Doctors of the First Millennium

The Doctors of the Church: An Introduction to the Church’s Great Teachers 2 Volumes

Thirty-three men and women have been declared Doctors of the Church, eight of whom in the first millennium (Vol. 1) were from the Eastern Church. All the rest were from Europe. Somehow it seems appropriate that both the first and the last Doctors of the first millennium (St. Athanasius and St. John Damascene) were from the East, where Christianity began. The second millennium (Vol. 2) produced the real giants among the Doctors of the Church, three of whom were absolutely remarkable women. In both volumes the author has provided brief profiles of the life of each Doctor followed by one or more writings characteristic of his or her work. No pretense is made that these short summaries of their lives are full biographies or that their writings are more than samples. This work is intended to be a popular introduction to the Church’s great teachers.

About the Author: John F. Fink is Editor Emeritus of The Criterion, the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis of which he was editor from 1984 to 1997. Prior to that he was with Our Sunday Visitor for 30 years, 11 of them as president and publisher. Past President of the Catholic Press Association and the International Federation of Catholic Press Associations, he has written seven other works for STPALS/Alba House.