Some of our most popular online resources are the writings of the Church Fathers in Sinhala and Tamil. Study of the Church Fathers is often referred to as “Patristics”. But who are the Church Fathers, and why should we be interested in promoting them?

Literature of the Early Church

Simply stated, the Church Fathers are the orthodox Christian writers of the Early Church, who lived during the first few centuries AD.

After the New Testament was written, Christians continued to write. There are letters, sermons, books in defense of the Christian faith, explanations of Christian teaching, hymns, liturgies, historical accounts of the lives and deaths of saints and martyrs, and many other types of literature that have survived over the centuries, and still benefit the Church – yes, even the “average” Christian today.

The Apostolic Fathers

The earliest orthodox Christian writings come from the first century itself. The phrase “Apostolic Fathers” is used to refer to the collection of the very earliest Christian literature. Writers like Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna were disciples of John the Evangelist, and bishops of churches that the Holy Spirit had founded through Jesus’ first apostles.

How Much Early Christian Literature Could There Be?

After the Apostolic Fathers came much, much more! There has never been a complete collection of the writings of the Church Fathers. Probably the best known series was put together in the 19th Century under direction of the French Catholic priest J. P. Migne, whose collection contained 221 Latin and 165 Greek volumes, each containing more than 1000 pages of small type. There are collections in other languages as well, including Syriac and Coptic.

How These Writings Benefit the Church Today

Patristic literature has often had positive effects on the Church, as present-day Christians become more familiar with the historic Christian teaching. Readers may fruitfully compare and contrast their own beliefs and practices with those of the ancient Church, and consider whether they have in any respect departed from the faith of that part of Christ’s body that now enjoys the beatific vision, and thus also from Scripture and the tenets of historic Christianity. Just as the writings of the Early Church were instrumental in fueling the reforms of the sixteenth century, so today the hope and potential is for a renewed zeal for the Gospel, in light of how the Church has always understood Scripture, in opposition to the many subtle forms of spiritual attacks and false teachings.

Why are the Church Fathers So Important?

The writings of the Church Fathers form the tradition that embodies the doctrine and practice of apostolic Christianity for the first few centuries of the Church. Any church that is unaware of its historical roots is bound to be torn constantly between the desire to be faithful to Scripture, and the financial and political expediency of unquestioning subservience to the ever increasingly forceful demands of mainline liberal denominations. When we listen to the Church Fathers, they lend their authority to the perpetuation of the same apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ, apart from which there is no other gospel. It is our hope that all denominations in Sri Lanka will benefit greatly from the availability of these resources.

---