Fathers of the Church

c. 130 – c. 202 · Smyrna — Lyon (France)

Irenaeus of Lyon

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

A disciple of Polycarp who became bishop of Lyon and defended the apostolic faith against Gnosticism.

c. 296 – 373 · Alexandria (Egypt)

Athanasius of Alexandria

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

The bishop who held to the faith of Nicaea — that the Son is truly God — through five exiles.

c. 330 – 379 · Caesarea in Cappadocia (Turkey)

Basil the Great

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

Bishop of Caesarea, theologian of the Holy Spirit and father of Eastern monasticism.

c. 329 – 390 · Cappadocia — Constantinople

Gregory of Nazianzus

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

A poet-theologian, called the Theologian in the East, whose sermons on the Trinity are classics.

c. 339 – 397 · Born in Trier — Milan (Italy)

Ambrose of Milan

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

A Roman governor acclaimed bishop of Milan by the people before he was even baptised.

c. 347 – 407 · Antioch — Constantinople

John Chrysostom

Archbishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

The greatest preacher of the early Church — later called Chrysostom, golden-mouthed.

c. 347 – 420 · Stridon (Dalmatia) — Rome — Bethlehem

Jerome

Priest, scholar, Father and Doctor of the Church

The scholar who translated the Bible into Latin — the Vulgate — from his monastery in Bethlehem.

354 – 430 · Thagaste — Milan — Hippo (today Algeria)

Augustine of Hippo

Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

A brilliant, restless teacher who was converted in Milan and became the most influential theologian of the Latin West.

c. 376 – 444 · Alexandria (Egypt)

Cyril of Alexandria

Patriarch, Father and Doctor of the Church

The patriarch who defended Mary's title Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus.

c. 540 – 604 · Rome

Gregory the Great

Pope, Father and Doctor of the Church

A Roman official turned monk who became pope in a time of plague and war, and sent missionaries to England.