Patrology: The Lives and Works of the Fathers of the Church

By Otto Bardenhewer translated by Thomas J. Shahan 1908.

First of all, this book was not written for the casual reader. It is a great handbook to learn about the first five centuries of the Christian Church. It is full of rich references and copious notes that is a delight to the researcher or historian. Any person with a strong interest in early Christian history would find this book informative. The writer makes the assumption that the reader has a basic understanding of Greek, Latin, and the Bible. In describing the early writers he starts with a short bio and then follows it up with what works they wrote. He mentions which writings are still extant and which ones may have been erroneously attributed.

One of the things that jumped out at me was how much material has been written in the past compared to how little has been preserved. I was led to believe that the reason a lot of old writings are no longer available, is because the “church” destroyed them. Well, why wasn’t the church able to save so many important documents of their own? Then I got to thinking about how even we, the United States of America, misplaced our own Bill of Rights for many years. So, I guess, you do not need wanton destruction, just the carelessness that happens over time.

The book has a great index and is well laid out to aid the user in finding what they may be looking for.  The depth of information is staggering and I recommend this to readers wishing to know more about the history of the Christian Church.  I found particularly interesting the overall story of how the early church matured and the great many writers who contributed to clarifying its message.

A few examples of the writers included: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, Hippolytus, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Anthanasius, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. John Chrysotom, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Ephraem Syrus, St. Hilary of Poitiers, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. John of Damascus, Boethius, and Pope St. Gregory the Great.