Through the Church Fathers

Through the Church Fathers

di C. Michael Patton

Storia Cristianità

Stagione 2

Through the Church Fathers: July 20

Today’s readings bring together truth, confession, and mercy. Cyprian continues Epistle 72 by arguing that not everything done “in the name of Christ” truly belongs to Christ, especially when it is separated from the truth of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the unity of the Church. Augustine then explains why he confesses before others: not to satisfy curiosity, but so that brotherly souls may rejoice over God’s gifts in him, grieve over what still needs healing, and pray that God would complete what He has begun. Aquinas closes by describing mercy as a virtue flowing from charity, by which we regard another’s misery as our own and act to relieve it. Together, these readings remind us that truth cannot be severed from Christ, confession should serve love rather than curiosity, and mercy is not mere feeling, but love stooping to heal. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — Epistle 72: To Jubaianus, Concerning the Baptism of Heretics, Sections 15–18 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 4 (Section 5) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 30 (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Baptism #Mercy #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 19

What does true unity in the Church look like when error and compromise threaten the faith? Today we sit with three voices that refuse easy answers. Cyprian of Carthage boldly insists that baptism belongs only to the one true Church and cannot be separated from living faith. Augustine lays bare the honest struggle of self-knowledge, showing that real confession begins with God’s light, not human curiosity. And Thomas Aquinas brings clarity and beauty to the virtue of peace, teaching us that genuine peace is never mere absence of conflict — it is the fruit of rightly ordered love in God. Today’s Readings: Cyprian of Carthage — Epistle 72, To Jubaianus, Concerning the Baptism of Heretics (Sections 10–14) Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 3 (Section 4) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2-2, Question 29 — Peace (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #CyprianOfCarthage #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #BaptismAndUnity #OrderOfPeace #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 18

Podcast Description What does it really mean to belong to Christ — and can the Church’s unity ever be compromised by compromise? Today we wrestle with that urgent question through three powerful voices from the early Church and the medieval tradition. Cyprian of Carthage confronts the dangerous practice of accepting baptism from heretics, insisting that true faith and true Church cannot be separated. Augustine opens the depths of his own heart in confession, showing us that only God truly knows us and that honest self-knowledge begins with God’s light. And Thomas Aquinas brings luminous clarity to the order of charity, teaching us how to love God first, ourselves rightly, and our neighbors according to the bonds and duties God has given us. Today’s Readings: Cyprian of Carthage — Epistle 72, To Jubaianus, Concerning the Baptism of Heretics (Sections 5–9) Augustine of Hippo — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 3 (Section 3) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2-2, Question 26 — The Order of Charity (Articles 1–13 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #CyprianOfCarthage #Augustine #ThomasAquinas #OrderOfCharity #BaptismAndUnity #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 17

Today’s readings ask where grace, confession, and love truly belong. Cyprian continues his argument in Epistle 72, insisting that baptism cannot be separated from the unity and truth of the Church, and that heretical imitation does not require the Church to surrender what belongs to Christ. Augustine then reminds us that confession before God is not merely spoken with the mouth, but cried out from the soul, since nothing in the conscience is hidden from the Lord who first speaks truth into us. Aquinas closes by explaining the object of charity: God is loved above all, and all others—self, neighbor, sinners, enemies, angels, and even the body—are loved rightly only in relation to God and eternal blessedness. Together, these readings press us to see that Christian life is not held together by outward forms alone, but by truth, inward confession, and love ordered toward God. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — Epistle 72: To Jubaianus, Concerning the Baptism of Heretics, Sections 1–4 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 2 (Section 2) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 25 (Articles 1–12 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Baptism #Charity #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Introduction to Cyprian's Epistles on the Baptism of Heretics

Today’s reading introduces Cyprian’s three letters on the baptism of heretics, where his earlier concerns for unity, holiness, and discipline now focus on one urgent question: should baptism performed outside the Church be received as true baptism? Cyprian answers no, arguing that because the Church is one, baptism is one, and those separated from the Church cannot give what they do not possess. These letters matter not only because of Cyprian’s argument, but because the wider Church would later wrestle with and, in the West, largely move in a different direction through figures like Stephen of Rome and Augustine. From a Protestant perspective, we may not follow Cyprian all the way in his sacramental conclusion, but his deeper concern remains important: baptism is not an empty ritual detached from truth, confession, and the body of Christ. Today’s Readings: Introduction — Cyprian, Epistles 70, 72, and 73: Concerning the Baptism of Heretics Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Baptism #ChurchHistory #Theology #Ecclesiology #Sacraments #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 16

