deep into the Greek word meanings.

I believe the early church, knowing the Greek, easily came to the same conclusion.