The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Reading the Fathers with the Church — lesson 3

Consensus, disagreement and correction

The Fathers disagreed. Here is how the Church handles that, and how it does not.

  • Historical consensusBroadly agreed among historians working from the surviving evidence. Consensus can shift when the evidence or the method changes.
  • Received Orthodox teachingTaught consistently and received throughout the Orthodox Church, though not necessarily formulated in a conciliar definition. This is not a claim that no Father ever wrote differently.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

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What this lesson covers

  • State what the consensus of the Fathers means.
  • Give examples of Fathers who were wrong, corrected or not received.
  • Explain why this does not undermine patristic authority.

About 6 minutes to read.

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Vincent of Lérins's rule — universality, antiquity, consent — presupposes that the Fathers do not simply agree. If they did, consent would not need to be sought.

Cases

Cyprian and Stephen
Disagreed sharply over whether baptism outside the Church is baptism at all. They did not break communion, and the Church's later practice follows neither position mechanically.
Irenaeus and Victor
Irenaeus rebuked the bishop of Rome for moving to break communion with the churches of Asia over the date of Pascha.
Jerome and Augustine
Disagreed over the Old Testament books not in the Hebrew, and over the interpretation of Galatians. The Church did not follow Jerome on the canon.
Gregory of Nyssa
A Father and a saint, whose passages on universal restoration the Church has not received.
Origen and Evagrius
Condemned, and their exegetical and ascetic legacy absorbed through others.

None of this weakens patristic authority, because that authority was never a claim that each Father was individually infallible. It is a claim about what the Church has received from them together, and receiving requires discernment.

Key Scripture

  • Acts 15:7 — There had been much debate.
  • Galatians 2:11-14 — Paul opposing Peter to his face, in the apostolic generation.

On Scripture references. References are given so you can read the passage in the translation your parish uses. This site does not reproduce a modern copyrighted Bible text.

Council and canon connections

  • Canon II of Trullo confirms which collections of canons — including those of individual Fathers — the Church receives.

Why this matters in lived Orthodoxy

For an ordinary reader this means that meeting a Father who says something surprising is not a crisis. The question to ask is whether the Church received it, and the tools for asking are in the councils, the canons and the Church's worship.

Review

What does the consensus of the Fathers mean?
What the Church has received from the Fathers together, confirmed in worship, councils and its life — not the individual infallibility of each.
Name two Fathers whose positions the Church did not receive.
Jerome on the Old Testament canon, and Gregory of Nyssa on universal restoration, among others.

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Going deeper

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lérins, John Cassian Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) Vincent of Lérins, A Commonitory translated edition of primary texts Source record
  2. Tier C The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church Henry R. Percival (ed.); Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (series eds.) The Canons of the Council in Trullo, Canon II annotated edition of conciliar texts Source record
  3. Tier C Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.); Arthur Cushman McGiffert (trans.) Eusebius, Church History, Book VII, Chapters 2-5 translated edition of primary texts Source record

Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.