Long before the schism between East and West, Protestant and Catholic, long before the words catholic, orthodox, and evangelical referred to communities distinct and separated from each other, the Fathers of the Church gloried in the one faith of the united Body of Christ, which can be none other than evangelical, catholic, and orthodox. Marcellino D’Ambrosio joins Hank to discuss these epic stories of the earliest Christians so you can grow further in the faith once delivered unto the saints, as discussed in D’Ambrosio’s excellent book When the Church Was Young.

Topics discussed include: The importance of unity within the body of Christ as an answer to the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer (3:45); St. Clement of Rome and his letter to the Corinthians dealing with division in the Church (9:00); the martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch (15:30); understanding the importance of holy tradition (19:10); understanding that the early church did not have the Bible as we do today (24:25); the centrality of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist as argued by Ignatius of Antioch (27:30); the martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna (30:55); the significance of relics (34:10); The Didache (37:05); apologetics and the First Apology of Justin Martyr (41:30); Irenaeus and a defense against the heresy of Gnosticism (44:10); the coextensive nature between tradition and scripture (48:05); the teachings of Clement of Alexandria equipping Christians to evangelize the Gospel (53:45); Origen of Alexandria and the transformative nature of union with Christ (58:20); Tertullian and the term Trinity (1:05:20); Cyprian of Carthage on the unity of the church and the concept of having God the Father along with the Church as the mother (1:09:05); the Edict of Milan (1:13:05); the Council of Nicea (1:15:15); why heresy arises when people become impatient with the paradoxical mysteries of the Christian faith (1:19:30); one of the biggest problems facing the church today (1:21:55); the difference between homoousios and homoiousios (1:23:50); Athanasius Contra Mundum (1:25:50); the Cappadocian Fathers—Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus (1:30:10); Ambrose and the importance of separating church and state (1:32:10); discussing several Early Church Fathers such as Augustine, John of Chrysostom, Jerome, Gregory the Great and more (1:33:45); what we can learn from the Early Church Fathers today (1:39:55).

To learn how to receive When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers by Marcellino D’Ambrosio for your partnering gift please click here. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2005hup/

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