Doctors of the Church

Catholic Christians believe that the promise of the Spirit of Truth to guide believers in truth is found in the constant faith of the Church as preserved in the writings of the Doctors of the Church also, equally �faithful people.� The Doctors of the Church are eminent Christian teachers who are proclaimed to be worthy of the title. The Church recognized these faithful people and teachers for their contribution to the belief and understanding of the faith. Doctors of the Church must be canonized a saint, known for their learning, and must be proclaimed such by either the Bishop of Rome or an ecumenical council.

St. Albert the Great (Bio)

Personal: Bishop of Ratisbon, 1260-1293
Introduced Greek and Arabic science and philosophy into the medieval world
Dominican, Order of Preachers
Teacher of Thomas Aquinas
Named in 1932 by Pius XI
Place and dates: 1206-1280
Writings: Summa Theologiae (1270): attempted to reconcile Aristotelianism and Christianity
Sentences: a commentary on Peter the Lombard
De Unitate Intellectus: against the Averrhoists

St. Alphonsus Liguori (Bio)

Personal: Founded the Redemptorist Order in 1732
Bishop of St. Agatha, 1756-1775
Named in 1871 by Pius IX
Place and dates: 1696-1787
Writings: Moral Theology
Glories of Mary: (1750)

St. Ambrose (Bio)

Personal: Bishop of Milan (374)
Defended the churches of Milan against Arianism
Friend of Monica, mother of Augustine, and finally brought Augustine into the Church
Place and dates: (Trier, now in Germany) 340?-397
Writings: On Faith: a Christian morals manual
On the Sacraments: an exegetical treatise
On the Holy Spirit: an exegetical treatise
Composed many hymns

St. Anselm (Bio)

Personal: Benedictine monk
Theologian
Philosopher; proposed famous argument for existence of God
Archbishop of Canterbury, 1093-1100
Named in 1720 by Clement XI
Place and dates: 1033-1109
Writings: Monologium (1077): God as highest being and His attributes
Proslogium (1078): Faith seeking understanding
Cur Deus Homo (1093): On the Incarnation and crucifixion

St. Anthony of Padua (Bio)

Personal: Franciscan monk
Theologian
Exceptional intellectual and oratorical gifts
Named in 1946 by Pius XII
Place and dates: 1195-1231
Writings

St. Athanasius (Bio)

Personal: Eastern theologian
Named in 1568 by Pius V
Place and dates: 293-373

St. Augustine (Bio)

Personal: Son of Monica (332?-387)
Born a pagan
Converted in 387 and baptized by Ambrose
Ordained a priest in 391
Bishop of Hippo (395)
Combated Manichean heresy (conflict of Good and Evil)
Martin Luther and John Calvin were close students of the works of Augustine
Place and dates: (Numidia, now Algeria) 354-430
Writings: Confessions (c. 400): his autobiography
The City of God (413-426): great Christian apologia; a theological philosophy of history
Retractions (428): final verdict of earlier works
Epistles (386-429)
On Free Will (388-395)
On Christian Doctrine (397)
On Baptism: Against the Donatists (400)
On the Trinity (400-416)
On Nature and Grace (415)
Homilies

St. Basil the Great (Bio)

Personal: Brother of Gregory of Nyssa and a friend of Gregory of Nazianzus
Patriarch of Eastern monasticism
Wrote a rule of the monastic way of life
Founded the Basilian monks (360)
Bishop of Caesarea (370).
Place and dates: (Caesarea Mazaca) 329?-379
Writings: Against Eunomius: written against the Arian leader Eunomius
On the Holy Spirit: a doctrinal treatise
Moralia: an anthology of New Testament verses
Liturgy of St. Basil

St. Bede, the Venerable (Bio)

Personal: English Benedictine monk
Prolific writer
Named in 1899 by Leo XIII
Place and dates: 673?-735
Writings: Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731)
On the Reckoning of Time (725)
Historia Abbatum (725)

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Bio)

Personal: Cistercian monk
Preacher of the Second Crusade
Founded over 90 monasteries
Named in 1830 by Pius VIII
Place and dates: 1090-1153
Writings: The Love of God (1127)
Consideration to Eugene III (1148)

