A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Misc
Doctor of the Church 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.
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 North African Bishop of Hippo | St. Jerome *ca.347 September 30 ,420 1298 Dalmatian Monk in Bethlehem | St. John Chrysostom *347 407 1568 Syrian Patriarch of Constantinople | St. Basil *330 January 1 ,379 1568 Anatolian Bishop of Caesarea | St. Gregory Nazianzus *329 January 25 ,389 1568 Anatolian Patriarch of Constantinople | St. Athanasius *298 May 2 ,373 1568 Anatolian 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 â€"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 Egypt ianPatriarch 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.C.D. (Founder) | 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 Apostolic Nuncio , OFM Cap | St. Teresa of Ãvila March 28 ,1515 October 4 ,1582 1970 Spanish Mystic , O.C.D. (Founder) | 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.C.D.
Also venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church . *
Fathers of the Church *
Doctors of the Catholic Church
