Patrology: The Lives and Works of the Fathers of the Church, by Professor Otto Bardenhewer, D.D., Ph.D., translated from the 2nd edition by Professor Thomas Joseph Shahan, D.D. (Freiburg im Breisgau; St. Louis, Mo.; Karlsruhe; Munich; Strassburg; Vienna: B. Herder, 1908). With Imprimatur, and with the approbation and recommendation of various archbishops and bishops. May be read online, and available in pdf, mobi, epub and other formats, at Open Library and Internet Archive, with a 2nd copy at Internet Archive, a 3rd copy at Internet Archive, and a 4th copy at Internet Archive.
“Confession of Faith, Eucharist and Martyrdom; With Special Reference to Early Church Fathers of the East”, by Bishop Dr. Abraham Mar Julios, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, September 27, 2017. May be read online on this page of Homiletic and Pastoral Review.
“Truth and Martyrdom: The Structure of Discipleship in Veritatis Splendor”, by Prof. John R. Berkman Ph.D., Sacred Heart University Review, Vol. 14, Iss. 1, Article 8 (1994). Available in pdf format on this page of the Sacred Heart University Review.
The Dwelling of God: The Theology Behind Marian Ark of the Covenant Typology of the First Millennium, by Dr. Stuart Schafer (2020). Dissertation Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.), University of Dayton, International Marian Research Institute. The text of the dissertation and its appendices (which is a comprehensive concordance of patristic and medieval texts) are available in pdf format at OhioLINK.
“Maiorum Traditio: A Patristic Remedy for Modernist Woes”, by Fr. Joseph Carola, S.J. [2021]. 26th Annual Peter Richard Kenrick Lecture on 23 September [2021]. The text is available in pdf format at the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. The video of the lecture is available as a Youtube video linked by the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
“‘Being Bishoped by’ God: The Theology of the Episcopacy According to St. Ignatius of Antioch”, by Prof. Kevin M. Clarke, Ph.D., Nova et Vetera, English Edition, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Winter 2016): pp. 227-243. Available on this page of Nova et Vetera at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology; may be read online and available in pdf format at Project Muse; and available at ResearchGate.net.
“Having a vision from on high” (“Apostolic Succession: Spiritual and Historical Tie to Christ”), General Audience Address of Wednesday, 10 May 2006. May be read online on this page and, under the title “Apostolic Succession: Spiritual and Historical Tie to Christ”, on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library, and at the Holy See. A different translation is provided at Catholic Online.
[Notes: (a) These addresses form the first part of Pope Benedict XVI’s Catechesis on the Apostles and First Disciples, which is indexed on this page and summarized on this page of the EWTN Library, and indexed on Catechesis of the Popes. They are followed by the Holy Father’s addresses on the Apostles. (b) As far as we know, these addresses have no collective label provided by the Holy See, though Catechesis of the Popes provides the title “Origins of the Church”. The label “Communion with Christ through Apostolic Tradition and Succession” is our own.]
The Pastoral Office, by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (London: Printed for private use only, 1883). Available at Open Library and Internet Archive. [N.B., This treatise on the office and ministry of bishops is an excellent summation of the teaching of the Church on the episcopate.]
Manual of Patrology, 3rd edition, by the Very Rev. Bernard Schmid, OSB, with the approbation of the Bishop of Freiburg, freely translated from the 5th German edition by a Benedictine, revised with notes and additions for English readers by Msgr. V.J. [Victor Januarius] Schobel, with Preface by the Right Rev. Bishop J.C. Hedley of Newport (St. Louis, Freiburg, London: B. Herder, 1911). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in pdf, mobi/kindle, epub, and other formats at Internet Archive. An earlier edition (St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder, 1899) is available at Open Library and Internet Archive (linked by the Free Traditional Catholic Books page of Traditional Catholic), with a 2nd copy at Internet Archive (front pages missing) and a 3rd copy at Internet Archive.
[Note: What distinguishes this book from the likewise erudite works of Dr. Otto Bardenhewer and Dr. Joseph Tixeront is the fact that its historical overview of the Fathers is preceded by a general introduction to the field of patrology, as well as a detailed “Introductory and Propadeutical Part” discussing the methodology of patristics: the authority of the Fathers and the way their works are examined, used, and understood.]
“[The Gospel’s] saving truth and rules of conduct… are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions… received by the Apostles… dictated either orally by Christ or by the Holy Ghost, and preserved in the Catholic Church in unbroken succession… [N]o one… shall, in matters of faith and morals pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, distorting the Holy Scriptures in accordance with his own conceptions, presume to interpret them… contrary to the unanimous teaching of the Fathers.” (Council of Trent, Session IV)
“Christ the Lord in whom the full revelation of the supreme God is brought to completion (…), commissioned the Apostles to preach to all men… [T]he Apostles left bishops as their successors, “handing over” to them “the authority to teach in their own place.”… And so the apostolic preaching… expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time… The words of the holy fathers witness to the presence of this living tradition…” (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on Divine Revelation)
“Having a vision from on high” (“Apostolic Succession: Spiritual and Historical Tie to Christ”), General Audience Address of Wednesday, 10 May 2006. May be read online on this page and, under the title “Apostolic Succession: Spiritual and Historical Tie to Christ”, on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library, and at the Holy See. A different translation is provided at Catholic Online.
Notes:
These addresses form the first part of Pope Benedict XVI’s Catechesis on the Apostles and First Disciples, which is indexed on this page and summarized on this page of the EWTN Library, and indexed on Catechesis of the Popes. They are followed by the Holy Father’s addresses on the Apostles.
As far as we know, these addresses have no collective label provided by the Holy See, though Catechesis of the Popes provides the title “Origins of the Church”. The label “Communion with Christ through Apostolic Tradition and Succession” is our own.
“God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” (II Thessalonians ii, 13-15 KJV)
Vie de Saint Ephrem [ يرة مار افرام السرياني ], deuxieme edition, par une pretre Syrien Catholique (Mossoul: Peres Dominicains, 1896). Écrit en arabe. Disponible en Internet Archive.
The Work of St. Optatus, Bishop of Milevis, Against the Donatists, with Appendix, translated into English with Notes Critical, Explanatory, Theological and Historical, by Rev. O.R. [Oliver Rodie] Vassall-Phillips (London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1917). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in pdf, mobi, epub, and other formats at Internet Archive. May be read online at Tertullian.org, Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL), and Calameo.
Catholic eBooks Project 