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When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers

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When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Selected Chronology of the Early Church Fathers1 Chapter 1 The Church Fathers: Who Is Included? Chapter 2 Clement and the Corinthian Coup Chapter 3 The Didache: Out of the Mist of History Chapter 4 Ignatius: Prophet, Pastor, and Witness Chapter 5 The Martyrdom of Polycarp Chapter 6 Diognetus and the Mystery of Christian Newness Chapter 7 Justin and the Philosopher’s Cloak Chapter 8 Irenaeus and the Gnostic Threat Chapter 9 Irenaeus and the Battle for the Bible Chapter 10 Clement and the School of Alexandria Chapter 11 Origen: Zeal and Genius Chapter 12 The Tragedy of Tertullian Chapter 13 Cyprian and the Unity of the Church Chapter 14 Hippolytus and the Lex Orandi Chapter 15 The Great Persecution ADVANCE PRAISE FOR When the Church Was Young “Too many Catholics take their ancient roots for granted and fail to study the Fathers of the Church, whose writings are essential bricks in the house of our faith. This book is wonderful in making accessible the building blocks of Catholic doctrine, and it holds them together with clear depictions of the lives and histories of the saints, scholars, and scoundrels who lived in the young days of the Church. What a great study guide for the individual, study group or classroom!” —Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J., author of The Holy Land: An Armchair Pilgrimage “Dr. D’Ambrosio has for years held pilgrims spellbound as he speaks about the Fathers. How good it is to have his spell bound between the covers of a book. His love for our Fathers is true, deep, and beautiful. In these pages he shares that love as only a master teacher can.” —Mike Aquilina, author of Good Pope, Bad Pope “The dawn of the Church is an absolutely fascinating time, but most people don’t know much about it, and many myths have been woven around it. Marcellino D’Ambrosio has done us all a favor by providing a clear, readable, and eye- opening look at what really happened in this crucial part of the Church’s life.” —Jimmy Akin, author of The Fathers Know Best “Marcellino D’Ambrosio brings ecclesiastical history to life with a clarity and vitality seldom achieved in this field. I’ve read many books on early Church history and can affirm without hesitation that, for a popular audience, this one ranks at the top of the list because of its straightforward prose, rich yet accessible content, thoroughness, and honest presentation of the facts.” —Patrick Madrid, radio host and author of Envoy for Christ “When the Church Was Young is gripping, compelling, and fast-moving. Honestly, it’s hard to believe it’s about a bunch of old dead guys—I found myself wanting to learn more in the three-hundred-page adventure with this book than I have since college. Homeschooling moms, converts, people who like to read: Take note. You›ll want to buy this book (because, no, I’m not letting you borrow mine).” —Sarah Reinhard, author of A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy “In providing such an accessible and engaging account of the Church Fathers—the frontiersmen of Christianity—Dr. D’Ambrosio has accomplished the rare feat of combining scholarship with readability. Christians of all traditions can trace their faith to these pioneers; their story is our story.” —Professor David Alton, House of Lords When the Church Was Young Voices of the Early Fathers MARCELLINO D’AMBROSIO Unless otherwise noted, Scripture passages have been taken from the Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition. Copyright ©1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotes are taken from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America (indicated as CCC), 2nd ed. Copyright 1997 by United States Catholic Conference—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Cover and book design by Mark SullivanCover image: St Apollinaris, St Sebastian, St Demetrius, St Polycarp and St Vincent, detail from the Saints Procession, mosaic, south wall, lower level, Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (UNESCO World Heritage List, 1996), Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. Italy, 6th century. / De Agostini Picture Library / A. Dagli Orti / The Bridgeman Art Library LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATAD’Ambrosio, Marcellino. When the church was young : voices of the early fathers / Marcellino D›Ambrosio. pages cm ISBN 978-1-61636-777-0 (alk. paper) 1. Fathers of the church. I. Title. BR67.D325 2014 270.1—dc23 2014016012 ISBN 978-1-61636-777-0 Copyright ©2014, Marcellino D’Ambrosio. All rights reserved. Published by Servant Books, an imprint ofFranciscan Media28 