Doctor of the Church
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In
Catholicism, a
Doctor of the Church (Lat.
docere, to teach) is a
theologian from whose teachings the whole Christian Church is held to have derived great advantage and to whom "eminent learning" and "great sanctity" have been attributed by a proclamation of the
Pope or of an
ecumenical council. This honor is given rarely, posthumously, and only after
canonization or
beatification. No
ecumenical council has yet exercised the prerogative of proclaiming a Doctor of the Church.
Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Pope Gregory I were the original Doctors of the Church and were named in 1298.
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 mystic theology. Augustine and 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 (Aquinas is also seen as one of the most significant Medieval thinkers of Western Europe).
Until 1970, no woman had been named a Doctor of the Church. Some traditionalist Catholics reject the addition of three women Saints to the list of Doctors.
The Catholic Church has named 33 Doctors of the Church.
List of Doctors of the Church
| Name
| Born
| Died
| Promoted
| Nationality
| Activity
|
St. Gregory the Great*
| ca.540
| March 12,604
| 1298
| Italian
| Pope
|
St. Ambrose*
| ca. 340
| April 4, 397
| 1298
| Italian
| Bishop of Milan
|
St. Augustine*
| November 13, 354
| August 28, 430
| 1298
| African
| Bishop of Hippo
|
St. Jerome*
| ca.347
| September 30,420
| 1298
| Dalmatian
| Monk in Bethlehem
|
St. John Chrysostom*
| 347
| 407
| 1568
|
| Patriarch of Constantinople
|
St. Basil*
| 330
| January 1,379
| 1568
|
| Bishop of Caesarea
|
St. Gregory Nazianzus*
| 329
| January 25,389
| 1568
|
| Bishop of Nazianzus
|
St. Athanasius*
| 298
| May 2,373
| 1568
|
| Patriarch of Alexandria
|
St. Thomas Aquinas
| 1225
| March 7, 1274
| 1568
| Italian
| O.P.
|
St. Bonaventure
| 1221
| July 15,1274
| 1588
| Italian
| O.F.M.
|
St. Anselm
| 1033 or 1034
| April 21, 1109
| 1720
| Italian-English
| Archbishop of Canterbury
|
St. Isidore*
| 560
| April 4, 636
| 1722
| Visigothic
| 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
|
St. Bernard
| 1090
| August 21, 1153
| 1830
| French
| O.Cist.
|
St. Hilary of Poitiers*
| 300
| 367
| 1851
| French
| Bishop of Poitiers
|
St. Alphonsus Liguori
| September 27,1696
| August 1,1787
| 1871
| Italian
| Bishop of Sant'Agata de' Goti, C.S.S.R.
|
St. Francis de Sales
| August 21,1567
| December 28,1622
| 1877
| French
| Bishop of Geneve
|
St. Cyril of Alexandria*
| 376
| June 27,444
| 1883
|
| Patriarch of Alexandria
|
St. Cyril of Jerusalem*
| 315
| 386
| 1883
|
| Bishop of Jerusalem
|
St. John Damascene*
| 676
| December 5,749
| 1883
| Syrian
| Monk
|
The Venerable Bede*
| 672
| May 27,735
| 1899
| Anglo-Saxon (English)
| Monk
|
St. Ephraem*
| 306
| 373
| 1920
| Syrian
| Monk
|
St. Peter Canisius
| May 8,1521
| December 21,1597
| 1925
| Dutch
| S.J.
|
St. John of the Cross
| June 24,1542
| December 14,1591
| 1926
| Spanish
| Mystic, O.Carm.
|
St. Robert Bellarmine
| October 4,1542
| September 17,1621
| 1931
| Italian
| Cardinal, S.J.
|
St. Albertus Magnus
| 1193
| November 15,1280
| 1931
| German
| O.P.
|
St. Anthony of Padua
| August 15,1195
| June 13,1231
| 1946
| Portuguese
| O.F.M.
|
St. Lawrence of Brindisi
| July 22,1559
| July 22,1619
| 1959
| Italian
| OFM Cap
|
St. Teresa of Ávila
| March 28,1515
| October 4,1582
| 1970
| Spanish
| Mystic, O.Carm.
|
St. Catherine of Siena
| March 25,1347
| April 29,1380
| 1970
| Italian
| Mystic, O.P.
|
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
| January 2,1873
| September 30,1897
| 1997
| French
| O.Carm.
|
*Also venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
See also
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