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Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine Audiobook
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Heresies, schisms, culture of death, persecutions, excommunications . . . While reflective of headlines from today, these difficulties roiled Christians of the early Church as well. The earliest Church manual, the Didache, brought clarity to a range of moral issues that our culture continues to grapple with to this day.
Here is one of the most lucid and comprehensive overviews of the Patristic period ever written. With simplicity and clarity, Dr. James Papandrea introduces you to all the major theologians, philosophers, and martyrs of the early Christian church and explains the theological principles that guided the Church from the New Testament era through the apologists, and, ultimately, to the development of the major doctrines. He uniquely situates the teachings of the early Church Fathers against the social and cultural context of the Roman Empire and its relationship to the Church.
Dr. Papandrea will introduce you to the gnostics and their influence on the early Church, as well as explain how Church mothers, such as Macrina the Younger, laid a foundation for the monastic life to come. You'll learn how our understanding of the sacraments developed and when devotion to Our Lady and the saints emerged. You'll also explore how the New Testament canon was formed as well as the criteria used to interpret early Christian writings.
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About James L. Papandrea
James L. Papandrea is a teacher, author, speaker, and musician. He serves as associate professor of church history at Garrett-Evangelical Seminary at Northwestern University, as well as a consultant in the area of adult faith formation and a regular speaker in parish and lay formation programs in the Chicago area. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in music and theater arts, he received his MDiv degree from Fuller Theological Seminary with a concentration in youth ministry, then spent several years in full-time youth and music ministry. He went on to receive a PhD in the history and theology of the early Christian church from Northwestern University, with secondary concentrations in New Testament interpretation and the history of the Roman Empire. He has also studied Roman history at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the North American Patristics Society, and the Catholic Association of Music.
About Tom Parks
Tom Parks is an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator who has also been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has been involved in recording audiobooks and voice-overs for over thirty years and through an eclectic range of projects. In addition to performing and directing, he is also an active musician, drumming in musical theater productions in the Midwest, and is in demand as a conference speaker.