SPCK
Great Christian Thinkers - 22 Aphraates, “The Sage”
Great Christian Thinkers - 22 Aphraates, “The Sage”
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Aphraates, “The Sage” In our excursion into the world of the Fathers of the Church, I guide you today to a little-known part of this universe of faith, in the territories where the Semitic-language churches flourished, still uninfluenced by Greek thought… Taken from Great Christi…
Great Christian Thinkers - 21 St. Jerome
Great Christian Thinkers - 21 St. Jerome
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Jerome His Life and Work We now turn our attention to St. Jerome, a Church Father who centred his life on the Bible: he translated it into Latin, commented on it in his works, and above all, strove to live it in practice throughout his long earthly life, despite the well-know…
Great Christian Thinkers - 20 St. Maximus of Turin
Great Christian Thinkers - 20 St. Maximus of Turin
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Maximus of Turin Between the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth, another Father of the Church made a great contribution to the spread and consolidation of Christianity in northern Italy: St. Maximus, whom we come across in 398— a year after St. Ambrose’s…
Great Christian Thinkers - 19 St. Ambrose of Milan
Great Christian Thinkers - 19 St. Ambrose of Milan
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Ambrose of Milan Holy Bishop Ambrose, about whom I now speak to you, died in Milan in the night between 3 and 4 April 397. It was dawn on Holy Saturday. The day before, at about five o’clock in the afternoon, he had settled down to pray, lying on his bed with his arms wide op…
Great Christian Thinkers - 18 St. Eusebius of Vercelli
Great Christian Thinkers - 18 St. Eusebius of Vercelli
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Eusebius of Vercelli I invite you to reflect on St. Eusebius of Vercelli, the first bishop of northern Italy of whom we have reliable information. Born in Sardinia at the beginning of the fourth century, he moved to Rome with his family at a tender age. Later, he was institut…
Great Christian Thinkers - 17 St. Hilary of Poitiers
Great Christian Thinkers - 17 St. Hilary of Poitiers
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Hilary of Poitiers I reflect now on a great Father of the Church of the West, St. Hilary of Poitiers, one of the important episcopal figures of the fourth century. In the controversy with the Arians, who considered Jesus the Son of God to be an excellent human creature but on…
Great Christian Thinkers - 15 St. John Chrysostom
Great Christian Thinkers - 15 St. John Chrysostom
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. John Chrysostom The Years in Antioch Recently we observed the sixteenth centenary of St. John Chrysostom’s death (407–2007). It can be said that John of Antioch, nicknamed “Chrysostom,” that is, “golden-mouthed,” because of his eloquence, is also still alive today because of …
Great Christian Thinkers - 14 St, Gregory of Nyssa
Great Christian Thinkers - 14 St, Gregory of Nyssa
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Gregory of Nyssa Theologian of Life in the Spirit In the last chapters, I spoke of two great fourth-century Doctors of the Church, Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, a bishop in Cappadocia, in present-day Turkey. Today, we are adding a third, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Basil’s brothe…
Great Christian Thinkers - 13 St. Gregory of Nazianzus
Great Christian Thinkers - 13 St. Gregory of Nazianzus
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Gregory of Nazianzus His Life and Times After discussing St. Basil, a Father of the Church and a great teacher of the faith, I speak now of his friend Gregory of Nazianzus. Like Basil, he was a native of Cappadocia. As a distinguished theologian, orator, and champion of the C…
Great Christian Thinkers - 11 St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Great Christian Thinkers - 11 St. Cyril of Jerusalem
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Our attention is focused now on St. Cyril of Jerusalem. His life is woven of two dimensions: on the one hand, pastoral care, and on the other, his involvement, in spite of himself, in the heated controversies that were then tormenting the Church of the East…
Great Christian Thinkers - 10 St. Athanasius of Alexandria
Great Christian Thinkers - 10 St. Athanasius of Alexandria
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Athanasius of Alexandria Continuing our re-visitation of the great teachers of the ancient Church, let us focus our attention on St. Athanasius of Alexandria… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 9 Eusebius of Caesarea
Great Christian Thinkers - 9 Eusebius of Caesarea
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Eusebius of Caesarea In the history of early Christianity, there is a fundamental distinction between the first three centuries and those that followed the Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Ecumenical Council… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 8 St. Cyprian
Great Christian Thinkers - 8 St. Cyprian
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Cyprian We come now to an excellent African bishop of the third century, St. Cyprian, “the first bishop in Africa to obtain the crown of martyrdom.” His fame, Pontius the Deacon, his first biographer, attests, is also linked to his literary corpus and pastoral activity during…
Great Christian Thinkers - 7 Tertullian
Great Christian Thinkers - 7 Tertullian
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Tertullian We continue to speak of the ancient Church’s great personalities. They are teachers of the faith also for us today and witnesses of the perennial timeliness of the Christian faith… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 6 Origen of Alexandria