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Apostolic Fathers

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.

Origin of Apostolic Fathers

First recorded in 1820–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for apostolic fathers

Apostolic Fathers

pl n
  1. the Fathers of the early Church who immediately followed the Apostles
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012