Posted on 01/08/2020 6:36:01 AM PST by Antoninus
These books contain important accounts and teachings from the early Church that every Christian should at least be familiar with. Unfortunately, many of these ancient resources are unknown to Christians today.
How many of these have you read? Take the challenge here: Fifty Works From the Early Church That Every Christian Should Read
If you have read less than 5 of these, you rank as a catechumen.
If you have read at least 5, you are a novice.
If you have read at least 10, you are an acolyte.
If you have read at least 20, you would qualify as a sub-deacon.
If you have read at least 30, you could be a deacon.
If you have read up to 40, you should consider the priesthood.
If you have read all 50, we may declare you a bishop by acclamation.
I enjoyed compiling this list because the process revealed how lacking I am in my own patristic reading. For every one of these works I've read, there seem to be a dozen more that I haven't!
1. The Douay-Rheims Bible (Various Catholic Translators)
2. The Shepherd of Hermas (F. Crombie, Translator)
3. Epistle of St. Barnabas (Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 2) (Bart D. Ehrman (Translator))
4. Epistles of Sts. Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch (James A. Kleist, Translator)
5. The Didache
6. Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians (Alexander Roberts (Translator))
7. Embassy for the Christians (Athenagoras)
8. The Writings of Saint Justin Martyr (Thomas B. Falls, Translator)
9. I Am a Christian: Authentic Accounts of Christian Martyrdom and Persecution From the Ancient Sources (Anthony Schiavo, ed.)
10. Apology and Spectacles (Tertullian)
11. The Paedagogus (Christ the Educator) (St. Clement of Alexandria)
12. Against Celsus (Origen)
13. Against Heresies (Irenaeus of Lyons)
14. The Complete Works of Saint Cyprian of Carthage (St. Cyprian)
15. Letters and Treatises (Dionysius of Alexandria)
16. The Octavius (Minucius Felix)
17. Refutation of All Heresies (Hippolytus of Rome)
18. Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine
19. The Divine Institutes (Lactantius)
20. Eusebius: History of the Church
21. Life of Saint Anthony of Egypt by Saint Athanasius
22. On the Incarnation (St. Athanasius)
23. Apocriticus (Macarius Magnes)
24. Lausaic History (Palladius of Aspuna)
25. The Desert Fathers (Sayings of the Early Christian Monks)
26. Life of Saint Martin of Tours (Sulpitius Severus)
27. The Pilgrimage of Egeria (Anne McGowan (Translator))
28. The Ecclesiastical History (Hermias Sozomen)
29. The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates (Socrates Scholasticus)
30. On the Duties of the Clergy (St. Ambrose of Milan)
31. The Life of Saint Ambrose (Paulinus of Milan)
32. Select Orations (St. Gregory Nazianzen)
33. Exegetical Homilies on the Hexameron, Psalms, Etc. (Saint Basil the Great)
34. On the Soul and Resurrection (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
35. Saint Augustine--Confessions
36. Saint Augustine's City of God
37. On Marriage and Family Life (St. John Chyrsostom)
38. Psychomachia (Aurelius Prudentius Clemens)
39. The Life of Saint Augustine (Possidius of Calama)
40. The Confession & Letter to Coroticus (Saint Patrick)
41. Seven Books of History Against the Pagans (Orosius)
42. The Life of Saint Simeon Stylites (Frederick Lent, Translator) 43. On Illustrious Men (St. Jerome)
44. History of the Vandal Persecution (Victor of Vita)
45. The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis) (Louise Ropes Loomis (Ed.))
46. Ecclesiastical History (Evagrius Scholasticus)
47. The Paschale Chronicle, AD 284-628 (Michael Whitby, Translator)
48. The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great
49. Lives of the Fathers (St. Gregory of Tours)
50. Ecclesiastical History of the English People
And Ill note that the original challenger still hasnt replied after I pointed out that his talking point was a failure.
Its not a growing problem.
Its a going problem.
So basically what you’re admitting is that the church fathers are self-contradictory.
Sounds like a good argument for sola scriptura.
Actually no.
Start in the first century, and demonstrate the bodily assumption of Mary.
They can read the scriptures. They just can’t form an opinion of what scripture teaches.
Not so. You may be proceeding on the assumption that if a thing is not "formally" defined by the Universal Church, it is just flat out not accepted. But that's exactly wrong.
The canon of Scripture, for instance. The Hippo, Carthage, Rome Synods in the late 300's listed the same canon which was used then and used now. And Trent was not the first Ecumenical council to do so, since that same canon was also listed at the Council of Florence, a century before the Protestant Reformation. So from at least the late 300's (which we can document) until now, same canon.
https://forums.catholic.com/t/which-council-established-the-canon-of-scripture/262872/6M
"And after the Reformation, Catholicism anathematized their own church fathers, so I really dont care about what they said after."
Did you get this from some online source? If you could link that I would be most grateful.
I'm thinking you may have been put off by something like, say, the Synod of Constantinople (6th century) which censured certain writings attributed to Origen (3rd century), but in fact written by Evagrius Ponticus. Origen was allegedly at one point condemned, supposedly for his Christology, but Origen is not even mentioned by name in the actual council proceedings, nor in the version that was signed by the Pope many years after that. Scholars point out that the condemned propositions were being taught by self-described "Origenists" who centuries later taught stuff not found in his writings.
In any case, no one asserts or imagines that the Early Church Fathers were infallible, but only that they were faithful witnesses in whose writings can be found many deep and converging agreements which constitute rich sources of what was believed in the Early Church.
Those who are indifferent to the Early Church are in practice skeptical of the Holy Spirit, Who is seen to be asleep or AWOL and not leading the Body of Believers as Jesus promised.
I also like the book “Four Witnesses” by Bennett.
Bwa ha ha ha ha. Myriad quotes of ‘faith alone’ combined with sources from the ECFs is ‘cherry picking.’
Nice dismissal attempt. Shame it won’t convince anyone that doesn’t already agree with you.
And a great many that contradict each other.
And this is why they are informative, but are not authoritative. They are posting their own beliefs only...
Do you take a simple majority, a 2/3 correlation, pick and choose, deny what you don't like, etc?
Actually no.Start in the first century, and demonstrate the bodily assumption of Mary.
Here's another good one, a Protestant apologetics site:
http://www.handsonapologetics.com/King%20James%20Bible.html
It makes me smile, Luircin, to read your caution that I will "hurt my reputation" if I don't take your bald assertions as fact. You could help us all out by giving sources. Consider the possibility that you may hurt your own reputation if you don't engage with my sources, especially when I cite Protestant apologists and standard references.
I have never read a source anywhere, including various encyclopedias, which deny that at the Council of Rome in 382, the Church decided upon a canon of 46 Old Testament books and 27 in the New Testament. This decision was ratified by the councils at Hippo (393), Carthage (397, 419), II Nicea (787), Florence (1442), and Trent (1546).
If you can find any reference denying that, I would sincerely appreciate it if you would cite it and give me a link.
That would contribute to our mutual credibility. ;o)
Thank you.
That is the 6th century.
I asked you to start in the 1st century...
Please try again.
Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were actually interested
I am. You failed. Why...?
So?
Every Catholic on FR claims that Jesus started the Catholic church; list or not.
And in the mere lifetime of one man; these CATHOLIC churches had gone off the rails; St. Peter didn't do a very good job; did he!?
Or just selected portions if you are time limited...
Augustine (De bono viduitatis)
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