When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers

This is a very engaging book. I benefitted a lot from understanding more deeply the actuality of Apostolic Succession, the struggle against Arianism and other heresies, being exposed to the dedicated lives of these early Fathers, as well as their faults and errors too but on the whole faithful to Jesus and the Church. Many things are important, too numerous to write in this review but I was especially touched by Jerome’s writing on the subject of the saints praying for us, which was a paragraph of Jerome’s which is quoted. Very compelling. This is a book which should be kept and reread and reread, in my opinion, because the schisms which have divided Christians continue to urgently require reconciliation and be faithful to our Father’s purpose for us to love and extend mercy and charity everywhere, following Jesus’ teaching handed down through the Apostles.

Very readable explanations of how Christianity grew in size and dogma in the first years after the Apostles to what we basically believe today.

Readable and understandable for the average layperson. All the early heresies explained: Arianism, Donatism and Pelagians. The heroic efforts of the early fathers to keep the Church doctrinally sound while still developing basic doctrines. Easy to read and gripping narrative.

I found this book quite interesting. It was clear and down to earth. Well written. It was interesting to learn more about some of our early church figures.

This book is wonderfully well-written and gives a meaningful, easy-to-understand picture of the Early Church and the challenges it faced. More than just history or biography, it also provides spiritual insights relevant to today. I am sure I will read it again and again!