Table of Contents
Abbreviations 12
Acknowledgments 13
Preface 15
The World of the Fathers: Introduction 17
The Apostolic Fathers: The Gospel's First Echo 55
St. Clement of Rome 56
To the Corinthians 57
St. Ignatius of Antioch 61
The Effects of Heresy 63
The Desire for Martyrdom 64
St. Polycarp of Smyrna 68
The Martyrdom of Polycarp 70
Hermas 73
Hennas Tells His Story 76
The Ante-Nicene Fathers: The Church Finds a Voice 81
St. Aristides of Athens 82
From Creation to Creator 83
St. Justin Martyr 86
To the Emperor Antoninus Pius 88
To the Roman Senate 89
St. Melito of Sardis 90
The Old Passover and the New 92
St. Theophilus of Antioch 95
The Blindness of Sin 96
St. Athenagoras of Athens 97
Arguments for the Defense 98
Consistent Ethic of Life 100
St. Irenaeus of Lyons 101
Union with God 102
Against the Heretics: A Satire of Gnosticism 105
Mary, the New Eve 107
The Eucharist, Pledge of Our Resurrection 107
Tertuliian 108
The Love of Christians 109
Athens and Jerusalem 112
St. Hippolytus of Rome 114
Milk and Honey 115
Wisdom's House and Wisdom's Banquet 116
St. Cyprian of Carthage 117
To Pope Cornelius 119
On the Unity of the Church 120
St. Clement of Alexandria 122
True Gnostics and False Gnostics 123
A Hymn to Christ the Savior 125
Origen 127
To a Young Christian Intellectual 129
The Senses of Scripture 131
A Snippet of Allegory 133
When It's Tough to Read the Bible 133
St. Gregory of Pontus: On Origen, My Teacher 134
St. Dionysius the Great 135
The Christian Difference 137
The Courage of the Martyrs 139
St. Methodius of Olympus 140
The Church Prefigured and Fulfilled 142
Lactantius 143
just Deserts 144
The Fourth Century: The Golden Age of Doctrine 147
Eusebius of Caesarea 148
In Praise of Constantine 150
On Church History 151
St. Athanasius 152
We Worship the Word Made Flesh 154
On the Death of Arius 157
St. Aphrahat the Sage 159
On Persecution 161
St. Ephrem of Syria 164
A Song for Christmas 165
St. Basil the Great 167
On His Conversion 169
A Plea to the Pope 170
On the Holy Spirit 171
St. Gregory of Nazianzus 173
Why I Fled 174
Soul and Body 175
St. Gregory of Nyssa 178
Why Do Infants Die? 179
The Mystical Death 180
On the Building of a Church 182
St. Asterius of Amasea 184
Against Divorce 184
St. Cyril of Jerusalem 187
On Confession 188
On the Eucharist 189
On Reverence at Liturgy 190
St. Pacian of Barcelona 191
On the Name Catholic 192
St. Ambrose of Milan 193
To the Emperor Valentinian 195
To the Catechumens 197
On True Fortitude 199
The Hymns of the Little Hours 201
The Later Fathers: The Church and the Changing World 205
St. Epiphanius of Salamis 206
Against Origen 208
St. John Chrysostom 209
On Riches 211
On Luxury 212
Husbands, Love Your Wives 214
To Parents 217
St. John Cassian 218
The Athlete of Christ 219
Begin with an End in Mind 220
Theodore of Mopsuestia 222
The Meaning of "Consubstantial" 224
St. Cyril of Alexandria 226
Reaching Out to Nestorius 227
Trinity, Incarnation, Eucharist: Unity 231
St. Jerome 234
On Mary's Virginity 236
On Lust 241
On Old Age 242
St. Chromatius of Aquileia 243
Baptism, the Great Mystery 244
St. Augustine of Hippo 245
On His Mother, Monica 248
On Morals 251
On the Trinity 255
Letter to Januarius 257
Prudentius 258
The Story of His Life 259
A Christmas Carol 261
St. Paulinus of Nola 263
The Company of God's Servants 264
Poem on the Annunciation 265
St. Vincent of Lérins 266
How to Study the Fathers 267
St. Leo the Great 268
On Jesus Christ 270
On Rome 271
St. Peter Chrysologus 274
Our Daily, Eucharistic Bread 275
Praying the "Hail Mary" 276
St. Jacob of Serugh 277
On Time for the Lord 278
Homily on Habib the Martyr 279
St. Romanus the Singer 281
Sung Sermon at Christmas 282
St. Benedict of Nursia 283
To Work and to Pray 285
St. Venantius Fortunatus 285
Good Friday Hymn 286
Hymn to the Cross 288
St. Gregory the Great 290
On Bashing the Clergy 291
On the Rights of Jews 293
Dionysius the (Pseudo-) Areopagitc 293
Prayer before Theology 295
Hierarchy: The Ladder of Light 296
St. Maximus the Confessor 298
When Someone Gossips about You 300
The Ultimate Authority on Earth 300
St. Isidore of Seville 302
A Census of the Angels 303
St. John of Damascus 305
On the Veneration of Saints 307
On Images 310
The Mothers 313
St. Perpetua 314
The Passion of St. Perpetua 315
St. Syncletica 317
The Sayings 318
Egeria the Pilgrim 318
Climbing Mount Sinai 319
Postscript 323
About the Author 323
Appendix: For Further Study 325
The Times of the Fathers: Timeline of Events 337
Notes 341
Index 345
