Church Fathers

Above the figures of the evangelists, inscribed in the recessed pilasters that frame the exedra, and in superimposed niches, are the Fathers of the Latin Church: on the left side, Saint Ambrose and Saint Gregory the Great, and on the right, Saint Jerome and Saint Augustine. They are all depicted in a similar manner, dressed in pontifical vestments, holding a model of a church in their hands and wearing a mitre, except for Saint Jerome, who wears the cardinal's cape. Likewise, Saint Gregory and Saint Augustine hold a book in their right hand, alluding to their status as writers, which the other two figures do not.

The so-called Church Fathers are ecclesiastical writers who lived in the early years of Christianity and were noted for the orthodoxy of their doctrine, the sanctity of their lives, the approval of the Church, and their antiquity, differentiating between those belonging to the Latin Church and the Orthodox Church. The representation of the Fathers of the Church was also to be a constant feature in Christian art from the Renaissance onwards, sometimes forming a group with the Evangelists, as is the case here, or sometimes replacing them. Their presence on this portal in Viana is justified as defenders of the coming of Christ, of his life, passion and death, and of the redemption of humanity through his sacrifice.