Fathers of the Primitive Church

By Herbert Musurillo, S.J.

Fathers of the Primitive Church is a sampling of the riches and resources of the early Christian age. Beginning with Clement of Rome and culminating with Athanasius of Alexandria, Musurillo introduces his readers to the vast, bright array of patristic sources and illuminates the world of early Christianity, its liturgy, theological discourse, doctrinal development, and catechetical practices. Revealing the Church Father’s fundamental unity of mission—to encounter the Godhead revealed in Jesus Christ and yet hidden in the shadows of the infinite—Fathers of the Primitive Church is a faithful, fertile rendering of the mystical insight and theological truth of Christianity at its genesis.

Like the stout mustard tree of the Gospels, theology must grow and flourish, spreading its branches to the four winds. But just as a tree withers without light and air, so too it will die if it is cut off from its primitive roots. And this is the value of the study of the Fathers. –Herbert Musurillo

Herbert Musurillo (1917–1974) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Society of Jesus, an authority on the Church Fathers, and a professor of classics at Fordham University. He received doctorates from Oxford University and Fordham. Musurillo’s writings include Symbolism and the Christian Imagination and Acts of the Pagan Martyrs.

Paperback: 360pp.

ISBN: 978-1950970339