Patrum

Patrum is the Latin genitive plural form of pater, meaning "of the fathers." In scholarly usage, patrum serves as a linguistic marker rather than as a standalone name. It frequently occurs in ecclesiastical and patristic contexts to denote material associated with the Church Fathers, especially the early Christian writers known collectively as the Fathers of the Church.

Within Latin titles and phrases, patrum is used to indicate attribution or belonging: for example, Patrum apostolorum (the Apostolic Fathers), Patrum sententiae (the Fathers' opinions), or references to the writings of the patres in patristic collections. The form is not a proper noun; it is a grammatical form that helps identify the source, authority, or tradition being cited.

Patrum appears widely in medieval and Renaissance Latin texts, as well as modern scholarly works on patristics and church history. In this field, it helps distinguish authorities from later commentators and is encountered in catalogues and editions such as Patrologia Latina and Patrologia Graeca, where the focus is on the works associated with the Fathers. Understanding patrum is part of reading Latin religious literature in its historical and textual context.