Fr. Winston F.

Cabading OP
 Patrology
 coined in the 19th century to denote
catalogues of ancient Christian literature
 First systematic collection was by Abbe
Jacques-Paul Migne (+ 1875) in his
monumental Patrologiae Cursus
Completus.
 The Patrologiae Latinae (PL) published
from 1844-45, 217 volumes and a 4
volume Index beginning with Tertullian
until Pope Innocent III (+ 1216)
 The Patrologiae Graecae (PG) published
between 1856-58, present the texts in its
greek and latin recensions, 165 volumes,
it begins with the Sub-Apostolic Fathers
until the Council of Florence-Ferrara in
1439.
 the point in which Christian theology, by
dogmatically defining the “con-substantiality of
the Logos with the Father” officially amplified its
interpretation of the Christian Apostolic Tradition
and Faith by not limiting itself to the kerygmatic
preaching but identifying what are its contents and
extents. In effect the richness of the “Deposit of
Faith” is probed and brought to light through
further theological reflection and eventual solemn
definition.
 at Nicea the role of a precise theological
position and argument has been officially
accepted in clarifying doctrine or defining
dogma. The witness of Scripture and the
Tradition of the Fathers have been a
necessary ingredient in the “precisioning” of
theology.
 the meaning of Scripture has been extended
beyond its semitic roots and now includes
doctrinal implications.
 Antiquity
 Orthodoxy of Doctrine
 Ecclesiastical approval
 Holiness of life
 Schisms as an aftermath of dogmatic and
ecclesiastical controversies will determine
perspectives and set timelines to judge how
a particular christian writer enters into the
category.
 The major divisions occurred as an
aftermath of:
 the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431),
the Ancient Churches under the Apostolic
See of Antioch in Syria broke communion
with the rest of the Church
• the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon
(451), the Ancient Churches under the
Apostolic See of Alexandria in Egypt,
Ethiopia, Armenia broke with the rest of the
Church
• The Photian Schism (867) began the long
process of estrangement between the
Great Chalcedonian Apostolic Sees of
Rome and Constantinople “New Rome”
tragically leading to the Great Schism of
the East and West in 1054 and solidified
further during the sack of Constantinople
by the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
 The list of who is a Church Father varies therefore
from one ancient church to another depending on
extent of shared ecclesiastical history.
 The current list we use on common church fathers
is based on the tradition of the Great Apostolic
Sees of Rome and Constantinople, also known in
ancient church history as the Chalcedonian
Churches (Churches that subscribe to the
dogmatic decisions of the Ecumenical Council of
Chalcedon in 451 A.D.)
 The orthodoxy (correctness of teaching) of a
particular Church Father must be judged only
according to his particular time, i.e. to dogma and
accepted doctrine of his period. At no time should
dogmatic pronouncements of future Ecumenical
Councils be used to evaluate whether their
position is orthodox or not. The Fathers used only
whatever theological language/concept is available
to them.
 It is a fact of ecclesiastical history that what may be a
Father of the Church in one ancient church could be a
Heresiarch (heretical leader) in another ancient
church. This is most often pronounced when the Father of
the Church concerned was responsible for the break of
communion between Churches, e.g. St. Cyril of Alexandria,
a common Father of the Church held by the Apostolic Sees
of Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria, is anathemized
and considered to be a heretic by the Ancient Apostolic See
of Antioch which dissented from the dogmatic
pronouncements of the Council of Ephesus in 431.
 The Fathers are not innovators of Tradition but are
witnesses to it, thus no individual teaching of any of the
Fathers is considered of Catholic Faith unless the
Church declares a teaching as authentically
orthodox/catholic or when there is a consensus
patrum (universal teaching of the Fathers).
 The Fathers are revered teachers of antiquity but it is
possible that not all their teachings are truly orthodox in
the light of the over all understanding of the Christian
faith. Hence teachings that seem to contradict dogmas that
have been proclaimed after there lifetime, are considered to
be theologoumenon (theological opinion rather than
official doctrine).
 Although the term Father/s of the Church
has been by convention a “male” person, it
does not take away the possibility that they
could also be females. However, the more
appropriate but less familiar term Mother/s
of the Church is used.
 The the terminus a quo (beginning) of the Patristic
Era is set from the death of the last apostle,
traditionally held to be St. John, around 100 A.D.
 The conventional setting of terminus ad quem
(end) of the period of antiquity is
 750 A.D. for the East (Chalcedonian Eastern Churches)
with the death of St. John Damascene
 604 A.D. or 636 A.D. for the West with the death of
Pope St. Gregory the Great or St. Isidore of Seville
respectively.
 The terminus a quo (beginning) is subject to
debate since many of the earliest non-canonical
christian writings from orthodox sources are
contemporary to the canonical NT books and
therefore are in themselves within the apostolic
era, e.g. Letter of Clement of Rome to the
Corinthians.
 The conventional setting of the period of antiquity
in use today is of non-Catholic (Reformation
tradition scholarship) source.
 The “Protestant Reformers” had to divide ecclesiastical
history from it supposedly
 pure form (Apostolic and Sub-Apostolic Eras), - reliance on
Scriptures and Apostolic Teachings
 progressively corrupting form (Nicene-Post Nicene Eras) due
to the Church and State collaboration which began during the
time of Emperor Constantine (313 AD) and the reliance on
philosophy to explain theology
 most corrupt form (ascendancy of the Papacy and reliance on
the Papacy to define doctrine) developed in the medieval
church,
 reformed form which is enlightened and pure as the Church
returns to sola gratia and sola scriptura as basis of theology
brought about by the 16th century Reformation.
 By language
 major: Greek, Latin, Syriac
 minor: Armenian, Coptic

