Εμφανίζονται 66 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Θρησκευτικές βιογραφίες στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΣΥΡΙΑ Χώρα ΜΕΣΗ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗ" .
St. Simeon was the first and probably the most famous of the long succession of stylitoe, or "pillar-hermits", who during more than six centuries acquired by their strange form of asceticism a great reputation for holiness throughout eastern Christendom. If it were not that our information, in the case of the first St. Simeon and some of his imitators, is based upon very reliable first-hand evidence, we should be disposed to relegate much of what history records to the domain of fable; but no modern critic now ventures to dispute the reality of the feats of endurance attributed to these ascetics. Simeon the Elder, was born about 388 at Sisan, near the northern border of Syria (near Aleppo). After beginning life as a shepherd boy, he entered a monastery before the age of sixteen, and from the first gave himself up to the practice of an austerity so extreme and to all appearance so extravagant, that his brethren judged him, perhaps not unwisely, to be unsuited to any form of community life. Being forced to quit them he shut himself up for three years in a hut at Tell-Neschin, where for the first time he passed the whole of Lent without eating or drinking. This afterwards became his regular practice, and he combined it with the mortification of standing continually upright so long as his limbs would sustain him. In his later days he was able to stand thus on his column without support for the whole period of the fast. After three years in his hut, Simeon sought a rocky eminence in the desert and compelled himself to remain a prisoner within a narrow space less than twenty yards in diameter. But crowds of pilgrims invaded the desert to seek him out, asking his counsel or his prayers, and leaving him insufficient time for his own devotions. This at last determined him to adopt a new way of life. Simeon had a pillar erected with a small platform at the top, and upon this he determined to take up his abode until death released him. At first the pillar was little more than nine feet high, but it was subsequently replaced by others, the last in the series being apparently over fifty feet from the ground. However extravagant this way of life may seem, it undoubtedly produced a deep impression on contemporaries, and the fame of the ascetic spread through Europe, Rome in particular being remarkable for the large number of pictures of the saint which were there to be seen, a fact which a modern writer, Holl, represents as a factor of great importance in the development of image worship (see the Philotesia in honour of P. Kleinert, p. 42-48). Even on the highest of his columns Simeon was not withdrawn from intercourse with his fellow men. By means of a ladder which could always be erected against the side, visitors were able to ascend; and we know that he wrote letters, the text of some of which we still possess, that he instructed disciples, and that he also delivered addresses to those assembled beneath. Around the tiny platform which surmounted the capital of the pillar there was probably something in the nature of a balustrade, but the whole was exposed to the open air, and Simeon seems never to have permitted himself any sort of cabin or shelter. During his earlier years upon the column there was on the summit a stake to which he bound himself in order to maintain the upright position throughout Lent, but this was an alleviation with which he afterwards dispensed. Great personages, such as the Emperor Theodosius and the Empress Eudocia manifested the utmost reverence for the saint and listened to his counsels, while the Emperor Leo paid respectful attention to a letter Simeon wrote to him in favour of the Council of Chalcedon. Once when he was ill Theodosius sent three bishops to beg him to descend and allow himself to be attended by physicians, but the sick man preferred to leave his cure in the hands of God, and before long he recovered. After spending thirty-six years on his pillar, Simeon died on Friday, 2 Sept., 459 (Lietzmann, p. 235). A contest arose between Antioch and Constantinople for the possession of his remains. The preference was given to Antioch, and the greater part of his relics were left there as a protection to the unwalled city. The ruins of the vast edifice erected in his honour and known as Qal `at Sim `an (the mansion of Simeon) remain to the present day. It consists of four basilicas built out from an octagonal court towards the four points of the compass. In the centre of the court stands the base of St. Simeon's column. This edifice, says H.C. Butler, "unquestionably influenced contemporary and later church building to a marked degree" (Architecture and other Arts, p. 184). It seems to have been a supreme effort of a provincial school of architecture which had borrowed little from Constantinople.
Herbert Thurston, ed.
