‹ The Bishops
Early Medieval · Saint
St Isidore of Seville
Archbishop of Seville
Church FatherDoctor of the Church
c. 560 – 636
unknown
Ordained
c. 600
Consecrated Bishop
Seville
Diocese
Spain
Country
The Life
Born c. 560 in Visigothic Spain, Isidore succeeded his brother St Leander as Archbishop of Seville around 600. The most learned man of his age, he labored to consolidate the conversion of the Arian Visigoths and to raise the standard of clergy and people.
His vast encyclopedia, the 'Etymologiae', preserved and transmitted classical and Christian learning throughout the Middle Ages. Reckoned the last of the Latin Fathers, he died in 636 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1722.
Notable Actions
- Continued the conversion of the Visigoths from Arianism to Catholicism
- Compiled the 'Etymologiae', a 20-book encyclopedia that shaped medieval scholarship
- Presided over the Fourth Council of Toledo (633), mandating cathedral schools for clergy
- Wrote the 'History of the Goths' and many theological and scientific works
- Declared a Doctor of the Church by Innocent XIII in 1722; the last of the Latin Fathers
Portrait: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo / Wikimedia Commons