Early Church Fathers

Throughout most of my life as an Evangelical Protestant I was familiar with the church writings through the New Testament era, as well as the writings of Christians since the start of the Reformation. But, aside from the work of Thomas Aquinas, if there was a instance between the years 100 and 1517 in which a Christian had put pen to paper, I was not aware of it.

Then while I was investigating church history last year, I became aware of the vast collection of writings by theologians and scholars and leaders of the early Church. These men were direct, and in some cases immediate, successors of the Apostles. They lived, taught, defended, suffered and died for the Faith handed down to them from Christ through the Apostles.

All my Christian life I had read the works of men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, C.S. Lewis, Rick Warren, Max Lucado, Josh McDowell and other gifted and insightful theologians who nonetheless were centuries or millennia removed from the New Testament Church. And while these men may have good things to offer, how much more can we learn from those with firsthand knowledge of the early Church? If there is any question or doubt as to how the Early Church acted, believed, worshipped, was structured, or what its attitude was toward baptism, the Eucharist, the Incarnation, the Saints, or a multitude of other doctrines, what better source to consult than the men who actually lived in and studied and led that Early Church; the men to whom the Apostles themselves entrusted the Faith? (2 Ti 2.2)

It really should come as no surprise that there is a church today whose doctrine and practice match those described by the Christian church leaders and theologians of the first few centuries after Pentecost. What is shocking, though, is that there is only one.

The discovery of these Early Church Fathers was a profoundly meaningful event in my spiritual journey. It pretty much sealed the deal for me. I once heard a Roman Catholic apologist say that to be familiar with the writings of the Early Church Fathers is to cease to be Protestant. I would agree with him, but I would go even further and question how it is possible for someone to know the Fathers and be anything but Orthodox.

Here are some of the writings that have had the greatest impact on me:

Note: The men below marked with a cross (†) are known as Apostolic Fathers. That is, they were the students of and immediate successors to the Twelve Apostles. They were personally instructed by the Apostles themselves in the same way that the Gospel writers Mark and Luke were.

Ambrose of Milan (340-397): Bishop of Milan and strong opponent of Arianism.
On the Faith
On the Mysteries (Sacraments)

Athanasius (c. 297-373): Patriarch of Alexandria; also a strong opponent of Arianism; first person to identify the same 27 books recognized today as the New Testament.
On the Incarnation

†Barnabas: One of the Seventy Apostles chosen by Christ (Acts 4.36; 9.27; 11-15; 1 Co 9.6; Gal 2.1,9,13); cousin of Mark the Evangelist (Col 4.10); childhood friend and missionary companion of St Paul; tortured and stoned c. 62
Epistle of Barnabas*

Basil the Great (c. 330-379): Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; opponent of Arius and Apollinarius; he and Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory Naziansus are known as the Cappadocian Fathers.
On the Holy Spirit
Liturgy of St. Basil

†Clement of Rome: Baptized by the Apostle Peter; one of the Seventy mentioned in the New Testament (Php 4.3); Fourth Bishop of Rome; exiled to Crimea; martyred c. 99 by drowning.
First Epistle to the Corinthians
Second Epistle of Clement

Cyprian (200-258): Bishop of Carthage; convert to Christianity; martyred by beheading.
On the Unity of the Church

Cyril of Alexandria (378 – 444): Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt; opponent of Nestorius; presided at Third Ecumenical Council in 441.
Second Epistle to Nestorius
Third Epistle to Nestorius, including the Twelve Anathemas

Eusebius (c.260-341): Bishop of Caesarea; Historian.
History of the Church

Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-394): Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia; brother of Basil the Great; one of the Cappadocian Fathers; defender of Trinitarian doctrine.
Against Eunomius

†Hermas: One of the Seventy (Rom 16.14); bishop of Philippoplis in Thrace; martyred in the first century.
The Shepherd

†Ignatius of Antioch (c. 30-110) Believed to be the child in Matthew 18.1-4, he was a disciple of John the Evangelist; Succeeded Euodias of the Seventy (Php 4.2) as Bishop of Antioch; penned seven letters during his journey to Rome to be executed.
Epistle to the Ephesians
Epistle to the Magnesians
Epistle to the Trallians
Epistle to the Romans
Epistle to the Philadelphians
Epistle to the Smyrnaeans
Epistle to Polycarp

Irenaeus of Lyon (130-202): Bishop of Lugdunum (Lyon) in Gaul; Student of Polycarp.
Against Heresies
Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

John of Damascus (680-780; pictured above): Theologian and hymnographer;
Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

John Chrysostom (c. 347-407): Bishop of Constantinople; theologian an teacher renowned for his eloquence (was given the surname Chrysostomos, which in Greek is Χρυσόστομος meaning “golden mouthed”); died en route to his exile.
Homilies on First Corinthians
Homilies on Second Corintians
Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom

Justin Martyr (c. 100-165): Second-century theologian, philosopher, and missionary; tortured and executed in Rome.
First Apology
Second Apology
Dialogue with Trypho the Jew
The Discourse to the Greeks

†Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155): Disciple of John the Evangelist; friend of Ignatius of Antioch; bishop of the Greek city of Smyrna in Asia Minor; burned alive and stabbed to death c. 155
Epistle to the Philippians

*There is some discussion among scholars as to whether the author of this letter is actually the Apostle Barnabas or another Barnabas. Either way, it's worth reading.