Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 270.1
EAN: 9781592762453
Edition: Expanded
ISBN: 159276245X
Label: Our Sunday Visitor
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Our Sunday Visitor
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 289
Publication Date: 2006-10-02
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Studio: Our Sunday Visitor

The Fathers of the Church, first published a decade ago, has become the standard popular introduction to the great teachers of early Christianity. Now, this new edition presents more material from more of the Fathers -- including authors from little-known traditions of Egypt, East Syria, North Africa, and the lands that make up modern Iran and Iraq. Also new with this edition is a section on selected "Mothers of the Church," holy women from Christian antiquity.

This expanded edition features full references and citations, a topical index, detailed bibliography, and ancient texts available in English for the first time in more than a century.

The Fathers of the Church is an excellent place to pass on those same teachings and traditions -- long established as an indispensable reference tool for clergy, seminarians, RCIA candidates, and lay Catholics who want to strive to live up to the "Faith of Our Fathers."

Customer Rating:
Summary: An incredibly accessible introduction to patristic studies
Comment: Aquilina's work here is a major contribution to making the Church Fathers and their works palatable to a wide array of readers. The book is organized very methodically--the main structure being a biographical sketch of each Father (arranged chronologically) and excerpts from their writings. Aquilina is highly economical with his words, making the book highly succicnt and readable. Relevant hisotrical events are interspersed througout the book, ensuring that readers get a sense for the place of the Fathers in the landscape of church history. I recommend reading this volume in concert with Ramsey's "Beginning to Read the Fathers," which is arranged topically. Highly recommended as a place to get one's feet wet in the vast ocean of patristic studies.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply written about the Early Fathers
Comment: Christians ought to know more about the early fathers of the Church. The first authoritative doctines are clearly explained. The history of heresies and schisms show that today's challenges are not unique but are simply to be expected. Most heresies are still with us inspite of the Church's having defined the truth as Jesus and the Apostles taught it. No need to fear or worry but to stay the steady course as Jesus taught us.
This book shows the relationship between the fathers and their relationships to the Apostles. Some of the facts may surprise the readers...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the most important and useful books
Comment: /

"The Fathers of the Church" by Mike Aquilina

This is one of the most important and useful books I've ever acquired. For the past two years, my religious reading has expanded to a couple of dozen books, and I've just acquired this. Perhaps one should start with Mike Aquilina to get a firm grasp of the fundamentals of the Christian tradition.

I've already learned that 8 for the first 12 Popes were martyred, and 23 of the first 32 were martyred.

The book clarifies that the "Fathers of the Church" were of two types, known to scholars as the Latin and the Greek Fathers. The book indicates that about half a dozen different languages were used for writing the earliest scriptures, and identifies which were rejected from the Canon and why.

The book also defines the specific heresies, which were present from the very beginning, and identifies by name the personages who adopted ideologies which are in specific conflict with traditional Christianity.

The book identifies how scripture is interpreted, and shows how Jewish scholarship and Islamic Scholarship have influenced and enlarged and supplemented Christian interpretive methods.

I consider this a very special and essentially useful book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: on the shoulders of giants
Comment: Give your ancestors a vote. Christianity is not something that is derived from me and my bible in my prayer closet, but rather the great body of our Lord Jesus Christ who has bestowed upon us this new creation, beginning in the Church and spreading outward. The reason why we think about God in the way that we do if we are traditional Christians, and especially if we are Eastern Orthodox, is very much the result of the prayers, worship and hard work of a group of men who the Church has labeled "Fathers", meaning that they are the ones to whom we look for guidance in terms of reading the bible, trusting which books are in and out of the bible, learning how to worship rightly (just anything won't do) and how to pray, basically showing us what to believe and how to "be Christian" by guarding the great deposit of the faith "once delivered to the saints."

Use the "look inside" feature to get a great idea of what you'll learn about. You won't go wrong using this book as a starting point, but you should know that the author of this collection is very much an apologist for the Roman tradition. While that is fine, the commentary is very much edited to reflect the Western Roman tradition. As a moderately educated Orthodox I do not have too big of a problem with that, since I know other views and the basis of them, but it is worth noting since this book is so useful as an introduction. You may also consider reading Reading Scripture With the Church Fathers, Learning Theology With the Church Fathers, Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (Penguin Classics), Mary and the Fathers of the Church: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Patristic Thought, Greek Orthodox Patrology: An Introduction to the Study of the Church Fathers, The Early Church Fathers (38 Vols.) (if you want to get into it seriously, Beginning to Read the Fathers and The Mass of the Early Christians.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Finally, a scholorly book that is fun !!
Comment: Don't get me wrong; this is serious stuff, but why can't serious be fun too? Mike Aquilina has given us a very almost personal glimpse into the lives of the people that made the Church what it is today. And, what a surprise to find that these people had personalities and didn't always do well at things. Thanks Mike, for making what I feel is recommended reading for all church scholars a bit of a human interest book as well.

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