Doctor of the Church (, 'teacher'), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribution to theology or doctrine through their research, study, or writing.
, the Catholic Church has named 38 Doctors of the Church. Of these, the 18 who died before the Great Schism of 1054 are also held in high esteem by the Eastern Orthodox Church, although it does not use the formal title Doctor of the Church.
Among the 38 recognised Doctors, 29 are from the West and nine from the East; four are women and 34 are men; one is an abbess, three are nuns, and one is a tertiary associated with a religious order; two are popes, 19 are bishops, 13 are priests, and one is a deacon; and 28 are from Europe, three are from Africa, and seven are from Asia. More Doctors (twelve) lived in the fourth century than any other; eminent Christian writers of the first, second, and third centuries are usually referred to as the Ante-Nicene Fathers. The shortest period between death and nomination was that of Alphonsus Liguori, who died in 1787 and was named a Doctor in 1871 – a period of 84 years; the longest was that of Irenaeus, which took more than 18 centuries.
Some other churches have similar categories with various names.
Before the 16th century In the Western church four outstanding "Fathers of the Church" attained this honour in the early Middle Ages: Gregory the Great, Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, and Jerome. The "four Doctors" became a commonplace notion among scholastic theologians. In 1298, pope Boniface VIII decreed that they should be honoured with double feasts throughout the Latin Church, in his sixth book of Decretals (cap. "Gloriosus", de relique. et vener. sanctorum, in Sexto, III, 22).
In the Byzantine Church, three Doctors were pre-eminent: John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Gregory of Nazianzus. The feasts of these three saints were made obligatory throughout the Eastern Empire by Leo VI the Wise. A common feast was later instituted in their honour on 30 January, called "the feast of the three Hierarchs". In the Menaea for that day it is related that the three Doctors appeared in a dream to John Mauropous, Bishop of Euchaita, and commanded him to institute a festival in their honour, in order to put a stop to the rivalries of their votaries and panegyrists.
This was under Alexius Comnenus (1081–1118; see "Acta SS.", 14 June, under St. Basil, c. xxxviii). But sermons for the feast are attributed in manuscripts to Cosmas Vestitor, who flourished in the tenth century. The three are as common in Eastern art as the four are in Western. Durandus (i, 3) remarks that Doctors should be represented with books in their hands. In the West analogy led to the veneration of four Eastern Doctors, Athanasius of Alexandria being added to the three hierarchs.
Catholic Church
The details of the title Doctor of the Church vary from one autonomous ritual church to another.
Latin Church In the Latin Church, the four Latin Doctors (Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory) had been given a special pre-eminence since the eighth century, but in 1298 Pope Boniface VIII declared them Doctors of the Church. Pope Pius V recognized the four Great Doctors of the Eastern Church (John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Athanasius of Alexandria) in 1568.
To these names others have subsequently been added. There are three requisite conditions: eminent learning, a high degree of sanctity, and proclamation by the church. Benedict XIV stated that the declaration must be made by the supreme pontiff or a general council.
The decree is issued by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and approved by the pope, after a careful examination, if necessary, of the saint's writings. It is not an ex cathedra decision, nor does it amount to a declaration that no error is to be found in the teaching of the Doctor. Doctors of the Church are not considered wholly immune from error. Previously, no martyrs were on the list, since the Office and the Mass had been for Confessors. Hence, as Benedict XIV pointed out during his pontificate, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyons, and Cyprian of Carthage were not called Doctors of the Church. This changed in 2022 when Pope Francis declared Irenaeus of Lyons the first martyred Doctor.
The Doctors' works vary greatly in subject and form. Augustine of Hippo was one of the most prolific writers in Christian antiquity and wrote in almost every genre. Some, such as Pope Gregory the Great and Ambrose of Milan, were prominent writers of letters. Pope Leo the Great, Pope Gregory the Great, Peter Chrysologus, Bernard of Clairvaux, Anthony of Padua and Lawrence of Brindisi left many homilies. Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross and Therese of Lisieux wrote works of mystical theology. Athanasius of Alexandria and Robert Bellarmine defended the church against heresy. Bede the Venerable wrote biblical commentaries and theological treatises. Systematic theologians include the Scholastic philosophers Anselm of Canterbury, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas Aquinas.
In the 1920 encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus, Pope Benedict XV refers to Jerome as the church's "Greatest Doctor".
Until 1970, no woman had been named a Doctor of the Church. Since then four additions to the list have been women: Teresa of Ávila (also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus) and Catherine of Siena by Pope Paul VI; Therese of Lisieux by Pope John Paul II; and Hildegard of Bingen by Benedict XVI. Teresa and Thérèse were both Discalced Carmelites, Catherine was a Dominican tertiary, and Hildegard was a Benedictine.
