My first historical exposure to the early church fathers was in a college church history class. I learned some basics about the successors to the Apostles. I wrote some papers. I did enough to get by with a passing grade. I don’t remember being super invested in it.
Why wasn’t I? I was a zealous, young Christian who wanted to absorb all I could of the Bible, its people and its stories. Why didn’t I care about church history? I think it’s because I was left with the impression that once the Book of Revelation closed, the recording of our history stopped too. The stuff that came after wasn’t that important.
Being from the American Restoration Movement, I was also left with the impression, whether implied or outright spoken I’m not sure, that the church quickly went into apostasy. It wasn’t until the Second Great Awakening, across the ocean in the late 1700s, that the church was “restored.”
Is it possible that for centuries the church ceased to exist?
Is it possible that a small group of American men were gifted the keys to rebuild the kingdom?
What about the prophecy of Daniel?
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:44
What about the promise of Jesus?
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18
These are the questions that have prompted me to discover my true history. This is better than ancestry.com or getting my DNA results. I want to know how the faith was maintained, protected and passed down to me. How have certain doctrines evolved? Where have we missed the mark? When did we miss the mark? How can I do better?
What about the men who dedicated their days and surrendered their lives to lay the foundation for the faith I profess today?
I am learning to treasure the faith of Polycarp whose faith did not waiver while his flesh melted. I want to know how St. Ignatius led the church out of Judaism into the Greco-Roman world. I want to know the work Irenaeus who defended the humanity of Christ and Athanasius who upheld his deity. I want to read the writings of St. Augustine who cemented the need for grace into Christian theology.
Their history is my history. It is our history. And we need it.
“If you want to understand today you have to search yesterday.” – Pearl Buck
