GodsGrace
CF Ambassador
- Dec 26, 2015
- 30,018
- 11,949
I sometimes mention the ECF and get resistance and I'm not sure why.
Jesus taught the Apostles,
The Apostles taught the Apostolic Fathers.
And the Apostolic Fathers taught the ECF.
My opinion is that the ECF date up till the era of the Nicene Creed which would be about 325 AD. In fact, they are called the Pre-Nicene Fathers.
The Apostolic Fathers were a group of early Christian leaders believed to know the Apostles personally. The term also refers to the collection of Christian writings attributed to these men from the late first century C.E. and the first half of the second century C.E.
source: Newworldencyclopedia.org
A negative I often hear is that these people were not inspired. Are the pastors and theologians of today inspired? No...So where exactly is the difference?
A big question becomes: Who would know more about what Jesus taught,,,the Apostles and their students, and so on...
Or those who teach today gleaning what they know from books?
Who should we trust more? Is there any value to reading the ECF to see what they understood from the Apostles?
Here are the names of four important ECF that learned directly from an Apostle, or a student of his.
Clement of Rome[edit]
Main articles: Pope Clement I and Clement of Rome
His epistle, 1 Clement (c. 96),[6] was copied and widely read in the Early Church.[7] Clement calls on the Christians of Corinth to maintain harmony and order.[6] It is the earliest Christian epistleaside from the New Testament.
Ignatius of Antioch[edit]
Main article: Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus) (c. 35 – c. 110)[8] was the third bishop or Patriarch of Antioch and a student of the Apostle John. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, the role of bishops, and the Incarnation of Christ.[9] He is the second after Clement to mention Paul's epistles.[6]
Polycarp of Smyrna[edit]
Main article: Polycarp
Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69 – c. 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (now İzmir in Turkey). It is recorded that he had been a disciple of "John." The options/possibilities for this John are John, the son of Zebedee, traditionally viewed as the author of the Gospel of John, or John the Presbyter.[10]Traditional advocates follow Eusebius of Caesarea in insisting that the apostolic connection of Polycarp was with John the Evangelist, and that he was the author of the Gospel of John, and thus the Apostle John.
Polycarp tried and failed to persuade Pope Anicetus to have the West celebrate Passover on the 14th of Nisan, as in the Eastern calendar. Around A.D. 155, the Smyrnans of his town demanded Polycarp's execution as a Christian, and he died a martyr. The story of his martyrdom describes how the fire built around him would not burn him, and that when he was stabbed to death, so much blood issued from his body that it quenched the flames around him.[6] Polycarp is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Papias of Hierapolis[edit]
Main article: Papias of Hierapolis
Very little is known of Papias apart from what can be inferred from his own writings. He is described as "an ancient man who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp" by Polycarp's disciple Irenaeus (c. 180). Eusebius adds that Papias was Bishop of Hierapolis around the time of Ignatius of Antioch. In this office Papias was presumably succeeded by Abercius of Hierapolis. The name Papias was very common in the region, suggesting that he was probably a native of the area. The work of Papias is dated by most modern scholars to about A.D. 95–120.
Despite indications that the work of Papias was still extant in the Late Middle Ages, the full text is now lost. Extracts, however, appear in a number of other writings, some of which cite a book number.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Fathers
Jesus taught the Apostles,
The Apostles taught the Apostolic Fathers.
And the Apostolic Fathers taught the ECF.
My opinion is that the ECF date up till the era of the Nicene Creed which would be about 325 AD. In fact, they are called the Pre-Nicene Fathers.
The Apostolic Fathers were a group of early Christian leaders believed to know the Apostles personally. The term also refers to the collection of Christian writings attributed to these men from the late first century C.E. and the first half of the second century C.E.
source: Newworldencyclopedia.org
A negative I often hear is that these people were not inspired. Are the pastors and theologians of today inspired? No...So where exactly is the difference?
A big question becomes: Who would know more about what Jesus taught,,,the Apostles and their students, and so on...
Or those who teach today gleaning what they know from books?
Who should we trust more? Is there any value to reading the ECF to see what they understood from the Apostles?
Here are the names of four important ECF that learned directly from an Apostle, or a student of his.
Clement of Rome[edit]
Main articles: Pope Clement I and Clement of Rome
His epistle, 1 Clement (c. 96),[6] was copied and widely read in the Early Church.[7] Clement calls on the Christians of Corinth to maintain harmony and order.[6] It is the earliest Christian epistleaside from the New Testament.
Ignatius of Antioch[edit]
Main article: Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus) (c. 35 – c. 110)[8] was the third bishop or Patriarch of Antioch and a student of the Apostle John. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, the role of bishops, and the Incarnation of Christ.[9] He is the second after Clement to mention Paul's epistles.[6]
Polycarp of Smyrna[edit]
Main article: Polycarp
Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69 – c. 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (now İzmir in Turkey). It is recorded that he had been a disciple of "John." The options/possibilities for this John are John, the son of Zebedee, traditionally viewed as the author of the Gospel of John, or John the Presbyter.[10]Traditional advocates follow Eusebius of Caesarea in insisting that the apostolic connection of Polycarp was with John the Evangelist, and that he was the author of the Gospel of John, and thus the Apostle John.
Polycarp tried and failed to persuade Pope Anicetus to have the West celebrate Passover on the 14th of Nisan, as in the Eastern calendar. Around A.D. 155, the Smyrnans of his town demanded Polycarp's execution as a Christian, and he died a martyr. The story of his martyrdom describes how the fire built around him would not burn him, and that when he was stabbed to death, so much blood issued from his body that it quenched the flames around him.[6] Polycarp is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Papias of Hierapolis[edit]
Main article: Papias of Hierapolis
Very little is known of Papias apart from what can be inferred from his own writings. He is described as "an ancient man who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp" by Polycarp's disciple Irenaeus (c. 180). Eusebius adds that Papias was Bishop of Hierapolis around the time of Ignatius of Antioch. In this office Papias was presumably succeeded by Abercius of Hierapolis. The name Papias was very common in the region, suggesting that he was probably a native of the area. The work of Papias is dated by most modern scholars to about A.D. 95–120.
Despite indications that the work of Papias was still extant in the Late Middle Ages, the full text is now lost. Extracts, however, appear in a number of other writings, some of which cite a book number.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Fathers
