The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (765 page)

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Authors: John Bowker

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Father
.
The ancient Christian title of a
bishop
, from which two different modern senses derive.
1. Since the 19th cent. in English-speaking countries, the title has been used by and of all
Roman Catholic
priests, and it is also customary in Orthodox and
Anglo-Catholic
usage.
2. The ‘Fathers of the Church’ are those Christian writers (not necessarily bishops) characterized by antiquity, orthodoxy of doctrine, holiness of life, and the approval of the church.
Father of secrets
(Babylonian Jewish scholar)
:
Fathers
(text in the Mishnah)
:
see
AVOT
.
F
ti
a, al-S
ra al-F
ti
a
,
or F
ti
at al-Kit
b
.

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