The Patristic Period

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The Patristic Period
St. Michaels Catholic Academy Department of
Theology Created by Mr. DESullivan Austin, TX
February 2009
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Who decided all this stuff?
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THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD (A.D. 30-100)

• This period
• actually witnessed Jesus and his teachings.
• was impacted by Jesus death and message.
• experienced the wanderings of the apostles.
• saw the first Christian communities formed.
• concluded with the last book of Scripture.
• planted the seeds of Christianity.

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THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS (A.D. 30-100)

• St. Clement
• St. Ignatius
• St. Polycarp
• Author(s) of the Didache
• Author of the Epistle of Barnabas

SUB-APOSTOLIC (Other Early Christian Writers)

• St. Justin Martyr
• St. Irenaeus
• St. Cyprian

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THE AGE OF THE FATHERS (A.D. 100-800)

• Also known as the Patristic Period
• The fourth and fifth century Fathers
• Were among the most important in Church history
• helped address heresy
• dealt with the collapse of the Roman Empire
• framed basic Christian doctrines
• Monasticism and Church hierarchy developed.
• Note Not all Church Fathers have been men

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THE EARLY PATRISTIC PERIOD

• This is the era
• after the deaths of the apostles.
• when the New Testament canon was established AD
  50 to AD130
• Rome became Christian.
• Christianity became Roman.

3rd century Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Ceiling
of Catacomb of Callixtus in Rome.1
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LATIN FATHERS OF THE CHURCH

• Irenaeus(130-202)
• Isidore(560-636)
• Jerome(340-420)
• Julius I(regn. 337-352)
• Lactanius(250-325)
• Leo the Great(regn. 440-461)
• Marius Mercator(5th C)
• Marius Victorinus(5th C)
• Minucius Felix(fl. 160-300)
• Optatus(4th C)
• Pacian(310-392)
• Pamphilius(240-309)
• Paulinus(354-431)
• Peter Chrysologus(406-450)
• Phoebadius( 392)
• Prosper of Aquitaine(400-463)
• Rufinus(345-410)
• Salvian of Marseilles(400-480)
• Sircius(regn. 384-399)

• Ambrose (340-397)
• Arnobius (284-305)
• Augustine (354-430)
• Benedict (480-543)
• Caesarius (470-543)
• John Cassian (360-435)
• Celestine I (regn. 422-432)
• Clement of Rome (c. 88-97)
• Cornelius (regn. 251-253)
• Cyprian (190-258)
• Damasus (regn. 366-384)
• Dionysius(regn. 259-268)
• Ennodius (473-521)
• Eucherius of Lyons(d 449)
• Fulgentius (468-533)
• Gregory of Elvira(320-392)
• Gregory the Great (regn. 590-604)
• Hilary of Poitiers(315-367)
• Hippolytus (170-236)

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GREEK FATHERS OF THE CHURCH

• Germanus(634-733)
• Gregory of Nazianzus(325-389)
• Gregory of Nyssa(331-394)
• Gregory Thaumaturgus(213-270)
• Hermas(fl. 90-150)
• Ignatius of Antioch(50-107)
• Isidore of Pelusium(360-435)
• John Chrysostom(347-407)
• John Climacus(525-605)
• John Damascene(676-770)
• Justin Martyr(100-165)
• Leontius of Byzantium( 543)
• Macarius the Great(300-390)
• Maximus(580-662)
• Melito(2nd C)
• Methodius( 311)
• Nilus the Elder of Ancyra( 430)
• Origen(185-253)

• Anastasius(700)
• Andrew of Crete(650-740)
• Aphraates(4th C)
• Archelaus(282)
• Athanasius(296-373)
• Athenagoras(2nd C)
• Basil the Great(329-379)
• Caesarius of Nazianzus(330-369)
• Clement of Alexandria(160-215)
• Cyril of Jerusalem(315-386)
• Cyril of Alexandria(375-444)
• Didymus the Blind(313-398)
• Diodore of Tarsus(390)
• Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite (fl.500)
• Epiphanius of Salamis(315-403)
• Eusebius(260-340)
• Eustathius of Antioch(fl. 325)
• Firmillian(268)
• Gennadius I(458-471)

