Fathers and Doctors of the Church
Commemorated in the Fifth Diptych
(Thubden)
OUTLINED BASED ON SUNDAY SCHOOL TEXT ,OSSAE
+AJ
THUBDEN – A SYRIAC TERM MEANING ‘AGAIN’.
THESE ARE A FORM OF LITANY.
GENERALLY ,WE HAVE SIX THUBDENS USED
DURING A HOLY QURBANA
The Twenty three Church Fathers who lived
during the first seven centuries of
twenty six
church history and three proclaimed
Church
saints in the Malankara church. These
fathers in the 26 Church Fathers are not listed in the
fifth Thubden chronological order in the fifth Diptych.
PATROLOGY / PATRISTICS
Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260 - c. 340 A.D) could be
considered as “The Father of Patrology,” who established the
idea of publishing the sayings and writings of the fathers
‘‘When a man learns from the mouth of
another, it is said that he is the child of the
person who teaches him, and the latter is
called his father/Parent.’’
- St. Irenaeus
Significance of History of Early Christianity and
Patristics
The death of Jesus by crucifixion, together with his resurrection from the dead, lies at
the heart of Christianity.
From there the Church grows (Christianity) across to four quarters of the earth
Disciples, Apostles, Apostolic fathers and early Church fathers
They spoke & wrote of Social Justice, Greed , concerns - Hospices, Theologically fought
heresies
EARLY CHRISTIAN CENTRES
Jerusalem
Alexandria/ Constantinopole
Rome
Antioch
CULTURE – JEWISH , GRECO- ROMAN
RELIGION- MONOTHEISM, POLYTHEISM
EMPERORS/ IMPERIAL POWERS
Features of
EARLY CHRISTIAN CENTRES
Early Christian
PERSECUTIONS
age
BISHOPS
HERESIES
COUNCILS
Nicea -325 Summoned by Constantine;
Constantinople- 381 By emperor Theodosius I,
Summoned by Emperor Theodosius II.
Ephesus - 431
Chalcedon - 451 Emperor Marcian
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSIONS/PROXIMITY
EARLY CHURCH WRITINGS: FESTAL LETTERS
FATHERS: LETTERS TO CHURCHES
Characteristics RECORDED SERMONS
TAUGHT CATECUMENS
APOLOGETICS (AGAINST HERESIS )
St. James, (+62 AD)-
brother of Jesus St. James
of Jerusalem, known as
APOSTOLIC brother of Jesus.
FATHERS
Ignatius of Antioch (AD 35-
107)- Bishop of Antioch.
The child whom Christ set
in the midst of the disciples
APOSTOLIC FATHERS
St. Clement of Rome Bishop (circa. A.D. 88- ca. 97) Disciple
and successor of St. Peter. Believed that, Peter ordained
Clement (Tertullian, Praescr. 32; cf. Epiphanius, Haer. 27.6)
Dionysius of Alexandria Bishop (247/8-264/5). Dionysius "the
Great" was a pupil of Origen. Guided the Alexandrian
church with moderation & broadmindedness during
famine and plague, civil war & persecution.
St. Athanasius of Alexandria (ca. 300-373)
Bishop of Alexandria. A deacon under
bishop Alexander (311-328), acted as his
Church Fathers secretary at Council of Nicaea 325.
of the Fourth
Century St. Julius, Bishop of Rome (337-352).
Supported Athanasius which lead to
triumph of Nicene orthodoxy from the
Arian controversy. Convened a council
in Rome (341) & acquitted Athanasius
of the charges against him.
Fourth Century
St. Basil of Caesarea (AD 330-379) &
St. Gregory of Nyssa (AD 330-335) : The
cappadoceans ; Two Brothers & Gregory of
Naziansus
Cappadocean Fathers
THE GOLDEN TOUNGED
St. John Chrysostom (AD
347-407): The Golden
tounged
Chalcedonian 451
St. Cyril of Alexandria (AD 376-444) Challenged Nestorious at
Council of Ephesus . JXT "one incarnate nature of God the Word.“
& Mary -Theotokos.
