16,951
edits
Changes
m
link
[[Image:John of Damascus2.jpg|right|thumb|St. [[John of Damascus]], just one example of a Post-Nicene Father]]'''Patristics''' (or '''patrology''', from the Greek πατηρ meaning ''father'' and λογος meaning ''word'') is the study of the writings of early Christian writers, commonly referred to as the [[Church Fathers]]. It is considered a branch of [[theology]].
The genre is generally considered to run from the end of [[New Testament]] times (around AD 100) until around the eighth century. The writings of the Church Fathers (and the ecclesiastical writers in general) are generally divided into the Ante-Nicene, those who lived and wrote before the [[First Ecumenical Council|Council of Nicaea]] (AD 325), and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, those who lived and wrote after the [[First Ecumenical Council]]. In addition, the division of the fathers into Greek and Latin writers is also common, but this is typically a Western phenomenon on the part of Western patrologists. Examples of Greek Fathers are [[Justin Martyr]] and [[Cyril of Alexandria]]. Among the Latin Fathers are [[Tertullian]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]]. The writings of the Church Fathers are generally divided into the Ante-Nicene, those who lived and wrote before the Council of [[Nicaea ]] (AD 325), and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, those who lived and wrote after the [[First Ecumenical Council]], up until the end of Byzantine period. More specifically, apart from the content of teaching of the Fathers, patrology examines also the genuineness of their work, the influences they accepted, as well as the sources that they used.
==Source==
