Way of the Fathers – Details, episodes & analysis

In the first episode of an interim series on lesser known fathers, Dr. Papandrea introduces one of the “apostolic fathers,” Papias of Hierapolis. We only have fragments of his writings, but those fragments started a controversy over the authorship of the book of Revelation and the Johannine letters. Papias is a good example of how the Church fathers, as individuals, were not right about everything - Papias was wrong in his methodology for interpreting the Book of Revelation, among other things, but he gives us some important clues into the authorship and writing of the Gospels.

Links

To read some of the fragments of Papias’ Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1609&repos=8&subrepos=0&searchid=2418437

To listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode on Ignatius of Antioch: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-4-ignatius-antioch-to-know-jesus-christ-our-god/

To listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode on Polycarp of Smyrna: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-5-st-polycarp-and-social-network/

To listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode on the fourth century historian Eusebius of Caesarea: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-25eusebius-history-from-wrong-side-history/

For more on Papas and the apostolic fathers, in the context of the history of the early Church, see the book: Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/reading-the-church-fathers/

For Dr. Papandrea’s take on the Book of Revelation, see the book: The Wedding of the Lamb: A Historical Approach to the Book of Revelation: https://wipfandstock.com/9781608998067/the-wedding-of-the-lamb/

To watch Dr. Papandrea’s short video on the early hierarchy of the Church and the definitions of the Greek words for the clergy, see: Did The Original Church Have Bishops?: https://youtu.be/bXQ0UYfN9a0?si=SxFVGcfkiME9jlXa

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To connect with Dr. James Papandrea, On YouTube - The Original Church:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheOriginalChurch

Join the conversation in the Original Church Community on Locals:  https://theoriginalchurch.locals.com/

Dr. Papandrea’s Homepage:  http://www.jimpapandrea.com

Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/

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In the aftermath of the persecutions, controversies arose over the sacraments, which required clarification of the Church’s sacramental theology. Out of those controversies, new schisms emerged which had a correct understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity, but incorrect understandings of ecclesiology (the doctrine of the Church) and incorrect understandings of what makes a sacrament valid and effective. The significance of these schisms cannot be overstated, since it is still true to this day that the practice of rebaptism is one of the most prevalent acts of schism against the universal Church, and one of the greatest barriers to unity.

Links

To listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode 18 on Cyprian of Carthage: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-18-short-happy-life-cyprian-carthage/

To listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode 39 (the 2nd of 3) on Augustine of Hippo & the controversies: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/39augustine-part-2-mob-made-bishop-makes-his-mark/

To read the anonymous document On Rebaptism: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1729&repos=8&subrepos=0&searchid=2390688

To read St. Augustine’s treatise, On Baptism, Against the Donatists: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3294&repos=8&subrepos=0&searchid=2390773

To read St. Augustine’s letter, The Correction of the Donatists: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3296&repos=8&subrepos=0&searchid=2390689

For more on the controversy surrounding the third and fourth century schisms and the implications for the Sacraments, see the book: 
Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/reading-the-church-fathers/

For all the details on Novatian, see the book: Novatian of Rome and the Culmination of Pre-Nicene Orthodoxy: https://wipfandstock.com/9781606087800/novatian-of-rome-and-the-culmination-of-pre-nicene-orthodoxy/

SIGN UP for Catholic Culture’s Newsletter:  https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters/

DONATE at:  http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

To connect with Dr. James Papandrea, On YouTube - The Original Church:  https://www.youtube.com/@TheOriginalChurch

Join the Original Church Community on Locals:  https://theoriginalchurch.locals.com/

Dr. Papandrea’s Homepage:  http://www.jimpapandrea.com

Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/

Through one man’s witness, monasticism took the world by storm. Anthony of Egypt became history’s least probable celebrity. He gave up his money and possessions. He couldn’t read or write. He fled to the desert to be alone with God. Yet he drew disciples wherever he went. His desert became a city populated by monks and hermits. Philosophers and emperors sought his sage advice. In the course of his life he exercised a profound influence on the history of religion.

Links

St. Athanasius, Life of St. Anthony (audio) https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/audiobook_authors_titles.cfm

Episode on the Temptation of St. Anthony in art history https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/90-temptation-st-anthony-elizabeth-lev/

St. Athanasius, Life of St. Anthony (text) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3080

Palladius, The Lausiac History - a fifth-century history of monasticism http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/palladius_lausiac_02_text.htm

Peter H. Gorg, The Desert Fathers, a recent introduction to the lives of the solitaries https://www.ignatius.com/The-Desert-Fathers-P545.aspx

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

He was the greatest rhetorician in the Latin-speaking world. Born in North Africa, Lactantius was summoned to serve at the imperial court. He converted to Christianity and, with the persecution of Diocletian, lost his job and lived in poverty. He continued writing to strengthen the faithful. With the rise of Constantine and the legalization of Christianity, he was restored to glory. In his writings we have a unique eyewitness account of one of history’s most important transitional moments.