St. Bonaventure (Bio)

Personal: Franciscan friar
Philosopher, theologian
Cardinal archbishop of Albano
Assisted at Council of Lyons
Named in 1588 by Sixtus V
Place and dates: 1217-1274
Writings: Breviloquium (1254): Commentary on Sacred Scripture
Journey of the Mind to God (1259)
Life of St. Francis of Assisi (1263)

St. Catherine of Siena (Bio)

Personal: Western mystic
Joined the Dominican Order in 1353
Convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon
Noted for works of charity and unity in the Church
Named in 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Place and dates: 1347-1380
Writings: Letters on spiritual matters
Dialogue: her ideals of reform and repentance

St. Cyril of Alexandria (Bio)

Personal: Patriarch of Alexandria in 412
Leader of the Council of Ephesus, 431
Instrumental in condemning Nestorianism
Place and dates: (Alexandria) 376-444
Writings: Against Nestorius
Against Julian the Apostate
Prolific writer

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Bio)

Personal: Bishop of Jerusalem in 351
Embroiled in controversy over episcopal duties
Place and dates: (Jerusalem) 315?-387?
Writings: 23 Treatises: addressed to catechumens and newly baptized; some treatises are doctrinal and present the creed of the Church; some are concerned with ritual and present a detailed account of Baptism, Eucharist and chrism

St. Ephraem the Syrian (Bio)

Personal: Deacon, monk
Noted for his defense of the Church, the mysteries of Our Lord and the honor of the Virgin Mary.
Named in 1920 by Benedict XV
Place and dates: 306?-373
Writings: Wrote exegetical works and hymns

St. Francis de Sales (Bio)

Personal: Named in 1877 by Pius IX
Bishop of Genova, 1602-1622
Founded the Order of the Visitation
Confronted the rise of Calvinism
Place and dates: 1567-1622
Writings: Introduction to the Devout Life: (1609) shows how ordinary life can be sanctified

St. Gregory Nazianzus (Bio)

Personal: Bishop of Sasima (371)
Took charge of the Nicene congregation of Constantinople where he delivered five discourses on the Trinity that earned him fame as "The Theologian"
Place and dates: (Nazianzus in Capadocia, now Turkey) 329?-389
Writings: Philokalia (Love of the Beautiful): an anthology of the writings of Origen

St. Gregory the Great (Bio)

Personal: Prefect of Rome in 570
Became a monk in 575
Elected pope (r. 590-604)
Enhanced prestige of the papacy
Upheld Rome's traditional claims of church primacy over the patriarch of Constantinople
Introduced liturgical reforms and Gregorian chant
Extensive pastoral activity.
Place and dates: (Rome) 540?-604
Writings: Moralia: a commentary on the Book of Job
Pastoral Care: describes the ideal bishop; instruction on the practice and nature of preaching
Dialogues: legends of saints of his own time

St. Hilary of Poitiers (Bio)

Personal: Pagan, convert in 350
Bishop of Poitiers, 353
Defended the decrees of the Council of Nicaea
Named in 1851 by Pius IX
Place and dates: 315?-368?
Writings: De Trinitate: against the Arians
De Synodis
Commentary of the Psalms
Commentary of Matthew's Gospel

St. Isidore of Seville (Bio)

Personal: Encyclopedic knowledge
Archbishop of Seville
Conversion of Visigoths
Organizing the church in Spain
Named in 1722 by Innocent XIII
Place and dates: 560?-636?
Writings: De Natura Rerum
Etymologies: an encyclopedia
Chronica Majora: a compilation from church historians
Biographies
A summary of Christian doctrine

St. Jerome (Bio)

Biblical scholar
Ordained a priest in 386
Secretary to Pope Damasus I in 382
Confronted many heresies, especially Pelagianism
Place and dates: (Stridon, present day Slovenia) 345?-419
Writings: The Vulgate: translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, 383-384, in Rome

St. John Chrysostom (Bio)

Personal: Ordained a priest in 386
Greatest orator of the early Church
Patriarch of Constantinople in 398
Place and dates: (Antioch, Syria) 349?-407
Writings: On the Priesthood
Homilies
Wrote commentaries, epistles, treatises, and liturgies

