Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians

by Mike Aquilina

The early Church faced its share of villains—persecutors like Nero and Julian, heretics like Marcion and Arius. And what good were they? Plenty, say the Church Fathers. The threat of persecution made Christians strong and bold. As noted author Mike Aquilina demonstrates in Villains of the Early And How They Made Us Better Christians, the menace of heresy made Christians smarter — and deepened their knowledge of the divine mysteries. The villains of the ancient world proved the mettle of heroes like Peter and Paul, Irenaeus and Athanasius. Treachery and adversity inspired the Fathers’ clearest teaching, most entertaining invective, and more than a few memorable jokes. The time of villains—and heroes—is hardly over. Through Villains of the Early Church, you’ll learn how you can keep your good humor through trials and opposition, and all the while grow sharper in doctrine and warmer in devotion.

Genres: Catholic

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 14, 2018

About the author

Mike Aquilina is author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Fathers of the Church, The Mass of the Early Christians, and A Year with the Church Fathers. He has co-hosted eight series that air on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). He has co-authored books with Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and theologian Scott Hahn. He is past editor of New Covenant magazine and The Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper. He appears weekly on Sirius Radio's "Sonrise Morning Show." Mike and his wife, Terri, have six children, who are the subject of his book Love in the Little Things.

In 2011 Mike was a featured presenter of the U.S. Bishops' Diocesan Educational/Catechetical Leadership Institute. He also wrote the USCCB's theological reflection for Catechetical Sunday in 2011.

His reviews, essays and journalism have appeared in many journals, including First Things, Touchstone, Crisis, Our Sunday Visitor, National Catholic Register, and Catholic Heritage. He contributed work on early Christianity to the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought.

Mike is a also poet whose works have appeared in U.S. literary journals and have been translated into Polish and Spanish. He shared songwriting credits with Grammy Award-winner Dion DiMucci on the forthcoming album "Tank Full of Blues."

Reviews

[Sean Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book 3 stars, not because it was bad, but because it isn’t 4 stars like other books I’ve given 4 stars are 4 stars.

Nonetheless, it was an interesting read. The beginning of the book was kind of annoying because it was mainly speculation and early Christian legend. It got more interesting as we have more documents that the author could quote.

The first quarter had chapters on Judas, Simon Magus, Pontius Pilate, and Caiaphas.

Another quarter dealt with persecutors of the Church (Nero, Diocletian, Julian the Apostate).

I wanted to learn more about the Fathers and the early heretics; this book did a decent job of that. I’d say half of the content of the book (the half I really enjoyed) dealt with the early heretics and heresies (Marcion, Celsus, Arius, Nestorius).

One of the most interesting chapters was the chapter on Origen. I knew very little about him prior to reading this book, but this chapter harmonized a lot of what I knew about him and greatly supplemented it.

Overall, this felt like a decent high level overview of a small portion of early Church history. It would be a good book to see if you actually like the history of the early Church or not. It’s definitely not exhaustive at all, but it was a good introduction for me!

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and breezy yet informational read focused on the first five centuries of Christian history and many of the villains standing to thwart the mission of the Church. Aquilina's style makes the book entertaining and fun to read, while simultaneously not dumbing down the content. I learned a lot from this book and was inspired to continue to hope in God's plan for His Church throughout the many of the challenges we face today. Indeed, Aquilina shows how many of the battles we face today are the same battles fought by the very first Christians and through God's providence, remained victorious against the villains they faced. Some of the characters highlighted include some of the Church's most notorious heretics, some of Rome's most evil emperors, and Biblical characters directly responsible for Christ's crucifixion. Aquilina's scholarship is solid and he pulls from a variety of sources to provide a well researched and fair account of the historical evidence. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and one I walked away from knowing more about Church history than when I began.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do the villains matter?

“[T]he villains are essential. Without them, there is no story. Without the evil, the hero never has the chance to be good. Without Judas’ betrayal, there is no Crucifixion—and without the Crucifixion, there is no redemption. It’s one of the mysteries of evil: somehow the wickedest plots are the things that God uses to save us from the wickedest plots. What we intend for evil, God turns into good.”

Thus begins a joy of a read: Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians, by Mike Aquilina. If you’re not familiar with Aquilina’s writing, brace yourself for some chuckling (and maybe guffawing). The humor isn’t hiding anything: Aquilina selected 13 “supervillains” of the ancient Church and highlighted their errors.

It’s a rip-roaring good ride and includes Judas, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, Simon Magus, Nero, Marcion, Valentinus, Celsus, Origen, Diocletion, Arius, Julian the Apostate, and Nestorius. They were just names to me before, but now they’re characters in a drama that hey! I’m a part of (even if it is 2,000 years later).

Highly recommended. Bonus: it’s a hardcover and a quick read.

[Karen Smithson · Rating 5 out of 5]

VILLAINS OF THE EARLY CHURCH is an enlightening look at the history of those who persecuted the early Christians as well as those within the Church who fostered heresies. The trials and tribulations that affected the Church helped not only to make it stronger but clarified the universal truths of the Christian faith. If you're looking for an entertaining and historically accurate take on the early Church this book is for you!

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

In VILLAINS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, Mike Aquilina, noted author of numerous books about the early Catholic Church, has penned a unique, fresh look at some of the more notorious opponents to the Catholic Christian doctrines. He justifies with historical accuracy and a sense of humor the menace of their heresy and 'How They Made Us Better Christians."

[Richard Grebenc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Aquilina's latest offering is another great work in the long line of books he has produced on the early Church. He has a knack of making history interesting and entertaining -- the reader learns much and enjoys himself the entire way.

Here, Aquilina focuses on those characters in the first centuries of the Church who have gone down in infamy as particularly villainous: starting with Judas (naturally), and other biblical characters (Caiaphas, Pilate, and Simon Magus). The remaining chapters are filled out with Roman emperors, Christian heretics, and one "proto-heretic" (Origen -- the most sympathetic of the lot).

The author is most effective in his relaying of history when he does it episodically, as he does in this book. These short bios draw in the reader because we tend to like to read about interesting and important people. But then, not only do we learn about the figure in question, but we also learn of the setting, i.e., what is going on at the time, and what leads to the person becoming a villain. This way, we learn much about the first five or so centuries of the Church not through a dull narrative but through the persons who had significant impacts in shaping the times.

I found most interesting the stories of the Roman emperors Nero, Diocletian, and Julian the Apostate. Many of us know the names, and we know they were bad guys to Christians, but these are multi-faceted characters whose stories and motivations are much more complex than one might imagine. I learned much about them and about their empire through their stories.

History buff or not, this is a volume that will captivate the reader and help him gain an appreciation of our earliest Christian heritage and how it shapes our understanding of the Faith today. Make it the first book you read in 2019.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a great overview of the most infamous opponents to the early church. Most of these villains can be sorted into the ones who outright persecuted the early christians (namely the Roman rulers such as Nero, Diocletian, and Julian the Apostate) and members within the church that forced the early church to more clearly define its dogma given their views which ran contrary to the teachings that were passed down. I found the latter of the two villains to be more interesting to read about, as the heretical views they espoused are still heresy's we struggle with today (especially Nestorianism among the protestants).

As for the book itself, the information provided was easily digestible and brief. I wouldn't call this book the "one stop shop" for all information on the opponents of the early church, but it serves as a great introduction for getting an idea of who these people were and the history / legends surrounding them. Approach this book with that in mind, and find which characters interest you most, and find further reading from there.

Overall I would say this is a great book to read as someone seeking to wade their way into the waters of early church history.

[Eric Moroney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous and informative, recommended for any Catholic with an interest in church history.