Patristics

Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated as Church Fathers. The names derive from the combine forms of Latin pater and Greek pater (Father). The period is generally considered to run from the end of New Testament times or end of the Apostolic Age (c. AD 100) to either AD 451 (the date of the Council of Chalcedon) or to the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.

Major focuses for these theologians during the period are, in chronological order, Christianity's relationship with Judaism; the establishment of the New Testament canon; apologetics (the defense or explanation of Christianity); and doctrinal discussions that sought to achieve consistency of faith, in particular within the Christianized Roman Empire. Following the scholar of Christianity Alister McGrath (1998), several major areas of theology can be seen to have developed during the patristic period: the extent of the New Testament canon, the role of tradition, the fixing of the ecumenical creeds, the two natures of Christ, the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity, the doctrine of the Church, and the doctrine of divine grace.

The church fathers are generally divided into the Ante-Nicene Fathers, those who lived and wrote before the Council of Nicaea (325) and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, those who lived and wrote after 325. Also, the division of the Fathers into Greek and Latin writers is also common. Some of the most prominent Greek Fathers are Justin Martyr, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, and Maximus the Confessor. Among the Latin Fathers are Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, and Gregory the Great.

There were also Church Fathers who wrote in languages other than Greek or Latin such as Coptic, Syriac, Ge'ez, and Armenian, among others. Historically, Chalcedonian Christians have had less interest in these authors since the associated churches ended up rejecting the councils of Chalcedon (becoming Oriental Orthodox), or Ephesus (becoming the Church of the East). Recently this has become to change, with the cooling of the tensions between these branches of Christianity and the Western and Byzantine ones. There are Eastern Catholics who follow oriental rights while remaining in communion with Rome, and at least one organization argues that Eastern and Orthodox Christians now share the same faith.

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