Who Are the Church Fathers, and Why Do They Matter?

The Generations After the Apostles

When the last apostle died, the Church did not fall silent. A remarkable series of bishops, teachers, monks and martyrs carried the faith forward, defended it against error, explained the Scriptures and shaped the Church’s worship. We call them the Fathers of the Church.

They lived in the centuries closest to Christ. Some knew the apostles personally. Their writings give us a direct view into what the early Christians believed and how they lived.

Who Counts as a Father?

Traditionally, a writer is recognised as a Father of the Church if he meets four criteria:

1. Antiquity: he lived in the early centuries of the Church.
2. Orthodoxy of doctrine: his teaching as a whole is faithful to the Catholic faith.
3. Holiness of life: he is generally honoured as a saint.
4. Approval of the Church: the Church recognises him as a reliable witness.

The patristic period (from pater, “father”) is usually said to end with St Isidore of Seville (died 636) in the West and St John Damascene (died around 749) in the East.

Some important early writers do not quite meet all the criteria. Tertullian (c. 160–c. 220) and Origen (c. 185–c. 254) were brilliant and enormously influential, but parts of their teaching went astray. They are usually called ecclesiastical writers rather than Fathers in the strict sense, though their works are still widely read.

The Main Groups

The Apostolic Fathers

These are the earliest writers, from around the end of the first century and the beginning of the second, some of whom knew the apostles.

• St Clement of Rome, bishop of Rome, wrote a letter to the Corinthians around the year 96, intervening to restore order in their church.
• St Ignatius of Antioch wrote seven letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome around 107–110. He is the first known writer to use the phrase “the Catholic Church,” and he insists on the bishop’s authority and the reality of Christ’s flesh in the Eucharist.
• St Polycarp of Smyrna, a disciple of St John the Apostle, was martyred around 155. The account of his martyrdom is one of the most moving documents of the early Church.
• The Didache, or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, an anonymous manual of Christian life and worship, possibly from the late first century.

The Apologists

In the second century, writers such as St Justin Martyr defended Christianity against pagan accusations and explained it to educated outsiders. Justin’s First Apology (c. 155) contains the earliest detailed description of the Sunday Eucharist, recognisable to any Catholic today.

St Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–c. 202) wrote Against Heresies, a massive refutation of Gnosticism, which also defended apostolic succession and Tradition.

The Golden Age

The fourth and fifth centuries, after the Church gained freedom under Constantine, saw the greatest flowering of the Fathers. They defended the doctrines of the Trinity and of Christ at the great councils and produced some of Christianity’s most enduring works.

The Church traditionally honours four great Greek Fathers:

• St Athanasius of Alexandria, the champion of Nicaea against Arianism;
• St Basil the Great, theologian of the Holy Spirit and father of Eastern monasticism;
• St Gregory of Nazianzus, “the Theologian,” great preacher on the Trinity;
• St John Chrysostom (“golden mouth”), the greatest preacher of the early Church.

And four great Latin Fathers:

• St Ambrose of Milan, bishop and hymn writer, who baptised Augustine;
• St Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin;
• St Augustine of Hippo, perhaps the most influential theologian in Western history;
• St Gregory the Great, the pope who sent missionaries to England and reformed the liturgy.

There are many more: St Cyril of Jerusalem, St Hilary of Poitiers, St Ephrem the Syrian, St Cyril of Alexandria, St Leo the Great and others.

Why the Fathers Matter

The Catholic Church treats the Fathers as privileged witnesses to the faith. There are several reasons.

They are close to the source. Writing in the first centuries, the Fathers show what the Church believed before many later controversies arose. When they agree on a point of faith, it is strong evidence of the apostolic Tradition (CCC 78, 688).

They shaped the Creed. The doctrines of the Trinity and of Christ’s two natures were defined at councils led by Fathers such as Athanasius, Basil, Gregory and Cyril. The Nicene Creed recited every Sunday is largely their work.

They read Scripture. The Fathers were above all interpreters of the Bible. Their commentaries and sermons remain a treasury for understanding Scripture.

They witness to Catholic practice. The early Fathers speak of bishops, priests and deacons; of the Eucharist as Christ’s Body and as sacrifice; of Baptism for the forgiveness of sins; of prayer for the dead; of the authority of the Church of Rome. Their witness is one reason why many converts, especially from Protestantism, have been drawn to the Catholic or Orthodox Churches.

St John Henry Newman, who became a Catholic after years of studying the Fathers, wrote in 1845: “To be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant.” Many others have followed the same path.

Fathers, Not Infallible

The Fathers are not individually infallible. They sometimes disagreed with each other, and individual Fathers made mistakes. The Church gives special weight to their consensus: what they hold in common, especially on matters of faith. Individually, they are wise guides, not oracles.

The Fathers Today

The Fathers are not just for scholars. The Church reads them every day. In the Office of Readings, part of the Liturgy of the Hours, a passage from a Father or other spiritual writer follows the Scripture reading. Priests, religious and many lay Catholics read them this way daily.

Where to Start

If you want to read the Fathers yourself, here are good places to begin:

• The Letters of St Ignatius of Antioch: short, fiery and personal.
• The Didache: a glimpse of the first Christian communities.
• St Athanasius, On the Incarnation: a classic explanation of why God became man, short enough to read in an evening.
• St Augustine, Confessions: the story of a restless heart finding rest in God, and one of the great books of world literature.

All of these are available free online in older translations, and in excellent modern editions.

See also What Were the Ecumenical Councils? and What Is Sacred Tradition?