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| St Ignatius of Antioch c 35 or 50-117 |
"The glory of young men is their strength, but the beauty of old men is their grey hair." ~ Proverbs 20:29
"Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching;" ~ 1Timothy 5:17
We Catholics love our elders, they are there for a number of reasons. We, personally, are thankful of the fact that they were there to record what the early Church was teaching and it remains considerably unchanged up to this very day - as we will soon find out. The fact is, we were left with St Peter, the Apostles and their disciples and a Church (Matthew 16), but after that, we have very little biblical accounts of what happened to this Church after the Acts of the Apostles as recorded by St Luke.
In 107 AD, St Ignatius of Antioch's letter to the Smyrneans tells us this: "Where the Bishop appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." - Undoubtedly the word was in use before the time of this writing and well after. The name "Catholic Church" can be found in hundreds of our Church Father's writings. St Ignatius was a direct disciple of St John the Apostle. Wow!!!
We just found out that the Church in Matthew 16 is the Catholic Church. So, is the Catholic Church back then, the same as the Catholic Church today? Let's see.
Our Church Fathers Believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist
"...The Eucharist is the flesh of our saviour Jesus Christ... (St Ignatius of Antioch Letter to Smyrnians
c 110 AD)
"...The Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ… (Against Heresies - St Irenaeus of Lyons
c 140-202 AD)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of St Justin Martyr, Tertullian and more.
Our Church Father's on the Assumption of Mary
"...you (Jesus), having overcome death, do reign in glory, so you should raise up the body of your Mother and take her with you, rejoicing, into heaven. Then said the Saviour (Jesus): "Be it done according to your will" (The Passing of the Virgin - Pseudo - St Melito AD 300)
"There her (Mary) glory is with the martyrs, and she through whom the divine light shone upon the world is in the place of bliss with her sacred body. Or say she left this world without dying for God can do what He wills. Then she was simply transferred to eternal glory." St Ephiphanis of Salamis (c 390)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of Timothy of Jerusalem, St John the Theologian, St Gregory of Tours and more.
Our Church Fathers on the Intercession of the Saints
"...But not the high priest (Christ) alone prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels... as also the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep" (Origen AD 233)
"...and though he(true Christian) pray alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with him (in prayer)" (St Clement of Alexandria AD 208)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of St Hermas, St Cyprian of Carthage, and more.
Our Church Fathers on St Peter, the Key of Heaven, & the Church in Rome
"But if you are near Italy, you have Rome, where authority is at hand for us too." & "For though you think that heaven is still shut up, remember that the Lord left the keys of it to Peter here, and through him to the Church..." (Antidote Against the Scorpion 10 - Tertullian AD 211)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of St Irenaeus of Lyons and more.
Our Church Fathers on Mary the New Eve
"...so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. As the human race was subjected to death through (the act of) a virgin (Eve), so it was saved by a virgin (Mary)." (Against Heresies - St Irenaeus AD 180)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of St Justin Martyr and more.
Our Church Fathers on Infant Baptism
"For he came to save all by means of himself... all, I say, who by him are born again to God... infants, children, adolescents, young men, and old men. (Against Heresies - St Irenaeus AD 180)
"And they shall baptize the little children first." (Apostolic Tradition - St Hippolytus AD 215)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of Origen and more.
Our Church Fathers on Confession/Reconciliation
"Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life... On the Lord's Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure" (Didache AD 70)
"...before their conscience has been purged in the ceremony and at: the hand of the priest..." (The Lapsed - St Cyprian AD 251)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of St Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen and more.
Our Church Fathers on Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant
"At that time, the Saviour coming from the Virgin, the Ark, brought forth His own Body into the world from that Ark..." St Hippolytus AD 215)
The same teachings can also be found in the works of St Ephrem, & St Athanasius, and more.
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| St Irenaeus of Lyons died AD 202 |
These are just a few of the works of our Church Fathers, they are too many to mention.
Many would claim that the REAL Catholic Church died around the 4th century, specifically, in the time of Constantine. Well, obviously, we have debunked that conspiracy today because for one, Constantine was born in c 272 & died in c 337, and we still believe what our Church Fathers believed well before and after that period, considerably unchanged.
Jesus said that "the powers of death shall not prevail against it (His Church)", and it's true, no evil has prevailed up to this very moment. Apostolic Succession connected us to the Church mentioned in Matthew 16, and the works of our Church Fathers just confirmed that connection for us. The early Church, the Catholic Church, is the same Church as we know it today.
