Last of the Fathers is a title adscribed to the Catholic saint and doctor of the Church Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153).[1]

Etching of Bernard de Clairvaux by Jean Morin.

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of the subtitle of the letter.[2] The concept follows from the Western Christian view of a finished "Patristic Age" superseded by the advent of Scholasticism.[3]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
  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Pius XII (24 May 1953). Doctor Mellifluus. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Was this saint the last of the Church Fathers?". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
edit