List of Constantinople patriarchs

Doctor of the Church (Latin doctor, teacher, from Latin docere, to teach) is a title given by a variety of Christian churches to individuals whom they recognize as having been of particular importance, particularly regarding their additions to theological or doctrinal matters.
==Catholicism==
In Catholicism, this title is given to a saint from whose writings the whole Church is held to have derived great advantage and to whom "eminent learning" and "great sanctity" have been attributed by a proclamation of a pope or of an ecumenical council. This honour is given rarely, only posthumously, and only after canonization. No ecumenical council has yet exercised the prerogative of proclaiming a Doctor of the Church.
Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Pope Gregory I were the original Doctors of the Church and were named in 1298. They are known collectively as the Great Doctors of the Western Church. The four Great Doctors of the Eastern Church, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Athanasius of Alexandria were recognized in 1568 by Pope St. Pius V. Although the revered Catalan philosopher Ramon Llull was dubbed "Doctor Illuminatus," he is not officially considered a Doctor of the Church.
thumb|St. Thérèse of Lisieux in the Carmelite Brown Scapular, 1895.
The Doctors' works vary greatly in subject and form. Some, such as Pope Gregory I and Ambrose were prominent writers of letters and short treatises. Catherine of Siena and John of the Cross wrote mystical theology. Augustine and Bellarmine defended the Church against heresy. Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People provides the best information on England in the early Middle Ages. Systematic theologians include the Scholastic philosophers Anselm, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas.
Until 1970, no woman had been named a Doctor of the Church, but since then three additions to the list have been women:Saints Teresa of Ávila (St. Teresa of Jesus), Catherine of Siena and Thérèse de Lisieux (St. Therese the Little Flower of the Child Jesus). Saints Teresa and Therese were both Discalced Carmelites.
Traditionally, in the Liturgy, the Office of Doctors was distinguished from that of Confessors by two changes: the Gospel reading Vos estis sal terrae ("You are the salt of the earth"), Matthew 5:13-19, and the eighth Respond at Matins, from Ecclesiasticus 15:5, In medio Ecclesiae aperuit os ejus, * Et implevit eum Deus spiritu sapientiae et intellectus. * Jucunditatem et exsultationem thesaurizavit super eum. ("In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth, * And God filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding. * He heaped upon him a treasure of joy and gladness.")
As of 2009, the Catholic Church has named 33 Doctors of the Church. Of these, the 17 who died before the Great Schism of 1054 (marked * in the list below) are also venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among these 33 are 25 from the West and 8 from the East; 3 women; 18 bishops, 29 priests, 1 deacon, 2 nuns, 1 consecrated virgin; 24 from Europe, 3 from Africa, 6 from Asia.
===List of Doctors of the Catholic Church===
(For earlier authorities on Christian doctrine see Church Fathers and Ante-Nicene Fathers).
Name 	Year Born 	Died 	Promoted	Ethnicity 	Post
St. Gregory the Great* 	540 (ca.) 	March 12, 604 	1298 	Italian 	Pope
St. Ambrose* 	340 (ca.) 	April 4, 397 	1298 	Italian 	Bishop of Milan
St. Augustine, Doctor Gratiae* 	354 	August 28, 430 	1298 	Berber from Numidia 	Bishop of Hippo
St. Jerome* 	347 (ca.) 	September 30, 420 	1298 	Dalmatian 	Priest, monk
St. John Chrysostom* 	347 	407 	1568 	Syrian (Ethnic Greek) 	Archbishop of Constantinople
St. Basil* 	330 	January 1, 379 	1568 	Cappadocian (Ethnic Greek)	Bishop of Caesarea
St. Gregory Nazianzus* 	329 	January 25, 389 	1568 	Cappadocian (Ethnic Greek)	Archbishop of Constantinople
St. Athanasius* 	298 	May 2, 373 	1568 	Egyptian (Ethnic Greek) 	Patriarch of Alexandria
St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis	1225 	March 7, 1274 	1568 	Italian 	Priest, Theologian, O.P.
St. Bonaventure, Doctor Seraphicus 	1221 	July 15, 1274 	1588 	Italian 	Cardinal Bishop of Albano, Theologian, Minister General, O.F.M.
St. Anselm, Doctor Magnificus 	1033 or 1034	April 21, 1109 	1720 	Italian 	Archbishop of Canterbury, O.S.B.
St. Isidore* 	560 	April 4, 636 	1722 	Spanish 	Bishop of Seville
St. Peter Chrysologus* 	406 	450 	1729 	Italian 	Bishop of Ravenna
St. Leo the Great* 	400 	November 10, 461 	1754 	Italian 	Pope
St. Peter Damian 	1007 	February 21/22,1072	1828 	Italian 	Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, monk, O.S.B.
St. Bernard, Doctor Mellifluus 	1090 	August 21, 1153 	1830 	French 	Priest, O.Cist.
St. Hilary of Poitiers* 	300 	367 	1851 	French 	Bishop of Poitiers
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor Zelantissimus 	1696 	August 1, 1787 	1871 	Italian 	Bishop of Sant'Agata de' Goti, C.Ss.R. (Founder)
St. Francis de Sales 	1567 	December 28, 1622 	1877 	French 	Bishop of Geneva
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor Incarnationis* 	376 	June 27, 444 	1883 	Egyptian 	Patriarch of Alexandria
St. Cyril of Jerusalem* 	315 	386 	1883 	Jerusalem 	Bishop of Jerusalem
St. John Damascene* 	676 	December 5, 749 	1883 	Syrian 	Priest, monk
St. Bede the Venerable* 	672 	May 27, 735 	1899 	Northumbrian 	Priest, monk
St. Ephrem* 	306 	373 	1920 	Syrian 	Deacon
St. Peter Canisius 	1521 	December 21, 1597 	1925 	Dutch 	Priest, S.J.
