The Church Fathers

Bishop of Rome, companion of the apostles

Ignatius of Antioch

c. 35 – c. 107 · Antioch, Syria

Bishop of Antioch, martyr of the apostolic age

Irenaeus

c. 130 – c. 202 · Smyrna & Lyons

Bishop of Lyons, scourge of the Gnostics

Bishop of Smyrna, disciple of the apostle John, martyr

Visionary author of The Shepherd

Clement of Alexandria

c. 150 – c. 215 · Athens & Alexandria

Master of Alexandria's catechetical school

Tertullian

c. 155 – c. 220 · Carthage

First great Latin Christian writer

Origen

c. 185 – c. 253 · Alexandria & Caesarea

Greatest biblical scholar of the early church

Cyprian

c. 200 – 258 · Carthage

Bishop of Carthage and martyr

Victorinus of Pettau

died c. 303 · Poetovio, Pannonia (modern Ptuj, Slovenia)

Bishop, earliest Latin commentator on Scripture, martyr

Eusebius of Caesarea

c. 260 – 339 · Caesarea in Palestine

Bishop of Caesarea, father of church history

Athanasius

c. 296 – 373 · Alexandria

Bishop of Alexandria, defender of Nicaea

Hilary of Poitiers

c. 310 – c. 367 · Poitiers, Gaul

Bishop of Poitiers, Athanasius of the West

Bishop of Laodicea, brilliant but condemned

Epiphanius

c. 315 – 403 · Palestine & Salamis, Cyprus

Bishop of Salamis, cataloguer of heresies

Bishop of Bostra, opponent of the Manichaeans

Gregory Nazianzen

c. 329 – 390 · Nazianzus & Constantinople

Archbishop of Constantinople, 'the Theologian'

Basil the Great

c. 330 – 379 · Caesarea in Cappadocia

Archbishop of Caesarea, father of Eastern monasticism

Gregory of Nyssa

c. 335 – c. 395 · Nyssa, Cappadocia

Bishop of Nyssa, mystic of the Cappadocians

Ambrose

c. 339 – 397 · Milan

Bishop of Milan, teacher of Augustine

Chrysostom

c. 347 – 407 · Antioch & Constantinople

Archbishop of Constantinople, greatest preacher of the East

Jerome

c. 347 – 420 · Stridon, Rome & Bethlehem

Translator of the Vulgate, biblical scholar

Augustine

354 – 430 · Thagaste & Hippo, North Africa

Bishop of Hippo, greatest Western theologian

Cyril of Alexandria

c. 376 – 444 · Alexandria

Patriarch of Alexandria, champion of the Theotokos

Maximus of Turin

d. between 408 and 423 · Turin

Bishop of Turin, pastoral preacher

Leo the Great

c. 400 – 461 · Rome

Pope who defined Christ's two natures

Antiochene compiler of earliest Mark commentary

Monk who carried the desert tradition to the West

Gregory the Great

c. 540 – 604 · Rome

Pope, pastor, and father of medieval papacy

Isidore of Seville

c. 560 – 636 · Seville

Archbishop of Seville, encyclopedist of antiquity

Bede

c. 672 – 735 · Wearmouth-Jarrow, Northumbria

Monk of Jarrow, father of English history

John Damascene

c. 675 – 749 · Damascus & Mar Saba

Monk of Mar Saba, defender of icons

Alcuin

c. 735 – 804 · York, Aachen & Tours

Master of Charlemagne's palace school

Rabanus Maurus

c. 780 – 856 · Fulda & Mainz

Abbot of Fulda, teacher of Germany

Carolingian schoolmaster and biblical commentator

Anselm

1033 – 1109 · Aosta, Bec & Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury, father of scholasticism

Theophylact

c. 1050 – after 1107 · Constantinople & Ohrid

Archbishop of Ohrid, Byzantine Gospel commentator

Thomas Aquinas

1225 – 1274 · Roccasecca, Paris & Naples

Dominican master, compiler of the Catena Aurea

Anonymous author mistaken for Chrysostom

Anonymous works once credited to Augustine

Anonymous works once credited to Jerome

Anonymous mystic writing as Paul's Athenian convert

Standard medieval Bible commentary of the schools