Last of the Fathers is a title adscribed to the Catholic saint and doctor of the Church Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153).[1]
The term appears in the Doctor Mellifluus encyclical by Pius XII, quoted from French monk and scholar Jean Mabillon, and is also part of the subtitle of the letter.[2] The concept follows from the Western Christian view of a finished "Patristic Age" superseded by the advent of Scholasticism.[3]
Pope Benedict XVI also used the term and defended it in a 2009 general audience. Despite the title is mostly assigned to Bernard, it has also been used regarding John of Damascus (675–749).[4]
The Eastern Orthodox Church rejects the title as it believes the Patristic Age can not be given an end point. Nevertheless, some Eastern Christians consider John of Damascus, Gregory I or Isidore of Seville as the last Church Fathers from East and West.[3]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Merton, Thomas (1981). The Last of the Fathers: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the encyclical letter Doctor Mellifluus. Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 978-0-15-649438-0.
- ^ Pius XII (24 May 1953). Doctor Mellifluus. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
- ^ a b Florovsky, Georges (1987). "St. Gregory Palamas and the Tradition of the Fathers" (PDF). The Collected Works of Georges Florovsky. Vol. 1. Vaduz: Buchervertriebsanstalt. p. 110.
- ^ "Was this saint the last of the Church Fathers?". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
External links edit
- General audience of Benedict XVI on Bernard as Last of the Fathers at the official Holy See website.