Transcribed by: Robert B. Olson
This text is cited July 2004 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
Damascenus, Joannes, (Ioannes Damaskenos), a voluminous ecclesiastical writer,
who flourished during the first half of the eighth century after Christ, in the
reigns of Leo Isauricus and Constantine VII. He was a native of Damascus, whence
he derived his surname, and belonged to a family of high rank. His oratorical
powers procured him the surname of Chrysorrhoas, but he was also stigmatized by
his enemies with various derogatory nicknames, such as Sarabaita, Mansur, and
Arclas. He devoted himself to the service of the church, and after having obtained
the dignity of presbyter, he entered the monastery of St. Saba at Jerusalem, where
he spent the remainder of his life, devoting himself to literary pursuits, especially
the study of theology. He seems to have died, at the earliest, about A. D. 756,
and his tomb was shewn near St. Saba down to a very late period. He is regarded
as a saint both by the Greek and Latin churches; the former celebrates his memory
on the 29th of November and the 4th of December, and the latter on the 6th of
May. His life, which is still extant, was written by Joannes, patriarch of Jerusalem;
but little confidence can be placed in it, as the facts are there mixed up with
the most incredible stories. It is printed in Surius's Lives of the Saints, under
the 6th of May.
All the writers who mention Joannes Damascenus agree in asserting,
that he surpassed all his contemporaries as a philosopher and by the extensive
range of his knowledge. This reputation is sufficiently supported by the great
number of his works which have come down to us, though he was extremely deficient
in critical judgment, which is most apparent in the stories which he relates in
confirmation of the doctrines he propounds. He was a strong opponent of those
who insisted upon removing all images from the Christian churches, and upon abolishing
prayers for the dead. We pass over the several collections of his works, as well
as the separate editions of single treatises, and only refer our readers to the
best edition of his works, which was prepared and edited by Michael le Quien,
Paris, 1712, in 2 vols. fol., though it is far from containing all the works that
are still extant under his name, and are buried in MS. in the various libraries
of Europe. It contains the following works: 1. Kephalaia philosophika, or the
main points of philosophy and dialectics. 2. Peri haireseon, on heresies and their
origin. 3. Ekdosis akribes tes orthodoxou pisteos, an accurate exposition of the
orthodox faith. 4. Pros tous diaballontas tas hagias eikonos, a treatise against
those who opposed the use of images in churches. 5. Libellos neri orthou pronoematos,
that is, a confession of faith. 6. Tomos, i. e. a work against the Jacobites and
Monophysites or Eutychians. 7. Kata Manichaimn dialogos, a discourse against the
Manicheans. 8. Dialogos Sarakenou kai Christianou, a dialogue between a Saracen
and a Christian. 9. Peri drakonton, a fragment on dragons. 10. Peri hagias triados,
on the holy trinity. 11. Peri tou trisagiou humnou, on the hymn entitled Trisagium.
12. Peri ton hagion nesteion, on fasts. 13. Peri ton okto tes ponerias pneumaton,
on the eight spirits of wickedness. 14. Eisagoge dogmaton stoicheiodes. elementary
instruction in the Christian dogmas. 15. Peri sunthetou phuseos, a treatise directed
against the Acephalians. 16. Peri ton en toi Christoi duo belematon kai energeion
kai loipon phusikon idiomaton, on the twofold will and action of Christ, and on
the other physical properties. 17. Epos akribestaton kata beostugous haireseos
ton Nestorianon, against the heresies of the Nestorians. 18. A number of fragments
on various subjects. 19. Paschalion, or a paschal canon. 20. A fragment of a letter
on the nature of man. 21. A treatise on those who had died in the faith of Christ,
and on the manner in which their souls may be benefited by masses and alms. 22.
A letter on confession. 23. Logos apodeiktikos peri ton hagion kai septon eikonon,
an oration on the veneration due to sacred images. 24. An epistle on the same
subject, addressed to Theophilus. 25. Peri ton asumon, on the east of unleavened
bread. 26. An epistle addressed to Zacharias, bishop of the Doari. 27. An exposition
of the Christian faith : it is only in Latin, and a translation from an Arabic
MS. 28. Some poems in iambics on sacred subjects. 29. An abridgment of the interpretation
of the letters of St. Paul by Joannes Chrysostomus. 30. Hiera parallela, sacred
parallels, consisting of passages of Scripture compared with the doctrines of
the early fathers. 31. A number of homilies. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. ix.; Cave,
Hist. Lit. i., ed. London, 1688.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
d. 1st century, feastday: February 25
Theologian, homilist, hymnographer, born at Damascus about the middle of the seventh century.
