The Pastor: Readings from the Patristic Period

Augsburg Fortress Publishers, January 2009. Paper Back. New. Editors Philip Culbertson and Authur Shippee make the important point that, in terms of the pastoral calling, 'an inner vocation is not enough; indeed, as in the early centuries of the church, vocation would seem often to lead either to pride or to bitter disappointment. It is the institution that forms and sustains the clergy in its midst, and ministry is effected through the support and challenge of the church community.' While modern instruction in pastoral care may make reference to Jeremiah, Jung, the Psalms and Freud, it seldom cites Jerome or Athanasius, Tertullian, Cassian or Augustine. In The Pastor, Culbertson (an Episcopal priest and lecturer in theology) and Shippee (a Presbyterian minister and religious studies professor) have collected source documents relevant to pastoral care, focusing especially on moral formation and reformation. Each chapter, beginning with readings from the second century, includes short biographies of the authors and secondary source suggestions related to the texts. 'Priests are the salt of the earth,' writes Chrysostom, and they must be 'many-sided... not unreal, nor yet fawning and hypocritical, but full of much freedom and assurance...indeed, continual storms beset this ship of ours, and these storms do not assail from without only, but take their rise from within...all these different matters have one end in view, the glory of God, and the edifying of the church.' 237 pp.