Duc in Altum

One of the things that interested me when I attend seminary was the opportunity for studying the early Church Fathers. My primary exposure in Patristics came through my course on Church history prior to the Reformation. I was taken by all of these early Christians giving witness to their faith in Christ in the midst of periodic and often very intense persecution. And of course there was their own writings which demonstrated that the Church which Christ had established with his apostles continued through the early centuries through the successors to the apostles. These were powerful witnesses to me about faith in Christ and the fact that their faith was not like my faith. Instead it was full of sacraments and liturgy, and it was strong despite the fact that the culture in which they lived was opposed to this new faith in Christ.

It is through many of these writings, in particular St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Athanasius, that much groundwork was laid for my eventual reception into the Roman Catholic Church.

Needless to say, I get very interested in things Patristic. I recently learned that Mike Aquilina has begun a Patristics blog entitled The Way of the Fathers which is the same title as one of his books. I have already enjoyed some of his early posts. For anyone who has an interest in the early Church Fathers, this might be one to add to the bookmark list. (I have added to the list of Blogs of Interest on the right side of this page.)

H/T: Open Book