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| | Description | Let us now devote our attention to the Apostolic Fathers, that is, to the first and second generations in the Church subsequent to the Apostles. And thus, we can see where the Church's journey begins in history. Pope Benedict XVI
The Fathers of the Church exhorted believers in the face of persecution while fighting heresies and misunderstandings. They were theologians and philosophers, orators and pastors, leaders and problem solvers, martyrs and heroes.
Pope Benedict carefully explains the stories of their rich history and the vital role each one played in not only preserving the Church at the time, but anchoring the Church of today as well as the future.
Bring your faith to life with the spark of history as told by the Pope himself. Gain a fuller understanding of what the Church teaches and why through the critical efforts and experiences of our early Church fathers.
Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome . . . Saint Ignatius of Antioch . . . Origen of Alexandria . . . Saint John Chrysostom . . .Saint Basil...Saint Gregory Nazianzus...St. Maximus of Turin...and more.
These illustrious Church Fathers are the first and second generations of the Church following the Apostles. It is upon their backs that the Church's journey through history is established and solidified.
By defending the newborn Christianity to the point of death and explaining the content of the Faith in a language understandable to the masses, the Apostolic Fathers created a timeless anchor of faith that extends through the challenges of today. | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | Pope Benedict XVI | | Hardcover: | 201 pages | | Publisher: | Our Sunday Visitor | | Publication Date: | August 18, 2008 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 1592764401 | | Product Width: | 1.37 centimeters | | Product Height: | 1.93 centimeters | | Product Weight: | 0.01 pounds | | Package Length: | 7.9 inches | | Package Width: | 5.5 inches | | Package Height: | 0.9 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.65 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 14 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 14 customer reviews )
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70 of 70 found the following review helpful:
A Great Introduction to Twenty-Six Remarkable Lives Sep 16, 2008
By Mark D. Merlino
Pope Benedict's "The Fathers" is a collection of the texts from his Wednesday audiences, delivered between March of 2007 and February of 2008. During these weekly audiences, the Pope introduces us to the lives and works of twenty-six different Fathers of the Church, from the Apostolic Fathers to Saint Augustine. The audiences were orgionally given in Italian, while this edition is the official Vatican publication of the English translation.
In "The Fathers" Pope Benedict introduces us to what is most noble, holy and edifying in the lives and works of these Fathers of the Church. He begins with the early Apostolic Fathers, such as Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome and Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who lived soon after the apostles. He devoted two audiences to several third, fourth and fifth century Fathers, including Origen of Alexandria, Saint Basil, Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Jerome. He also introduces two Syriac Fathers, Aphraates the Sage and Saint Ephrem the Syrian. Finally, he finishes with five seperate audiences on the life and works of Saint Augustine. These are not intended to be critical biographies but rather edifying and interest sparking introductions, each one lasting several pages.
Other fathers included in this book are St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, St. Cyrian, Eusebius, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Hilary of Poitiers, St. Eusebius of Vercelli, St. Ambrose, St. Maximus of Turin, St. Chromatius, and St. Paulinus.
If you are inerested in church history, the lives of saints or just are curious to learn more, I highly recommend this book.
57 of 57 found the following review helpful:
Incredible History of the Church Fathers Oct 06, 2008
By Patrice Fagnant-macarthur
A couple of years ago, I picked up a book on the Church Fathers, those leaders of the early Church who came within the first few generations after the Apostles. It was a heavy tome with small print; it seemed very intimidating and I never did get around to reading it. That is why I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of "The Fathers" by Pope Benedict XVI (Our Sunday Visitor, 2008). The material in this book is a slightly edited record of the weekly general audiences Pope Benedict gave on this topic from March 7, 2007 to February 27, 2008. It is incredibly readable and very interesting.
The Church Fathers are fascinating to learn about. Many were converts to the faith and arrived at the Church through a variety of spiritual journeys. They were highly educated and several worked to integrate Greek philosophy with the Christian faith. They also struggled with many of the theological questions that now form the foundation of our faith: Christ as both God and man; the Trinity, and what it means to be a baptized Christian.
Pope Benedict began his treatment of this subject with St. Clement, the third successor of St. Peter who led the Church in the last years of the first century. He intervened in the Church of Corinth in what was the first exercise of Roman Primacy after St. Peter's death. In his letter to Corinth, "he clearly explains the doctrine of Apostolic Succession. . .The Father sent Jesus Christ, who in turn sent the Apostles. They then sent the first heads of communities and established that they would be succeeded by other worthy men. . . .The Church is above all a gift of God and not something we ourselves created."
Pope Benedict then devotes his attention to St. Ignatius of Antioch who was "the first person in Christian literature to attribute to the Church the adjective 'catholic' or 'universal'." St. Justin did his best to both defend the faith and explain it. He believed that both the Old Testament and Greek philosophy were two paths that led to Christ. St. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote the first catechism of the Catholic Church. Origen of Alexandria preached a message of love, as he was convinced that "the best way to become acquainted with God is through love." Tertullian would eventually join the Montanist sect but he gave the Church the terms "one substance" and "three persons" for help in explaining the mystery of the Trinity. Cyprian reflected on the communal message of the "Our Father": "Our prayer is public and common; and when we pray, we pray not for one, but for the whole people, because we, the whole people, are one."
