Repentance and the Fathers of the Church

Our Lord Jesus Christ began His public earthly ministry with the exhortation to repentance: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt. 4:17). His disciples and apostles, having learned from their Master, themselves also invariably proclaimed the call to repentance in their preaching and teaching, whether oral or written, and their own disciples and each subsequent generation of teachers and shepherds in the Church likewise did the same. In this manner, in eager anticipation of the Second Coming of the Lord, the Christians have, since the very beginning, recognized and practiced repentance as a necessary prerequisite to cultivating lives marked by virtuosity and godliness, and ultimately to being found prepared for and worthy of inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. This collection presents eight complete homilies by five renowned Fathers of the early Church - Sts. Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, Theophilus I of Alexandria, Ephrem the Syrian, and Cyril of Alexandria - on the subject of repentance. Delivered between the fourth and fifth centuries to assemblies of believers from all areas of the early Christian world, these homilies provide deep insights into the importance, urgency, and beauty of the practice of repentance as received and understood by the Patristic Fathers and delivered by them to their respective Churches. Whether read as a helpful companion during the Great Lent - a season characterized by heightened preoccupation with repentance, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving - or as a source of constant encouragement in the life of repentance throughout the entire year, this work is sure to prove most edifying and inspiring to its reader.