W. Liberty St.Cincinnati, OH 45202www.FranciscanMedia.org Printed in the United States of America.Printed on acid-free paper.14 15 16 17 18 5 4 3 2 1 Preface hen a new star appeared over Bethlehem, the sleepy W little town was occupied territory. Sixty years earlier, a foreign army had marched through the region claiming Palestine as a Roman province. Rome’s engineers were busy building new buildings, and its legions were conquering new territories. But Rome herself was no longer new. She had grown old and decrepit. The republic of Cicero had degenerated into the despotism of Caesar. Tyrant after tyrant had seized power at the price of much bloodshed. Devotion to family, hard work, and frugality had been replaced by an addiction to pleasure and power. A welfare state based on conquest and slave labor bought the loyalty of the mob with free bread and gladiator games. The people were all too ready to trade their liberty for creature comforts. Into this depressing situation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ introduced a quiet excitement and a new hope that continued to grow, despite all the efforts to stamp it out. It began as a spark in Galilee, was fanned into flame on Pentecost, and within a decade or two reached the very gates of Caesar’s capital, which then became the new center of Christian life and mission. The story didn’t end with the apostles. Paul and most of the twelve had been executed by the corrupt old empire, which saw them as an alarming threat. When the last apostle died, probably around A.D. 100, the new way of life, the new hope of the Christians, had barely penetrated society. So much was left undone. There was no New Testament yet. True, there were some letters by Peter, Paul, and John written to one community or another. Also, by this time, there existed some collections of words and stories from the life of Jesus and the Church of the first generation. And there were other writings too, including one with some rather disturbing visions. But which of all these writings truly represent the teaching of Jesus and the apostles? If authentic, how authoritative are they? Should they be regarded as inspired Scripture, on the same level as Moses and Isaiah? And, by the way, was Jesus truly God, or was he just the greatest of the prophets? Was he fully human, or did he just appear in human form? Some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand. What did Paul intend? What did Jesus himself intend? The leaders who answered these questions picked up the ball from the apostles and carried it all the way through the years of the Church’s infancy. They came to be called “the Church Fathers” much as the creators of the new American republic came to be known as the “Founding Fathers.” Fathers are those who beget life. And while physical life is a marvel, spiritual life, which comes from intimate knowledge of God, is a yet more wonderful thing. The Fathers begat this life primarily through their teaching. The Word of God, the teaching of Christ and the apostles, was likened by them to seed, which bestows life. But they also likened it to bread, which sustains life. Like good fathers, they were not only begetters, but providers. They not only sowed the apostolic seed, they provided nourishment, counsel, and discipline with an eye toward bringing the infant Church to maturity. There were many teachers in the early Church whose teaching perished with them and whose names have been forgotten. The early Christian teachers who came to be called “the Fathers” are those who put their teaching into writing and so are able to teach us still. And we urgently need their teaching. The cynical, tired world today is remarkably like the worn-out Roman society of their day. The questions they responded to are our questions, and their problems are our problems. Their voices, resonating with the youthful energy of the early Church, need to be heard again today. That is the reason for this book. The Church in their day was endangered from within through division and compromise. And it was endangered from without through persecution and moral seduction. Sound familiar? The Fathers’ witness was key to the unity and vitality of the Church back then. But their witness is also key to the restoration of unity and vitality right now. This book is not meant to be a textbook introduction or an encyclopedic handbook. Excellent versions of these exist, and I highly recommend them. This book, on the other hand, is intended to acquaint the reader with the colorful personalities and the seething passion of those who are our common ancestors and to share a few gems from the treasure of their precious teaching, which is our common patrimony. And when I say “our,” I mean the entire Christian family.
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