The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come. The term is used of writers and teachers of the Church, not necessarily "saints", though most are honoured as saints in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Anglican Churches, as well as in some other Christian groups; notably, the heretics Origen and Tertullian are generally reckoned as Church Fathers.

The earliest Church Fathers, (within two generations of the Twelve apostles of Christ) are usually called the Apostolic Fathers since they were taught directly by the twelve. Important Apostolic Fathers include Clement of Rome,Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna. In addition, the Didache and Shepherd of Hermas are usually placed among the writings of the Apostolic Fathers although their authors are unknown; like the works of Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp, they were first written in Koine Greek.

Stephen "Steve" Ray (birth registered in April→June 1906 (age 105–106) in Newport district) is a Welsh professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s, playing at representative level for Wales, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity, and Warrington, as a Wing, i.e. number 2 or 5.

Steve Ray won caps for Wales while at Wakefield Trinity and Warrington 1930…1932 2-caps .

In the 1932-33 season Steve Ray set Warrington's "Most Tries In A Season" record with 33-tries, subsequently extended by Brian Bevan to 48, 57, 60, and finally 66-tries.

Derek Johnson (5 January 1933 – 30 August 2004) was a British athlete, who was born in Chigwell, Essex. He did his National Service in Egypt before going up to Lincoln College, Oxford to read medicine in 1953. Whilst at Oxford, he pursued an athletics career and, in the 1954 Empire Games won gold medals both in the 800 m and the 4x400 m relay.

Johnson went on to win a silver medal in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, in the 800 metres. A leading light in the setting up of the "athletes' union", the International Athletes' Club, he led opposition to Margaret Thatcher's call for sportsmen to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

In the 1980s, Derek was a member of the Serpentine Running Club and ran several London Marathons. A great ally of David Bedford and a leading administrator in athletics.

Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.

He is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); The Resilient Church (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe (1999). His books have been translated into many languages, from Croatian and Portuguese to German and Braille. The Grail Code has appeared in ten languages since its publication in 2006.

Critics have praised Aquilina's work for making the Fathers accessible to non-academic readers: "Most scholars … study the paper trail — homilies, letters, teaching manuals, works of theological disputation … Aquilina loves the words, too. But he also finds the sermon in the stuff, the theology expressed in the little things that the first Christians left behind — fading murals on catacomb walls, pottery and dishware, pieces of coinage, ancient hymns and Mass prayers, common household items … The point is that for Aquilina, the little things matter — because they tell us big things about what Catholics believe and how they look at the world." Dr. John Grondelski said in the National Catholic Register: "Aquilina has made a vocation and career out of, in many ways, single-handedly popularizing patristics."