St. John Damascene (Bio)

Personal: Financial officer to Saracen caliph
Resigned in 700
Entered a monastery and ordained a priest
Opposed the Iconoclasts
Place and dates: (Damascus, Syria) 675-749
Writings: Source of Knowledge: three part text of dogmatic theology in the early Greek church; contains a complete theological system based on the early Greek fathers and synods of 4th-7th centuries

St. John of the Cross (Bio)

Personal: Western mystic
Combined mysticism with the theology and philosophy of Aquinas
Became a Carmelite monk in 1563
Ordained a priest in 1567
Organized the Discalced Carmelites in 1568
Imprisoned for monastic reform 1576-1577
Named in 1926 by Benedict XV
Place and dates: 1542-1591
Writings: Spiritual Canticle: a mystical poem
Living Flame of Love: a mystical poem
Dark Night of the Soul: describes the soul's progress in union with God

St. Lawrence of Brindisi (Bio)

Personal: Capuchin
Worked for the conversion of the Jews
Confronted the rise of Lutheranism
Organized Catholic princes against Turkish invasion
Named in 1959 by John XXIII
Place and dates: 1559-1619
Writings: Sermons
A commentary on Genesis
Writings against Lutheranism

St. Leo the Great (Bio)

Personal: Pope, 440-461
Confirmed the doctrine of the Incarnation (Council of Chalcedon, 451)
Held the doctrinal primacy of Rome
Persuaded Atilla the Hun not to invade Rome
Named in 1754 by Benedict XIV
Place and dates: 461
Writings: 143 surviving letters
96 sermons

St. Peter Canisius (Bio)

Personal: Jesuit
Second great Apostle of Germany
Leader, Counter-Reformation
Named in 1925 by Pius XI
Place and dates: 1521-1597
Writings: Catechism (1560): instructed the faithful to defend their Faith

St. Peter Chrysologus (Bio)

Personal: Called chrysologus (golden-mouthed) because of exceptional preaching eloquence
Archbishop of Ravenna, 433-450
Named in 1729 by Benedict XIII
Place and dates: 406-450
Writings: Many sermons survive

St. Peter Damian (Bio)

Personal: Benedictine monk
Cardinal and Bishop of Ostia
Ecclesiastical statesman and reformer
Named in 1828 by Leo XII
Place and dates: 1007-1072
Writings: Notable poet
Wrote reforms for popes, clergy, monks

St. Robert Bellarmine (Bio)

Personal: Jesuit theologian
Cardinal archbishop of Capua
Revision of the Vulgate (1592)
Leader of the Counter Reformation
Named in 1931 by Pius XI
Place and dates: 1542-1621
Writings: Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith: (1568-93)

St. Teresa of Avila (Bio)

Personal: Western mystic
Foundress of the Order of Discalced Carmelites
Entered the convent in 1535
Founded the new order in 1562
Worked with the aid of St. John of the Cross, Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church
Named in 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Place and dates: 1515-1582
Writings: The Way of Perfection: (1565) advice to her nuns
The Interior Castle: (1577) an eloquent description of the contemplative life
The Foundations: (1573-1582) the origins of the Discalced Carmelites

St. Therese of Lisieux (Bio)

Personal: Carmelite Nun: Sister Theresa of the Child Jesus
Also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus"
Canonized: May 17, 1925
Created a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, October 19, 1997
The third woman among 33 Doctors
Place and dates: Born: Alencon, France, January 2, 1873
Died: Lisieux, France, September 30, 1897
Writings: Autobiography of a Saint: Letter and Spiritual Counsels

St. Thomas Aquinas (Bio)

Personal: Theologian
Named in 1568 by Pius V
Italian philosopher
Educated at Monte Cassino
Ordained a priest in 1250
Advisor and lecturer to the papal court, 1259-1268
Place and dates: 1225-1274
Writings: Eighty works are ascribed to him
Summa Contra Gentiles: "On the Truth of Catholic Faith," 1261-1264: one of his greatest works, closely reasoned treatise on the truth of Christianity
Summa Theologica: a summary of theology, (1265-1273)

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