List Of All The Church Fathers

Fr Joseph Buhagiar Bianco SJ — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 02:25:00 +0000

This list of all the Church Fathers of the Catholic Church was compiled by Fr Joe Buhagiar Bianco SJ

1. The 5 Apostolic Fathers : 1st Century
Clement, Bishop of Rome (30-100)
Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (30-107)
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (69-155)
Barnabas (priest?) (between 70 and 132)
Mathetes, Epistle to Diognetus

2. The Post-apostolic Fathers : 2nd & 3rd Centuries
Justin, (Priest) Martyr (100-165)
Hegesippus, (110-180)
Aristides the Athenian (2nd Century)
Marcus Minucius Felix (wrote in Latin after 150)
Melito, Bishop of Sardis (died circa 180)
Anonymous:Letter to Diognetus (end of 2nd Century)
Tatien the Syrian, a disciple of Justin (born 110/120 )
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (120-200)
Athenagoras of Athens (circa 133-190)
Clement, Bishop of Alexandria (150-215)
Hippolytus, priest of Rome (170-235)
Theophilus, Patriarch of Antioch ( wrote c. 180-185)
Origen, priest, (184/4 , 253-254)

3. The Christian Faith is officially recognised in the Empire
The Golden Age – The 4th to 8th Centuries
Greek Fathers (those who wrote in Greek) :
Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Caesarea (died 270)
Lucian of Antioch, priest & martyr (c.240-312)
Alexander, Bishop (Pope) of Alexandia (died 326/8)
Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, (260/5-339/40)
Athanasius, Bishop (Pope) of Alexandia (298-374)
Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (ca. 313-386)
Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea (Syria) (died 390)
Didymus the Blind (Egyptian theologian) (313-398)
Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis (Egypt) from (330-360)
Basil, Bishop of Caesarea (329-379)
Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus (330-390)
Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa (332-394) ( brother of Basil)
Diodorus, Bishop of Tarsus, (died 390)
Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis (Cyprus) (310/320-403)
John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople (349-407)
Asterius, Bishop of Amasea (Turkey) (c. 350-410)
Severian, Bishop of Gabala, (before 380-before 425)
Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia (350-428)
Cyril, Bishop (Pope) of Alexandria (376-444)
Cynesius of Cyrene, Bishop of Ptolemais (N.Africa)
Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus (c. 393-458/66)
Hesychius, priest of Jerusalem (died 443)
Isidore, Bishop of Pelusium (Egypt) (died c.450)
Leontius of Jerusalem, theologian (485-543)
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, (6th Century)
Romanos the Melodist, deacon, (6th Century)
Sophronius, Bishop of Jerusalem (c. 560-638)
Maximus the Confessor, Monk (580-662)
Anastasius of Sinai (Sinaita) Abbot of St Catherine’s (d. after 700)
John Climacus, monk at St Catherine’s (Sinai) (7th Century)
John of Damascus, priest and Abbot (675/6 – 749)
Also called the last of the Greek Fathers

4. Latin Fathers (those who wrote in Latin) :
The 4th to 8th Centuries
Tertullian (c 155 – c 225) priest of North Africa (probably Carthage)
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (died in 258)
Arnobius of Sicca (in Tunisia) Lay apologist (died in 330)
Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers (315-367)
Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari (died 370/1)
Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli (236-371)
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (339-397)
Optatus, Bishop of Milevis (N. Africa) (4th Century)
Jerome, Priest, (347-420)
Augustin, Bishop of Hippo (354-430)
Paulinus, Bishop of Nola (354-431_)
Peter Chrysologus, Bishop of Ravenna (380-450)
Prosper of Aquitane, layman, (390=455)
Julianus Pomerius, priest (5th Century)
Leo the Great, Bishop (Pope) of Rome (400-461)
Gennadius, priest of Marseilles (died 496)
Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe (Tunisia) (462/67-527/33)
Caesarius, Bishop of Arles (France) (died in 542)
Gregory the Great, Bishop (Pope) of Rome (540-605)
Isidore, Bishop of Seville (c. 560-636)
Also called the last of the Latin Fathers

