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Father School
[Christian Life]Father School is an interdenominational family-restoration program that began at Duranno Press in South Korea. Over several weeks, fathers meet together to reflect on their roles as fathers and husbands in light of Scripture. It is also known as the Duranno Father School.
Church Fathers
[History]The Church Fathers are the leaders and theologians of the early church who, from the late first century to around the eighth century, helped establish the framework of Christian doctrine, biblical interpretation, and worship.
Desert Fathers
[History]The Desert Fathers were Christian hermits who withdrew into the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria from roughly the third to the fifth century to devote themselves to prayer and ascetic living. They are regarded as the starting point of the Christian monastic tradition.
Apostolic Fathers
[History]The Apostolic Fathers are the church leaders who were active close to the time of the apostles, from the late first century to the mid-second century. The term also refers to the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament that they left behind.
Jeiel (Father of Gibeon)
[People]Jeiel is a Benjamite recorded in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles as "the father of Gibeon." He is an ancestor of the family that descends through Ner and Kish to King Saul. Several other people with the same name appear in the Bible.
Puah (Father of Tola)
[People]Puah is a man of the tribe of Issachar mentioned in Judges 10:1, the son of Dodo and the father of the judge Tola. Scripture records only his name and lineage, and only once.
Amoz (Father of Isaiah)
[People]Amoz was the father of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Scripture names him only in the phrase "Isaiah the son of Amoz." He is a different person from the prophet Amos, with whom he is sometimes confused.
Joash (Father of Gideon)
[People]Joash was a member of the Abiezrite clan of the tribe of Manasseh who appears in the Book of Judges as the father of the judge Gideon. He kept an altar of Baal at Ophrah, yet when Gideon tore that altar down, he protected his son from the men of the town.
Cappadocian Fathers
[History]A collective name for three fourth-century theologians from Cappadocia in Asia Minor: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus. They articulated the Trinitarian formula that God exists as one essence in three persons.
Abba, Father
[Bible]"Abba" is an Aramaic word meaning "father." It appears three times in the New Testament, each time followed by the Greek word for "father" as "Abba, Father": once in the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane and twice in the letters of Paul.
Priest
[Church Offices]A priest is one of the three holy orders in Anglicanism, alongside bishop and deacon, and is an ordained minister who presides at the Eucharist and cares for the church. Priests are commonly addressed as "Father," and unlike Roman Catholic priests, who observe celibacy, Anglican priests may marry.
Toronto Blessing
[History]The Toronto Blessing was a charismatic revival phenomenon that began in January 1994 at the Toronto Airport Vineyard church in Toronto, Canada. Physical manifestations at its meetings, such as laughter, trembling, and falling down, drew both worldwide attention and controversy.
Gadi
[People]Gadi was the father of Menahem, king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He appears only twice, both times in 2 Kings 15, where his son is introduced as "Menahem the son of Gadi."
Ginath
[People]Ginath is an Old Testament figure, named only in 1 Kings 16, who was the father of Tibni, Omri's rival for the throne of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Maoch
[People]Maoch is a figure named only once in Scripture, in 1 Samuel 27:2, as the father of Achish, the king of Gath with whom David took refuge while fleeing from Saul.
Buzi
[People]Buzi was the father of the prophet Ezekiel, an Old Testament figure named only once, in Ezekiel 1:3. He is understood to have belonged to a priestly family.
Abinoam
[People]Abinoam is a figure in the Book of Judges, the father of Barak, the Israelite military leader who, together with Deborah, defeated the Canaanite army.
Eliadah
[People]Eliadah was the father of Rezon, who became an adversary of Israel during the reign of Solomon. He is a biblical figure named only once, in 1 Kings 11:23.
Lord's Prayer
[Worship & Rites]The Lord's Prayer is the prayer that Jesus Christ taught his disciples. It is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and nearly all churches, regardless of denomination, recite it together in worship and use it in instruction.
Orphans and Widows
[Bible]"Orphans and widows" is a biblical word pair for people whose livelihood and legal protection were weakened by the loss of a husband or father. Often grouped with the sojourner, they represent the socially vulnerable for whom God shows special care.