Co-Stars of the Acts of the Apostles

This book provides an overview of the Acts of the Apostles through short biographies of twelve lesser characters in the narrative.  Eschewing the two main characters of the book, Peter and Paul, Patrick looks at some of their partners in the faith and others besides. There follow pithy and well researched biographies of key characters, or Co-Stars, like Barnabas, Stephen, Philip, Cornelius, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, and even Luke the author himself.  The book is either perfect for personal study or for group study.  It demonstrates that the mission of the church is carried forward not by one or two exalted leaders but by the whole gifted community of God’s people. There are well prepared questions at the back of the book which can be used by group leaders. 

Review of the Empress and the Bishop

The Triumphs and Tragedy of John Chrysostom

This is now the fourth book in a series on the Early Church Fathers and their era by Patrick Whitworth. Known for their candid, faithful and contextual setting of these seminal figures in the early Church, this latest volume does not disappoint.  Born and ordained in Antioch in the late fourth century, John Chrysostom (Golden Mouth) soon became the voice of the church though still a Presbyter in the city, amidst exposition of Scripture he called for repentance by the citizens of Antioch who had toppled the statutes of the Emperor Theodosius and his wife in protest at raised taxes.   Translated to the imperial centre at Constantinople in 397AD, John’s stringent life, fierce but informal preaching and his disciplining of lax clergy and monks soon made him enemies. The gathering storm burst when he challenged the Patriarch of Alexandria and the mercurial and beautiful Empress Eudoxia when he espoused the cause of the Tall Brothers and criticised the Empress’s extravagance.  Amidst it all, he kept up his golden preaching, started night prayer vigils and a new Liturgy, later set to music by Rachmaninoff.  In the end he was exiled by a jumped-up Court amidst popular fury, leading to a fire and deaths in Hagia Sophia.  John died in exile in Armenia but his body was eventually repatriated and welcomed by a repentant Theodosius II until it was removed to St Peter’s Rome during the infamous Fourth Crusade.  Cranmer included a prayer of Chrysostom’s in Anglican Morning Prayer. Of Whitworth’s book, the present Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholmew, wrote in his Foreword, “This seminal biography offers a fresh perspective on John Chrysostom’s remarkable life.”            

Next Book due out soon…

Patrick’s next book on St. John is due out very soon now. Please revisit regularly.

Defining God

Patrick’s latest book was published on 15th March 2023.

‘Defining God’

As the Church continues to face controversy over human identity and how it understands the God it worships, this book, vivid in description and comprehensive in coverage, surely teaches us lessons from the past for the present.

Book Launch for ‘Telling Tales of a Rambling Rector

On Monday 5th December 2022, Patrick launched ‘A witness of Struggle: Telling Tales of a Rambling Rector’ at a book launch in Bath at St. Michael’s Without. You can view details about the book here

Book Launch on 1st July 2021 – ‘And did those feet’

On Thursday 1st July 2021 there is a book launch from 6pm at St. Michael’s Church, Inkpen, RG17 9DS. Patrick will be launching his latest book, titled ‘And did those feet’ and all are welcome to this event.

• Drinks and Canapes
• Launch at 6.30pm
• Browsing available
• Signed copies can be purchased at discounted prices for the evening

Contact Patrick by email if you would like to come along.

Patrick talks on the Cappadocian Fathers

A series of 12 talks.

In November 2020 Patrick was asked to record a series on 12 short Videos on the Cappadocian Fathers for the Anaphora Institute for Coptic Studies in Heliopolis , Egypt . They were recorded on location at the Anaphora Monastery and cover some of the writings, life-stories and teaching of the Cappadocian Fathers.

‘And Did Those Feet’ Patrick’s latest Book published April 2021

‘And Did Those Feet’ tells the story of the English Church from its earliest times to 2020. Having taken root in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, it emerged in the medieval world amidst poverty, pandemics and power struggles, and not free from abuses. We see here its struggles during the Reformation, leading to an English Bible and Prayer Book, and the virtual banishment of Roman Catholicism for three hundred years. We see the spawning of new forms of Protestantism, inimical to the Crown, with the emergence of Quakers, Independents and the Methodists among many others.

