Difference between revisions of "Patristics & Early Church"

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The Anglican Church has been called a “patristic church.”  What does this mean?  Its meaning reflects the Anglican understanding of how we do “Reformation.”  For some Protestant churches reformation means re-inventing the Church according to their own Biblical understanding and interpretation, trying to recreate the church by studying the Bible alone.  For Anglicans reformation literally means to return to the original form; in other words, the Church Jesus and His apostles planted.  Fortunately, we are not left to our own guesswork.  There are hundreds of pages of writings handed down from early Christians describing the Church, doctrine, Biblical interpretation, etc.  Some of these writings have been determined to be forgeries and/or heretical (like the Gospel of Thomas) but most have long ago received the “stamp of approval” by Ecumenical Church Councils or by agreement and approval of many other Church fathers (the word Patristic has been defined as “Of or relating to the fathers of the early Christian church or their writings”). Within these early Fathers we can find broad agreement on certain topics that divide Christians today.  For example, in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, probably written before the end of the first century, already he is calling the communion service of the church “the Eucharist” and refers to it’s consecrated elements (bread and wine) as the “medicine of eternal life” pointing to a deeply sacramental understanding of that mystery. He already clearly teaches the three-fold nature of Chrisitan leadership, referring to a single bishop of a city or territory and presbyters who gather around the Bishop and deacons who serve the bishop and the people. He teaches that Jesus “hallowed the waters” by being baptized in them Himself and so, once again, strongly hints at the deeply sacramental nature of baptism.  These teachings are found nearly universally in the writings of the rest of the church fathers for the next 400 years!  So when we as Anglicans study the Bible and what it has to say about such things as communion, bishops, presbyters and deacons, and baptism, we do not have to try to understand these things without any frame of reference outside ourselves!  We are not “making it up” as we go along, but rather we are reading the Holy Scriptures in the company of the Apostles themselves and in the company of those whom the apostles themselves taught.
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Postulants need to describe how from its ancient beginnings, the Church of England has been a “patristic church.”  (A patristic church literally is a “church of the Fathers.”) In this case it means a church that faithfully reflects the teaching of Jesus and the holy apostles as understood and interpreted by the undivided church of over 1000 years and defined by the seven Ecumenical Councils. This faith of the undivided church is the very faith most of the English reformers had in mind as they sought to reform a corrupted medieval church to its apostolic roots. In the case of the Church of England, it is a church originally founded before the 4th Century A.D. in England by anonymous missionaries teaching that apostolic faith inaugurated by Jesus and His holy apostles. Therefore, it is essential for those in Anglican orders to know that faith well before proceeding to understand the later developments in doctrine or the corruptions and heresies, both ancient and modern. This is so we can teach about the Trinity, creation, sin, the incarnation of God’s Son, salvation, sanctification in word leading to eternal life, and we can defend and protect the flock of God from demonic and false human teachings that lead to destruction. Below you can find resources that will enable you to show competency in understanding the “teaching of the apostles” and interpreting the Holy Scriptures through that lens.
  
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What does this mean?  Ignatius of Antioch, for example, was from the very church whose founding is mentioned in some detail in the book of Acts (chapters 6, 11, and 13) in which Sts.Peter and Paul taught and from which St. Paul was sent out on the first world mission trips. If Ignatius did not sit directly under the teaching of St. Paul, he certainly sat under the teaching of a man who did!  Another early father, Irenaeus of Lyons, from whom also we learn a lot of early doctrine and Biblical interpretation, was a disciple of Polycarp in Ephesus who was a direct disciple of the apostle St. John the divine, writer of the gospel that bears his name. So these writers and their disciples form a direct, living link; a Holy Spirit anointed tradition of Biblical interpretation and ecclesiastical and theological understanding that came from the very mouths of the apostles of Jesus.
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For this reason, Anglicans have always been deeply immersed in the writings of these fathers and built our understanding of the Church and the Scriptures based on their teachings. This is what makes us a “patristic” church. These fathers passed on a living tradition of how to be the church and how to understand the Holy Scriptures that we honor and respect. When and where we find them in substantial agreement, we feel that modern and late modern theologians and teachers must do the “heavy lifting” when they disagree with this substantial agreement of the fathers.
  
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For this reason, Anglicans have always been deeply immersed in the writings of these fathers and built our understanding of the Church and the Scriptures based on their teachings.  This is what makes us a “patristic” church.  These fathers passed on a living tradition of how to be the church and how to understand the Holy Scriptures that we honor and respect.  When and where we find them in substantial agreement, we feel that modern and late modern theologians and teachers must do the “heavy lifting” when they disagree with this substantial agreement of the fathers.
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For this reason, these earliest fathers should be read and studied by all ordained people.  
  