Links

Lactantius, Of the Manner in which the Persecutors Died https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1885

Lactantius, On the Workmanship of God https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1884

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1882

Lactantius, The Phoenix https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1856

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

It’s hard to be an intelligent Christian without somehow handling Origen’s ideas. He set the ground rules for scientific study of the Bible. He wrote foundational works in spirituality, apologetics, and fundamental theology. In this episode, we look at those big accomplishments, but also examine the ideas that got him into trouble. Do souls exist before they get bodies? Does Satan get saved in the end? Does allegory trump history when we read the Bible? And did Origen really say all these things anyway? Find out why the Man of Steel is just as controversial today as he was almost two millennia ago.

Links

St. Methodius of Olympus, Against Origen (fragment) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1833

St. Jerome, Letter 84 to Pammachius https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2379

Thomas Mirus on Origen’s theology https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/church-fathers-origens-theology/

Pope Benedict XVI on Origen’s thought https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=7548

Catholic Culture Audiobooks reading of Origen homily on Genesis: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/origen-alexandria-homily-i-on-genesis/

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Origen of Alexandria was one of the most important figures in Christian antiquity—most brilliant and most productive—yet also one of the most complicated. He was widely influential and widely despised. He was praised for his accomplishments and blamed for disasters. He wrote thousands of books and invented several academic disciplines, including scientific biblical studies, fundamental theology, and spiritual theology. Toward the end of life he endured tortures rather than deny the faith; and he died a hero’s death. This is the first of two episodes on his life and work.

Links

Gregory of Pontus, The Oration and Panegyric Addressed to Origen https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1849

Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History: Book VI https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1999

A Letter from Origen to Africanus https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1693

Origen, On Prayer http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/origen_on_prayer_02_text.htm

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Catholic Culture Audiobooks reading of Origen homily on Genesis: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/origen-alexandria-homily-i-on-genesis/

Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Origen of Alexandria was one of the most important figures in Christian antiquity—most brilliant and most productive—yet also one of the most complicated. He was widely influential and widely despised. He was praised for his accomplishments and blamed for disasters. He wrote thousands of books and invented several academic disciplines, including scientific biblical studies, fundamental theology, and spiritual theology. Toward the end of life he endured tortures rather than deny the faith; and he died a hero’s death. This is the first of two episodes on his life and work.

Links

Gregory of Pontus, The Oration and Panegyric Addressed to Origen https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1849

Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History: Book VI https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1999

A Letter from Origen to Africanus https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1693

Origen, On Prayer http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/origen_on_prayer_02_text.htm

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

He was a believer for little more than a decade, but in that time he managed to set one of the pre-eminent examples of Christian leadership. Before his conversion, Cyprian had lived the Carthaginian dream. He was wealthy and successful, but miserable and maybe addicted to drink and other pleasures. With his baptism came a transformation. Within a year he was ordained a priest. In two years he was bishop over all of North Africa. His years in office were a time of unprecedented crisis. His Church faced persecution, pandemic, catastrophic climate change, and famine. He managed all with grace and won his prominent place in history before dying as a martyr.

Links

The Life and Passion of Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1732

Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise: On the Lapsed https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1708

Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise: On the Mortality (Or Plague) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1712

Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 62: On the Sacrament of the Cup of the Lord https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1779

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

He started as a papal critic, became history's first antipope, and today is honored — with the pope he rejected — as a saint whose feast day is universal. Go figure. Hippolytus of Rome is one of the great curiosities of early Christian history. In ancient times he was known for his encyclopedic books of theology, which became standard reference works in the centuries to follow. The Church revived his Mass prayers in the last century, and they're still in use today.

Links

The Refutation of All Heresies
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1706

The Extant Works and Fragments of Hippolytus: Part I.—exegetical
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1728

The Extant Works and Fragments of Hippolytus: Part II.—dogmatical and Historical
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1730

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina’s website
https://fathersofthechurch.com

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Alexandria, in Egypt, was the intellectual capital of the Greco-Roman world, and as the second century turned to the third it emerged as an influential center of Christian thought. Its first impression was spectacular — and it all came from a teacher named Clement. He was a seeker after truth, and had traveled the Mediterranean to study under the greatest Christian teachers. He settled in Alexandria, the site of a newly founded school, and eventually he came to lead the school. Several of Clement's works have survived, including his great trilogy on the spiritual and moral life. Any Christian who has pursued the life of prayer in the great Christian tradition has encountered ideas developed by Clement.

Links

Who Is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved? https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1650

Exhortation to the Heathen https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1658

The Instructor [Paedagogus.] https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1659

The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Books I-II https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1660

The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Books III-V https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1661

The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Books VI-VIII https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1648

Mike Aquilina on the school of Alexandria https://fathersofthechurch.com/2006/10/24/out-of-egypt/

More works by the Fathers
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina’s website
https://fathersofthechurch.com

Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.