Today’s readings move from the boundaries of the Church to the inward life of the soul. Cyprian’s Epistle 70 argues that baptism is one because the Church is one, insisting that those who come from heresy do not bring sacramental life from outside the Church, but must receive it where grace and truth are found. Augustine begins Book 10 of The Confessions with a new kind of confession, asking God to know Him as he is known and placing his hope and sober joy in God alone. Aquinas continues the section on charity by asking where charity exists, how it grows, and how it can be lost, teaching that charity is poured into the will by the Holy Spirit, grows as the soul clings more firmly to God, and is destroyed when the will turns away from God as its final end. Together, these readings call us to unity in the truth, honesty before God, and a love that must be guarded, strengthened, and kept alive. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — Epistle 70: To Quintus, Concerning the Baptism of Heretics Augustine — The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 1 (Section 1) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 24 (Articles 1–12 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Baptism #Charity #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 15

Today’s readings move from repentance into restoration, and from grief into charity. Cyprian concludes On the Lapsed by warning that false safety destroys true safety, while genuine repentance must be as deep as the wound; yet he also holds out hope that the fallen soldier may be armed again, restored by mercy, and even receive a crown. Augustine closes Book 9 of The Confessions by remembering Monica at the Lord’s altar, trusting not in her merits but in the mercy of Christ, who paid the price no one can repay. Aquinas then begins the great section on charity, defining it as friendship with God and the greatest of the virtues, because faith believes, hope longs, but charity already clings to God in love. Together, these readings remind us that repentance is not the end of the Christian life, but the doorway back into mercy, communion, and holy love. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — On the Lapsed, Sections 34–36 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 9, Chapter 13 (Sections 36–37) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 23 (Articles 1–8 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Repentance #Charity #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 14

Today’s readings distinguish real repentance from religious self-deception. Cyprian continues On the Lapsed by warning that repentance must not be merely claimed, but shown through grief, humility, confession, and a willingness to receive the medicine of correction. Augustine then turns from mourning Monica to praying for her, refusing to rest even in her holy life as though anyone could stand before God apart from mercy. Aquinas closes by examining presumption as a sin against hope, not because it trusts God’s mercy too much, but because it expects forgiveness without repentance and the end without the means God has appointed. Together, these readings remind us that true hope neither despairs of mercy nor presumes upon it, but returns to God with honest sorrow and confidence in His grace. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — On the Lapsed, Sections 30–33 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 9, Chapter 13 (Sections 34–35) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 21 (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Repentance #Hope #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Through the Church Fathers: July 13

Today’s readings turn our attention to repentance, grief, and the danger of losing hope. Cyprian continues On the Lapsed by insisting that even those who avoided open sacrifice but secured certificates of denial still defiled the conscience, because God sees not only outward acts but the hidden places of the heart. Augustine then releases the tears he had restrained after Monica’s death, finding rest not in the judgment of men but in the nearness of God’s ears. Aquinas closes by examining despair as a sin against hope, not because a person recognizes his own weakness, but because he refuses to trust that eternal happiness remains possible through the mercy and help of God. Together, these readings remind us that repentance must be honest, grief may be poured out before God, and no wound should lead us to despair of divine mercy. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — On the Lapsed, Sections 27–30 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 9, Chapter 12 (Section 33) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 20 (Articles 1–4 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Repentance #Hope #ThroughTheChurchFathers

Stagione 2

Through the Church Fathers: July 12

Today’s readings confront the danger of hidden sin and the mercy of rightly ordered fear. Cyprian continues On the Lapsed with some of his most severe warnings, insisting that anger against the Church’s discipline only deepens the wound and that sins hidden from men are never hidden from God. Augustine then describes grief after Monica’s death with startling honesty: the bath could not wash sorrow from his heart, but sleep began to soften what he could not command away by force of will. Aquinas closes by explaining the gift of fear, not as slavish terror, but as reverent awe before God, a fear that strengthens hope by keeping the soul humble, watchful, and unwilling to be separated from Him. Together, these readings remind us that repentance must be real, grief must be entrusted to God, and hope must walk with holy reverence. Today’s Readings: Cyprian — On the Lapsed, Sections 22–26 Augustine — The Confessions, Book 9, Chapter 12 (Section 32) Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologica, Part 2–2, Question 19 (Articles 1–12 Combined) Explore the Project: Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org #ChurchFathers #Cyprian #Augustine #Aquinas #Theology #ChurchHistory #ChristianDoctrine #Repentance #Hope #ThroughTheChurchFathers

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