Early Church Fathers

            I learned about many early church fathers this week, so in this essay I will talk about three of them. I will briefly explain their lives before and after they came to Jesus, and what important things they did. Their names are Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine, starting with Saint Ambrose.

            Ambrose grew up in Gaul (modern day France). When he was older, he joined politics like his father. One day, when he was at a meeting where they were trying to decide who would be the next bishop of Milan, he was chosen to be it. He was scared, so he hid for a whole week, until the emperor requested him to come. Ambrose did, was baptized, a became a church father. He donated land and money, and he was very much liked by the people and the emperors of his day. He dedicated his life to learn more about theology and God Himself, and with this, preached to many people.

           Next is Jerome. When Jerome was young, he didn’t care for Christianity very much. It was when he went to Rome when he became interested in the religion and became a Christian. Jerome is famous for rewriting the Bible in Latin so that other people could understand. This is one of the reasons why we can read the English Bible today.

          Finally, I will talk about Augustine. Although he grew up in the church, he had a very sinful lifestyle. His mother, who was a Christian, prayed for him, and he was helped to convert to Christianity by none other than Bishop Ambrose himself! He heard a voice telling him to read, so he decided to read the first scripture he opened in the Bible, which happened to be Romans. He confessed his sin and was baptized along with his son by Ambrose. He wrote a book about Christianity called “The City of God”. He is also known for writing the first ever found autobiography called Confessions.

          There were many more “early” church fathers, but these ones fascinated me the most. I love to learn as much as I can about how other people came to Jesus, especially when they preach about it too. This week was amazing, and I am so excited to learn more history next week, even if it is not about the Church and Bible.