Doctor_of_the_Church

Isidore of Seville, depicted with a book, common iconographical object for a doctor.
In the Roman Catholic Church, a Doctor of the Church (Latin doctor, teacher, from Latin docere, to teach) is a saint from whose writings the whole Church is held to have derived great advantage, and to whom "eminent learning" (eminens doctrina) and "great sanctity" (insignis vitae sanctitas) are attributed by a proclamation of a pope or of an ecumenical council, although historically no ecumenical council has yet exercised the prerogative of proclaiming a Doctor of the Church. This honor is given rarely, only posthumously, and only after canonization. The Roman Catholic Church has, to date, named 33 Doctors of the Church.
Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Pope Gregory I were the original Doctors of the Church and were named in 1298. They are known collectively as the Great Doctors of the Western Church. The four Great Doctors of the Eastern Church, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Athanasius, were recognized in 1568, by Pope St. Pius V. The revered Catalan philosopher Ramon Llull (1232-1315), dubbed "Doctor Illuminatus," is not officially considered a Doctor of the Church.

Contents

1 Roman Catholic Church

1.1 List of Doctors of the Church
1.2 Other parts of the Roman Catholic Church


2 Other churches

2.1 Eastern Orthodox Church
2.2 Armenian Church
2.3 Assyrian Church of the East
2.4 Anglicanism
2.5 Lutherans


3 The nature of naming Doctors of the Church
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
8 Credits



The Roman Catholic Church recognizes that the Doctors of the Church are not necessarily free from error. Furthermore, besides the 33 official Doctors in Roman Catholicism, some parts of the Catholic Church have recognized other individuals with this title, and some other Christian Churches such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Armenian Church, and the Anglican Church have created their own lists that may not be as tightly official as the official list of the Roman Catholic Church. All this indicates considerable flexibility, openness, and diversity on the part of the whole Christian Church.

Roman Catholic Church
Of the 33 Doctors of the Church named in the Roman Catholic Church, the 17 who died before the formal Great Schism in 1054 (marked * in the list below) are also venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among these 33 are 25 from the West and eight from the East; three women; 18 bishops, 29 priests, one deacon, two nuns, one lay woman; and 24 from Europe, three from Africa, six from Asia. No martyr is included, since inclusion in the list applies to confessors. Until 1970, no woman had been named a Doctor of the Church, but since then three additions to the list have been women. In this regard, it is interesting to quote a line from the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967): "it would seem that no woman is likely to be named because of the link between this title and the teaching office, which is limited to males."[1]
The Doctors' works vary greatly in subject and form. Some, such as Pope Gregory I and Ambrose were prominent writers of letters and short treatises. Catherine of Siena and John of the Cross wrote mystical theology. Augustine and Robert Bellarmine defended the Church against heresy. Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People provides the best information on England in the early middle ages. Systematic theologians include the Scholastic philosophers Anselm, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas.

List of Doctors of the Church


Name
Born
Died
Promoted
Ethnicity
Post


St. Gregory the Great *
c. 540
March 12, 604
1298
Italian
Pope


St. Ambrose *
c. 340
April 4, 397
1298
Italian
Bishop of Milan


St. Augustine, Doctor Gratiae *
November 13, 354
August 28, 430
1298
Numidian
Bishop of Hippo


St. Jerome *
c. 347
September 30, 420
1298
Dalmatian
Priest, monk


St. John Chrysostom *
347
407
1568
Syrian
Archbishop of Constantinople


St. Basil *
330
January 1, 379
1568
Cappadocian
Bishop of Caesarea


St. Gregory Nazianzus *
329
January 25, 389
1568
Cappadocian
Archbishop of Constantinople


St. Athanasius *
298
May 2, 373
1568
Egyptian
Patriarch of Alexandria


St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis
1225
March 7, 1274
1568
Italian
Priest, Theologian, O.P.


St. Bonaventure, Doctor Seraphicus
1221
July 15, 1274
1588
Italian
Cardinal Bishop of Albano, theologian, O.F.M.


St. Anselm, Doctor Magnificus
1033 or 1034
April 21, 1109
1720
Italian
Archbishop of Canterbury


St. Isidore *
560
April 4, 636
1722
Spanish
Bishop of Seville


St. Peter Chrysologus *
406
450
1729
Italian
Archbishop of Ravenna


St. Leo the Great *
400
November 10, 461
1754
Italian
Pope


St. Peter Damian
1007
February 21/22,1072
1828
Italian
Cardinal (Catholicism) Bishop of Ostia, monk, O.S.B.


St. Bernard, Doctor Mellifluus
1090
August 21, 1153
1830
French
Priest, O.Cist.


St. Hilary of Poitiers *
300
367
1851
French
Bishop of Poitiers


St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor Zelantissimus
September 27, 1696
August 1, 1787
1871
Italian
Bishop of Sant'Agata de' Goti, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer


St. Francis de Sales
August 21, 1567
December 28, 1622
1877
French
Bishop of Geneva


St. Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor Incarnationis *
376
June 27, 444
1883
Egyptian
Patriarch of Alexandria


St. Cyril of Jerusalem *
315
386
1883
Jerusalem
Bishop of Jerusalem


St. John Damascene *
676
December 5, 749
1883
Syrian
Priest, monk


St. Bede the Venerable *
672
May 27, 735
1899
English
Priest, monk


St. Ephrem *
306
373
1920
Syrian
Deacon


St. Peter Canisius
May 8, 1521
December 21, 1597
1925
Dutch
priest, S.J.


