This paper looks at how spiritual fatherhood was conceived of and practised by monastics and bishops in the mainstream Church, how this converged and how it differed. Previous scholarship on the topic of spiritual fatherhood has mainly been produced in relation to monastic spirituality. I elaborate on some present day scholarly debates regarding overstressed dichotomies such as desert-city, monks-bishops, while proposing a more comprehensive account of spiritual fatherhood in the early Church exemplified by charismatic desert spiritual fathers and their counterparts in the world, outstanding bishops spiritual fathers.
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