Last of the Fathers

Last of the Fathers is a title adscribed to the Catholic saint and doctor of the Church Bernard of Clairvaux.
The term appears in the Doctor Mellifluus encyclical by Pope [Pius XII|Pius XII], quoted from French monk and scholar Jean Mabillon, and is also part of the subtitle of the letter. The concept follows from the Western Christian view of a finished "Patristic Age" superseded by the advent of Scholasticism.
Pope Benedict XVI also used the term and defended it in a 2009 general audience. Despite the title is mostly assigned to Bernard, it has also been used regarding John of Damascus.
The Eastern [Orthodox Church] rejects the title as it believes the Patristic Age can not be given an end point. Nevertheless, some Eastern Christians consider John of Damascus, Gregory I or Isidore of Seville as the last Church Fathers from East and West.