Apostolic Fathers

General Information

{ap-uhs-tahl'-ik}

The Apostolic Fathers were authors of nonbiblical church writings of the 1st and early 2nd centuries. These works are important because their authors presumably knew the Apostles or their associates. The first list of the Apostolic Fathers was made by 17th-century scholars; it comprised Clement I, Hermas, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and the author of the Epistle of Barnabas. Later, other writers such as Papias of Hierapolis and the authors of the Epistle to Diognetus and of the Didache were also considered Apostolic Fathers. Expressing pastoral concern, their writings are similar in style to the New Testament. Some of their writings, in fact, were venerated as Scripture before the official canon was decided.

Bibliography
Staniforth, Maxwell, trans., Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (1975); Willis, John R., A History of Christian Thought: From Apostolic Times to Saint Augustine (1976).

The Patristic Era

General Information

This interval extended from about 100 to 170 AD, when the Apostolic Fathers had replaced the apostles. This group of individuals included a number of teachers and bishops: e.g. Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Origen, Polycarp, Tertullian.

Early in this era, the church evolved into a more formal organization, the monarchial episcopate, in which bishops were recognized as having authority over the leaders of the individual congregations. The bishops decided matters of belief and practice within their jurisdiction.

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Fathers of the Church

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During the first three centuries of Christian history, only bishops were called Fathers of the Church. The title was later extended to all learned church writers of antiquity recognized for their orthodoxy of doctrine and holiness of life. The last of the fathers are generally considered to be Saint Isidore of Seville (d. 636) in the West and Saint John Damascene (d.c.750) in the East. Some of the preeminent fathers have also been designated as Doctors of the Church, a title of later origin.

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Fathers of the Church

General Information

Fathers of the Church, name given by the Christian church to the writers who established Christian doctrine before the 8th century. The writings of the Fathers, or patristic literature, synthesized Christian doctrine as found in the Bible, especially the Gospels, the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, ecclesiastical dictums, and decisions of church councils (see Council). They provided a standardized body of Christian teaching for transmission to the peoples of the Roman Empire. The so-called Doctors of the Church consist of four Western Fathers, including Saints Ambrose, Augustine, Pope Gregory I, and Jerome, and four Eastern Fathers, including Saints Athanasius, Basil, John Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nazianzus. The earlier Eastern Fathers, including Clement of Alexandria, St. Justin Martyr, and Origen, were strongly influenced by Greek philosophy. The Western Fathers, however, including Tertullian and Saints Gregory I and Jerome, generally avoided the synthesis of pagan and Christian thought.

The church established four qualifications for bestowing the honorary title of church father on an early writer. In addition to belonging to the early period of the church, a Father of the Church must have led a holy life. His writings must be generally free from doctrinal error and must contain an outstanding defense or explanation of Christian doctrine. Finally, his writings must have received the approval of the church.

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Fathers of the Church

Advanced Information

Ecclesiastically, the fathers are those who have preceded us in the faith, and are thus able to instruct us in it. In this sense, ministers and particularly bishops are often referred to as fathers. More particularly, however, the term has come to be applied to the first Christian writers of acknowledged eminence. Already in the fourth century it was used in this way of the teachers of the preceding epoch, and later all the outstanding theologians of at least the first six centuries have come to be regarded as fathers. This is the normal usage of the term today, although sometimes the patristic era is extended and Protestants may also speak of the Reformation fathers (e.g., Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin).

The question arises how a given author may be classified as a father. The mere survival of his work is not enough, for many heretical writings have come down to us, together with others of doubtful value. Four main characteristics have been suggested as necessary qualifications: first, substantial orthodoxy; second, holiness of life; third, widespread approval; and fourth, antiquity. It is allowed that fathers may be in error on individual points, as neccessitated by the many disagreements, but they can still be counted and read as fathers so long as they satisfy these general requirements (cf. esp. the cases of Origen and Tertullian).

Various answers may be given to the question of patristic authority. From the Roman Catholic standpoint, the fathers are infallible where they display unanimous consent, although even in this regard Aquinas clearly ranks them below Scripture. Otherwise they may err, but are always to be read with respect. Protestants naturally insist that the fathers too are subject to the supreme norm of Scripture, so that their statements or interpretations may call for rejection, correction, or amplification. On the other hand, they deserve serious consideration as those who have preceded us in faith and made a serious attempt to express biblical and apostolic truth. Their support is thus valuable, their opinions demand careful study, they are to be set aside only for good reason, and their work constitutes no less a challenge to us than ours to them.

To list the fathers is hardly possible in so brief a compass, nor is it easy to classify them except perhaps in terms of the broad distinction between Greek and Latin. Mention may be made of the immediate postapostolic fathers who have given us our earliest Christian literature outside the NT (e.g., Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp). The Alexandrian school (Clement and Origen) at the end of the second and early in the third century deserves notice, as do such writers as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Cyprian. The fourth century, which was already referring to the fathers, provides us with some of the greatest of all in men like Athanasius, Hilary, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, and Jerome. Among others who may be mentioned are the Cyrils, Theodoret, the two popes Leo I and Gregory I, and at the very end of the patristic period John of Damascus and Isidore of Seville. But these are only a selection from the great company of writers who over a wide and complex front gave to the church its earliest magnificent attempt in theology.

G. W. Bromiley
(Elwell Evangelical Dictionary)

Bibliography
LCCI-VIII; ANF and NPNF; G. W. Bromiley, Historical Theology, Pt. I; G. W. H. Lampe in A History of Christian Doctrine, ed. H. Cunliffe-Jones; J. N. D. Kelley, Early Christian Doctrines; B. Altaner, Patrology.

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