Other Church Fathers Pope Benedict invites us to spend time with include St. Cyril of Jerusalem who emphasized the Christian's rebirth through baptism. St. Basil was one of the Fathers of the Church's social doctrine and encouraged interaction with the culture at large. St. Gregory of Nyssa reflected on the beauty of man as being created in the image of God. St. Hilary of Poitiers defended the divinity of Christ by quoting from both the Old and New Testament. St. Jerome translated the Bible into the Latin vernacular. St. Paulinus of Nola wrote beautiful poetry and made use of religious art to instruct pilgrims. Lastly, Pope Benedict focuses on St. Augustine of Hippo, perhaps the most famous Father of them all, who maintained that "faith and reason . . . must always go hand in hand."
Pope Benedict is a gifted teacher, speaker, and writer, and "The Fathers" is more evidence of this. He is able to take a complicated history and make it accessible to all. "The Fathers" provides a great introduction into the lives and works of many of the great men who helped to form the early Church. It is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn more about Church history.
41 of 43 found the following review helpful:
Pope Benedict's Continues His Excellent Teaching! Sep 13, 2008
By Michael Dubruiel
"annunciations.wordpress.com"
The papacy of Pope Benedict XVI continues to be a great blessing for all of us. First, the Pope released his book Jesus of Nazareth(and we anxiously await the follow-up to it--correcting and recalling who Jesus is in this excellent book, next The Apostleswas released where Pope Benedict connect Jesus to the founding of the Church, the establishment of the Apostles and showed how the succession of the Apostles is something we find within the Bible. Now the Pope releases The Fatherswhich shows how the early Church continued to grow through the early thinkers who continued to unpack the deep meaning of Christ found in the Bible and expressed in the Church's spiritual practice. Our Sunday Visitor has done another excellent job in presenting the Pope's teaching in the same way that they previously did with The Apostles.
The book is peppered throughout with great sayings of the fathers of the Church, such as "The man without Christ is dust and shadow," (p.170) spoken by Paulinus of Nola or the words of Ambrose "Omnia Christus est nobis! "To us Christ is all!" (p.133).
Those looking to learn more about Jesus Christ can do no better than the encounter with the early Fathers who unpacked the meaning of the Bible and everything that the Word of God pointed to--Jesus.
I am the author of The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
The Torch Was Passed Sep 07, 2010
By john
I first want to point out that there is another book on Amazon, Church Fathers: From Clement of Rome to Augustine that is identical to this book - so get one or the other, you don't need both.
The Fathers follows the same format and approach as Pope Benedict's earlier excellent work, The Apostles. Here we have the following generations that received the teaching and the burning love for Christ and His Church from the Twelve. These are not in-depth studies, but precise character portraits that place each Church Father in context, explaining his importance and impact on our Church and our Faith.
All of them Saints, most of them martyrs, these where the generations that battled heresy, muddled thinking, and politics, to wrest the deposit of faith from Emperors and schismatic Bishops. All Christianity owes great thanks to the Holy Spirit for guiding these men in settling hard questions of Faith and Understanding.
Pope Benedict does a wonderful job in showing us to whom the torch was passed in those early decades after our Lord, continuing to knit the chain that links us from Christ to our present day.
One last comment: take note of how many of these Fathers whom we now revere were run out of town in their own day. They remain with us 180 decades later not because they were popular in their time (though some of them undoubtedly were), but because they clung to the Truth and would not compromise it for personal gain. Out of what stuff are such men made? And where are they today? Where are the Bishops, especially in the United States, that are willing to risk all - reputation, status, comfort - and boldly pronounce the Truth like these Fathers? Where are you? We are hungry...
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
What could be more needed now than to reflect on the fathers Nov 02, 2008
By Jeri Nevermind
"loves to read"
In our time, with Europe and the west slowly falling into the sinkhole which is secularism, it is wonderful to have this new resource by Pope Benedict. It's a reminder of just how deep Christianity's roots go into the western world, and how many people have been martyred for the church.
The collection starts with Clement and ends with Augustine, covering all of the the fathers with a brief biography as well as an overview of what they wrote about.
Ignatius of Antioch (in about 105 AD) was the first to use the word 'Catholic' to describe the church. Although Ignatius, and all others, plead for unity, by "the second century the Church was threatened by...Gnostics (who) claimed to" (p 25) have secret knowledge that could save a few. Irenaeus responded that "truth and salvation are available to all" (p 27). The Catholic church, said Irenaeus, was "dispersed throughout the world...having received this faith from the apostles...For the churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe anything...different, nor do those in Spain...." p 28) but holds to the same Catholic teachings everywhere.
It is interesting to find the pope calling Origen 'crucial" (p 35) because he defended allegorism in scripture.
No matter how well acquainted you are with the fathers, you will find gems to ponder. For example, Eusebius of Vercelli is not well known. As with so many of the other early Christians, he was "condemned to exile, as were so many other bishops of the East and West: such as Athanasius, Hillary of Poitiers...and Hosius of Cordoba.
Everyone will be touched by Pope Benedict's frequent personal statements. At one point he says, "to dialogue with God, with his Word, is in a certain sense a presence of heaven, a presence of God. To draw near to the biblical texts, above all to the New Testament, is essential for the believer" (p 145).
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