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Homilies on the Gospels: Book One - Advent to Lent
'I have spent all my life in this monastery', wrote Bede from his isolated Northumbrian cell, 'applying myself entirely to the study of the Scriptures...I have made it my business, for my own benefit and that of my brothers, to make brief extracts from the works of the Venerable fathers on the holy Scripture, or to add notes of my own to clarify their sense and interpretation.'From the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, Bede's authority as a scriptural exegete was second only to that of the Doctors of the Latin Church. His influence was enormous. Yet modern readers associate this remarkable scholar-monk only with his History of the English Church and Nation and ignore the works he saw as his chief accomplishment.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1991
About the author
Bede
392 books104 followersborn perhaps 673
Saxon theologian Bede, also Baeda or Beda, known as "the Venerable Bede," wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation , a major work and an important ancient source, in 731 in Latin and introduced the method from the birth of Jesus of dating events.
People referred to Saint Bede, a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and at its companion of Saint Paul in modern Jarrow in the kingdom, for more than a millennium before canonization. Most fame of this well author and scholar gained him the title as "the father.”
In 1899, Leo XIII, pope, made Bede a doctor of the Church, a position of significance; only this native of Great Britain achieved this designation; from Italy, Saint Anselm of Canterbury originated.
Bede, a skilled linguist, moreover translated the Greek of the early Church Fathers, and his contributions made them significantly much more accessible to his fellow Christians. Monastery of Bede accessed a superb library, which included Eusebius and Orosius.
Saxon theologian Bede, also Baeda or Beda, known as "the Venerable Bede," wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation , a major work and an important ancient source, in 731 in Latin and introduced the method from the birth of Jesus of dating events.
People referred to Saint Bede, a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and at its companion of Saint Paul in modern Jarrow in the kingdom, for more than a millennium before canonization. Most fame of this well author and scholar gained him the title as "the father.”
In 1899, Leo XIII, pope, made Bede a doctor of the Church, a position of significance; only this native of Great Britain achieved this designation; from Italy, Saint Anselm of Canterbury originated.
Bede, a skilled linguist, moreover translated the Greek of the early Church Fathers, and his contributions made them significantly much more accessible to his fellow Christians. Monastery of Bede accessed a superb library, which included Eusebius and Orosius.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 16, 2026
One of the most incredible and edifying books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Bede’s approach to interpreting the scriptures and delivering his homilies makes him a formidable church father, in the likeness of the ones who came before him.
While mainly known for his work in English history, it is my hope that his commentaries and homilies outshine his prior works, for the depth of his understanding is far above many in modern time.
While mainly known for his work in English history, it is my hope that his commentaries and homilies outshine his prior works, for the depth of his understanding is far above many in modern time.
April 13, 2025
Just not that much of a Bede-head, though I do enjoy some Bede now and then. This was… fine?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews