“What will He not do for us now?” by John Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407)

“The wonder is not only that God the Father gave His Son but that He did so in this way, by sacrificing the one He loved. It is astonishing that He gave the Beloved for those who hated Him. See how highly He honors us. If even when we hated Him and were enemies He [...]

“Reading the Scriptures with the Church Fathers” by Christopher Hall

“Learning to read the Bible through the eyes of Christians from a different time and place will readily reveal the distorting effect of our own cultural, historical, linguistic, philosophical and, yes, even theological lenses. This is not to assert that the fathers did not have their own warped perspectives and blind spots.
It is to argue, [...]

“An embarassment of riches” by Bruce M. Metzger

“The textual critic of the New Testament is embarrassed by the wealth of material… Besides textual evidence derived from the New Testament Greek manuscripts and from early versions, the textual critic has available the numerous scriptural quotations included in the commentaries, sermons, and other treatises written by early Church fathers. Indeed, so extensive are these [...]

“He made us” by Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430)

“What is it that I love in loving You? Not physical beauty, nor the splendor of time, nor the radiance of the light, so pleasant to our eyes, nor the sweet melodies of songs of all kinds, nor the flagrant smell of flowers, and ointments, and spices, nor manna and honey, nor limbs pleasant to [...]

“By comparison, we are pygmies” by Donald Macleod

“We can never be content with parrot-like repetition of the definitions of the past. Yet it would be presumptuous to speak before we have listened to the fathers. Men like Athanasius and Augustine, Basil and Calvin, are the Newtons and Einsteins of theology. By comparison, we are pygmies. Our only hope of far-sightedness is to [...]

“The soul of Paul outweighs it” by John Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407)

“Put the whole world on one side of the scale and you will see that the soul of Paul outweighs it.”
–John Chrysostom, as quoted in Paul Barnett, Paul: Missionary of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 198.

“Smitten with awe” by Athanasius of Alexandria (A.D. 293-373)

“Such and so many are the Saviour’s achievements that follow from His Incarnation, that to try to number them is like gazing at the open sea and trying to count the waves. One cannot see all the waves with one’s eyes, for when one tries to do so those that are following on baffle one’s [...]

“The most edifying product of Augustine’s pen” by Philip Schaff

“The Confessions are the most profitable, at least the most edifying, product of Augustine’s pen; indeed, we may say, the most edifying book in all the patristic literature. They were accordingly the most read even during his lifetime, and they have been the most frequently published since. A more sincere and more earnest book was never written… [...]

“Tears of gladness” by Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430)

“The days were all too short, for I was lost in wonder and joy, meditating upon Your far-reaching providence for the salvation of the human race. The tears flowed from me when I heard Your hymns and canticles, for the sweet singing of Your Church moved me deeply. The music surged in my ears, truth [...]

“The Scriptures are deep” by Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430)

“For such is the depth of the Christian Scriptures that, even if I were attempting to study them and nothing else, from boyhood to decrepit old age, with the utmost leisure, the most unwearied zeal, and with talents greater than I possess, I would still be making progress in discovering their treasures.”
–Aurelius Augustine, as quoted [...]

“The study of Augustine” by Peter Brown

“The study of Augustine is endless.”
–Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1967/2000), x.

“My holy Delight” by Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430)

“You, my God, are supreme, utmost in goodness, mightiest and all-powerful, most merciful and most just. You are the most hidden from us and yet the most present amongst us, the most beautiful and yet the most strong, ever enduring and yet we cannot comprehend You. You are unchangeable and yet You change all things. [...]

“The faith the Church has received” by Irenaeus of Lyons (A.D. 115-202)

“The Church, though dispersed through our the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: She believes in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them.
And in one Christ Jesus, the Son [...]

“We meet together” by Tertullian of Carthage (A.D. 160-212)

“We meet together as an assembly and congregation, that, offering up prayer to God as with united force, we may wrestle with Him in our supplications. This violence God delights in. We pray, too, for the emperors, for their ministers and for all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of [...]

“Who are we?” by Justin Martyr (A.D. 110-165)

“We follow the only unbegotten God through His Son—we who formerly delighted in fornication, but now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and [...]