The experience of the pastoral leaders of the Early Church is wide and deep. In loving obedience to Christ’s command to make disciples, they expand into geographical locations both urban and rural, across linguistic and social boundaries. Their views are refined by the fires of martyrdom, purified by asceticism, and perfected by the pressures that the care of souls lays upon them. Their preaching, teaching, and witness is hard won by these experiences. To fail to engage with them impoverishes the Christian imagination that aims to answer the “how” and “why” of pastoral care. The Pastoral Theology of the Early Church proposes a selection of these early guides in pastoral theology for Christian leaders, both present and future. The selection of Greek, Latin, and Syriac authors from the first millennium treats themes as broad as Christian Initiation, the Church’s relationship to public officials, and the care owed to the families of infants who have died.

The Pastoral Theology of the Early Church will aid students preparing for ministry and as well as seasoned pastors and pastoral ministers by offering a close look at the early Church’s perennial wisdom in action across differing pastoral contexts. Scholars and interested readers of the early Church will benefit from the surprising, varied situations and themes these leaders tackled head on for the sake of the Gospel.