How to Read the Church Fathers

There are many books and videos introducing the fathers and their works to laymen, but almost nothing on how to read and research them. This video is your first-stop summary guide for how to properly and consistently read the ancient fathers, based on my forthcoming book. SHARE this one with anyone you think this will help.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction
02:22 - What Is "Patrology"?
08:22 - Setting Goals
12:42 - Finding the Sources
18:35 - Reading the Fathers
30:25 - Drawing from the Fathers
38:23 - Conclusion

Good books about Irenaeus of Lyons:

Irenaeus of Lyons (Eric Osborn):

Irenaeus: Life, Scripture, Legacy (Paul Foster & Sara Parvis):

Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity (Fr. John Behr):

Irenaeus of Lyons (Robert M. Grant):

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Music Used:

Delfino Plaza Theme (Super Mario Sunshine):

Miserere Mei (Gregorio Allegri):

"Desert City"
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[ReformedMunk]

Brother Paul you are a blessing unto the church of Christ, keep doing yo thang. Have a blessed rest of Lent, and have a blessed Passiontide.

[AnglicanFish]

The usage of Matthew’s meme about 16 year olds reading the church fathers was epic 😂

[HowToBeChristian]

Hey The Other Paul, I'd love to hear your response to our video on eating the Flesh of the Son of Man and drinking His Blood. I'm not sure where you stand on that issue.

[secondguitarbug]

This is super helpful as someone who isnt nearly as systematized in my approach to study historical theology. Thanks Paul!

[izrippin]

The Muller homage was absolutely epic 😂

[peterricketts]

Fantastic summation. I already shared it with some friends. I'm grateful for your work as always.

[KorahSons]

Well done! Thank you for this excellent introduction.

[thoughtfulchristianity]

This, along with your work on 1 Clement, the Papacy, and early ecclesialogy is really good. They have been very helpful in my own research on an article I am working on, "Rhetorical Subterfuge in Roman Catholic Apologetics". Still in research mode, but very much in the works.

[Testimony_Of_JTF]

Something much more important than reading the Fathers that e converts often forget is reading the Bible.

[Convexhull]

AV here. Congrats on moving on up to 4.4k subscribers.

[JayPalOfficial]

This is very insightful about the church fathers. Thank you for sharing!

[TheRealistDisciple]

Well said brother. This video was very helpful. God bless 🙏🏻

[BibleFanatics]

Haha your quote from Vincent of Lerins makes me think this is why we should use the KJV in our day. It is set in an older English whose defintions cannot be changed from that time and are set and clear. Whereas modern translations have to be constantly changed to keep up with changing language. Obviously this is a joke but I think it could be an application;) awesome video. Love seeing the ortho bros and catholics freak out and not even watch it yet feel like they can comment on it. I watched the whole thing and thought it was fair and balanced and did not favor protestants or any tradition!

[christopherlees]

An interesting and substantive video. Thank you.

[fuuzug]

Thanks a lot! Really looking forward to your book. As a protestant I feel we have a tendency to downplay the church fathers and their wealth of knowledge. Instead of Sola Scriptura we have become Solo Scriptura. Keep doing what you are doing and I pray you continually grow in your faith. Much love from Malaysia

[BlazedLizard-a]

i think all Christians
Catholic, orthodox, and Protestants should Read the church fathers bc of how important there teachings are to the church.

[waza]

Didn’t even realise you had a website despite watching many of your videos. If I buy a copy of your book will you sign it?

[marcuswilliams]

You mean to tell me that when I find one sentence in one work of one father in one era that seems to align with something the East believes, I shouldn't become Orthodox?

[jorgelopez-prdr]

I understand that the last Father of the Church is considered to be Isidore of Seville.

[Papers.Please.]

Can you please debunk John Henry Newman? He's often used as a proof for Roman Papism.