Roots of Faith: An Anthology of Early Christian Sprituality to Contemplate and Treasure

In a day when Christians have virtually lost all contact with the foundations of their faith, this volume provides an excellent entry into the writings of the early church fathers and other important Christian documents from the first and second centuries.

Fully illustrated and produced in a beautiful color format, ROOTS OF FAITH, includes extracts from Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, the Shepherd of Hermas, Barnabas, Polycarp of Smyrna, the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the Didache, the Epistle to Dognetus, Justin Athenagora, Irenaeus, and Tertullian. Returning again to these ancient writings will help modern readers reaffirm the original Christian message and will open up new avenues of spiritualaity.

FROM BOOK INLAY

Two thousand years after the death of Christ it is difficult to imagine a world where Christianity was a minority movement. The familiarity of the New Testament writings is sich that the radical nature of the faith they describe is obscured. However, there is a body of writings from the period of the New Testament which does convey the vigor and energy of the early Christian communities as they spread the gospel across the length and breadth of the Roman Empire. The letters, descriptions and reflections of the Apostolic Fathers gathered in this volume reveal the first brave flowerings of the Christian religion.