Dr Paul Allen

Church Fathers, a miniature from Svyatoslav's Miscellany (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” ( 1 John  2:13 ) Often this widely used term refers to ancestors—both as family lineage (our fathers) or as significant contributors from the past ( founding fathers , church fathers )—and occasionally to someone responsible for inventing or starting something important (father of modern medicine , father of our country). Sometimes it is used as a title of respect for a leader, a scholar, or a seasoned elder who has gained recognition for wisdom from long experience. John emphasizes that latter sense in our text, referring to mature Christians who have been involved “from the beginning”—possibly referring directly to those like himself who have firsthand knowledge of the events of Christ ’s ministry. Such men would have “known him” (twice emphasized,  1 John 2:13  and 2:14) and should provide va...

Christ icon in Taizé (Photo credit: lgambett ) We, then, following the holy Fathers , all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ , the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [coessential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God , according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided i...

When Gregory became bishop of Neocaesarea in the region of Pontus (modern Turkey) in the year 239, there were only seventeen  Christians . When he died (which tradition says happened on this day, November 17, 270), there were only seventeen pagans. That transformation was owing largely to his faithful efforts. But before Gregory could lead people to Christ , he needed to know Him himself. Gregory was born into a prosperous pagan home and named Theodore (Gift of God). His parents expected him to become a lawyer. It was to fulfill that expectation that he and his brother planned to attend the famous law school at Beirut (in modern Lebanon). Their brother-in-law became an official in the government of Palestine, and before they headed off to law school, they escorted their sister to Caesarea so that she could rejoin her husband. At that time, the famous Origen, a Christian theologian and scholar taught in Caesarea. Out of curiosity, the boys went to hear him. Immediately they we...

Because he spoke out boldly against the sins of Constantinople, John the Patriarch of Constantinople found himself in exile in the Taurus mountains . Several of the elite had taken offense at his sermons which showed up their shame. Among them was the Empress Eudoxia, who pulled strings to get him banished. The winter before his death, John suffered dreadfully in the mountains. No amount of wood on the fire and no pile of blankets on his bed kept his shivering body warm. Still he wrote strong letters to the people under his care. Trained as a lawyer, his letters and sermons were masterpieces of religious literature. Although he was absent from them, church folk continued to take direction from him. To John's enemies, his power still seemed to be too great, his presence still too close. Although he was old and frail, his health undermined by years of stern living, they decided to move him up by the Euxine (Black) Sea. They promised a reward to the guards who transferred him. Th...