church fathers
Ancient Christian authorities
The church fathers are early Christian theologians and writers, roughly from the first through eighth centuries, whose interpretations helped shape Christian doctrine.
Figures like Augustine, Jerome, and Origen are counted among them.
The term often appears in discussions of biblical interpretation or church history: The church fathers debated the nature of Christ's divinity. (Capitalized Church Fathers is the standard form.)
- patristicOf church fathers
- AugustineFourth-century church father
- JeromeName meaning sacred
- AmbroseName meaning deathless
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
Athanasius · original sin · heresy · orthodoxy · councils · Nicene Creed · creed · apostolic · sacred tradition · theology · scripture · Latin · Greek · bishops · saints · martyrs · homilies · epistles
- church historyapostles, Protestant Reformation, Christian history, baptism, Reformation
- Catholic figurescardinals, archbishops, abbots, bishops, friars
- Christian ScholarsAugustine, Aquinas, Thomas Aquinas, Jerome, Athanasius
- church authoritypapacy, bishops, papal authority, popes, papal supremacy
- Early ChristianityNicene Creed, Constantine, catacombs
- early churchapostles, Acts of the Apostles, Council of Nicaea, Paul, early Christians