St. John of the Cross, Doctor Mysticus
June 24, 1542
December 14, 1591
1926
Spanish
Priest, mystic, Discalced Carmelites (Founder)


St. Robert Bellarmine
October 4, 1542
September 17, 1621
1931
Italian
Archbishop of Capua, theologian, Society of Jesus


St. Albertus Magnus, Doctor Universalis
1193
November 15,1280
1931
German
Bishop, theologian, Dominican Order


St. Anthony of Padua and Lisbon, Doctor Evangelicus
August 15, 1195
June 13, 1231
1946
Portuguese
Priest, Franciscan


St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor Apostolicus
July 22, 1559
July 22, 1619
1959
NItalian
Priest, diplomat, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin


St. Teresa of Ávila
March 28, 1515
October 4, 1582
1970
Spanish
Mystic, Discalced Carmelites (Founder)


St. Catherine of Siena
March 25, 1347
April 29, 1380
1970
Italian
Mystic, Dominican Order


St. Thérèse of Lisieux
January 2, 1873
September 30, 1897
1997
French
Discalced Carmelites (Nun)


*Also venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Other parts of the Roman Catholic Church
In addition, some parts of the Roman Catholic Church have recognized other individuals with this title. In Spain, Fulgentius of Ruspe and Leander of Seville have been recognized with this title. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has recognized Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory the Great, Augustine, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom, as well as Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac the Elder, Pope Leo I, John of Damascus, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius of Salamis, and Gregory of Nyssa. The Chaldean Catholic Church has recognized Polycarp, Eustathius of Antioch, Meletius, Alexander of Jerusalem, Athanasius, Basil, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Fravitta of Constantinople, Ephrem the Syrian, Jacob of Nisibis, James of Serug, Isaac of Armenia, Isaac of Nineve, and Maruthas.

Other churches
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church honors many of the pre-schismatic saints as well, but the application of the term Doctor or Father of the Church is somewhat more flexible than in the West, and it is misleading to look for lists of officially recognized Doctors. An Eastern Orthodox understanding of such pillars of the Church include saints such as Photios I of Constantinople, Gregory Palamas, Nicodemus the Hagiorite, and possibly even more recent saints such as Nektarios Kefalas. An exception to this flexibility is the grouping of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom, universal teachers or Doctors who are collectively known as the "Three Hierarchs" and represent the Christianization of the Hellenic tradition and education.

Armenian Church
The Armenian Church recognizes as Doctors of the Church Hierotheus the Thesmothete, Dionysius the Areopagite, Pope Sylvester I, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, Ephrem the Syrian, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius of Salamis, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, and their own saints Mesrob, Eliseus the historiographer, Moses of Chorene, David the Philosopher, Gregory of Narek, Nerses III the Builder, and Nerses of Lambron.

Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East recognizes as Doctors of the Church Eliseus, Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Nestorius.

Anglicanism
Anglicans accept the pre-Reformation Doctors of the Church, laying special emphasis upon Eastern theologians. Richard Hooker is generally counted amongst the Doctors of the Church, being the only "Anglican" to receive this distinction.[2] Amongst High Church believers, the "Caroline Divines" in the seventeenth century golden age of Anglican scholarship are usually awarded the status of Church Doctors. Anglo Catholics may recognize the post-Reformation Roman Catholic Doctors as well.

Lutherans
The Lutheran Calendar of Saints does not use the full term "Doctor of the Church," but it does refer to Martin Luther by the term "Doctor."

The nature of naming Doctors of the Church
The proclamation of a pope about naming a Doctor of the Church even in the Roman Catholic Church is not in any way an extra cathedral decision through the magisterium, nor does it mean to declare that the teaching of any Doctor is free from error. "It is, indeed, well known that the very greatest of them are not wholly immune from error."[3] "Their writings … are not necessarily free of error in all respects."[4] Doctrinally, for example, Roman Catholicism recognizes error in the theory of Ambrose and Jerome that the fall of Adam and Eve was a sexual sin, and says that this theory "cannot be accepted" by the Catholic Church,[5] although these two theologians were among the four original Latin Doctors of the Church. Furthermore, there are diverse lists of Doctors in some parts of the Roman Catholic Church and some other Churches such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Anglican Church. All this shows a considerable level of flexibility and openness on the part of the Church. And yet, the Doctors of the Church have all been recognized as the most exemplary and inspiring believers.

See also
Fathers of the Church
Notes

↑ New Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v., "Doctors of the Church."

↑ Society of Archbishop Justus, "Richard Hooker, Doctor of the Church." Retrieved February 16, 2009.

↑ Catholic Encyclopedia, "Doctors of the Church." Retrieved February 18, 2009.

↑ Catholic Forum, "Doctor of the Church." Retrieved February 18, 2009.

↑ Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, 1974), 107.


ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
McGinn, Bernard. Doctors of the Church: Thirty-Three Men and Women Who Shaped Christianity. Crossroad Publishing Company, 1999. ISBN 0824517717
Rengers, Christopher. The 33 Doctors Of The Church. Tan Books & Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0895554402
External links
All links retrieved October 16, 2017.

Catholic Encyclopedia: "Doctors of the Church"

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