Apostolic fathers

Apostolic fathers
Apostolic Ap`os*tol"ic, Apostolical Ap`os*tol"ic*al, a. [L. apostolicus, Gr. ?: cf. F. apostolique.] 1. Pertaining to an apostle, or to the apostles, their times, or their peculiar spirit; as, an apostolical mission; the apostolic age. [1913 Webster]

2. According to the doctrines of the apostles; delivered or taught by the apostles; as, apostolic faith or practice. [1913 Webster]

3. Of or pertaining to the pope or the papacy; papal. [1913 Webster]

{Apostolical brief}. See under {Brief}.

{Apostolic canons}, a collection of rules and precepts relating to the duty of Christians, and particularly to the ceremonies and discipline of the church in the second and third centuries.

{Apostolic church}, the Christian church; -- so called on account of its apostolic foundation, doctrine, and order. The churches of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem were called apostolic churches.

{Apostolic constitutions}, directions of a nature similar to the apostolic canons, and perhaps compiled by the same authors or author.

{Apostolic fathers}, early Christian writers, who were born in the first century, and thus touched on the age of the apostles. They were Polycarp, Clement, Ignatius, and Hermas; to these Barnabas has sometimes been added.

{Apostolic king} (or {majesty}), a title granted by the pope to the kings of Hungary on account of the extensive propagation of Christianity by St. Stephen, the founder of the royal line. It is now a title of the emperor of Austria in right of the throne of Hungary.

{Apostolic see}, a see founded and governed by an apostle; specifically, the Church of Rome; -- so called because, in the Roman Catholic belief, the pope is the successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, and the only apostle who has successors in the apostolic office.

{Apostolical succession}, the regular and uninterrupted transmission of ministerial authority by a succession of bishops from the apostles to any subsequent period. --Hook. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Apostolic Fathers — n. 1. a group of early Christian writers of the late first and early second century traditionally believed to have known some of the Apostles 2. the writings attributed to them …   English World dictionary

  • Apostolic Fathers — The Apostolic Fathers are a small collection of Early Christian authors who lived and wrote in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century. These authors are acknowledged as leaders in the early church, but their… …   Wikipedia

  • apostolic fathers —    The apostolic fathers were Christian writers of the first and second century AD who had a personal relationship with the Apostles and so are considered to be reliable teachers of genuine apostolic doctrine. Prominent among these writers were… …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Apostolic Fathers — The Apostolic Fathers (Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Hermas, Polycarp, and Papias; and the authors of the epistle of Barnabas, the epistle to Diognetus, 2 Clement, and the Didache) form the literary link between the NT period and later Christian… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Apostolic Fathers, The — • Christian writers of the first and second centuries who are known, or are considered, to have had personal relations with some of the Apostles, or to have been so influenced by them that their writings may be held as echoes of genuine Apostolic …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • APOSTOLIC FATHERS —    Fathers of the Church who lived the same time as the Apostles: Clemens, Barnabas Polycarp, Ignatius, and Hermas …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Apostolic Fathers — 1. the fathers of the early Christian church whose lives overlapped those of any of the apostles. 2. the collection of works attributed to them. [1820 30] * * * …   Universalium

  • Apostolic Fathers —    See Fathers …   American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  • Apostolic Fathers — Ap′ostol′ic Fa′thers n. pl. rel the fathers of the early Christian church …   From formal English to slang

  • Apostolic Fathers — 1. the fathers of the early Christian church whose lives overlapped those of any of the apostles. 2. the collection of works attributed to them. [1820 30] …   Useful english dictionary

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