Through the Church Fathers

By C. Michael Patton

Join Through the Church Fathers, a year-long journey into the writings of the early Church Fathers, thoughtfully curated by C. Michael Patton. Each episode features daily readings from key

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FAQs about Through the Church Fathers:

How many episodes does Through the Church Fathers have?

The podcast currently has 260 episodes available.

Through the Church Fathers episodes:

September 03, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: September 3
The soul’s mystery, the world’s beginning, and the path to true happiness all converge in today’s readings. Origen explores the nature of the soul, its fall, and its possible restoration to divine fire. Augustine wrestles with how “heaven and earth” in Genesis might mean not just sky and soil, but all visible and invisible creation out of nothing. And Aquinas explains what is required for perfect happiness, showing that while external goods may aid us, happiness itself is found only in God. Together these voices call us to turn from confusion and weakness toward the unshakable joy of the divine. (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 22:20; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Matthew 5:8)
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis, Book 1, Chapter 8
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 12, Chapter 25 (Section 34)
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 4
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #ChurchFathers #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Happiness #HistoricalTheology
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12min
September 02, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: September 2
Origen speaks on the incarnation of Christ, the Word made flesh who took up a human soul and body like ours, yet without sin, for our salvation. Augustine insists that there is no fellowship with those who deny God’s truth, but for those who love Scripture, God Himself judges between confession and contradiction. Aquinas gathers the threads together: what is happiness? Not power, not pleasure, not virtue, not even wisdom itself apart from God. Happiness is union with God — the good our souls were made for.
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis (Peri Archon), "On First Principles," Book 1, Chapter 6
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 16 (Section 23)
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 3
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #ChurchFathers #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Incarnation #Truth #Happiness
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11min
September 01, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: September 1
Origen turns to the mystery of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who comforts, convicts, and teaches beyond human words. Augustine, longing for Jerusalem above, withdraws from disputers who deny divine truth and lifts his heart to the city of God. Aquinas takes the question further: not only is happiness not in wealth or honor, but it cannot be found in any created good at all. The restless heart is restless precisely because only the infinite God is enough.
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis (Peri Archon), "On First Principles," Book 1, Chapter 7
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 16 (Section 23)
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 3
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #ChurchFathers #Confessions #SummaTheologica #HolySpirit #RestlessHeart
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13min
August 31, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 31
Origen challenges those who separate God’s justice from His goodness, proving that both meet in the same Lord who judges sin and redeems sinners. Augustine marvels at the eternal city of God, radiant with unchanging light, a house filled with glory where our wandering hearts find home. Aquinas then begins testing all the “usual suspects” of happiness — wealth, honor, fame, power, pleasure — and finds each one wanting, showing us that none of them can satisfy the human heart.
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis (Peri Archon), "On First Principles," Book 1, Chapter 5
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 21 (Section 27)
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 2
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #ChurchFathers #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Justice #Goodness #Happiness
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12min
August 30, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 30
What do we do when some claim that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New? Origen dismantles the false division between justice and goodness, showing that the same God is both just and merciful. Augustine reflects on the created wisdom that points beyond itself to the eternal Wisdom of God, making clear that our minds are made for Him. And Aquinas strips down all the supposed sources of happiness — wealth, honor, power, pleasure, even virtue — until only God Himself is left as the true fulfillment of the human soul (Psalm 73:25–26).
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis (Peri Archon), "On First Principles," Book 1, Chapter 5
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 20 (Section 26)
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 2
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
Hashtags: #Origen #ChurchFathers #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Happiness #Theology
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12min
August 29, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 29
Our readings confront the difference between what is eternal and what is temporal. Origen explores whether matter itself can be dissolved and restored through successive ages, Augustine pictures a spiritual house fixed forever in God’s eternity, and Aquinas resolves the great question of the soul’s origin, showing that it is never inherited or recycled but given directly by God. The theme tying them together is this: eternity belongs to God, and all created things—whether worlds, bodies, or souls—depend moment by moment on His will and His creative act (2 Corinthians 5:1; John 17:24).
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis, Book 1, Chapter 3
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 19
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 118 (Combined Articles)
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Eternity #Creation #Soul #ChurchFathers
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12min
August 28, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 28
The heart of today’s journey is the mystery of beginnings and endings: Origen asks whether worlds come and go, Augustine contemplates the eternal house of God that never wanders from Him, and Aquinas insists that each human soul is freshly created by God at the moment of generation. Together, they remind us that creation is not random nor recycled, but ordered by a sovereign God who calls all things into being, sustains them, and gives each soul its own beginning and its own destiny (1 Corinthians 15:53–55).
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis, Book 1, Chapter 3
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 19
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 118 (Combined Articles)
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #Confessions #SummaTheologica #Creation #Soul #HistoricalTheology
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9min
August 27, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 27
God’s eternal stability anchors the ordered life of creation: Origen sketches the great hierarchy of being fitted to divine purpose, Augustine adores the One beyond change who holds all things together, and Aquinas answers whether men can teach angels—showing that angelic illumination is from God (and higher angels), while human teaching belongs to our own order. Lifted by these voices, we look from our time-bound fragility to the steadfast Giver of every good gift (James 1:17).
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis, Book 1, Chapter 8 (fragments)
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 11
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 117, Article 2
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #Augustine #Confessions #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #Eternity #Providence
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10min
August 26, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 26
The soul’s path is freedom ordered by grace: Origen surveys angelic ranks and the free ascent (or fall) of rational creatures, Augustine longs for the house of God where time yields to unbroken joy, and Aquinas argues that the sensitive powers in man are not passed by seed but come with the rational soul that God alone creates. These readings reframe life as providence met by willing love, not chance (Acts 17:28).
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis, Book 1, Chapter 8
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 13
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 117, Article 2
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #Augustine #Confessions #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #Angels #Soul
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12min
August 25, 2025 Through the Church Fathers: August 25
The theme of today’s readings is the order and purpose of creation—in heaven, on earth, and in the soul. Origen wrestles with the diversity of the world and argues that every rank, from angelic powers to earthly creatures, has its place within God’s wise design. Augustine lifts his heart to God’s eternity, marveling that while all creatures pass through time, God Himself dwells in unchanging blessedness. Aquinas clarifies the mystery of human origins: though the body comes from parents, the rational soul—with its powers of life and sense—comes directly from God. Together, these readings remind us that all order, life, and purpose begin and end in the Lord (Psalm 90:2).
Readings:
Origen, De Principiis, Book 2, Chapter 1
Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 12
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 118, Article 1
Explore the Project:
Through the Church Fathers – https://www.throughthechurchfathers.com
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/cmichaelpatton
Credo Courses – https://www.credocourses.com
Credo Ministries – https://www.credoministries.org
#Origen #Augustine #Confessions #Aquinas #SummaTheologica #Creation #Theology
...more
10min

FAQs about Through the Church Fathers:

How many episodes does Through the Church Fathers have?

The podcast currently has 260 episodes available.