St. John of the Cross, Doctor Mysticus 	1542 	December 14, 1591 	1926 	Spanish 	Priest, mystic, O.C.D. (Founder)
St. Robert Bellarmine 	1542 	September 17, 1621 	1931 	Italian 	Archbishop of Capua, Theologian, S.J.
St. Albertus Magnus, Doctor Universalis 	1193 	November 15, 1280 	1931 	German 	Bishop, Theologian, O.P.
St. Anthony of Padua and Lisbon, Doctor Evangelicus 	1195 	June 13, 1231 	1946 	Portuguese 	Priest, O.F.M.
St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor Apostolicus 	1559 	July 22, 1619 	1959 	Italian 	Priest, Diplomat, O.F.M. Cap.
St. Teresa of Ávila 	1515 	October 4, 1582 	1970 	Spanish 	Mystic, O.C.D. (Founder)
St. Catherine of Siena 	1347 	April 29, 1380 	1970 	Italian 	Mystic, O.P. (Consecrated virgin)
St. Thérèse de Lisieux, Doctor Amoris 	1873 	September 30, 1897 	1997 	French 	O.C.D. (Nun)
In addition, parts of the Roman Catholic Church have recognized other individuals with this title. In Spain, Fulgentius of Ruspe and Leander of Seville have been recognized with this title.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has recognized Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory, Augustine, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom, as well as Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac the Elder, Pope Leo I, John of Damascus, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius of Salamis, and Gregory of Nyssa. The Chaldean Catholic Church has recognized Polycarp, Eustathius of Antioch, Meletius, Alexander of Jerusalem, Athanasius, Basil, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Fravitta of Constantinople, Ephrem the Syrian, Jacob of Nisibis, James of Serug, Isaac of Armenia, Isaac of Nineve, and Maruthas.
==Eastern Orthodoxy==
The Eastern Orthodox church honours many of the pre-schism saints as well, but the application of the term Doctor or Father of the Church is somewhat more flexible than in the West, and it is misleading to look for lists of officially recognized Doctors. An Eastern Orthodox understanding of such pillars of the Church include saints such as Photios I of Constantinople, Gregory Palamas, Nicodemus the Hagiorite and possibly even more recent saints such as Nectarius Kefalas. An exception to this flexibility is the grouping of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, universal teachers or Doctors who are collectively known as the Three Hierarchs and represent the Christianization of the Hellenic tradition and education.
==Armenian Church==
The Armenian church recognizes as Doctors of the Church Hierotheus the Thesmothete, Dionysius the Areopagite, Pope Sylvester I, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, Ephrem the Syrian, Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius of Salamis, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, and their own saints Mesrob, Eliseus the historiographer, Moses of Chorene, David the philosopher, Gregory of Narek, Nerses III the Builder, and Nerses of Lambron. (See also Vardapet)
==Assyrian Church of the East==
The Assyrian Church of the East recognizes as Doctors of the Church Eliseus, Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Nestorius.
==Anglicanism==
The churches of the Anglican Communion tend not to use the term "Doctor of the Church" in their calendars of saints, preferring expressions such as "Teacher of the Faith". Those thus recognized include figures from before and after the Reformation, most of whom are also recognized as Doctors of the Church by Rome. Those designated Teachers of the Faith in the Church of England's calendar of saints are as follows:
*Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus
*Hilary of Poitiers
*Francis de Sales
*Thomas Aquinas
*Cyril of Jerusalem
*Frederick Denison Maurice
*William of Ockham
*Anselm
*Catherine of Siena
*Athanasius
*Ephrem of Syria
*Sundar Singh of India
*Cyril of Alexandria
*Irenæus
*Bonaventure
*Gregory of Nyssa and his sister Macrina
*Brooke Foss Westcott
*Jeremy Taylor
*Bernard of Clairvaux
*Augustine of Hippo
*Gregory the Great
*John Chrysostom
*Sergei of Radonezh
*Jerome
*Teresa of Avila
*Richard Hooker
*William Temple
*Leo the Great
*John of Damascus
*Ambrose
*John of the Cross
Since all of the above appear in the calendar at the level of Lesser Festival or Commemoration, their celebration is optional. Similarly, because "In the Calendar of the Saints, diocesan and other local provision may be made to supplement the national Calendar",Common Worship (Main Volume), p. 530 those Doctors of the Church recognized by Rome may also be celebrated in the Church of England.
==Lutherans==
The Lutheran calendar of saints does not use the full term "Doctor of the Church," but the calendar of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod does refer to Martin Luther by the title of "doctor," in recognition that he held a doctoral degree and not in the sense used in "Doctor of the Church."
==See also==
*Fathers of the Church
==References==
*Holweck, F. G., A Biographical Dictionary of the Saint. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
==External links==
*Doctors of the Catholic Church
*Catholic Encyclopedia: Doctor of the Church 
* Doctors of the Church Produced by EWTN hosted by Fr. Charles Connor