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For this reason, these earliest fathers should be read and studied by all ordained people.  In particular you should read the letters of Ignatius of Antioch (a readable copy found [http://silouanthompson.net/library/early-church/ignatius/  here]) and a sample of the writings of Irenaeus (found [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/irenaeus.html here]) and the Mystological Catechesis of Cyril of Jerusalem (found [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3101.htm here]).
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The early church and foundations of the Faith
  
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Early Fathers particularly regarded by Anglican theologians:
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- Read Ignatius of Antioch (''Letters'') and the ''Diache'' and Irenaeus of Lyons to begin to grasp what the first Christians believed and taught and how they interpreted Scriptures
  
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Clement of Rome
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- Read Cyril of Jerusalem (''Catechetical Lectures'' or ''Mystagogical Catecheses'')
  
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Ignatius of Antioch
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- Read Athanasius of Alexandria’s ''On the Incarnation''
  
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The Didache
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- Read Augustine of Hippo’s ''On the Trinity''
  
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Tertullian
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- Read Basil the Great's ''On the Holy Spirit''
  
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Irenaeus of Lyons
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- Read Leo Donald Davis, ''The First Seven Ecumenical Councils: (325-787) Their History and Theology'': know each council, its date and the primary correction or teaching it produced
  
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Athanasius of Alexandria
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==Recommended Reading==
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Cyril of Jerusalem
 
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Augustine
 
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The Cappadocian Fathers (Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil of
 
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Caesarea)
 
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Ambrose of Milan
 
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St. Gregory the Great
 
  
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Leo Donald Davis, ''The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787): Their History and Theology'' (Michael Glazier, 1983)
  
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A great Reformation claim for the Anglican Church being a patristic and
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William H. C. Frend, ''The Early Church'' (Augsburg Fortress, 1982)
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truly “catholic” church:
 
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The Apology by John Jewel
 
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[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17678/17678-h/17678-h.htm]
 
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==Recommended Reading==
 
  
 
==Resources==
 
==Resources==

Latest revision as of 16:11, 24 May 2018

Postulants need to describe how from its ancient beginnings, the Church of England has been a “patristic church.” (A patristic church literally is a “church of the Fathers.”) In this case it means a church that faithfully reflects the teaching of Jesus and the holy apostles as understood and interpreted by the undivided church of over 1000 years and defined by the seven Ecumenical Councils. This faith of the undivided church is the very faith most of the English reformers had in mind as they sought to reform a corrupted medieval church to its apostolic roots. In the case of the Church of England, it is a church originally founded before the 4th Century A.D. in England by anonymous missionaries teaching that apostolic faith inaugurated by Jesus and His holy apostles. Therefore, it is essential for those in Anglican orders to know that faith well before proceeding to understand the later developments in doctrine or the corruptions and heresies, both ancient and modern. This is so we can teach about the Trinity, creation, sin, the incarnation of God’s Son, salvation, sanctification in word leading to eternal life, and we can defend and protect the flock of God from demonic and false human teachings that lead to destruction. Below you can find resources that will enable you to show competency in understanding the “teaching of the apostles” and interpreting the Holy Scriptures through that lens.

For this reason, Anglicans have always been deeply immersed in the writings of these fathers and built our understanding of the Church and the Scriptures based on their teachings. This is what makes us a “patristic” church. These fathers passed on a living tradition of how to be the church and how to understand the Holy Scriptures that we honor and respect. When and where we find them in substantial agreement, we feel that modern and late modern theologians and teachers must do the “heavy lifting” when they disagree with this substantial agreement of the fathers.

For this reason, these earliest fathers should be read and studied by all ordained people.

The early church and foundations of the Faith

- Read Ignatius of Antioch (Letters) and the Diache and Irenaeus of Lyons to begin to grasp what the first Christians believed and taught and how they interpreted Scriptures

- Read Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lectures or Mystagogical Catecheses)

- Read Athanasius of Alexandria’s On the Incarnation

- Read Augustine of Hippo’s On the Trinity

- Read Basil the Great's On the Holy Spirit

- Read Leo Donald Davis, The First Seven Ecumenical Councils: (325-787) Their History and Theology: know each council, its date and the primary correction or teaching it produced

Recommended Reading

Leo Donald Davis, The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787): Their History and Theology (Michael Glazier, 1983)

William H. C. Frend, The Early Church (Augsburg Fortress, 1982)

Resources

Ignatius of Antioch, Letters ([1])

Didache ([2])

Irenaeus of Lyons, On the Apostolic Preaching ([3])

Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures ([4])

Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation ([5])

Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Books 1-9 ([6]) and On the Trinity ([7])

Gregory Nazianzus, Theological Orations 27-31 ([8])

Cyril of Alexandria, On the Unity of Christ ([9])

Martyrdom of Perpetua ([10])

Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule ([11])

John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood ([12])

Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit ([13])

Canonical Areas

Church History/Anglican Church History

a. Patristics & Early Church b. Medieval & Reformation Church c. Modern Church

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