Customer Reviews

The Fathers of the Church, Expanded Edition

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mike Aquilina's The Father of the Church was originally published in 1999 and became an instant classic and an essential text for the average reader seeking the critical writings, contributions, and lives of the Church's earliest theologians and defenders. With the release of an expanded edition of The Fathers of the Church, Aquilina, my friend and colleague, re-confirms the place of his work as a must-read, not just for Latin-rite Catholics but for all Christians eager to learn more about the early history of Christianity and the first great minds who articulated the truths of the Faith.

Aquilina offers an eminently accessible approach to the often intimidating and complex theological arguments and controversies so daunting for the average reader. The key to his success is expressed well by the author himself in his Introduction in which he describes the first Christian centuries as more than a "succession of creeds, councils, persecutions, and heresies." Rather, he correctly sees it more fully as the history of a family, and the book details "how the Fathers of that family strove to keep their household together, to preserve the family's patrimony, to teach and discipline their children, and to protect the family from danger."

Aquilina's coverage of each Father includes colorful and entertaining accounts of their lives, along with easy to follow summaries of their teachings, and extensive excerpts of their writings to provide a glimpse into their thoughts, priorities, and literary styles. For a relatively short book of 280 plus pages, he includes a stunning amount of material but never overwhelms the reader.

Especially significant are the inclusion of all of the Church Fathers, both East and West, and the chapter on "The World of the Fathers." The latter is an invaluable primer in early Christian history.

Aquilina should be congratulated for his willingness to update and expand a book that had already earned lasting fame. Like the original, the new edition should find itself a place swiftly in the library of any serious student of patristics.

Mike Aquilina writes an easy to read and engaging account of the early Church Fathers, both the Latin and the Greek. He illustrates that there was no gap in the teachings handed down by Jesus to His apostles and then to their followers, to this present day. He shows how the Church has been a family from the time Jesus established it, with the head of the family being recognized as the bishop of Rome, as successor to the prince of the apostles, Peter. In reading this book, we learn how the Church Fathers identified what it means to be a Christian, how a Christian should worship and how a Christian should live. We learn how these very human men were guided by the Holy Spirit to define what the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly says. He tells us who the Fathers are, then lets us read their words. This is a book that any student of Christianity should read.

For many people, there is a gap between the time of Jesus and the time of Constantine. The gap between 30A.D and 313A.D. is rich with information about the roots of Christianity. Reading the Church Fathers helps one to understand the structure of the church as well as the deep love and devotion that the early Christians shared.

When I was a theology student in the late 70s and early 80s, the "Fathers of the Church" were Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx, and Hans Küng. In contrast, we had a lot of students from a local Orthodox seminary, who seemed to be reared on a diet of St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Gregory of Nyssa.
Happily, however, the Fathers are back! Writing in 2006 in "First Things," R.R. Reno observed that "the patriarchs of orthodoxy are reascendant." The Fathers' return to the classroom is truly welcome, but--after all--John Chrysostom didn't get called "Golden-Mouthed" because of his lectures but because of his sermons! Happily, there is also growing popular interest in the Fathers. Mike Aquilina's book will fan that flame.
Why study the Fathers? The Fathers were guardians of the faith. St. Vincent of Lerins provides this reason: "'In the Catholic Church, all care must be taken to hold to the faith that has been believed everywhere, always, and by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense `Catholic'. . . . This rule we observe if we follow universality, antiquity, and consent. We follow universality if we confess . . . the faith that the whole Church throughout the world confesses. We follow antiquity if we in no way deviate from the interpretations that our holy ancestors and fathers have proclaimed as inviolable. We follow in consent . . . if in antiquity we adhere to the definitions and decisions of all (or at least almost all) the priests and doctors. . . . . [W]hatever [has] been held, written, taught--not just by one or two of these, but by all, equally, with one consent, openly, frequently, persistently--that is what he must himself believe without any doubt or hesitation" (pp. 220-21).
In very readable prose, Aquilina provides an introduction to and excerpts from all of the main Latin and Greek Fathers. The 31 Fathers, representing East and West, include both the well-known (like St. Augustine) and the little-known (like Ephrem of Syria). Following a general introduction to the Fathers and their world, the book proceeds chronologically, surveying the Apostolic, Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers. In a comprehensive and masterful survey, Aquilina presents all the major Patristic figures, starting with Ss. Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome and ending with John Damascene.
Each Father is preceded by a brief biographical sketch explaining who he was, what he did, and why it was important. At least one (often two to a maximum of five) excerpts from that Father's writings follow. While giving a flavor for the issues of the author's day, the excerpts are not merely dry historical passages. Aquilina's masterful anthology nourishes the contemporary reader's spirituality, addressing issues like "To Work and to Pray" (Benedict of Nursia), "A Song for Christmas" (Ephrem of Syria), and "When Someone Gossips about You" (Maximus the Confessor). Those selections corroborate an underlying thesis of the book: that the Fathers remain cogent authorities on the spiritual life even for Christians today! At the same time, Aquilina situates the Fathers firmly in their own times, choosing excerpts illustrative of issues they had to address: the problems of persecution (Polycarp, Justin Martyr), heresy (Clement of Alexandria), Christology (Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem), and iconoclasm (John Damascene).
The book concludes with three excerpts from important women in the ancient Church (Perpetua, Syncletica, and Egeria). For those whose appetites are whetted, an annotated bibliography provides further reading suggestions.
While certainly appropriate for undergraduate theology classes, the primary audience for this book should be a general Catholic readership interested in learning about the Fathers and the Church during its first seven centuries.
Aquilina's love for the Fathers might inspire him to update M.F. Toal's old "Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers" according to the new Lectionary. Such a project could greatly renew the quality of Sunday homilies.

