While the church today looks quite different than it did two thousand years ago, Christians share the same faith with the church fathers. Although separated by time and culture, we have much to learn from their lives and teaching. This book is an organized and convenient introduction to how to read the church fathers from AD 100 to 500. Michael Haykin surveys the lives and teachings of seven of the Fathers, looking at their role in such issues as baptism, martyrdom, and the relationship between church and state. Ignatius, Cyprian, Basil of Caesarea, and Ambrose and others were foundational in the growth and purity of early Christianity, and their impact continues to shape the church today. Evangelical readers interested in the historical roots of Christianity will find this to be a helpful introductory volume.

Otto Bardenhewer's Patrology is certainly not the most recent work in the field. But sound judgment is never obsolete - Bardenhewer's concise, pellucid analysis of the church fathers is still valuable today, over a century after it was published. For generations, his work has been treasured by experts and novices alike for its penetrating insight and easy accessibility. Many fathers are given fuller treatment here than in any modern handbook. And today, every work cited in Bardenhewer's copious bibliographies has entered the public domain - what a boon to researchers of the information age!

Reprint of the original, first published in 1842.