What Does “Doctor of the Church” Mean in the Bible?
Title
A title the Pope gives to a saint whose way of teaching the faith is a great help to the whole Church.
A detail
- Another meaning, in the Gospel: the “doctors” are the teachers of the Law. As a boy, Jesus was in the Temple in the midst of them, listening to them and asking them questions.
Today
Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus are Doctors of the Church.
Where it appears in the Bible
Luke 2:46; Luke 2:47
What the Bible says
Luke 2:46
And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions.
Luke 2:47
And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Doctors of the Church”