Church Father
3
9.9
- noun
- /tʃɜrʧ ˈfɑðər/
- Formal
:
Padre de la Iglesia
- His primary training was as a historian; in particular, he was steeped in the early Church Fathers.
- early Church Fathers
And he quotes John Damaskin, a church father in this.
- And he quotes John Damaskin, a church father in this.
- And in fact, Tertullian is one of the Church fathers.
Examples
-
On October 17th, the Catholic Church celebrates one of the earliest Church Fathers: St. Ignatius of Antioch.
Blog text (11) -
The Church Fathers based God's Oneness on God's absolute perfection and the unity of the universe.
Academic text (2013) -
On what authority did the early Church Fathers make these decisions?
Blog text (21) -
Would you agree that some of the things that the Church Fathers have said are in error?
Blog text (21) -
His series on the Early Church Fathers is broadcast weekly on the Eternal Word Television Network.
Blog text (5) -
Yet these words were written by St. Cyprian, an early Church Father, around the year 250.
Blog text (3) -
Again, the church fathers differ in their views of Martha's conduct.
Fiction book (1996) -
The ecumenical councils and the Church Fathers belong under tradition in the broad sense as its chief constituents.
Academic text (2010) -
The early church fathers differ in their views both of Martha's actions and of Jesus' rebuke.
Fiction book (1996) -
The writings of the early Church Fathers played a significant role in shaping Christian doctrine.
Synonyms
29
9.3
An early Christian writer whose ideas shaped church teaching
1
9.9
A leading early Christian writer whose teachings helped form church beliefs
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'church' and 'father' can plausibly infer a male or senior religious figure associated with the church because 'father' is often used metaphorically for a founder, elder, or respected leader in many languages. However, the specific, technical sense—an early Christian theologian (2nd–7th centuries) whose writings shaped doctrine—is specialized and not fully predictable from the parts, so the phrase is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Church Father comes from early Christians who called their important leaders church fathers because these men cared for and taught the church like family 'fathers'. So, Church Father means an early Christian leader or 'teacher' whose writings helped shape the church's beliefs.