d. unknown, feastday: November 1
d. 1860, feastday: July 10
474 - 558
d.c. 558, Feastday December 6)
d. 251, feastday: November 5
ΙΕΡΑΠΟΛΙΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Abercius (Aberkios), the supposed successor of St. Papias in the see of Hierapolis. flourished A. D. 150. There are ascribed to him, 1. An Epistle to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, of which Baronius speaks as extant, but he does not produce it; and, 2. A Book of Discipline (biblos didaskalias) addressed to his Clergy; this too is lost. See Illustr. Eccles. Orient. Script. Vitae, Γ P. Halloix. Duac. 1636.
ΚΟΙΛΗ ΣΥΡΙΑ (Αρχαία επαρχία) ΣΥΡΙΑ
d.c. 100, feastday: March 1
d. 5th century, feastday: February 22
At Cyrrhus a magnificent basilica held the relics of SS. Cosmas and Damian, who had suffered martyrdom in the vicinity about 283, and whose bodies had been transported to the city, whence it was also called Hagioupolis.
Bishop of Laodicea
in Syria, one of the foremost
scholars of his day in the physical sciences and in Aristotelean philosophy. There
are fragments of ten books on arithmetic written by him, and also a treatise on
time of the Paschal celebration.
A very curious story is told by Eusebius of the way in which Anatolius
broke up a rebellion in a part of Alexandria known as time Bruchium. It was held
by the forces of Zenobia, and being strictly beleaguered by the Romans was in
a state of starvation. The saint, who was living in the Bruchium at the time,
made arrangements with the besiegers to receive all the women and children, as
well as the old and infirm, continuing at the same time to let as many as wished
profit by the means of escaping. It broke up the defence and the rebels surrendered.
It was a patriotic action on the part of the saint, as well as one of great benevolence,
in saving so many innocent victims from death. In going to Laodicea
he was seized by the people and made bishop.
His feast, like that of his namesake the Patriarch of Constantinople,
is kept on 3 July.
T.J. Cambell, ed.
Transcribed by: W.S. French, Jr.
This extract is cited May 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
d. 4th century, feastday: September 2
d.c. 550, feastday: April 11
b. 340, d. 430, feastday: January 24
d.c. 390, feastday: October 21
d.c. 415, feastday: December 4
d. 473, feastday: February 14
ΧΑΛΚΙΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Monk of Chalcis in Syria
Hieronymus, commonly known as Saint Jerome: Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius was
a native of Stridon, a town upon the confines of Dalmatia and Pannonia, which
having been utterly destroyed by the Goths in A. D. 377, its site cannot now be
determined. His parents were both Christian, living, it would appear, in easy
circumstances. The period of his birth is a matter of considerable doubt. Prosper
Aquitanicus, in his chronicle, fixes upon the year A. D. 331; Dupin brings down
the event as low as 345 ; while other writers have decided in favour of various
intermediate epochs. That the first of the above dates is too early seems certain,
for Jerome, in the commentary upon Habbakuk (c. 3), speaks of himself as having
been still occupied with grammatical studies at the death of Julian the apostate
; but since this took place in 363, he must, according to the statement of Prosper,
have been at that time thirty-two years old, while the calculation adopted by
Du Pin would make him just eighteen, an age corresponding much better with the
expressions employed, unless we are to receive them in a very extended acceptation.
After having acquired the first rudiments of a liberal education from his father,
Eusebius, he was despatched to Rome for the prosecution of his studies, where
he devoted himself with great ardour and success to the Greek and Latin languages,
to rhetoric, and to the different branches of philosophy, enjoying the instructions
of the most distinguished preceptors of that era, among whom was Aelius Donatus.
