Doctor of the Church

Doctor of the Church (Latin: doctor "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis), 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.^[1]

As of 2025, the Catholic Church has named thirty-eight Doctors of the Church. Of these, the eighteen 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 thirty-eight recognised Doctors, twenty-eight are from the West and nine from the East; four are women and thirty-four are men; one is an abbess, three are nuns, and one is a tertiary associated with a religious order; two are popes, nineteen are bishops, thirteen are priests, and one is a deacon; and twenty-eight 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 eighty-four years; the longest was that of Irenaeus, which took more than eighteen centuries.

Some other churches have similar categories with various names.