PhuturePriest Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 So I'm pretty much obsessed with the Patristic Age of the Church. The writings and amazing stories are numerous, and the arguments were very complex and interesting. So the question becomes: Who are your favorite Church Fathers, and why? Personally, I am very partial to Saint Polycarp of Smyrna. His writings and life in general were pretty stellar, but the story of his martyrdom of course takes the cake. He was tied to a stake in the middle of a Roman arena and lit on fire, and he began to pray out loud. As the flames grew, they enveloped around him but did not burn him. He was left unscathed when the fire burned out, and promptly stabbed. My favorite story of his was when the heretic Marcion walked up to him and asked "Do you know who I am?" and Saint Polycarp answered "Of course -- you are the offspring of Satan himself!" That's really all you need to know in order to love him. I also really like Saint Justin Martyr. I appreciate that he is regarded as the most important and influential theologian of his time and faced martyrdom gracefully, all the while being a mere layman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Pelagius? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysostom Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Irenaeus. We could use him today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth09 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I love reading about St. Joseph, the foster father to Jesus, because he did not wanted to start something and be in the middle of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Irenaeus. Ignatius. Cyril of Jerusalem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 John Crysostom was pretty amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Augustine, duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 23 minutes ago, Basilisa Marie said: John Crysostom was pretty amazing. He really was. Sigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysostom Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I was very much struck by St. Chrysostom's work on the priesthood as I was first reading about Catholicism. It was...stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarysLittleFlower Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I like St Augustine and St John Chrysostom but I don't know enough about the latter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 3 hours ago, Amppax said: Augustine, duh. I forgot, Ignatius of Antioch as well. Mainly because of his letter to the Romans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Oh goodness, I forgot to mention Saint Ignatius of Antioch. One of my favorites without question. I like him more than Ignatius of Loyola, in fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Credo in Deum Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 What? No love for Ambrose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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