Introduction to Patristics

OBJECTIVE

In this first lesson, the goal is to understand who the fathers were, categorize them, know the criteria to be called a church father, and understand why we need to learn about them.

INTRODUCTION

Who Are The Fathers?

  • The theologians and writers who preserved and passed along the unchanged faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles to us over 2,000 yrs
  • Lived in incredibly varying circumstances, cultures, and time periods and their personalities were just as varied as their circumstances
  • These fathers expand over a great many centuries and each offer something of their own to the overall structure of our faith
  • They are thus organized in various ways to help us understand the perspective they offer today

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)

Classifications and Examples

  • Latin: Tertullian, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Jerome
  • Greek/Egyptian: St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril the 1st,
  • Cappadocian: St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Gregory The Theologian, St. Gregory of Nyssa
  • Desert Fathers: Earliest monks of the Egyptian desert including St. Anthony, St. Pachomius, and many others.
  • Typical classifications can be by:
    • Language: Latin, Greek, Syriac fathers, etc
    • Area: Western, Eastern, etc
    • Time period: Apostolic Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Medieval Fathers, etc

For our module, they will be categorized by time relevance as follows:

  • Apostolic
  • Ante-Nicene
  • Nicene
  • Post-Nicene

To be noted here is that the official language of Patristics is GREEK as it was the most prevalent language until the 3rd century and even beyond into 6th century.

Criteria to be a Father

  • Orthodoxy of Doctrine: The "Father" examines the Church's life without deviation from Orthodox doctrines.
  • Holiness of Life: Father must have attained the spirit of the early Apostolic Church
  • Time: Catholics add antiquity as a restraint on fathers, but we do NOT constrain fathers to time periods

There is, however, what is considered the Golden Age of Fathers which is the 4th to 6th century

Patristic writing styles: Allegorical vs Literal Method

Allegorical Approach

  • Favored by School of Alexandria
  • Origen (will be covered in a later lesson) was a great proponent of the method
  • Pros: Allows the reader to dive into scripture as if it were an ocean, drawing deep meaning from the symbolism in the Bible
  • Cons: Could take weave complex or improbable allegories (make faith too impossible to follow or comprehend)

Literal Method:

  • Favored by School of Antioch
  • Focuses on literal interpretation and historical context
  • Pros: Can draw the reader into the historical context and bring the Bible scenes to life
  • Cons: Can misinterpret symbolism literally, or lead to fundamentalism

Many of the Fathers, such as St. Cyril of Alexandria, drew a balance between the two methods using each method when appropriate in homilies and commentaries.

APPLICATION & DISCUSSION

Why do we need to learn about the fathers?

  • The early fathers played a tremendous role in establishing the Gospels and church canons
  • Gospels were not set-in place for the first 4 centuries
  • Very few people could read/write; even fewer able to afford duplicates of manuscripts
  • Early Christians thus did not read the gospel but rather they absorbed it in community/from bishops
  • The Gospel was tradition passed down to them by the fathers.
  • The Fathers put great emphasis on the importance of Holy Scripture
  • Nearly impossible to read a single page of writing from the Fathers that does not refer to or directly quote Scripture.
  • There were tons of varying manuscripts in circulation and it was the early father's role to determine which were true.
  • Defining the Cannons took several generations of analysis and discussions
  • Not until 367 AD did any father (St. Athanasius) put a new testament book together that closely resembles what we have today.
  • Tradition led to the Scripture

Which Fathers do we trust? Is every word they wrote to be taken as Gospel?

  • While Fathers are often saints, not all fathers are saints. (i.e Tertulian and Origen)
  • Church relies on Consensus Patrum: Looking for consensus among the Fathers on each matter of doctrine. Consensus Patrum in practicality means:
    • We must not rely on the writings of a single Father.
    • We must not rely on one separate quotation from the acts of any Father.
    • We must study the meaning of the terms which a Father had used.
    • We must compare the terms which a Father had used with the same terms used by his contemporary Fathers.