We hear the voices of the early Church Fathers even today. Their teachings, their guidance, their insights, and their sacrifice shaped the Catholic Church. They defined the canon of Scripture. They developed our creeds and forms of worship. They defined Christianity’s distinctive moral sense.

But who were they? What can we learn from their ancient teachings? What can the Fathers teach the 21st century – about holiness, culture, faith, and the Gospel.

The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers by bestselling author Mike Aquilina is the definitive resource for anyone interested in learning about the Church Fathers and their legacy. Ideal for RCIA, catechists, clergy, as well as lay Catholics who want to learn more about the great teachers of early Christianity.

In this new and extensively updated Third Edition, you’ll find twenty Church Fathers never before covered in this series, nearly 75 more pages of information on the early Church, many poets of ancient Christianity whose hymns we still sing today, an extensively revised introduction, the Mothers of the Church and their impact, and research-friendly references and citations, topical index, timeline, and detailed bibliography.

About the Author
Mike Aquilina is the author or co-author of over forty books, including the best-selling The Fathers of the Church: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers; The Mass of the Early Christians; and Angels of God: The Bible, the Church, and the Heavenly Hosts. His reviews, essays, and journalism have appeared in First Things, Touchstone, National Catholic Register, and elsewhere. Aquilina is the Executive Vice President of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and along with Dr. Scott Hahn has hosted several popular television series on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). He and his wife Terri live in the Pittsburgh area with their six children.