The Early Church Fathers were the disciples of the 12 apostles, the disciples of the disciples of the 12 apostles,

the disciples of the disciples of the discipl es of the 12 apostles, etc. In short they were the Christian leaders who took c harge of the Church following the death of the 12 apostles. =========== Para Bapa Gereja Awal adalah murid-murid dari Keduabelas Rasul. Murid dari Murid dari Murid Para Rasul. Singkatnya, mereka adalah Pemimpin Kristen Awal yang ber tanggung jawab atas Gereja setelah kematian Keduabelas Rasul.

They were not only taught by the 12 apostles, they were also first-hand witnesse s to the creation of the Church worldwide. Most, if not all, were martyred by b eing crucified, beheaded, fed to the lions at the Roman Coliseum, boiled in oil, or skinned alive. They were the ones empowered by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13 and 1 John 4:6), and who personally handed on the oral teaching of Jesus Christ , before the New Testament canon was created by the Catholic Church in the late 4th century, at the councils of Rome, Hippo, and Carthage. One of the great ear ly ones, St. Clement, is actually mentioned in the bible in Philippians 4:3. No ne of these early Church Fathers just stood up and started preaching on his own. They followed the Biblical model in Acts of being sent (Romans 10:15). Who sent them? Jesus sent the 12 apostles ( as the Father sent me, so I send you ). The 12 a postles then laid hands on others and sent them (Acts 6:6). This apostolic trad ition has been followed for 2000 years by the Catholic Church, who continuously lays hands on new disciples in every generation since Jesus walked the earth, an d then sends them to the four corners of the earth to preach the good news of Je sus Christ, to forgive sins in His Name, and to bring Jesus in the Eucharist to us all. We, the members of the 21rst Century, owe these early Church Fathers a lot of gratitude, because they died horrible deaths in order to preserve and to hand on the Word of God to us today. ================ Mereka tidak hanya diajari secara langsung oleh Keduabelas Rasul, Mereka juga Sa ksi Mata langsung terciptanya Gereja di seluruh dunia. Kebanyakan, jika tidak se mua, mereka menjadi martir, dengan cara disalib, dipenggal, dijadikan makanan Si nga di Colloseum Roma, direbus dalam minyak atau dikuliti hidup-hidup. Mereka ya ng pertama kali dikuatkan oleh Roh Kudus (Yohanes 16:13 dan 1Yohanes 4:6) dan me rekalah juga yang meneruskan ajaran lisan Yesus Kristus, sebelum Kanon Perjanjia n Baru dibuat oleh Gereja Katolik pada akhir abad ke-4 pada Konsili Roma, Hippo, dan kartago. Bapa Gereja yang paling awal, St. Clement bahkan tercatat dalam Al kitab di Filipi 4:3. Tidak ada satupun dari para Bapa Gereja Awal yang berdiri d an berceramah dengan mengandalkan diri mereka sendiri. Mereka mengikuti Model Al kitabiah "diutus" (Roma 10:15). Siapa yang mengutus mereka? Yesuslah yang mengut us Keduabelas Rasul [Seperti Bapa telah mengutus Aku, maka Aku mengutus kamu]. K edua belas Rasul Kristus kemudian meletakkan tangan kepada orang lain lalu mengu tus mereka (Kisah Para Rasul 6:6). Tradisi Apostolik ini telah berjalan selama 2 000 tahun oleh Gereja Katolik yang terus-menerus meletakkan tangan-tangan kepada setiap murid-murid baru setiap generasi sejak Yesus berjalan di atas Bumi, dan kemudian mengutus mereka ke empat penjuru mata angin bumu untuk menyebarkan Kaba r Baik Yesus kristus, untuk mengampuni dosa dalam namaNya, dan untuk membawa Yes us yang Hadir dalam Ekaristi kepada kita semua. Kita sebagai manusia abad ke-21, berutang rasa syukur kepada para Bapa Gereja Awal tersebut, sebab mereka telah melalui kematian yang mengerikan demin menjaga dan meneruskan Firman Tuhan kepad a kita sekarang. A lot of Protestants ignore these early Christian leaders, preferring instead to believe that the history of Christianity began with Jesus and the 12 apostles, and then somehow skipped over 15 centuries to Martin Luther. That would be like saying that the history of the United States began with George Washington in 17 76, and then skipped over to Franklin Roosevelt in 1932. For some reason, a lot

of Protestants will refuse to read any of the writings of the early Church Fath ers, proudly proclaiming to everyone that Those writings are not in my Bible! But they will read the writings of Martin Luther, Billy Graham, and Max Lucado, eve n though those aren t in the Bible either! They will even read and believe the he retical "Left Behind" books of LaHeye and Jenkins (there is no "secret" rapture of believers mentioned anywhere in the bible. When it happens, according to the bible, there will be trumpet blasts, and every eye will see Jesus). The writing s of the early Church Fathers elucidate what is taught in the Bible, so that it s no mystery whether or not the Eucharist is the actual body, blood, soul, and div inity of Jesus Christ, whether or not Mary is the new Eve, or whether or not the re is a purgatory. After all, the early Church Fathers were taught by the 12 ap ostles, handed on the faith to the next generation, and were then martyred for t heir actions! Why someone would trust more in the writings of people coming alo ng 15 centuries later over their writings is very strange indeed.