The Four Great Latin Fathers
Pre-eminent in the Western Church were St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome and St. Gregory the Great. St. Ambrose (340-397), son of the Roman prefect of Treves, became governor of Milan. While yet only a catechumen, he was addressing the contesting parties in an episcopal election, when a young child cried out: “Ambrose for bishop.” […]
The Four Great Greek Fathers
The Four Great Greek Fathers.[1]— Pre-eminent in the Eastern Church were St. Athanasius, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzen, and St. John Chrysostom. St. Anthanasius of Alexandria (296-373), while a deacon, at the Council of Nicaea, opposed the Arians with great learning and brilliant eloquence. [2]After years of study and ascetical exercises under the […]
Post-Apostolic Fathers of the Church
The term “Post-Apostolic Fathers” is the name given by the Christian Church to the writers who established Christian doctrine before the 8th century. The writings of the Fathers or Patristic Literature synthesized Christian doctrine as found in the Bible, especially the gospels, the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, ecclesiastical dictums, and decisions of the Church […]
Commentaries of the Fathers of the Church on John 3:5
Born of Water and Spirit. St. John Chrysostom. “If anyone asks, how is someone born of water, I ask in return, how is someone born from the earth? How was the clay separated into different parts? How were all different kinds of things, like bones, sinews, arteries, veins, and so on made from one kind […]
What is Apostolic Succession?
The authoritative and unbroken transmission of the mission and powers conferred by Jesus Christ on St. Peter and the Apostles from them to the present pope and hierarchy. 2 Chr. 19:11 – And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor […]
Angels in Holy Scripture and Tradition
The existence of angels is a truth so obviously founded in Scripture, Tradition, and the teaching of the Church that it seems superfluous to undertake a formal delineation of it. The following are merely a few of the many Scriptural texts in which it is expressly taught: Ps. 91:11, “For he will give his angels […]
The Fathers of the Church on the “Antichrist.”
St. Polycarp of Smyrna [AD 155/156] “Everyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is an antichrist; whoever does not confess the testimony of the cross is the devil; and whoever perverts the sayings of the Lord for his own desires, and says that there is neither resurrection or judgment, […]
The Ordination of Women
Why does the Catholic Church not ordain women? Were not deaconesses ordained in the early Church? A common justification for the ordination of women is found in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. Gal.3:28 “There is not among you Jew or Greek, there is not among you slave or free, there is not among you […]
The Church Fathers on Homosexuality
“You shall not commit fornication; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not be a corrupter of youth.” Letter of Barnabas 10 (A.D. 74). “You shall not be a corrupter of boys, nor like unto such.” Letter of Barnabas 10 (A.D. 74). “You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not […]
Early Church Fathers on Abortion
Priests for Life has compiled quotes from the various Fathers of the Church and their contemporaries. The sources were either found in their original Latin and then translations were located or a translation of the Greek was found. In instances where a translation could not be found, a private translation was made. This is noted […]