English > Father of the Church: 1 sense > noun 1, person | Meaning | (Christianity) any of about 70 theologians in the period from the 2nd to the 7th century whose writing established and confirmed official church doctrine; in the Roman Catholic Church some were later declared saints and became Doctor of the Church; the best known Latin Church Fathers are Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome; those who wrote in Greek include Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom. |
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| Synonyms | Church Father, Father |
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| Category | Christianity, Christian religion | A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior |
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| Instances | Ambrose, Saint Ambrose, St. Ambrose | (Roman Catholic Church) Roman priest who became bishop of Milan |
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| Athanasius, Saint Athanasius, St. Athanasius, Athanasius the Great | (Roman Catholic Church) Greek patriarch of Alexandria who championed Christian orthodoxy against Arianism |
| Augustine, Saint Augustine, St. Augustine, Augustine of Hippo | (Roman Catholic Church) one of the great Fathers of the early Christian church |
| Basil, St. Basil, Basil of Caesarea, Basil the Great, St. Basil the Great | (Roman Catholic Church) the bishop of Caesarea who defended the Roman Catholic Church against the heresies / heresies of the 4th century |
| Gregory, Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nazianzen, St. Gregory of Nazianzen | (Roman Catholic Church) a church father known for his constant fight against perceived heresies / heresies |
| Irenaeus, Saint Irenaeus, St. Irenaeus | Greek theologian who was bishop of Lyons and an antiheretical writer |
| Jerome, Saint Jerome, St. Jerome, Hieronymus, Eusebius Hieronymus, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus | (Roman Catholic Church) one of the great Fathers of the early Christian Church whose major work was his translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (which became the Vulgate) |
| John Chrysostom, St. John Chrysostom | (Roman Catholic Church) a Church Father who was a great preacher and bishop of Constantinople |
| Broader | theologian, theologist, theologizer, theologiser | someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology |
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| Catalan | pare de l'Església |
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