Traditionally, in the Liturgy, the Office of Doctors was distinguished from that of Confessors by two changes: the Gospel reading Vos estis sal terrae ("You are the salt of the earth"), Matthew 5:13–19, and the eighth Respond at Matins, from Sirach 15:5, In medio Ecclesiae aperuit os ejus, * Et implevit eum Deus spiritu sapientiae et intellectus. * Jucunditatem et exsultationem thesaurizavit super eum. ("In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth, * And God filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding. * He heaped upon him a treasure of joy and gladness.") The Nicene Creed was also recited at Mass, which is normally not said except on Sundays and the highest-ranking feast days. The 1962 revisions to the Missal dropped the Creed from feasts of Doctors and abolished the title and the Common of Confessors, instituting a distinct Common of Doctors.
On 20 August 2011, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would soon declare John of Ávila a Doctor of the Church. It was also reported in December 2011 that Pope Benedict intended to declare Hildegard of Bingen as a Doctor of the Church, though she had not been formally canonized. Pope Benedict XVI declared Hildegard of Bingen a saint on 10 May 2012, clearing the way for her to be named a Doctor of the Church, then declared both John of Ávila and Hildegard of Bingen Doctors of the Church on 7 October 2012.
Pope Francis declared the 10th-century Armenian monk Gregory of Narek the 36th Doctor of the Church on 21 February 2015. The decision was somewhat controversial, as Gregory was a monk of the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonian church that was not in communion with the Catholic Church during Gregory's life and has sometimes been described as monophysite. However, the Armenian Apostolic Church does not accept monophysitism, and in 1996, Pope John Paul II and Catholicos Karekin I, patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, signed a joint declaration which said that the division between the two churches was due to historical misunderstandings, not a real difference in Christology. Further, Gregory had been recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church since it received the Armenian Catholic Church into full communion.
Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman was proclaimed a doctor of the Church on All Saints Day, Saturday, November 1, 2025 by Pope Leo XIV at Saint Peter's Square at Vatican City. He was named co-patron of Catholic education joining Saint Thomas Aquinas. On 31 July 2025, a statement from the Holy See Press Office reported that during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV had "confirmed the affirmative opinion of the Plenary Session of Cardinals and Bishops, Members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, regarding the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, would be conferred on Saint John Henry Newman." In November 2023, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had voted to support a petition by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales for the Vatican to name John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church.
List of Doctors
No. Image Name Titles Born Died Promoted Activity Notable writingsPope 1 Gregory the Great One of the four Great Latin Fathers (c.) Pope, OSB Dialogues Libellus responsionum Pastoral Care Moralia in JobPope Boniface VIII 2 Ambrose One of the four Great Latin Fathers (c.) Bishop of Milan Ambrosian hymns Exameron De obitu Theodosii 3 Augustine of Hippo One of the four Great Latin Fathers Doctor gratiae(Doctor of Grace) Bishop of Hippo (now Annaba) De doctrina Christiana Confessions The City of God On the Trinity 4 Jerome One of the four Great Latin Fathers (c.) Priest, monk Vulgate De Viris Illustribus 5 Thomas Aquinas Doctor angelicus(Angelic Doctor)Doctor communis(Common Doctor)Doctor Humanitatis (Doctor of Humanity/Humaneness) Religious priest, theologian, OP Summa Theologiae Summa contra Gentiles Pope Pius V 6 John Chrysostom One of the four Great Greek Fathers Archbishop of Constantinople Paschal Homily Adversus Judaeos 7 Basil the Great One of the four Great Greek Fathers Bishop of Caesarea Address to Young Men on Greek Literature On the Holy Spirit 8 Gregory of Nazianzus One of the four Great Greek Fathers Archbishop of Constantinople On God and Christ: The Five Theological Orations and Two Letters to Cledonius 9 Athanasius One of the four Great Greek Fathers Archbishop of Alexandria On the Incarnation The Life of Antony Letters to Serapion 10 Bonaventure Doctor seraphicus(Seraphic Doctor) 1588Cardinal Bishop of Albano, Theologian, Minister General, OFM Commentary on the Sentences of Lombard The Mind's Road to God Collationes in HexaemeronPope Sixtus V 11 Anselm of Canterbury Doctor magnificus(Magnificent Doctor) Doctor Marianus(Marian Doctor) or 1034 Archbishop of Canterbury, OSB Proslogion Cur Deus HomoPope Clement XI 12 Isidore of Seville Archbishop of Seville Etymologiae On the Catholic Faith against the JewsPope Innocent XIII 13 Peter Chrysologus Bishop of Ravenna HomiliesPope Benedict XIII 14 Leo the GreatSt. Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the church vaticannews.va. Doctor unitatis Ecclesiae(Doctor of the Church's Unity) Pope Leo's TomePope Benedict XIV 15 Peter Damian Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, monk, OSB De Divina Omnipotentia Liber GomorrhianusPope Leo XII 16 Bernard of Clairvaux Doctor mellifluus(Mellifluous Doctor) Religious priest OCist Sermones super Cantica Canticorum Apologia ad Guillelmum Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiaePope Pius VIII 17 Hilary of Poitiers Bishop of Poitiers Commentarius in Evangelium MatthaeiPope Pius IX 18 Alphonsus Liguori Doctor zelantissimus(Most Zealous Doctor) Bishop of Sant'Agata de' Goti, CSsR (Founder) The Glories of Mary