A few from the early centuries of the church were recognized as important teachers, or fathers of the church, by both Western and Eastern ... Formal lists of these doctors were compiled and ...

For many centuries, the church in the West recognized only four Doctors of the Church (Sts. Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome and Gregory the Great) and the church in the East only three (Sts.

He was a spiritual and theological bridge between Eastern and Western Christians,” Pope Francis wrote in the 2022 decree naming Irenaeus a Church doctor. “His name, Irenaeus, expresses that ...

If St. Teresa Benedicta is named a doctor of the Church, she would join 37 other saints with that title, four of whom are women: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), pictured in 1938-1939.

There are currently 37 Doctors of the Church, four women and 33 men, spanning the course of Church history, from Irenaeus of Lyon in the third century to Thérèse of Lisieux in the 19th century.

Pope Francis said on Thursday that he plans to declare St. Irenaeus of Lyon a Doctor of the Church with the title “Doctor unitatis,” meaning “Doctor of Unity.” The pope made the ...

In the centuries following his death, Jerome (c.347-420) was venerated as a saint and as one of the four Doctors of the Latin church. In his own lifetime, however, he was a severely marginalized ...