When the Church Was Young

Voices of the Early Fathers

By: Marcellino D'Ambrosio

Narrated by: Marcellino D'Ambrosio

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

If the word trinity isn't in Scripture, why is it such an important part of our faith? And if the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, how do we know what to make of it? And who decided what should be in the Bible anyway? The Church Fathers provide the answers! Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.

©2014 Marcellino D'Ambrosio (P)2014 Franciscan Media

Critic reviews

"Dr. D'Ambrosio has accomplished the rare feat of combining scholarship with readability. Christians of all traditions can trace their faith to these pioneers; their story is our story."--Right Honourable David Baron Alton, M.P. and Liverpool University professor

"Gripping, compelling, and fast-moving." Sarah Reinhard, blogger, SnoringScholar.com

guide to early church fathers

The resurgence of awareness of the early Church Fathers, not only in the more traditional liturgical church settings but in the Evangelical world has given rise to a number of good books about early Church history and the actual writings of those early Christians.

After reading John Michael Talbot’s mostly memoir-ish look at the early Church fathers I decided that I wanted a more history oriented book, but still introduction level. I have read fairly in depth about the early Church Fathers on the trinity, but not on much else. (Although I have read several other than Christian history survey books that cover the era.)

When the Church Was Young fits the bill well. D’Ambrosia is Catholic and writing this in part to encourage Catholics, but this is not an exclusively Catholic view of the early church. After all, at this point it was just the Church, the major splits were yet to come, although there were certainly lots of little splits. There were a few places where I think that D’Ambrosia made too much of a leap from ancient to current Catholic and I think he started referring to all Christians as Catholic earlier than the history warrants, but with those caveats, D’Ambrosia does a good job of giving context and history to the various Church Fathers and enough of a sense of their writing to feel like you are getting more than just survey history.

I have decided that it is going to take me a number of repeated reading to really get my history and understanding of the era down. This is probably my fourth quick survey of the era and each time I get more, but the historical names and theological terms and philosophical concepts do not roll right off the tongue, especially when there are a number of similarly named Fathers.

D’Ambrosia is not giving any controversial readings here. This is standard history that is supportive of Catholic doctrine. I think he, and Catholics in general, are mostly right especially on the importance of the eucharist, the trinity, and early church authority. But there are other areas where I am just not sure. Especially about the Eucharist, there was new insights and information. Much of the early church had a semblance of the Eucharist every day, if not in a full church gathering, then the members would take home portions and have them daily as a household. The full doctrine of Transubstantiation had not been developed by 600 when this book ends, but there was a sense of the ‘real presence of Christ’ that would be acceptable to most Christians today that was present in this era. As I have said on a few other occasions, I do think the lack of participation in the Eucharist is a weakness of the mega-church world that I attend. I understand why it is not done, but I still disagree with it.

D’Ambrosia ends with a helpful postscript about the fact that these Early Church Fathers are fallen humans, just as we are. Several of them wrote doctrine that was later defined as heresy, but I agree with him that it is important to understand where we are coming from. If you have read a fair bit of theology, then much of the rough concepts will be familiar as well as a number of famous quotes that have entered general culture, like the famous ‘When in Rome’.

Because I am still a Protestant, I am going to have to think more about how to think about the progression of theology. Much of what is here is the root of our current faith, including early church worship and the creeds, but some is fairly foreign and it is clear that we have moved away from what the early church thought on a number of issues. Still this is an introduction that is worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

excellent intro, from RC p.o.v., accessible to all

excellent intro, from RC p.o.v., accessible to all, the story of Anthanasius is the most daunting of them all

Decent overview

Overall, this is a decent survey of church history through the first 800 years. The quotations from the fathers were illuminating and helpful, and in many cases deeply thought provoking. The author tells a story well, and makes the history engaging.

He does have a tendency in some cases to overstate his case for a Roman Catholic interpretation of some church fathers. There is more controversy and less dogmatism on several points (such as the description of the Eucharist as a sacrifice, the nature of the Real presence, and the degree of deference to Rome) than he states.

However, overall I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it as a supplement to additional reading on the people and the time.

Moved to Learn More

Rewinding to start again and also beginning to read the early apologists. Feel foolish that I am so ignorant of the foundation of my church.

Understanding the history of Christianity

It is through the writings of these early Christians that we can see the roots of our faith. Everything from the Liturgy, the books of the Bible, and more, are clearly discussed by the Church Fathers.

Highly recommend this!

As a Christian, it’s so refreshing to hear the words of the early Christians and to know that they taught and believed what the Catholic Church still teaches today. Their witness to their faith, often through martyrdom, is an inspiration.

Enjoyed it as a stating place

A good swing through the early church, a starter for more in depth study. A worthy read.

I recommend this book!

Inspiring history of the early Church, the foundations of Christian belief, worship, and ecclesiology. Not just history, it is clearly catechetical and apologetic in structure and presentation. A lively and entertaining intro to the fathers and the early Church.

Well addressed and researched.

This could have done without unfounded comments aga9nsy Constantine. I found it odd to condemn the man and later speak praises of him. I would recommend this for an uninformed person regarding Church History.

A deeper, older, stronger bond with my Savior

Words cannot express the joy this audiobook has brought me. I am a cradle evangelical looking for a deeper, older, stronger bond with with my Savior. Thank you Dr. D’Ambrosio for helping me on my way. And thank you for personally narrating your work. May the Lord bless you.