After meditating on the Apostles and then on the Fathers of the early Church, as seen in his earlier works Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church and Church Fathers, Pope Benedict XVI devoted his attention to the most influential Christian men from the fifth through the twelfth centuries. In his first book, Church Fathers, Benedict began with Clement of Rome and ended with Saint Augustine. In this volume, the Holy Father reflects on some of the greatest theologians of the Middle Ages: Benedict, Anselm, Bernard, and Gregory the Great, to name just a few. By exploring both the lives and the ideas of the great popes, abbots, scholars and missionaries who lived during the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christendom, Pope Benedict XVI highlights the key elements of Catholic dogma and practice that remain the foundation stones not only of the Roman Catholic Church but of Christian society itself. This book is a wonderful way to get to know these later Church Fathers and Teachers and the tremendous spiritually rich patrimony they have bequeathed to us. "Without this vital sap, man is exposed to the danger of succumbing to the ancient temptation of seeking to redeem himself by himself." -- Pope Benedict XVI

A Trusted Introduction to the Church Fathers This concise introduction to the church fathers connects evangelical students and readers to twelve key figures from the early church. Bryan Litfin engages readers with actual people, not just abstract doctrines or impersonal events, to help them understand the fathers as spiritual ancestors in the faith. The first edition has been well received and widely used. This updated and revised edition adds chapters on Ephrem of Syria and Patrick of Ireland. The book requires no previous knowledge of the patristic period and includes original, easy-to-read translations that give a brief taste of each writer's thought.

We hear the voices of the early Church Fathers even today. Their teachings, their guidance, their insights, and their sacrifice shaped the Catholic Church. They defined the canon of Scripture. They developed our creeds and forms of worship. They defined Christianity's distinctive moral sense. But who were they? What can we learn from their ancient teachings? What can the Fathers teach us in the 21st century - about holiness, culture, faith, and the Gospel? This is the definitive resource for anyone interested in learning about the Church Fathers and their legacy. Ideal for RCIA, catechists, and clergy as well as lay Catholics who want to learn more about the great teachers of early Christianity. In this new and extensively updated The Fathers of the Church, 3rd Edition, you will find: New: twenty Church Fathers never before covered in this series, New: many poets of ancient Christianity, whose hymns we still sing today, An extensively revised introduction, Nearly seventy-five more pages of information on the early Church, The Mothers of the Church and their impact, Research-friendly references and citations, topical index, timeline, and detailed bibliography Book jacket.

If the word trinity isn’t in Scripture, why is it such an important part of our faith? And if the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, how do we know what to make of it? And who decided what should be in the Bible anyway? The Church Fathers provide the answers. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved for us the rich legacy of the early Church. D’Ambrosio dusts off the dry theology and brings you the exciting stories and great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and Jerome. This page-turner will inspire and challenge you with the lives and insights of these seminal teachers from when the Church was young.

Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples - his Apostles and their associates - and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives. Beginning with the Twelve as the foundation of Jesus' re-establishment of the Holy People of God, Pope Benedict examines the story of the early followers of Christ. He draws on Scripture and early tradition to consider such important figures as Peter, Andrew, James and John, and even Judas Iscariot. Benedict moves beyond the original Twelve to discuss Paul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christianity who became one of Jesus' greatest disciples. Also considered are Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, the wife and husband "team" of Priscilla and Aquila, and such key women figures as Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Phoebe. Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church is a fascinating journey back to the origins of Christianity. It reveals how Jesus' earliest disciples faithfully conveyed the truth about the "Jesus of history" and how they laid the foundations for the Church, through whom people today can know the same Jesus.

Christopher Hall invites us to accompany the church fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life in this unique survey of the life of worship from the perspective of the early Church.

What Did Early Christians Really Believe? The Answer Will Surprise and Amaze You! The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church is a unique resource that introduces you to the teachings of the first Christians in a way no other work can. It is specially designed to make it easy for you to find the information you want and need. Amazing features in this fact-packed book include: More than 900 quotations from the writings of the early Church Fathers, as well as from rare and important documents dating back to the dawn of Christian history. Mini-biographies of nearly 100 Fathers, as well as descriptions of dozens of key early councils and writings. A concise history of the dramatic spread of Christianity after Jesus told his disciples to evangelize all nations. Special maps showing you where the Fathers lived, including many little-known and long-vanished locations. A guide to nearly 30 ancient heresies, many of which have returned to haunt the modern world. The Fathers' teaching on nearly 50 topics, including modern hot-button issues like abortion, homosexuality, and divorce. This groundbreaking work presents the teachings of the early Christians in a way unlike any other book. It flings open the doors of the crucial but little-known age covering the birth of Christianity and the triumphant march of the gospel throughout the ancient world.

Following his best selling book, Jesus of Nazareth, and his talks published in Jesus, the Apostles, and the Early Church, Pope Benedict?s Church Fathers presents these important figures of early Christianity in all their evangelical vitality, spiritual profundity, and uncompromising love of God. Benedict tells the true story of Christianity?s against-all-odds triumph in the face of fierce Roman hostility and persecution. He does this by exploring the lives and the ideas of the early Christian writers, pastors, and martyrs, men so important to the spread of Christianity that history remembers them as ?the Fathers of the Church?. This rich and engrossing survey of the early Church includes those churchmen who immediately succeeded the Apostles, the ?Apostolic Fathers?: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyon. Benedict also discusses such great Christian figures as Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian of Carthage, the Cappadocian Fathers, as well as the giants John Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustine. This book is a wonderful way to get to know the Church Fathers and the tremendous spiritually rich patrimony they have bequeathed to us.

The writings in this volume cast a glimmer of light upon the emerging traditions and organization of the infant church, during an otherwise little-known period of its development. A selection of letters and small-scale theological treatises from a group known as the Apostolic Fathers, several of whom were probably disciples of the Apostles, they provide a first-hand account of the early Church and outline a form of early Christianity still drawing on the theology and traditions of its parent religion, Judaism. Included here are the first Epistle of Bishop Clement of Rome, an impassioned plea for harmony; The Epistle of Polycarp; The Epistle of Barnabas; The Didache; and the Seven Epistles written by Ignatius of Antioch - among them his moving appeal to the Romans that they grant him a martyr's death.

From the pious to the practical, the reflections of the Fathers of the Church cover virtually every aspect of the Christian life. Noted author Mike Aquilina has compiled their ancient axioms into a concise collection of comments designed for busy, modern readers. Pray with the poetry of St. Gregory Nazianzen. Find clear direction in the practical advice of St. Jerome. And, let your heart turn toward the heavenly Jerusalem, following the 1,000 timeless treasures in The Way of the Fathers. "A power-packed collection of the Fathers' concise, clear, and challenging statements on issues still relevant to Christians today. A helpful tool, for anyone seeking to live the authentic Gospel life as understood by the first Christians."