 By time line
Origins /Beginnings (1-3rd centuries)

•Apostolic Fathers (100 A.D.) – e.g.

Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch,
Polycarp of Smyrna, Papias of Hierapolis,
Didache, etal.
•Apologists (200 A.D.) – e.g. Justin Martyr,
Tatian the Syrian, Quadratus, etal.
•Anti-Gnostic: e.g. Irenaeus of Lyons,
Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen,
etal
 Golden Age (300-430 A.D.)
 Desert Fathers and Mothers (200 A.D.) – e.g.
Anthony of Egypt, Pachomius, Catherine of
Egypt, etal.
 Writers from the School of Alexandria – e.g.
Athanasius the Great, Cyril of Alexandria,
etal.
 School of Cappadocia – e.g. Basil of
Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzen, Gregory of
Nyssa, etal.
 School of Antioch in Syria – e.g. John
Chrysostom, etal.
 Latin Writers – e.g. Augustine, Ambrose,
Jerome, Hilary of Poitiers
 Later Fathers (430-893 A.D.)
 Greek – e.g. Maximus the Confessor,
John Damascene, Photios the Great
 Latin -- e.g. Leo the Great, Gregory the
Great, Vincent of Learins, John
Climacus, Isidore of Seville
 Syriac – e.g. Ephraem the Syrian, Isaac
of Nineveh
 the criterion of antiquity greatly limits
the extent of the application of patri
ecclesiae,
 a more encompassing title is given to
those holy men and women of the
Catholic Church who helped explain in
a profound way certain mysteries of the
christian faith, or added insights to
solve dogmatic/spiritual questions.
 The term “doctor ecclesiae” is used instead.
 To qualify for the title it is requisite that the
man or woman of the Church is known for:
 orthodoxy of doctrine (in the sense of the
Catholic Church)
 eruditeness in dogmatic and spiritual
things
 explicit and canonical approval of the
Catholic Church
 explicit declaration of holiness
(canonization)
 All common universal Fathers/Mothers
of the Church are automatically listed
in the list of “Doctors of the Church”
 With a deeply semitic (jewish) origin,
Christianity faced the following frontiers
 language: aramaic/hebrew ➔ greek, syriac
 culture: mono-cultural/ethnic (jewish)➔
multi-cultural/ethnic (greco-roman)
 worldview: semitic (theistic) ➔ graeco-
roman (philosophico-religious)
 religion: deeply monotheistic ➔ polytheistic
 The challenges – is the christian faith re-
creating/renovating or perfecting?
 cultural-political: how to adapt
 religious: how to win the already “spiritual” to
Jesus
 intellectual: how to convince the intellectuals of
the reasonability of the christian message
 linguistic: how to bring the message to level of
the people in their language and understanding