Father Of The Church (Noun)
Meaning
(Christianity) any of about 70 theologians in the period from the 2nd to the 7th century whose writing established and confirmed official church doctrine; in the Roman Catholic Church some were later declared saints and became Doctor of the Church; the best known Latin Church Fathers are Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome; those who wrote in Greek include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The writings of early Christian theologians such as Origen and Eusebius are still studied today as representative of the views of the Father of the Church.
- Over time the Church Fathers became an important source for the development of Christian doctrine and canon law in the early Church.
- St Augustine of Hippo is considered one of the most influential Fathers of the Church in Western Christianity.
- Like many Church Fathers, he was not only theologically but also culturally influential within the development of the early Church.
- Gregory of Nyssa's legacy to the Church grew out of the writings and example of his two older Brothers, Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian, other prominent fathers of the Church.