Ancient TalkTimeline of the Fathers
From the first century to the twentieth: the writers in the Ancient Talk library, in order. “c.” marks an approximate date. The date on the left is roughly when each was active.
Apostolic age
- c. 96
St Clement of Rome
d. c. 99
Bishop of Rome; around AD 96 he wrote to the church at Corinth urging peace.
- c. 100
The Didache
late 1st or early 2nd c.
An anonymous early church manual on the Christian way of life and worship.
- c. 108
St Ignatius of Antioch
d. c. 108
Bishop of Antioch who wrote seven letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome.
Second and third centuries
- c. 155
St Justin Martyr
c. 100 – c. 165
Philosopher and apologist who explained the faith to the emperor; martyred in Rome.
- c. 180
St Irenaeus of Lyons
c. 130 – c. 202
Bishop of Lyons, a hearer of Polycarp; defended the apostolic faith against Gnosticism.
- c. 270
The Desert Fathers
3rd – 5th c.
Monks and hermits of Egypt, beginning with St Anthony the Great (c. 251–356).
The age of the great councils
- c. 318
St Athanasius
c. 296 – 373
Bishop of Alexandria and defender of the Nicene Creed, exiled five times.
- c. 350
St Cyril of Jerusalem
c. 313 – 386
Bishop of Jerusalem whose lectures prepared new Christians for baptism.
- c. 360
St Ephrem the Syrian
c. 306 – 373
Deacon and hymn-writer of Nisibis and Edessa, the “Harp of the Spirit.”
- c. 375
St Basil the Great
c. 330 – 379
Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; monastic founder and theologian of the Holy Spirit.
- c. 380
St Gregory the Theologian
c. 329 – 390
Gregory of Nazianzus, Cappadocian Father and defender of the Trinity at Constantinople.
- c. 380
St Gregory of Nyssa
c. 335 – c. 395
Basil’s younger brother, a Cappadocian Father and profound mystical writer.
- c. 390
St John Chrysostom
c. 347 – 407
Preacher of Antioch and Archbishop of Constantinople, called “Golden-Mouthed”.
- c. 400
St Augustine of Hippo
354 – 430
North African bishop whose Confessions and City of God shaped Western Christianity.
The East after Rome
- c. 640
St Maximus the Confessor
c. 580 – 662
Monk who confessed Christ’s two wills, divine and human, and died in exile.
- 7th c.
St Isaac the Syrian
7th century
Monk and briefly bishop of Nineveh in the Church of the East, beloved teacher of prayer and mercy.
- c. 730
St John of Damascus
c. 675 – c. 749
Monk near Jerusalem who summarised the faith of the Fathers and defended icons.
Later Christian classics
- c. 1420
Thomas à Kempis
c. 1380 – 1471
Augustinian canon in the Netherlands, traditionally credited with The Imitation of Christ.
- c. 1670
Brother Lawrence
c. 1614 – 1691
Carmelite lay brother in Paris who practised the presence of God in the kitchen.
- 1782
The Philokalia
compiled 1782
Anthology of the Fathers on watchfulness and the prayer of the heart, published in Venice.
- 1908
G.K. Chesterton
1874 – 1936
English writer and apologist, author of Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.