{"product_id":"early-christianity-in-search-of-the-origins-of-the-catholic-church-9798196041037","title":"Early Christianity: In Search of the Origins of the Catholic Church","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): José Miguel Arráiz Roberti\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Christianity - Catholic\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat did early Christians believe? Not what the sixteenth-century Reformers say. What the men who personally knew the Apostles say.\u003c\/b\u003e One of the most repeated objections of Protestantism is that the Catholic Church departed from the original Gospel - that the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the papacy, apostolic succession, and the authority of Tradition are medieval inventions added centuries after \"pure Christianity.\" It is a powerful claim... for those who have never read the documents of early Christianity. Because the Apostolic Fathers and the first Apologists - writers who lived in the first and second centuries, several of them direct disciples of the Apostles or their immediate successors - left a written record of what the Church believed and practiced before any medieval council, before Constantine, before the Middle Ages. Their words leave little room for doubt. \u003cb\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eEarly Christianity\u003c\/i\u003e you will find the testimony of twelve documentary sources from the first centuries: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Didache\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Epistle of Barnabas\u003c\/b\u003e - the oldest non-canonical Christian documents, written while the Apostles were still alive\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eClement of Rome\u003c\/b\u003e - third successor of Peter, writing from Rome with authority over other churches\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eIgnatius of Antioch\u003c\/b\u003e - direct disciple of the Apostle John, testifying about the Eucharist and the monarchical episcopate on his way to martyrdom\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePolycarp of Smyrna\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003ePapias of Hierapolis\u003c\/b\u003e - the last living links to the Apostles\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Shepherd of Hermas\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Epistle to Diognetus\u003c\/b\u003e - two remarkable early witnesses to Christian life and doctrine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eJustin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, Tertullian\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eCyprian of Carthage\u003c\/b\u003e - the great Apologists who articulated the faith against paganism and the first heresies\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003eTheir writings address the same questions that divide Catholics and Protestants today: Is Scripture the only authority? What happens in the Eucharist? Did Peter hold a special primacy? Can anyone outside the Church be saved? The answers given in the second century will surprise those who believe Catholicism is a later invention. \u003ci\u003e\"Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be... Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.\"\u003c\/i\u003e - Ignatius of Antioch (c. 107 AD) \u003cb\u003eFor anyone who honestly seeks the origins of Christianity, this book is a starting point that cannot be ignored.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47892885635223,"sku":"9798196041037","price":999.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798196041037.webp?v=1781189691","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/early-christianity-in-search-of-the-origins-of-the-catholic-church-9798196041037","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}