"I . . . find these Fathers to be, in words of William Butler Yeats, 'singing-masters of my soul'. Anyone who prays through the year the Office of Readings in the Roman Liturgy of the Hours will understand why."
— Fr. Aidan Nichols
, From the Introduction
The
Singing-Masters
, written by the author of
Rome and the Eastern Churches
, is a passionate, personalized account of the theological achievement of eighteen of the Church Fathers. Ten come from the Greek East:
Irenaeus
,
Origen
Athanasius
Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nazianzus
Basil the Great
Cyril of Alexandria
Denys the Areopagite
Maximus the Confessor
, and
John Damascene
. Eight come from the Latin West:
Tertullian
Cyprian
Ambrose
Jerome
Augustine
Leo the Great
Gregory the Great
Bede the Venerable
.
The Fathers chosen here are those who have been especially authoritative for Catholic doctrine or particularly influential in Church life. While giving a dramatic, humanized account of patristic thought, colored by biographical detail, Aidan Nichols, O.P., draws the reader into a serious discussion of the Fathers' complex theological doctrines.
The Singing-Masters
offers a holistic and loving introduction to the figures who most shaped Christian thought, both in the East and in the West.