Patrick Whitworth charts both the contribution and shortcomings of the English Church. An extraordinary story well told, surely this will remain the standard work on the Church in England for many years to come. For more information and to order please go to the books section of this site.

How Jesus meets us – A Series of Talks

Patrick Whitworth on conversations in John’s Gospel.

This series of seven talks are taken from the Vale of Pewsey Team YouTube page.

Book Launch on 10th October 2018 – Suffering and Glory

The Church from the Apostles to Constantine

All are welcome to St Michael’s Without (by Waitrose) Broad Street, Bath

On 10th October 2018 at 6:15pm Patrick is Launching his latest Book
‘Suffering and Glory’
6:15 Drinks and canapes
6:45 Launch : Browse and Buy

‘Patrick tells the story of the growth of the early Christian community. Eschewing speculation, he provides a clear narrative interspersed with pithy accounts of the most significant Christian teachers in the period which culminated in the advent of the first Christian Emperor, Constantine.
It is a story that is particularly relevant at a time when Christendom is a fading memory and the Christian community is struggling to discover where the Spirit is leading in a global culture.’
Richard Chartres
Former Bishop of London

Suffering and Glory The Church from the Apostles to Constantine 30AD to 335AD
This book completes the trilogy, which has been written by Patrick to cover the major developments of the Church and society in the first five hundred years!
THE TRILOGY
Suffering and Glory (To be published in 2018) The Church from the Apostles to Constantine – 30AD to 335AD
Three Wise Men from the East (2015 – available now) The Cappadocian Fathers and Nicaea – 325AD to 381AD
Contantinople to Chalcedon (2017 – available now) Shaping the World to Come – 381AD to 451AD

Coming in 2018 – Suffering and Glory

The Church from the Apostles to Constantine 30AD to 335AD
This book will complete the trilogy, which has been written by Patrick to cover the major developments of the Church and society in the first five hundred years!
THE TRILOGY
Suffering and Glory (To be published in 2018) The Church from the Apostles to Constantine – 30AD to 335AD
Three Wise Men from the East (2015 – available now) The Cappadocian Fathers and Nicaea – 325AD to 381AD
Contantinople to Chalcedon (2017 – available now) Shaping the World to Come – 381AD to 451AD

Book Launch -10th May in Bath – Constantinople to Chalcedon

Shaping the World to Come

All are welcome to St Michael’s Without (by Waitrose) Broad Street, Bath

On 10th May 2017 at 6:15pm Patrick is Launching his latest Book
‘Constantinople to Chalcedon’
6:15 Drinks and canapes
6:45 Launch : Browse and Buy

The period covered by this book (ad 381–451) is the first in which the church
can be said to have exercised a dominant role in political history. For some it is
the period in which the church lost its innocence. Yet without the innovations
of Constantine and his successors, it is hard for us to imagine what Christianity
might have been. Without this time of consolidation and increasing conformity,
Europe would not have existed as we now know it — nor, for that matter, would
Islam.

Coming soon – in 2017

Constantinople to Chalcedon
Shaping the World to Come

Launch event planned for March 2017. More information to follow soon.

Book Launch – The Bible Inside Out

An Evening of Bible and Chocolate Mints

All are welcome to All Saints Church, Weston, Bath, BA1 4BT

On December 12th at 6:15pm Patrick is Launching his latest Book
‘The Bible Inside Out’
There will also be a sale of Summerdown Mints
6:15 Drinks and nibbles
6:45 Launch : Browse and Buy
‘Man shall not live by mint alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’
(Apologies to Moses)

Becoming fully human

What it means to become what we were

intended to be. “The work of God is a

man or woman fully alive” (adapted from

Irenaeus). What issues do we face in

personal development and realising our

potential? What struggles do we face?

What resources are there for us in

Christ and in the Church?