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Did a Roman Catholic priest perform 'invalid' baptisms for years?

...ing harsh persecution), rather than whether they recited liturgy correctly. But the similarities are there, I think we can agree. Augustine argued that a sacrament was from God and ex opere operato, Latin for “from the work carried out”, or “by the very fact of the actions being performed” — meaning that it is the act itself that makes it effective, not the person doing the act. For example, a priest or bishop in a state of sin could continue to administer valid sacraments and have them be effective because the power within the sacrament is tied to God, and not the administrator. Now, I don’t think (or know) that the Rev. Arango was in any stat...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

...omitian's persecution (~96 AD) that he feared the coming kingdom like Herod did. But when quizzed, the Christians said it was not an earthly one they were waiting for, but a heavenly one (though admittedly, they were still waiting for it to come at the end of time itself). And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works. – Eusebius, Church...

A Journey Through Church History

...suffered persecution and martyrdom to preserve the Church and Christ’s mission, bridge the gap between the Bible and the present day. They fill the void we sometimes wonder about when we get to the end of reading Acts or the Epistles and think, “what happened next?” or “what happened to the Ephesian church after Paul left?” — well now you can read for yourself and see how God continued to grow His Church! Praise for 40 Days with the Fathers: “Timeless truths still for today” — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Insightful and captivating” — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “[This book] will round out your knowledge and help you become a better teacher.” —...

The Coming of Jesus: Our Future Hope - What Now?

...full well persecution and death awaited them, did he pray that the Father would rescue them from the world?   Nope. John 17:15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.   What now? So where does this leave us now, today? With more hope, I would say. If indeed the tribulation, and signs, wars and bloodshed are behind us and was about the coming judgement on the nation of Israel, then we ought to have no fear of the future or things in the news and headlines on the papers. Definitely not any worry from those preachers who pop up every few years predicting the End. Our hope should be in Chris...

The Coming Kingdom of the Son of Man

...n and the persecutions it would entail. He explains to them all the things that would happen to them –  "they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me" (Matt 10:17), which we can see fulfilled in Acts (cf. Acts 8:1; Acts 11:19; Acts 13:50; Acts 14:22; Acts 20:23). Jesus rounds this short discussion off by telling them to flee from one town to the next and that they "will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." (Matt 10:23), which gives us a time statement and some parameters about the coming of the Son of Man. On the face of it, this...

Why Read The Early Church Fathers?

...suffered persecution and martyrdom to preserve the Church and Christ's mission, bridge the gap between the Bible and the present day. They fill the void we sometimes wonder about when we get to the end of reading Acts or the Epistles and think, “what happened next?” or “what happened to the Ephesian church after Paul left?”. So Why Read What They Wrote? The Bible didn't just drop out of the sky, all leather bound and ready to read for us to pick up today. There was a lengthy process of selecting and preserving the apostle's teachings which spanned nearly four centuries, and it was due to the Fathers and their faithfulness to the Scriptures that this...