Father-in-law : 1. QH, cham (from !Tcn, to join in affinity ; see Mother-in-laav), Gen. xxxviii, 13, 25; 1 Sam. iv, 19, 21. 2. 'rH, chothen (participle of 'rn, to marry), one mamjing a daugher, Exod. iii, 1; iv, i8; xviii, 1-27; Num. x, 29; Judg. i, 16; iv, 11; xix, 4, 7, 9. 3. TTH'SicpiQ (strictly one related b}' mar- riage, like No. 1), John xviii, 13. See Affinity.
Father's Brother, 'li'^, dod (strictly one hdovcd, a friend, as in Isa. v, 1), an uncle, (q. v.). Num. xxxvi, 11; 2 Kings xxiv, 17; fem. FATHER'S SISTER, fini^, dodah', Exod. vi, 20, an atmt (q. v.).
Fathers of the Church {Patres Ecclesice), a name applied to certain ancient Christian writers, who have preserved in their writings, to a certain ex- tent, tlie history, doctrines, and traditions of the ear- ly Church. The use of the name "father" for this purpose originated in the Oriental habit of styliug the relation of teacher and pupil that of "father" and "son." So Alexander the Great called Aristotle his "father," Elisha calls Elijah his "father" (2 Kings ii, 12); the pupils of the prophets were called "sons of the prophets." At an early period in the Christian Church, this title was given to preachers and teachers ; and later, the title "father" (^papa, pope) was given to bishops especially.
The Greek Church closes the list of the "fathers,"
properly so called, with John of Damascus (f 754),
the Latin Church with Gregory the Great (f 604).
The use of the word "fathers" is bj' Protestants
"limited to the more distinguished teachers of the
first five or six centuries, excepting, of course, the
apostles, who stand far above them all as the inspired
organs of the Hoh' Ghost. It applies, thercfoie, to
the period of the oecumenical formation of doctrines,
I before the separation of Eastern and Western Chris-
I tendom'' (Schaff, Church Histur;/, i, 454). The Roman
I theologians make the following qualities the criterion
I of a "Ciuirch father," viz. antiquity, orthodoxy, sanc-
1 tity of life, and the approval of the Churcli (Fcssler,
j Imtitutiones Patrolngio', i, 26). Accordingly, the Ro-
j man Church denies the title fathers to such men as
Origen, Tertullian, Lactantius, Euseliius, etc., because
i their writings are not held to be in all respects ortho-
; dox ; they are designated, not as j^aireg, but as ecrip-
I tores ecclesiastici (ecclesiastical writers). At a later
I period, the title doctnrcs ecclesia (doctors of the Church)
was given to writers supposed to liave the qualities
I cited above as constituting the criterion of " a father,'
] sul:stituting eminens eruditio for ontiqiiifas. A decree
1 of po])c Boniface (A.D. 1298) assigns the title mafrni
ccclesice doctores to the four Latin fathers Ambrose, Au-
FATHERS OF THE CHURCH 497 FATHERS OF THE CHURCH
gustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great. Among the Greeks, the title doctores ecclesice was given to Atli- anasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and Chr^'sostom, and the Latins recognise them as such. To a few great men among tlie scholastics the same title was given, with an additional epithet to designate some special intellactiial quality in gift ; thus, in the l"2th and 13th centuries, the following doctors of the Church were thus honored : Thomas Aquinas, Angelicus ; Jo- hannes Bonaventura, Seraphicus ; Johannes Duns Sco- tus, Subtilis ; Raimundus Lullius, Illuminatus ; Ala- nus de Insulis (de I'lole), Universalis ; Durandus de S. Pour^ain, Resolutissimus ; Gregorius de Rimini, Au- thsnticus ; Johannes Taulcrus, Illuminatus ; Johannes Gersonus, Cliristianissimus ; Alexander Hales, Irre- fragabilis ; Roger Bacon, Admirabilis ; "William Oc- cam, Singularis. Since 1830, Bernard of Clairvaux has been included among the "doctors," and, since 1852, Hilary of Poitiers. Chronologically, the fathers are divided into three classes, the ajiostolical, the anti- Nicene, and post-Nicene.
I. 'Y\\z Apostolical Fathers are those Cliristian writers (of whom any remains ar3 now extant) who are sup- posed to have been contemporarj' with one or more of the apostles, that is to say, who lived and wrote before A.D. 12Q. There are five names usually given as those of the apostolic fathers, i. e. thore are live men who lived during the age of the apostles, and who did con- verse, or might have conversed with tham, to whom writings still extant have bean ascribed, viz. Barna- bas, Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Poh'carp, Hermas. The following works are generally counted to these writers: 1. The epistle of Barnabas [see Barxabas] ; 2. Two epistles of Clement, bishop of Rome, to the Co- rinthians [see Clement of Rome] ; 3. Several epis- tles of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch [see Ignatius] ; 4. An epistle of Polycarp, bishop of Sm)'rna, to the Phil- ippians [see Polycarp] ; 5. The epistle (of an un- known author) to Diognetus [see Diognetus] ; 6. The book entitled PaUor Ilermcis [see Herhas]. Certiin fragments of Papias are also commonly included among the apostolical fathers. See Papias. Of the writings attributed to those fathers, some at least are of doubt- ful genuineness (on this point, see the individual titles referred to). See the article Apostolical Fathers, vol. i, p. 315.
II. The Anfe-yicsne Fathers are those whose writ- ings date before the Council of Nicaji, A.D. 325. The chief among them are (lists from Eadie, Riddle, Alzog): Justin Martyr, born probably about A.D. 100 ; left Pal- estine 132 ; presented his first Apohgij t ) Antoninus about (140 or) 148 ; wrote his second Apohgij in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, probably about 1G2— 1; has left a variety of other works, and a Didojue with Trijpho the Jew ; suffered martyrdom at Rome about 105.