The Human Couple in the Fathers  Author: Fathers of the Church  Translated by Thomas Halton with Introduction and Notes by Giulia Sfameni Gasparro, Cesare Magazzu and Concetta Aloe Spada ISBN:0-8189-0803-3  xviii + 362 pp.  Price: $24.95 + shipping  To order call: 1 800-343-ALBA (2522)  Please have your Master,  Visa or American Express Card ready.  To order online click here.		The patristic texts on the theme of the human couple which have been brought together in this volume, underscore the interpersonal rapport between men and women within the matrimonial structure of the first centuries of Christianity. In the context of the works examined, the couple -- that is, the union of one man and one woman -- exists only within the bonds of marriage with all the prerogatives and problems, rights and duties which marriage entails. From the authors in question -- including Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Lactantius, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Paulinus of Nola and John Chrysostom -- notwithstanding their diversity of expression, emerges a consistent picture of the couple with their complementary roles emphasized.

 

The Pauline Patristic Series: These volumes seek to interpret and respond to the needs of the average person in the Church today interested in knowing what the earliest witnesses, the first to question and then put into words the truths of our Christian faith, had to say. These works, made more accessible to us through the reflection of modern-day scholars, are invaluable to us as we confront the vital issues of interest to the Church and the world of our times.