The phrase "ancient fathers" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts discussing historical figures, particularly in religious or philosophical discussions, referring to early influential thinkers or leaders.
Example: "The teachings of the ancient fathers continue to shape modern theological debates."
Alternatives: "early fathers" or "founding fathers".
Modern Zionism, they believed, would fulfill a divine promise and resettle the Jews in the land of their ancient fathers.
Conservative evangelicals stressed women's equal merit and urged men to lead by servanthood and sacrifice, like Christ himself.Liberals and conservatives note that this theology is more enlightened than the opinion of women expressed by the ancient fathers of the church.
His remarks, admittedly extreme, must be placed in their immediate context, and then in the context of church teaching from the New Testament through the ancient fathers and councils down to our own day.
The Bishops' Bible was the default text, there were to be no marginal notes, and the translators were instructed to defer to "the ancient fathers", "the analogy of the faith" and the "old ecclesiastical words".
Now I beseech the ancient fathers with Peter their leader on behalf of wretched and anxious me: pour out your prayers and aid so that the trinal custodian of each new saint may afterwards forgive me until I may overcome the hideous enemy of this world.
The story of the Ark is retold by Noah's family with affectionate irreverance as they struggle to follow the orders of their ancient father while privately suspecting he has gone quite batty.
Or even to the ancient father of geography and the first person to measure the circumference of the Earth, Eratosthenes, who is known as a Greek mathematician but was born in Libya.
Mei-Li no longer arrives in San Francisco as a timid mail-order bride with her wise, ancient father; she is instead a self-possessed Mao youth, with plenty of traditional wisdom of her own, whose father was executed for dissidence.
Only Alberto had been buried there, the oldest, who died in 1942 of a lymphogranuloma, whilst Micòl, the daughter, born second, and their ancient father Ermanno, and their mother Signora Olga, and Signora Regina, her ancient paralytic mother, were all deported to Germany in the autumn of 1943, and no one knows whether they have any grave at all.
I was not to meet Paolo's family, though he told me about his ancient father, a forbiddingly conservative Catholic who was constantly warning his only son (he had five daughters) that he would deprive Paolo of his inheritance if he didn't find himself a wife.
Wisdom and input from ancient church fathers, Renaissance theologians and even Mozart — whose music is sometimes piped into the classrooms to help students concentrate better — is worked in.
