Friendship and the Fathers: How the Early Church Evangelized

by Mike Aquilina

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 Church 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.
* Sts. Basil and Gregory, best friends from school whose friendship was shattered and then restored.
* St. Ambrose, who encouraged his clergy to cultivate strong friendships.
*St. Augustine, whose grief for a lost friend led him to profound insights—and whose friendship with St. Jerome was fraught with emotional baggage.
* St. Rabanus Maurus, the great biblical commentator and writer of hymns, whose counsels on friendship have never before appeared in English.

Genres: Church History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 19, 2021

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

[Daniel Nelms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but very helpful read concerning various friendships among the Church Fathers. Aquilina argues that such quality of friendships and their availability in the ancient world to new converts played a major role of the spread of Christianity. Perhaps such a resurgence can be found today.

[Jane Tennyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book that brings an interesting perspective to the church fathers.