Way of the Fathers

Feb 12 2025 133 ep. 22 mins 501

Way of the Fathers Podcast artwork

A podcast about the Fathers of the Church—the foundational figures of Christian history. A production of CatholicCulture.org. Currently covering all the Doctors of the Church! Seasons 1-3 were hosted by Mike Aquilina. Seasons 4-5 are hosted by Dr. Jim Papandrea. 1: The Church Fathers 2: The Early Ecumenical Councils 3: Cities of God 4: Heresies 5: Doctors of the Churcch Episodes marked as bonus are on miscellaneous topics.

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5.4 St. Gregory of Narek: Patron Saint of Armenia

Feb 12 2025 12 mins

In the first episode on St. Gregory of Narek (c. 945-1003), Dr. Papandrea introduces one of the newest additions to the list of Doctors of the Church. Gregory was an Armenian monk, scholar, poet, and saint, who was praised by Pope St. John Paul II. Links Listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode on Christianity in Armenia - The Way of the Fathers episode 3.9 Ejmiastin and Christian Armen

5.3 St. Bede: The Father of English History

Jan 29 2025 21 mins

In this second episode on St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735 AD), Dr. Papandrea talks about the literary legacy of this Doctor of the Church. Bede is not only considered the “father of English history,” but also the “father of English education.” Although he is now most famous for his Ecclesiastical History of England, his contribution to the Church is actually much great

5.2 St. Bede the Venerable: Monk and Scholar

Jan 14 2025 15 mins

In this episode, the first in our series on the Doctors of the Church, Dr. Papandrea introduces you to St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735 AD). He lived in a Benedictine monastery from the age of seven, and he wrote the first scholarly history of England and its conversion to Christianity. He is considered the “Father of English History” and the patron saint of historians Link

5.1 The Doctors of the Church–Introduction

Jan 01 2025 15 mins

With this episode, we begin our new series on the Doctors of the Church. What is a Doctor of the Church? Are all Doctors also saints? What makes a person a Doctor of the Church? All these questions, and more, will be answered, as well as some hints at what you can expect from this series. Get ready to sample the fruit of some of the greatest minds the Church has ever produced! Lin

St. Boethius: Church Father and Medieval Scholar

Dec 11 2024 18 mins

St. Severinus Boethius was a man with one foot in the ancient world and one foot in the middle ages. He is another one of our lesser-known fathers who were anything but forgotten among the medieval scholastics. In this episode, Dr. Papandrea introduces another enigmatic but highly influential Church father. This is the last episode of our interim series on “Forgotten Fathers” -

Who Was Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite?

Nov 27 2024 17 mins

Whenever you see “Pseudo-“ in front of a name like this, it means we don’t really know who the person was. This Church father wrote under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, a convert of St. Paul mentioned in the book of Acts. But the documents attributed to him were written hundreds of years later. Nevertheless, this unknown pseudonymous author was hugely influential for s

Egeria the Pilgrim and the Stations of the Cross

Nov 13 2024 15 mins

Egeria (or Etheria) was a woman who embarked on a three-year pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in the late fourth century. From her “pilgrimage diary” (actually fragments from her letters to her “sisters” back in Spain) we learn much about liturgy in Jerusalem. There we can see the beginnings of the lectionary, and the seeds of the Stations of the Cross. In this episode, Dr. Pap

Rufinus of Aquileia and the Apostles’ Creed

Oct 23 2024 21 mins

Rufinus is mostly known as the translator of Origen, and the opponent of St. Jerome in the controversy over Origen. But he also wrote an important commentary on the Apostles’ Creed, which is on Dr. Papandrea’s list of “state of the art documents,” patristic works that succinctly showcase the state of the development of doctrine at the time they were written. Links To listen

Pope St. Stephen and the Sacraments

Oct 09 2024 20 mins

After the controversies in the mid-third century, in the aftermath of the persecution of the emperor Decius and the schism of Novatian, Pope St. Stephen was instrumental in clarifying the Church’s theology of the sacraments of Baptism and Penance and Reconciliation. What is required for a valid baptism? What is the solution for falling away into mortal sin? Who may offer the abso

Father Caius and the Tomb of St. Peter

Sep 25 2024 26 mins

Caius was a priest in Rome, in the third century. He wrote that if one comes to Rome, one can visit the shrines at the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. These tombs had been known and visited since the apostle’s deaths, and are known to this day - they are in the same place where Caius knew them. The tomb of St. Paul is directly under the main altar of the Basilica of St. Paul Out