Early Church

Friends, it’s not incidental to God that he is a kind and loving Father. That’s not a role he’s stepped into or an act that he tries to pull off while inwardly just being transcendent and disinterested in you.When you pray the Lord’s Prayer and call him “Our Father” or “Abba, Father,” you’re not asking him to pretend for a moment he’s less like God and more like Jesus than he actually is. You’re putting your finger on the very essence of God.

Daniel Hames introduces the early Church Father, Cyril of Alexandria. Cyril’s legacy endures as one of the most influential figures in the development of the doctrine of Christ, shaping the theological landscape of Christianity for centuries to come.

It is necessary not only to pray, but also to pray “as we ought” and to pray for what we ought. Our attempt to understand what we should pray for is deficient unless we also bring to our quest the “as we ought.” Likewise, what use to us is the “as we ought” if we do not know for what we should pray?

Though unlikely to have been written by Athanasius, this statement of faith bears the hallmarks of his strong Trinitarian theology and focus on the Person of Christ. 

The Nicene Creed (technically the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the result of two early Church councils in 325 and 381. It is the only authoritative ecumenical statement accepted by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and major Protestant denominations. 

Robert Letham considers the mystery of the Incarnation in an excerpt from his 'Systematic Theology' (Crossway, 2019). 

Gregory of Nyssa writes on the unity of the Trinity and examines the divinity of the Holy Spirit. 

Mike Reeves introduces us to Eastern Orthodox theology and spirituality. 

Dan Hames introduces us to the life and theology of the much-maligned Cyril of Alexandria. 

Gregory of Nyssa gives a brief exhortation on the Christian faith in the face of idolatry and heresy.