Our basic guide for reading about the early Fathers will be reflections by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. These short writings on the lives of the saints come from weekly general audiences in 2007-2008. He discusses each of the early Fathers in a short 5-10 page overview of their lives, contributions, spirituality, and the challenges the Church faced during the time they lived.
The general audiences will be the basis for each week's group discussion, but optional additional material will be suggested and linked in here for those who want to dig deeper on a particular Saint.
For example the first Father, St. Clement of Rome wrote an important Epistle to the Corinthians which is considered one of the earliest authentic Christian documents outside the New Testament. It was written around the year 97 AD. The reading schedule page is here.
