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CHURCH FATHERS

Those persons whose views the Church considered to be foundational for the development of early Christian orthodoxy and spirituality. The time of the Fathers is classically divided into three periods: the foundational years (until the Council of Nicaea [325]); the formational period (until the Council of Chalcedon [451]); and the decline of the patristic era (in the Latin Church, until the death of Gregory the Great [604] or perhaps Isidore of Seville [636]; in the Greek Church, until the death of John of Damascus [749]). Viewed as founders of the mainline ecclesiastical tradition, the category of Fathers includes apostles, bishops, martyrs, apologists, heresiologists, theologians, and historians.

The meaning of the term Fathers has changed in nuance over the centuries. In antiquity the designation indicated a teacher in relationship to a student — a father to a son. Drawing from traditional Hellenistic culture, early Christians identified the teachers of Christian belief as Fathers, the spiritual teachers of the faith (1 Cor. 4:15; Mart. Pol. 12.2; Irenaeus Adv. haer. 4.41.2; Clement of Alexandria Misc. 1.1.2–2.1). The apostles were naturally included in this category, since they served as the instructors of specific Christian communities. By the 2nd century, bishops assumed the title because of their function as pastors of individual churches and as successors to the apostles (1 Clem. 62.2; Eusebius HE 5.4.2). During the theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries, the term was applied to those bishops whose teachings specifically conformed to the teachings of the orthodox faith (cf. Basil Ep. 140.2), especially as that faith later came to be defined by ecumenical councils (Ephesus [431] canon 7). Subsequent Christians eventually employed the term as a way to identify certain revered authors of the tradition in distinction from ecclesiastical writers in general. Vincent of Lérins (Common. 63, 66) represents a 5th-century movement to separate the designation of Father from the position of bishop altogether, thereby to remove any specific apostolic distinction for use of the term. Certain published lists of Fathers evolved by the 6th century, as illustrated by the Decretum Gelasianum, which identifies the Fathers according to their association with the Latin Church.

By modern criteria, the designation of Fathers of the Church is determined according to four primary criteria: orthodoxy of teaching and doctrine; holiness of lifestyle; confirmation by ecclesiastical authority; and antiquity. The title of Father is strictly an ecclesiastical concern. Those whom the Church considers as worthy to be listed among the Fathers have typically provided a solid witness to scriptural norms and the Christian tradition as sources for faith. Their work and lives are viewed a worthy testimony to these realities.

Because the Fathers are considered to reflect the foundations of early Christian faith, determination of membership among the Fathers often elicits fierce controversy. As a result, different lists of Fathers have evolved. The Latin Church naturally has chosen to revere certain figures whose theology represents Western orthodoxy: Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great. The Greek Church tends to give greater weight to those who are more sympathetic to Eastern thought: Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Athanasius, John Chrysostom. Of course, the Latin and Greek Churches include a majority of the same names and have given consideration to the theological, sociological, and historical circumstances which affected the teachings of candidates during their times. Despite the extent of their theological contributions, however, certain teachers remain the focus of controversy either because of their break with the Catholic Church or because of their unique doctrinal positions: Tatian, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Theodore of Mopsuestia.

Some of the Fathers have been further identified as Doctors of the Church, a title often given to ecclesiastical authors who have revealed special marks of Church teaching. Persons who lived after the patristic period usually receive this title as a mark that they have demonstrated theological contributions in agreement with the teachings of the Fathers. Included are theologians such as Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, and John of the Cross.

The authority of the Fathers is based upon their support of the tradition. The teaching of any specific Father which diverges from the tradition bears no particular weight unless approved by a general council. The Church accepts the unanimous agreement of the Fathers with respect to scriptural exegesis as faith without error. The balance of their combined teachings in theology and doctrine, especially when the Fathers are taken in relation to one another, is given specific consideration in matters of modern ecclesiasical debate.

Bibliography. F. L. Cross, The Early Christian Fathers (London, 1960); G. L. Prestige, Fathers and Heretics (London, 1940); M. Wiles, The Christian Fathers, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 1982).

Clayton N. Jefford

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CHURCH FATHERS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)