For the Church Fathers, friendship was at the heart of the Gospel. It was the way to salvation and the most effective means of evangelization. God had taken flesh in order to befriend mankind. Jesus had called his Apostles friends. The first Christians, in turn, spread salvation through friendships of their own. Evangelizing the world was done through one friend bringing another into the Church—where both could be friends with God.
Friendship and the Fathers brings together, for the first time, the Fathers’ doctrine and stories of friendship—mostly in their own words. You’ll meet many giants of the early Church, including
- Minucius Felix, and walk with him as he brings a pagan friend to faith.
- Basil and Gregory, best friends from school whose friendship was shattered and then restored.
- Ambrose, who encouraged his clergy to cultivate strong friendships.
- Augustine, whose grief for a lost friend led him to profound insights—and whose friendship with St. Jerome was fraught with emotional baggage.
- Rabanus Maurus, the great biblical commentator and writer of hymns, whose counsels on friendship have never before appeared in English.
About the Author
Mike Aquilina is author of more than seventy books on Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion. He is co-founder, with Scott Hahn, of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, based in Steubenville, Ohio. Mike serves as contributing editor of Angelus News and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History series published by Ave Maria Press. He has hosted eleven television series on EWTN and is past editor of New Covenant magazine and The Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper. He is also a songwriter whose works have been recorded by Dion, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Beck, Amy Grant, Carlene Carter, Peter Frampton, and many others.
