Early Church Fathers?

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It has been recommended in other threads that one should read the writings of the early church fathers to understand the traditions, beliefs, teachings …of the early church and be able to see their CATHOLIC ROOTS.
What books?
What titles?
What authors?
And please make it an easy read!!!
 
I recommend starting with…

**Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
**by William A. Jurgens

It’s better to read the early Fathers than simply read about the early Fathers. Jurgens does an outstanding job of providing many excerpts from various works throughout the centuries. He also has a nifty doctrinal index in the back to help you search for what the father’s have said regarding certain topics.

After Vol 1, I recommend Vol 2 and Vol 3.
 
I’ve heard Marcus Grodi recommend “Four Witnesses” quite a bit. It’s my next book to buy…
 
Threads have applied the arguement that if you want to understand what the appostles taught and then “put into practice”, like the mass or the euchrist…, then you should read the writings of the people that studied dirrectly under them.
Does ths book cover this?
 
Yes the four witnesses gives excerpts from the first and second century, with some background to make it easier to read. It details a little bit of what the author experienced in his reading also. Rod Bennet is the author and I recommend this book as it is a pretty easy read.
If you want to read early christian writings in their entirety then I suggest you start with something like Penguin Books Early Christian writings, This is a little deeper read, but well worth it.
shop.catholic.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-B0079.html?L+scstore+qwst4636ff0b680b+1131224052

If you have any specific questions I have both books.

God Bless
Scylla
 
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Elzee:
I’ve heard Marcus Grodi recommend “Four Witnesses” quite a bit. It’s my next book to buy…
Click to expand...
I just started reading this. The intro is great; it talks about how history and authority brought the author to the Church.
 
john charles:
It has been recommended in other threads that one should read the writings of the early church fathers to understand the traditions, beliefs, teachings …of the early church and be able to see their CATHOLIC ROOTS.
What books?
What titles?
What authors?
And please make it an easy read!!!
Click to expand...
Ignatius of Antioch wrote several letters to different comunities around the turn of the first century. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote “against heresies” around the middle of the second century. These are the two authors I would suggest.
 
…and Ignatius was an actual hearer of the Apostle John. Read Ignatius’ Letter to the Symrnaeans {ca A.D.110]!!!
 
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RCCDefender:
…and Ignatius was an actual hearer of the Apostle John. Read Ignatius’ Letter to the Symrnaeans {ca A.D.110]!!!
Click to expand...
That is one of the things that makes Ignatius so good. To the Smyrneans is probably his best epistle.
 
I have Jurgens and a couple other patristics books, but the book I am now reading “Four Witnesses.” If you want an engrossing but easy read, this is the book to start with. 👍

After that, I would tackle Mike Aquilina’s series of books on the Church Fathers (linked below). They are also very accessable:
mikeaquilina.com/books.html

So far there are three of them.

The Fathers of the Church
The Mass of the Early Christians
The Way of the Fathers: Praying with the Early Christians

As your familiairty with the ECFs grows, you can graduate to Jurgens or other collections. There are also some on-line resources you may want to bookmark for later reference:
newadvent.org/fathers/
catholic.com/library/fathers_know_best.asp
cin.org/users/jgallegos/contents.htm
ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ206.HTM

Hope that helps! 🙂
 
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