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DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH

• Authors of eminent holiness and learning
• Writings have advanced the cause of Christ
• A title used since the Middle Ages
• Originally used to refer to the Four Great
  Doctors of the Western Church
• St. Ambrose
• St. Augustine
• St. Gregory
• St. Jerome
• And the Four Great Fathers of the East
• Athanasius
• Basil the Great
• Gregory of Nazianzen
• John Chrysostom

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DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH(As of 1998)

• St. Albert
• St. Alphonsus Liguori
• St. Ambrose
• St. Anselm
• St. Anthony of Padua
• St. Athanasius
• St. Augustine
• St. Basil
• St. Bede, the Venerable
• St. Bernard of Clairvaux
• St. Bonaventure
• St. Catherine of Siena
• St. Cyril of Alexandria
• St. Cyril of Jerusalem
• St. Ephraem of Syria
• St. Francis de Sales
• St. Gregory Nazianzus

• St. Gregory the Great
• St. Hilary of Poitiers
• St. Isidore
• St. Jerome
• St. John Chrysostom
• St. John Damascene
• St. John of the Cross
• St. Lawrence of Brindisi
• St. Leo the Great
• St. Peter Canisius
• St. Peter Chrysologus
• St. Peter Damian
• St. Robert Bellarmine
• St. Teresa of Avila
• St. Therese of Lisieux
• St. Thomas Aquinas

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Four Early Church FathersYOU NEED TO KNOW(See
pages 84 88)
St. Michaels Catholic Academy Department of
Theology Created by Mr. DESullivan Austin, TX
February 2009
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Four Early Church FathersYOU NEED TO KNOW(See
pages 84 88)

• St. John Chrysostom (ca. 344-407)

• St. Ambrose (ca.340-397)

• St. Jerome (ca. 342-420)

• St. Augustine (ca. 354-430)

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St. John Chrysostom (ca. 344-407)
A 1000 year old Byzantine mosaic Cathedral of
Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern Istanbul)
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St. John Chrysostom Biography

• Born, raised and well-educated in Antioch
• Permanently damaged his health through intense
  fasting and asceticism
• Nicknamed Golden Mouth because he was an
  extraordinary preacher
• Became a famous bishop of Constantinople
• Among the most important Greek fathers

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St. John Chrysostom Significance

• Fought immoral lifestyles among the nobility
• Pushed for financial reform among the clergy
• Was exiled twice for his unwavering criticism of
  corruption and immorality
• Left extensive and detailed writings behind
• Recognized by early Greeks and Latins as a
  powerful witness to the Faith

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St. John Chrysostom Quotation

• Do not pay him (Christ) homage in the temple
  (when you are) clad in silk, only then to neglect
  him outside where he is cold and ill-clad. He who
  said "This is my body" is the same who said
  "You saw me hungry and you gave me no food", and
  "Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you
  did also to me"... What good is it if the
  Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden
  chalices when your brother is dying of hunger?
  Start by satisfying his hunger and then with what
  is left you may adorn the altar as well.
• From In Evangelium S. Matthaei, hom. 503-4 PG
  58, 508-509
• as quoted at Catholic Culture

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St. Ambrose (ca.340-397)
Mosaic Church of St. Ambrogio in Milan, Italy.
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St. Ambrose Biography

• Became bishop of Milan through public demand
• Originally rejected the position
• Roman noble and governor of Milan at the time
• Had to receive sacraments of initiation to be
  ordained
• Once bishop he gave his wealth to the poor and
  became ascetic
• Developed musical hymns for worship

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St. Ambrose Significance

• One of the most influential Latin Church figures
  of the fourth century
• Left major writings about faith, sin, and grace
• Fought against Arianism the belief that Jesus
  was not one with the Father nor fully divine
• Virgin Mary as Mother of God a central teaching
• Believed all people would achieve salvation

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St. Ambrose Quotation

• Women and men are not mistaken when they regard
  themselves as superior to mere bodily creatures
  and as more than mere particles of nature or
  nameless units in modern society. For by their
  power to know themselves in the depths of their
  being they rise above the entire universe of mere
  objects.... Endowed with wisdom, women and men
  are led through visible realities to those which
  are invisible
• Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
  World, 1415, Austin Flannery translation as
  quoted in Catholic Culture

