FATHER

a male parent. In Hnglish law a father is responsible for the maintenance of his offspring until they can maintain themselves. By analogy the word is used for God, especially as the first person of the Trinity, and Christianity teaches the doctrine of the fatherhood of God, that He is the lover and protector of His children, to whom He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. Father is used for priests and members of monastic orders in the Roman Catholic and to some extent in the Anglican Church, It is also used for the senators of Rome, for any venerable person, and for the first. or oldest person in a community, as the father of the chapel in the vrinting industry and the father of the House of Commons.