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As Christians, we should want to know our family tree. We should want to know who has gone before us in the Faith, where they came from, and what they believed. We should want to know our history.
Enter The Bible and the Church Fathers. In twelve beautifully produced lessons, you’ll learn who the Early Church Fathers were and how they shaped the way we read Scripture.
The Bible and the Church Fathers will teach you everything you need to know about how the Bible took form. You’ll learn powerful tools for reading it, and you’ll understand Scripture’s relationship to Tradition and, in particular, to the Sacraments.
What’s more, you’ll recognize the powerful effect of Scripture on the Church Fathers. For them, this was no academic pursuit. Their love of God’s Word transformed their lives—just as it has the power to transform ours today.
Lesson 1 (21 min)
In our first lesson, we’ll discuss the role of the Fathers in Sacred Scripture and identify the four classic criteria needed to earn the title “Father of the Church.” We’ll also see that the Church Fathers provide a link back to the teachings of Christ and are vital witnesses to Tradition.
Lesson 2 (30 min)
In lesson two, we’ll focus on the relationship of the Fathers to both Scripture and Tradition. We’ll also lay out the four periods of the Patristic Era, which will give us some historical context for the rest of the study. Next, we’ll survey the difficulties the early Church faced when trying to spread the Gospel.
Lesson 3 (25 min)
In lesson three, we’ll look more closely at how the Fathers had an impact on the development of Sacred Scripture and our understanding of what it teaches. In particular, we’ll see the story of our salvation in Christ as one of promise and fulfillment based on God’s covenant with us, His people.
Lesson 4 (33 min)
In lesson four, we’ll discuss the role of typology and how the Fathers used it to demonstrate the unity of the Old and New Testaments. We’ll also look at the role of the Fathers in the formation of the canon of Sacred Scripture and its interpretation. Finally, we’ll unpack the four different senses of Scripture.
Lesson 5 (30 min)
In lesson five, we’ll talk about how the idea of covenant is specifically related to what we call the Old and New Testaments. We’ll also talk about how what we call the New Testament is far different than what the early Church Fathers meant by the term.
Lesson 6 (23 min)
In lesson six, we’ll expand our understanding of the “new testament” or “new covenant,” which we understand to be the Eucharist.
Lesson 7 (27 min)
In lesson seven, we’ll see how the Fathers understood that the proclamation of that New Testament didn’t require a scribe. It required a priest. Christ didn’t commission a biography, He founded a Church. And He ordained the Apostles as priests in order to bring the world back into His family through the Eucharist.
Lesson 8 (24 min)
In lesson eight we’ll see why the Fathers of the Church repeatedly rejected disunity as anti-Christian. Then, we’ll discuss how the Fathers explicitly recognized that the authority Christ gave to Peter and the Apostles has been handed on through the centuries.
Lesson 9 (23 min)
In lesson nine, we’ll move more deeply into the Fathers’ view and usage of the sacraments. In particular, we’re going to examine the explosion of something we call mystagogy: the doctrine of the mysteries.
Lesson 10 (29 min)
In lesson ten, we’ll dive into the incredible teaching of the two of the most famous Fathers in the history of our faith: St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine of Hippo.
Lesson 11 (26 min)
In lesson eleven, we’ll look at how the Fathers show us what it means to live in the mystery of Christ and ask, what does it ultimately mean to be incorporated into Christ through the sacraments? How should that reality impact the way we live on a day-to-day basis?
Lesson 12 (24 min)
In lesson twelve, we’ll see how the Apostles and countless other men and women, Fathers of the Church like Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin, and others have willingly offered themselves up as a sacrifice to God. Then, we’ll explore how the Eucharistic imagery of their martyrdoms is echoed in the future writings and histories of other martyrs.
repsfo –
Book leaves much to be desired.
Gonzalo –
Hi, does the streaming version of the Fathers of the Church have subtitles in Spanish and/or Italian?
Louis –
Yes. The streaming videos have Spanish subtitles.
larry-8283 –
Enjoyed it!
William J. Tomaka –
We need this Catechism series as required for all adults after Sunday Mass. this series should be mandatory for all Laity. The Holy Father just created the Dicastery for Evangelization to the Holy See June 1, 2022, they could help make mandatory – Catechism classes after all Sunday Masses. The Laity need the knowledge of the Faith so they can truly love the Lord, Jesus Christ.
-Laity are leaving the Faith in droves because they do not know, love and desire fulfillment through Christ’s Church – the Roman Catholic Church.
-God Bless the St. Paul Center and Scott Hahn for his love and devotion to the Faith.
Annette –
My admiration of and gratitude to Mr. Hahn and his team continues to grow with each opus. Overwhelming beauty emerges from each step of historical truth linked to an evolving but authentic Church in this major work. One’s heart does burn with the lucid explanations of the struggles to keep faithful.
Thanks be to God for His gift of these remarkable Sons of the Church.
A. Henneau
kje73 –
I am doing this study on my own and just watched lesson 5 and was totally blown away! I have heard of many protestants converting because of learning about the early Church Fathers, so I wanted to become more familiar with them. My brother and his wife left the church about 30 years ago. Lesson five nailed it for me that THEY need to watch these videos. Nothing else has worked for me trying to convince them the Catholic Church is the true church. I ordered the DVD’s and will challenge them to watch them, plus I ordered Mike Aquilina’s book, The Father’s of the Church as a reference. Thank you so much for this great program. Being raised in the Church I have never faltered, but taking Bible studies of the various books of the Bible is not enough–we need to learn history and why we do what we do. So beautiful!
danny serrano –
I wish all over the world St. Paul bookstores will have accessible books of the Church father’s
Sr. Margaret Kerry fsp –
Pauline Books & Media in Charleston, South Carolina is in the Bible Belt. Catholics here are very interested in Catholic Bible Studies. We have three or four bible study groups meeting here every week. Presently we are studying the letters of St. Paul. I arrived in Charleston over five years ago and honored the request for these studies. So far, we have covered Isaiah, the Bible Timeline, Matthew, Luke, John for Lent, Wisdom, and more. In our Pauline center we have two walls of bibles on display and two shelves of bible study books. There is the other popular category in our center, the Fathers of the Church.
Now that the St. Paul Center is offering a Lenten special on their new series The Bible and the Church Fathers, we will pause our study of St Paul’ letters to refresh our knowledge of the bible in Church history. St. Paul wrote the first New Testament letters. How is it that we have his powerful first century witness is in continuity of Catholic teaching today? A study of the Church Fathers will help us understand that continuity. It will even teach us how the bible took form. This will help us renew our understanding of how to read the bible, Scripture’s relation to Sacred Tradition and the sacraments.
A favorite part of our bible study series is the time of discussion after the video. The Bible and the Church Fathers workbook has both review and discussion questions as well as a take-a-way memory verse and preparation tips for the next lesson. This study may prove to be one of our favorites here in Charleston.
With this limited time offer purchasing a participant workbook gives you streaming access, a great savings. It contains twelve lessons – a bargain of wonderful information professionally presented by Matthew Leonard, host of the series. Leonard is a catholic author, speaker and filmmaker. For more than a decade he has served as Executive Director and Executive Producer at the St. Paul Center, writing, producing, directing and hosting the best-selling Journey Through Scripture video series.
Enjoy this opportunity for Lent. We certainly will here in the Bible Belt!