This is an excellent, greatly expanded edition of an overview for intelligent Christians who are looking for a place to begin to understand Patristics (the writings of the Church Fathers). I can't think of anything that is more important for a Christian or a student of Christianity. We strive to hear the Spirit, but sometimes we disregard the Spirit speaking through Tradition. Mike Aquilina has added more authors and focused more on the texts of the Fathers. He's also added a section on female writers in the early Church.

Aquilina's brief, readable book serves as an introduction to the Fathers and how their ideas relate to the great councils of the Church. He follows that foreword with 3 chapters, one for those thinkers who preceded the Council of Nicaea, those who were contemporaneous, and those who followed it. For each Father, Aquilina gives a well-researched biographical sketch, followed by a representive piece of that Father's writing. It's a nice blend of commentary and tract, context and text. The author's prose is sharp, direct, concise and unobtrusive, the selections well-chosen and, in this edition, greatly expanded. The result is an eminently readable book that leaves you wanting to drink more deeply at the Patristic well.

What were the first generations of Christians like immediately after Jesus left them?
What were there worship services like?
Who were the major leaders and thinkers of the early Church?
What have Christians believed throughout the past centuries and how have our current beliefs developed?

These questions--along with many more--are tackled within the book I just finished, "The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers" by Mike Aquilina.

After converting from Protestantism to Catholicism, my ignorance of the first 1,500 years of Christianity became quickly evident. I was pretty sure that 'historical' Christianity began with the writings of Luther, Calvin, and Wesley. While I don't think they were actively hidden from me, the early Fathers of the Church were passively ignored.

However, once I was introduced to the rich writings of those who lived even before the Reformation, I was quickly overwhelmed. When you consider how relatively young most Protestant denominations are, you quickly realize that for every great Protestant thinker there was, there have been dozens of Catholic equivalents and superiors throughout history.

When I went from complete ignorance of these writers to a mass introduction of them all at once, it was like going from eating a small piece of chocolate to entering Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. It's easy to get overwhelmed with the hundreds of voices coming from the saints and Fathers of the Church throughout time, which brings me back to Aquilina's book.

This book introduces each of the Early Church Fathers through two methods. First, there is a page or two summarizing the life, major events, and writings of each Church Father. Second, there are lengthy sections from each of the Father's most important writings, written in the first-person voice. These writings breed a deep sense of closeness to each Father; hearing each man's own voice make his thoughts come alive.

Rather than some old men with some dusty ideas, the majority of their writings could be repackaged and circulated today as contemporary solutions to many problems, within and beyond the Church. The early Church Fathers are surprisingly relevant to today's world.

According to the book's introduction, there are "around hundred" Church Fathers. The designation of 'Father' is applied by different groups, so there is no official list accepted universally, but the majority of the Fathers are accepted as such by all.

The title of "Father" is quite appropriate; these men--living from the middle first century until the middle of the eighth--were "intensely concerned with preserving the unity and integrity of the company of those who believed." Their main occupation was to preserve and pass down the original Christian faith as it was defined by the Apostles who followed Jesus in the flesh. They are usually categorized into three distinct groups:

* The Apostolic Fathers - Those who were disciples of the original Apostles themselves
* The Ante-Nicene Fathers - Those living between the Apostolic Fathers and the First Council of Nicea (325 A.D.)
* The Post-Nicene Fathers - Those living after the First Council of Nicea through the eighth century

Some of the names--like Origin, Eusebius, Augustine, and Benedict--may be familar to life-long Catholics or Church historians, but there are many other 'hidden' Fathers who also have much to offer like Clement and Cyprian.

This book was filled with so many quotable gyms from the Fathers. Here are some of my favorites:

* "The kingly man and Christian ought to be a ruler and a leader. For we are commanded to be lords over not only the wild beasts around us, but also over the wild passions within ourselves." - St. Clement of Alexandria
* On doubting that reading the Bible is worthwhile: "We must, however, know that we often profit without perceiving it...Believe that your soul profits from the mere reading, even though your understanding does not receive the fruit of profiting from these passages." - Origen
* On the importance of the unity of the Church (also known as the Bride of Christ): "The spouse of Christ cannot be adulterous; she is uncorrupted and pure. She knows one home; she guards with chaste modesty the sanctity of one couch." - St. Cyprian of Carthage

More than a pure, dry theology, this book is filled with practical advice from the Fathers on everyday life. This becomes clear just from the chapter titles, which include "On Riches", "To Work and to Pray", "On Bashing the Clergy", and "When Someone Gossips About You".

Overall, this was a fantastic and empowering read; the foundation of my faith grew firmer with each page. After finishing I only want to dig deeper into the words of each of these great Fathers.

Looking at the negative review below, it's hard to believe that Mr. Mikhail read the same book as the one that I have in front of me. As I look at the page numbers he references, it becomes clear that Mikhail's fire is misdirected. Properly speaking his quarrel is not with Mr. Aquilina but with St. Irenaeus, St. Clement, St. Ignatius, and certain historical facts that are inconvenient to his own preferred narrative of early Christian history. His claim that Aquilina "belittled St. Athanasius" on page 128 is pure fantasy.

I would hate to have Mr. Mikhail's invective stand as the Orthodox response to this fine book. There was certainly none of this hostility towards Mr. Aquilina when he came to address the Society of St. John Chrysostom in Youngstown earlier this month. His address to was both enlightening and very respectful of the Orthodox heritage.

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.

/

"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.

/

This book was easy to read and understand. My goal was to find out what happened after the Ascencion of Jesus and on into the next centuries. This book answered my questions.