5. Syriac Fathers (those who wrote in Syriac) :
Ephrem the Syrian , Deacon (306-373)
Aphraates, Monk (c. 320-345)
Jacob, Bishop of Serugh (451-521)
Philoxenus, Bishop of Mabbug (or Hierapolis) (6th Century)
Isaac , Bishop of Nineveh and hermit (613-700)

6. Fathers of the Desert (Hermits/Monks)
Anthony, the Great Father of all Monks (251-356)
Pachomius, Founder of Christian Monasticism (292-348)
Macarius of Egypt, (300-391)
Macarius of Alexandria (died 395)
Evagrius Ponticus, deacon (345-399)
Arsenius the Great (deacon/hermit) (350/4-445)
Nilus of Sinai (died 430)
Vincent of Lerins (died 445)
Theodore the Studite, Abbot (759-826)
Athanasius the Athonite, Abbot (920-1003)
Symeon, the New Theologian, Monk (949-1022)
Gregory Palamas, Monk (1296-1359)

Catholic Church Fathers List, Church Fathers names

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Who Are The Fathers Of The Catholic Church?

Fr Joseph Buhagiar Bianco SJ — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 01:37:00 +0000

The Fathers of the Catholic Church are also known as founding fathers, early fathers or apostolic fathers. Some of them were even saints or martyrs, they were willing to die for the truth they had been given. The area of study of these early Christian leaders is called Patristics. It all begins a few decades after Christ’s death. Expert Fr Joe Buhagiar Bianco SJ describes the Fathers of the Catholic church mostly as teachers who taught and explained the gospel to the faithful.

The Fathers Of The Catholic Church – explainers of the gospel to the faithful

“You might have thousands of guardians in Christ but no more than one father, and it was I who begot you in Christ Jesus by preaching the Good News. (I Cor. 4, 15) This is why the Church has so called those teachers who, after the death of the Apostles, taught and explained the Gospel to the faithful, the Fathers of the Church. These Fathers are, therefore, mostly , not all , Bishops since from the beginning of Christianity, teaching the faithful had been their duty.

First and Second Century Fathers of The Catholic Church

The earliest texts (second part of the 1st Century) are the Apostles’ Creed and the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. We then have the Apostolic Fathers: the Bishops who came after the Apostles like Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna who explained the Christian Faith to their faithful. The 2nd Century is when the Apologist Fathers flourished, such as St Justin, Theophilus of Antioch, Melito of Sardis and others. They wanted to present their belief to the pagans and show that Christianity was not against the Roman Empire.

The 2nd Century saw the Church refuting the heresies which were appearing in Christian communities and which were menacing her teaching of Faith and the Gospels. Bishops (and Popes) had to clearly explain and refute these false teachings. We have a complete theological refutation of the Gnostic heresy by Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons in France.

The 4th Century Fathers of The Catholic Church

The 4th Century witnesses two meetings of the Councils of all the Churches of the inhabited world (= ecumenical) in what is now Turkey: one in Nicaea in the year 325 and the other in Constantinople (today, Istanbul) in 381. At Nicaea, Athanasius, Bishop and Pope of Alexandria, plays an important role against the Arian heresy. The first Council of Constantinople gave the Christian Church, the Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople which we still recite at Mass on Sunday. Two of the three Cappadocian Fathers were present at the Council, namely Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa. The elder brother of Gregory of Nyssa, Basil of Caesarea, had died two years earlier. These three Fathers have greatly contributed to Christian theology.

Other Fathers of The Catholic Church

There were also Fathers who wrote in Latin such as: Tertullian, a priest, who lived in the 2nd Century; Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, who lived in the 3rd Century and Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, who lived in the 4th Century.

You might also be interested in taking a look at the whole list of the Fathers of the Church.

Further reading:
– Book: Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words, Rod Bennet, 2002. This book covers Ignatius, Clement, Justin Martyr, and Iraneous.
– Book: St. Ignatius of Antioch: The Epistles, Paul A. Boer Sr., 2012.
– Website: Early Christian Writings
– Website: Early Church Fathers

Published: 2016
Updated: 2019