John Chrysostom: Who Are The Early Church Fathers?

Who are the early church fathers?

The age of the church fathers begins with the apostles and the first disciples who had the privilege of personal contact with the Lord Jesus. They are the hearers of the Incarnate Word who kept and handed on the words of the Word. The age of the apostles ends with the death of John the Evangelist at the close of the first century.

The patristic period began with some of the fathers who remembered the apostles John or Peter personally. They did not see Jesus in the flesh, but they had a personal share in the transmission of the apostles ' testimony.

The golden period of the fathers runs from the fourth to the sixth century. Most date the end of the age of the Fathers of the West with the death of Isidore

After his death (or according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek epithet chrysostomos, meaning "golden mouthed", rendered in English as Chrysostom. Chrysostom is known within Christianity chiefly as a preacher and theologian, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church; he is the patron saint of orators in the Roman Catholic Church. Chrysostom is also noted for eight of his sermons that played a considerable part in the history of Christian antisemitism, diatribes against Judaizers composed while a presbyter in Antioch, which were extensively cited by the Nazis in their ideological campaign against the

Maximus the Confessor

Maximus the Confessor (also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople) (c.580–13 August 662) was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. However, he gave up this life in the political sphere to enter into the monastic life.

After moving to Carthage, Maximus studied several Neo-Platonist writers and became a prominent author. When one of his friends began espousing the Christological position known asMonothelitism, Maximus was drawn into the controversy, in which he supported the Chalcedonian position that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. His Christological positions eventually resulted in his torture and exile, soon after which he died. However, his theology was vindicated by the Third Council of Constantinople, and he was venerated as a saint soon after his death. His feast day is celebrated twice during the year: on 21 January and on 13 August. His title of Confessormeans that he suffered for the faith, but not to the point of death, and thus is distinguished from a martyr. His Life of the Virgin is thought to be the earliest complete biography of Mary, the mother of