Roman Catholics routinely state that the Church Fathers teach Roman Catholic theology. They use them to justify their loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, the Church Fathers did not always agree with each other and sometimes even contradicted themselves.
Following is a table that links many of the Church Fathers under different topics. Some of the quotes may satisfy people and some may not. If you have better quotes for whatever position the Church Fathers teach, perhaps you could send them to me at [email protected]. I’ll check them out and possibly add them here.
| Apocrypha Scripture |
Baptism for Salvation |
Communion Literal Body and Blood |
Eternal Security |
Peter the Rock |
Purgatory | Salvation by Faith Alone |
Sola Scripture |
|
| Ambrose (340?-397) |
Yes | Yes | Yes, No | |||||
| Aphrahat (270-345) |
No | |||||||
| Arthenagoras (133-190) |
No | |||||||
| Athanasius (300?-375) |
No | Yes, No | ||||||
| Augustine (354-430) |
No | Yes | No | Yes, No | Yes | |||
| Basil (330-379) |
No | |||||||
| Chrysostom (349-407) |
No | Yes | Yes, No | |||||
| Clement of Alexandria (150-215) |
No | Yes | ||||||
| Clement of Rome (?-110) |
No | Yes | ||||||
| Cyprian of Carthage (200?-258) |
No | Yes | ||||||
| Cyril of Jerusalem (315?-386) |
Yes, No | |||||||
| Eusebius (263-339) |
No | |||||||
| Gregory of Nyssa (330-394) |
No | No | ||||||
| Hermas (150?) |
No | |||||||
| Irenaeus (120?-200) |
Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Jerome (347-420) |
No | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Julius Africanus (160-240) |
No | |||||||
| Justin Martyr (100-165) |
Yes | |||||||
| Marius Victorinus (280-?) |
No | |||||||
| Origen (185-254) |
Yes | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| Polycarp (69-150) |
No | No | Yes | |||||
| Tertullian (155-220) |
Yes | No | Yes | |||||
| Theodoret (393-457) |
No | |||||||
| Theophilus of Antioch (d. 185?) |
No |
Worth Mentioning
- Fallen angels will be saved: Clement of Alexandria (150-215)
- Satan will be saved: Gregory of Nyssa ( 330-394)
- Universal Salvation: Origen (185-254)
