過去數星期，我們談及教會在最初四個世紀，出現的偉大教父。本週，我們看看教父時代的結束，並列舉聖教會的聖師。

第五世紀

第五世紀，教會舉行了兩次大公會議：四三一年的厄弗所大公會議 和四五一年的加采東大公會議，而聖濟利祿（啟祿）及聖教宗良（大良）一世是當代的傑出人物。

聖濟利祿教導有關基督的天主性和人性在一位格內的結合，成為「聖師的封印」—— 把東方教會鼎盛的眾多教父文獻，劃上驕人的句號。聖教宗良一世則極力主張基督一位二性的真理。

光榮結束

教父時代以聖若望.達瑪瑟（達甦) (ca. 676-749) 終結 。他箸名的「知識泉源」，綜合了整個東方教會的神學思想和教義。在十二世紀，他作品的拉丁譯文，把所有東方教會的精髓，流傳到西方教會。

中世紀時，西方教會也不寂寞，出現了多位傑出的聖人，軒起教父思想的學潮。

聖凱撒利亞(ca. 470-543)是有名氣的講道員，在異教徒中，把聖奧斯定（思定）的主張和講道，發揮淋漓盡致。聖教宗大額我略（國瑞）一世(ca. 540-604)把教會歷來的傳統思想和理論彙集，成了中世紀基督宗教的基礎。聖伯爾納鐸（納德）(1090-1153)熟讀聖盎博羅削（安博)和聖奧斯定的箸作，轉化成自己的一套思想，雖處士林學派scholastics時期，但他效法先前教父研究神學的方式，所以被稱為「最後一位教父」。

聖教聖師

聖教會自中世紀開始，對以講道及箸作教導信眾之傑出聖人追贈「聖師」榮銜，並確認他們為聖教教義可靠的闡釋者。

目前，教會共有三十三位男女聖師，其中多位為聖教教父：

第八世紀的西方（拉丁）教會，已把聖教宗額我略（國瑞）一世、聖盎博羅削（安博）、聖奧斯定（思定）和聖熱羅尼莫（業樂）尊為聖師。而東方（希臘）教會則奉聖巴西略（西略）、聖額我略.納齊盎（國瑞.納祥）和聖若望金口為三大「大公聖師」。在一二九八年，教宗博義八世確認了四位拉丁教父為聖師。

一五六八年，道明會會士教宗聖庇約五世把聖師的榮譽給予東方的三位「大公聖師」，與及聖亞大納削（達修），和另一位道明會聖人—-聖多馬斯.阿奎納（道茂）。一五八八年，方濟會會士教宗思道五世頒給同一榮譽予一位方濟會聖人—-聖文都拉（文德）。

十八世被宣認為聖師的有：聖安色莫（安生）、聖依西多（希道）、聖伯多祿.金言（金言.伯鐸）和聖教宗良一世（大良）。

十九世紀被宣認為聖師的有：聖伯多祿.達彌盎（伯鐸.達勉）、聖伯爾納鐸.加宏索（納德. 格宏）、聖依拉略（怡樂）、聖亞豐索.瑪利亞（雅風）、聖方濟各.撒肋爵（方濟.沙雷）、聖濟利祿（啟祿）、耶路撒冷的聖濟利祿、聖若望.達瑪瑟（若望.達甦）和聖伯達。

二十世紀被宣認為聖師的有：聖愛弗冷（義範）、聖伯多祿.加尼削（伯鐸. 賈宜修）、聖十字架.若望（十字.若望）、聖羅伯多.貝勒明（羅伯.白敏）、聖亞爾伯（大雅伯）、聖安多尼（安道）、聖老楞佐.布林底希（布林底希.樂倫）、聖女大德肋德（大德蘭）、聖女加大利納.栖西那（嘉琳）和聖女嬰孩耶穌.德肋撒（小德蘭）。

「博學者猶如晴空之美，善導者恰似耀世之星。」

In the last few weeks, we looked at the lives and teachings of the Church Fathers in the first four centuries. This week, we are looking at the end of the patristic age and the list of the doctors of the Church.

Christological debates in the 5^th century

There were two ecumenical councils in the 5^th century: the Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The two great figures during these two councils were St. Cyril of Alexandria and St. Leo the Great. St. Cyril taught the hypostatic union—divine and human natures united in the person of Christ. He is called “the seal of the Fathers”, as he brought the golden age of patristic literature to a glorious close in the Orient. St. Leo the Great expressed the Incarnation in decisive terms: two perfect natures in a single person.

Glorious conclusion of the patristic age

St. John Damascene (ca. 676-749) brought the patristic age to a close. In the third part of his principle work, The Source of Knowledge, John summarized the whole of Greek theology. It was the manual of dogmatic theology in the East, and when it was translated into Latin in the 12^th century, it helped to transmit the whole essential of the Greek Fathers to the West.

In the West, there were holy men who helped to transmit patristic thoughts in the middle ages. St. Caesarius of Arles (ca. 470-543), a popular preacher, adapted the doctrine and sermons of St. Augustine to the ways of a still pagan population. St. Gregory the Great (ca. 540-604) gathered together the whole heritage of Christian antiquity and laid the foundation of medieval Christendom. St. Bernard (1090-1153) was well read in the writings of the Fathers, especially St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. He often took their thoughts from their writings, and by a new turn made them his own. Though St. Bernard lived during the age of the scholastics, but he treated theology after the manner of the ancient Fathers, hence he was called “The Last of the Fathers”.

Doctors of the Church

According to the Modern Catholic Dictionary, “Doctor of the Church” is “a title given since the middle ages to certain saints whose writing or preaching is outstanding for guiding the faithful in all periods of the Church’s history.” The Church recognized in the Doctors the authorized interpreters of her doctrine.

Currently there are 33 doctors of the Church, many of whom are Fathers of the Church. St. Gregory the Great, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome were recognized in the Latin Church as doctors by the 8^th century, while in the Greek Church recognized the three great “ecumenical doctors”—St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzen, and St. John Chrysostom. In 1298, Pope Boniface VIII sanctioned the title of “doctor of the Church” for the four Lain Fathers.

In 1568, the Dominican Pope St. Pius V accorded the title to the three “ecumenical doctors” of the Greek Church, to St. Athanasius, and to a Dominican— St. Thomas Aquinas. In 1588, the Franciscan Sixtus V conferred the title to a Franciscan— St. Bonaventure.

In the 18^th century, St. Anselm, St. Isidore of Seville, St. Peter Chrysologus, and St. Leo the Great were named doctors of the Church.

In the 19^th century, St. Peter Damian, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Hilary of Poitiers, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Francis de Sales, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. John Damascene, and St. Bede the Venerable were declared doctors of the Church.

In the 20^th century, St. Ephrem, St. Peter Canisius, St. John of the Cross, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Albertus Magnus, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Lawrence of Brindisi, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Thérèse de Lisieux were named doctors of the Church.

“Those who re learned will be as radiant as the sky in all its beauty; those who instruct the people in goodness will shine like the stars for all eternity.”