St. Dioscoros of Alexandria (+454 AD):Presided over the Council of
Ephesus of 449 AD(Emperor Theodosios II)& participated in the
council of Chalcedon.
St. Timothy of Alexandria (+477 AD): also fought against the ‘two
nature’ theory of Christ. He was the disciple of St. Cyril of Alexandria
St.Philoxenos of Mabbug (440-523): Scholar ,
Theologian, Interpretations of Gospels.
St.Antimus: He was consecrated the Patriarch of
Constantinople. Composed several EKBOS
St. Severus Patriarch of Antioch (465-538 AD): Defended orthodoxy
against the Chalcedonian believers. Maniso ‘By Thy Mother’s earnest
prayers’...(Theology)
Mar Jacob Baradeus: wore a coarse dress ,tattered pieces of cloth.
He is called Baradeus or “one who wears rags.” During persecutions,
he moved about organizing the believers and ordaining priests and
bishops.
Poets and Ascetics
St. Ephrem of Nisibis (AD 306-373): St. Ephrem was a great saint
poet in the Syrian Orient.
Mar Jacob of Sarug (451-521 AD): He has written about 800
‘memras’ (anthems) and ‘Bovoothos.’ Among his 95 extant
sermons
Isaac of Nineveh (+AD 461) Mar Isaac, the disciple of St.
Ephrem, led an ascetic life in a mountain peak in Edessa.
Poets and Ascetics
Mar Balai (Fifth Century AD) He was a composer of
‘Bovoothos’ used in our liturgy. His name is remembered
along with those of Mar Jacob and Mar Ephrem.
Mar Barsauma (+AD 491): He used to stand and pray day
and night. Because of the rigors of his fasts he was called
‘Barsauma’ or the ‘Son of Fasting.
Poets and Ascetics
Simeon the Stylite (AD 390-459) Simeon the Stylite was a
detached ascetic. He stood and prayed continuously on a
pillar and hence is known as ‘Stylite.’ GK. stylos, ‘‘pillar’’.
Mar Abhayi: Mar Abhayi was the bishop of Nicea. He led the
church for 32 years and distributed his paternal wealth
among the poor
MALANKARA ORTHODOX CHURCH
Yeldo Mar Baselius (+1685 AD) b. Mesopotamia & Maphrian
of the East in 1662 AD. He visited Malankara Church in 1685
AD and reached Kothamangalam, Kerala.
St. Gregorios of Parumala (1848-1902) The first official
canonized saint in the Malankara Church.
Both Fathers canonized on November 2, 1947
St. Dionysius of Vattasseril (1858-1934). He was canonized in
2003.
Aren't there any Early Church Mothers ?
Definitely Patriarchal Prejudice and Pride : Cultural – Jewish , Greaco- Roman.
Women appear scattered in the Book of Acts and in Pauline epistles. Generally
they are overlooked. Romans 16:1-15. Here Paul himself mentions group of ten
women.
St. Macrina (Cappadocean sister) –Nyssa writes about her as his teacher and
details of her motherly care.
In the anonymous Life of Ephrem the Syrian , and also in an important homily on
Ephrem by the great Syriac poet Jacob of Sarug (d. 521), the women (in choirs)
were referred to as ‘teachers’ (in the feminine form), malphaˉnyaˉthâ, a weighty
term in Syriac, connoting learning, authority, and wisdom.
FURTHER READINGS:
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY , Editor Everett Ferguson ,New York:
Routledge, 1999.
http://www.christianholymothers.com/Downloads/HolyMothersOfOrthodoxy.pdf
The Cambridge history of Christianity: Origins To Constantine, Vol I, Cambridge
:Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Cross, F. L. The Early Christian Fathers. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., 1960.
Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrine. London: A & C. Black, 1958.
