Church Fathers
Reading ancient Christian literature

We have labored that the Holy Scriptures and the books left to us by the Church Fathers be multiplied by means of modern printing techniques and be distributed to all�. O Christians, let us arise and, with the spiritual zeal and earnestness which characterized the Apostles and early Christians, let us labor to lead out brothers and sisters to our Savior Jesus Christ, Who only can give life in its fullest sense! (Haile Selassie I, Address to the World Evangelical Congress, 10/28/66)

When we refer to the ancient Church Fathers, the disciples and successors of Y'shua's chosen apostles, we forward in the holy, living tradition of true roots Christianity.

If you have not already begun reading the writings of ancient Christians, you may start with these links to their writings online. I recommend supplementing their writings with good histories of ancient Christianity, like J.N.D. Kelly's Early Christian Doctrines and the historical works of Jaroslav Pelikan and Henry Chadwick, and other good books which put these ancient writings in context, like Roch Kereszty's Jesus Christ: Fundamentals of Christology, Richard Norris' The Christological Controversy, William Rusch's The Trinitarian Controversy, and C. Fitzsimons Allison's The Cruelty of Heresy. There are other useful books being written especially for beginners, like Michael Aquilina's The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Fathers and Christopher Hall's Learning Theology with the Church Fathers.

Do not be intimidated. The ancient Church Fathers are usually much easier to read than modern theological authors. Read them for yourself! If you need any more encouragement, read C.S. Lewis' classic introduction to Athanasius of Alexandria's superb On the Incarnation of the Word of God. Lewis' essay is also known as "On the Reading of Old Books."

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