Question: I have a question that I have been meaning to write about and if you can help me understand, I will be eternally grateful. It is about the early church fathers, how much credence can we give them? I mean, are they really the early church fathers? Do they have apostolic succession, not in terms of the way Catholics believe, but is there a history of their being converted and discipled by the original apostles, and thus, carry on the work that was started by Christ? Is theirs’ truly a history of the early church? How much of it is valid and where does the validity stop?
You see, I want to read their writings just to help me in my witness, especially if it helps me reach out to Catholics (like my family, who believe that the early fathers validate the Catholic church), but I don’t want to do that if it has no real validity or even if their validity is in question.
In His love,
Raymond
Answer: Dear Raymond,
The early church fathers do not "belong" to any denomination. There was only one "name brand" of Christians until the church split into the Eastern and Western church in 1054 – then those two churches were the two Christian churches until the Protestant Reformation of the early 16th century.
All Christians trace their histories through these two events. And all Christians, who by definition accept the basic and fundamental historic Christian creeds and doctrines, share equal ownership of this past. The Catholic church has no right to say that Protestants did not exist before Martin Luther – because they (we) did in fact, as a part of what today is known as the Roman Catholic church and/or the Eastern Orthodox Church.
It is also inaccurate for Protestants to think that no "true" church history existed until the Reformation, for it did, in and through what we know as the Catholic church.
This is not to say that the history of all churches is filled with unfortunate history, abuse, wrong teaching, inaccurate and unbiblical practice, etc. All of us, whether we are Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant must understand and admit that fact.
Bottom line. We may not like to consider that our spiritual relatives were Catholic, or even further back that there was a brief time in the early New Testament church when all Christians were Jews – but those are our roots. Jesus himself, of course, was a Jew. And Catholics today may not like the idea that Protestants are their brothers and sisters (an idea that was officially accepted and confirmed by Vatican II).
The early fathers were not perfect – but the early creeds and councils did meet many heresies with research and study that was perfected for us today. It is generally accepted today that a genuine Christian will accept decisions of the early councils and the statements of the creeds – which concerned the nature of God (the trinity), the deity of Jesus, the personality of the Holy Spirit. These teachings have remained in place for many centuries, and remain a safeguard against heresy.
Ironically, the cultish teachings that we find in our world are not new – but simply 20th (soon to be 21st) century versions of heresies and divisive teachings the early church and fathers combated. Denying church history is dangerous, for it sets up the individual Christian, and the larger group of which he/she is a part, for the potential of falling for the same erroneous teachings that the early church fought against. Denying church history is also dangerous for it removes accountability and ultimately presents the person who does not accept the orthodox history of the Christian church with the dilemma of finding a source/person who will take the place of biblically based church history. And when that happens we have denied the body of Christ.
The idea of apostolic succession was undoubtedly important in the early church, growing out of the original apostles who were eye-witnesses of Jesus’ life, teachings, and the saving events that we look to. But this prerequisite faded in Christianity over time, and cannot be upheld given the long history of Christianity. Not all of the fathers, nor do all of the early church creeds and councils base their authority upon apostolic succession. Apostolic succession became, much later, a Roman Catholic innovation as a way to claim supremacy over others – especially Protestants. Protestants point to the Reformation principle of the priesthood of all believers as being ultimately incompatible with the claim of apostolic succession.
I hope this helps, Raymond – may God bless you as you seek to maintain and grow Christian relationships with those who are outside of your denominational traditions. This is always a challenge at the best of times, requiring tact and care, as well as the wisdom which can only come by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Greg Albrecht