"For the Church Fathers, friendship was at the heart of the Gospel. It was the way to salvation and the most effective means of evangelization. The first Christians spread salvation through friendships of their own. Evangelizing the world was done through one friend bringing another into the Church. This book brings together, for the first time, the Fathers' doctrine and stories of friendship - mostly in their own words. Minucius Felix,; Sts. Basil and Gregory, best friends from school whose friendship was shattered and then restored; St. Ambrose; St. Augustine, whose friendship with St. Jerome was fraught with emotional baggage; and more"--