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St. Jerome(ca. 342-420)
Saint Jerome in his Study Domenico Ghirlandaio
1480
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St. JeromeBiography

• Born in NE Italy (in Croatia today) but studied
  in Rome
• Perhaps the most learned of the Church Fathers
• Baptized at eighteen before traveling a lot
• Became a strict monk and later a priest
• Later served as Pope Damascus secretary

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St. JeromeSignificance

• Assigned by the Pope to translate the Bible into
  Latin
• Went to Bethlehem and founded a monastery for men
  and women studying Scripture
• Spent 23 years in a cave with others translating
  the Bible in Latin

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St. JeromeSignificance

• Result of work The Latin Vulgate
• The official translation of the Catholic Church
  from the fourth century until modern times with
  commentaries
• Also wrote against Pelagianism and Origenism

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St. Jerome Quotation

• I interpret as I should, following the command
  of Christ Search the Scriptures, and Seek and
  you shall find. Christ will not say to me what he
  said to the Jews You erred, not knowing the
  Scriptures and not knowing the power of God. For
  if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and
  the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not
  know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom
  of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance
  of Christ.
• A famous excerpt from Jerome's Commentary on
  Isaiah (Nn. 1.2 CCL 73, 1-3) and found at The
  Crosswords Initiative

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St. Augustine(ca. 354-430)
Fresco painting by Sandro Botticelli Florence,
Italy
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St. AugustineBiography

• Born in Africa and raised an unbaptized Christian
• Left Christianity and explored heretical
  religions
• Craved knowledge studying extensively
• Became a teacher in Rome and then Milan
• Converted to Christ after a religious experience
• Returned to Africa where his popularity led to
  becoming bishop of Hippo, in Algeria

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St. AugustineSignificance

• Considered the greatest of the Church Fathers
• The most influential theologian after St. Paul
• Profoundly influenced the medieval worldview
• Defended faith against major heresies of the day
• Many writings are still studied extensively today
• Especially City of God and The Confessions

More
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St. AugustineSignificance

• Developed the concept of the Church as a City of
  God and sinful inhabitants as the City of Man
• Stressed that the Church has sinners within it so
  must cooperate with Gods grace and work to be
  Gods love in the world
• Framed the concepts regarding original sin and
  just war embraced to this day

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St. Augustine Quotation

• Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient
  days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you! And
  behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there
  I searched for you I was deformed, plunging amid
  those fair forms, which you had made. You were
  with me, but I was not with you. Things held me
  far from youthings which, if they were not in
  you, were not at all. You called, and shouted,
  and burst my deafness. You flashed and shone, and
  scattered my blindness. You breathed odors and I
  drew in breathand I pant for you. I tasted, and
  I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned
  for your peace
• From the Confessions as found at American Catholic

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Fall of Rome

• See Page 76

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Early Writings

• Clement of Rome
• 95/96 AD (possibly Clement in Phil 43)
• From Rome to Corinth encouraging them to
  reinstate the church elders who have been forced
  out of office.
• Examples of service to God (as Heb 11)
• Examples of the view men of faith had of
  themselves (eg Moses, David)
• Deals with problem of faction
• Appointment of bishops, elders and deacons
• Phil 11, 1 Tim 3, 2 Tim 22, Titus 17

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Early Writings

• Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch
• 110AD 7 genuine letters written on journey to
  Rome
• To follow leadership of those bishops appointed
  by the Apostles
• Refutes the teaching that Jesus did not really
  suffer in the flesh and die.
• Condemns those urging to adopt Jewish customs
• Much debate about his views of Christ
• Urges Roman believers not to intervene in his
  trial and martyrdom

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Early Writings

• Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
• 110AD Letter to Philippians (Ignatius has just
  left)
• Response to Philippians asking advice on how to
  deal with an elder who has embezzled ecclesial
  funds
• call them back as frail and wayward members so
  as to heal your entire body
• Itinerant teachers who do not confess that Jesus
  came in the flesh is an antichrist, the firstborn
  of satan.