[[File:512px-Izmir St Polycarp Church Icon Miraculously Extinguishing Smyrna Fire.jpeg|thumbnail|right|400px|[[Polycarp of Smyrna|Polycarp]] miraculously extinguishing fire of the city of Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey).]]The '''Ante-Nicene Fathers''' are those writings of the early Church fathers (and their associated writings) from the beginning of [[Christianity]] to the time of the creation of the [[Nicene Creed]](the prefix "ante" means "before"). Includes People in this category include [[Polycarp of Smyrna|Polycarp]], [[Tertullian]], [[Africanus(Christian historian)|Julius Africanus]], [[Ignatius of Antioch|Ignatius]], [[Origen]], and [[Clement of Rome|Clement]] and more.
The writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers represent Christian doctrine are the subject of controversy within Christianity. For instance, historical evidence indicates that the first centuries after Asia Minor churches in the New second century, leading even into the Constantinian Era, were keeping the Old TestamentJewish feast days (as [[Quartodeciman]]s),<ref>Attridge, Harold W.; Hata, Gōhei (1992). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eusebius_Christianity_and_Judaism/58uUEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=john+%22chrysostom%22+%22quartodecimans%22&pg=PA317&printsec=frontcover Eusebius, Christianity and Judaism], p. 317. Google Books. Retrieved July 27, 2024.</ref> the observing of which would spark major controversy in modern mainstream Christianity.
==See also==Supporters contend that the positions held by the Fathers represent Christian doctrine of the first centuries after the New Testament, and are thus presupposed by certain [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologists]] to be uncorrupted by later distortions and departures introduced by heretics and apostates. When there was conflict about the truly catholic and orthodox interpretation of the Scriptures, theologians sought backing for their position in the writings of "the Fathers". By this they meant teachers of an earlier era who demonstrated how the apostolic scriptures were understood and applied by the apostles and their immediate successors.
The 20 Canons of the Council of Nicaea demonstrate absolutely no [[HeresySyncretism|syncretistic]]compromise with pagan religion, as some have charged.<ref>See [http://www.christian-history.org/council-of-nicea-canons.html The Canons of the Council of Nicaea (christian-history.org)] ''The commentary by the author rejects and even condemns outright some of the canons as being Catholic, sinful, and opposed to the Bible, but most significantly he says nothing about any pagan religious beliefs being evident in any of them.''</ref> There is no evidence in any [[Exegesis|readings]] of the texts of the documents of the Council of Nicaea to support the charge that the emperor [[Constantine]] dictated to the council of bishops any change in doctrinal teaching or that he decreed or mandated any revision in any definition of Christian terms to accommodate any pagan beliefs, Roman or Greek or Babylonian.
[[Apostasy]]==See also==
*[[BibleEarly Christianity]] [[Deuterocanonicals]] [[Anagignoskomena]] *[[ApocryphaApostolic Fathers]]
==External links==
* [http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/ante-nicene/ Ante-Nicene Fathers (biblestudytools.com)] * [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/index.html '''Early Christian Writings''' A.D. 30 through 380 (earlychristianwritings.com)] * [[Categoryhttps:Christianity]][[Category//www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/early-church-fathers-overview-snapshot-of-the-fathers-of-the-church/ Early Church Fathers Overview:History]Snapshot of the Fathers, by Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) (crossroadsinitiative.com)]''Summaries of their doctrines and influence on Christianity''.* [[Categoryhttps:Christian Apologetics]][[Category//bible.org/article/theology-adrift-early-church-fathers-and-their-views-eschatology Theology Adrift:Heresies]The Early Church Fathers and Their Views of Eschatology, by D. Matthew Allen (bible.org)]''Baptist article on evidence of false doctrine in Ante-Nicene Fathers''.* [[Categoryhttp:Catholicism]//www.catholicbasictraining.com/apologetics/coursetexts/6l.htm The Great and not-so-Great Apostasy (catholicbasictraining.com)]* [[Categoryhttp:Orthodox Church]//thegreatapostasy.com/ The Apostasy: An Era of Spiritual Darkness (thegreatapostasy.com)]. ==References=={{reflist}}[[Category:ProtestantismEarly Christians]][[Category:FundamentalismChristian History]]