Apostolic Fathers

American  

plural noun

1. the fathers of the early Christian church whose lives overlapped those of any of the apostles.

2. the collection of works attributed to them.

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Apostolic Fathers British  

plural noun

1. the Fathers of the early Church who immediately followed the Apostles

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Etymology

Origin of Apostolic Fathers

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

High point of The Apostolic Fathers is the "Letter to Diognetus."

From Time Magazine Archive

The first volume of the series,* The Apostolic Fathers, is already out.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Apostolic Fathers are those who lived nearest to the time, and to some extent contemporary with the Apostles, viz.

From The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia by Miller, William James

St. Barnabas is the next of the Apostolic Fathers demanding our attention.

From Frauds and Follies of the Fathers A Review of the Worth of their Testimony to the Four Gospels by Wheeler, Joseph Mazzini

Thus briefly may these Apostolic Fathers be dismissed, since their testimony fades away as soon as it is examined, as a mist evaporates before the rays of the rising sun.

From The Freethinker's Text Book, Part II. Christianity: Its Evidences, Its Origin, Its Morality, Its History by Besant, Annie Wood