Having been admitted to the rite of baptism, he undertook a journey into Gaul,
accompanied by his friend and schoolfellow Bonosus; and after a lengthened tour,
passed some time at Treves, where he occupied himself in transcribing the commentaries
of Hilarius upon the Psalms, and his voluminous work upon Synods. Here too he
seems to have been, for the first time, impressed with a deep religious feeling,
to have formed a steadfast resolution to amend his career, which had hitherto
been somewhat irregular, and to have resolved to devote himself with zeal to the
interests of Christianity. Upon quitting Gaul, he probably returned to Rome ;
but in 370 we find him living at Aquileia, in close intimacy with Rufinus and
Chromatius; and at this time lie composed his first theological essay, the letter
to Innocentius, De Muliere septics percussa. Having been compelled by some violent
cause, now unknown (Subitus turbo me a latere tuo convulsit, Ep. iii. ad Ruf.),
suddenly to quit this abode in 373, he set out for the East, along with Innocendtus,
Evagrius, and Heliodorus, and traversing Thrace, Bithynia, Galatia, Pontus. Cappadocia,
and Cilicia, reached Antioch, where Innocentius died of a fever, and he himself
was attacked by a dangerous malady. A great change seems to have taken place in
the mind of Jerome during this illness; the religious enthusiasm first kindled
upon the banks of the Moselle, assumed a more austere and gloomy form in the luxurious
capital of Syria. In obedience, as he believed or pretended, to the warnings of
a heavenly vision (Ep. xxii. ad Eustoch.), which reproached him especially on
account of his excessive admiration of Cicero, he determined to abandon the study
of the profane writers, and to occupy himself exclusively with holy toils and
contemplations. From this time forward a devotion to monastic habits became the
ruling principle, we might say, the ruling passion of his life. After having listened
for some time to the instructions of Apollinarius, bishop of Laodiceia, whose
errors with regard to the Incarnation had not yet attracted attention, he retired,
in 374, to the desert of Chalcis, lying between Antioch and the Euphrates, where
he passed four years, adhering strictly to the most rigid observances of monkish
ascetism, tortured by unceasing remorse on account of the sinfulness of his earlier
years. The bodily exhaustion produced by fasting and mental anguish did not prevent
him from pursuing with resolute perseverance the study of the Hebrew tongue, although
often reduced almost to despair by the difficulties he encountered; from composing
annotations upon portions of Scripture ; and from keeping up an active correspondence
with his friends. His retirement, however, was grievously disturbed by the bitter
strife which had arisen at Antioch between the partisans of Meletins and Paulinus;
for having, in deference to the opinion of the Western Church, espoused the cause
of the latter, he became actively involved in the controversy. Accordingly, in
the spring of 379, he found himself compelled to quit his retreat, and repair
to Antioch, where he unwillingly consented to he ordained a presbyter by Paulinus,
upon the express stipulation that he should not be required to perform the regular
duties of the sacred office. Soon after he betook himself to Constantinople, where
he abode for three years, enjoying the instructions, society, and friendship of
Gregory of Nazianzus, and busily employed in extending and perfecting his knowledge
of the Greek language, from which he made several translations, the most important
being the Chronicle of Eusebius. In 381 Meletius died; but this event did not
put an end to the schism, for his partisans immediately elected a successor to
him in the person of Flavianus, whose authority was acknowledged by most of the
Eastern prelates. The year follo wing, Damasus, in the vain hope of calling these
unseemly dissensions, summoned Paulinus, together with his chief adherents and
antagonists, to Rome, where a council was held, in which Jerome acted as secretary,
and formed that close friendship with the chief pontiff which remained firm. until
the death of the latter, at whose earnest request he now seriously commenced his
grand work of revising the received versions of the Scriptures, while at the same
time he laboured unceasingly in proclaiming the glory and merit of a contemplative
life and monastic discipline. His fame as a man of eloquence, learning and sanctity,
was at this period in its zenith; but his most enthusiastic disciples were to
be found in the female sex, especially among maidens and widows, to whom he was
wont to represent in the brightest colours the celestial graces of an unwedded
life. The influence exercised by Jerome over this class of persons, including
many of the fairest and the noblest, soon became so powerful as to excite strong
indignation and alarm among their relations and admirers, and to arouse the jealousy
of the regular priesthood. He was assailed on every side by open invective and
covert insinuation; and even the populace were incited to insult him when lie
appeared in public. These attacks he withstood for a while with undaunted firmness;
but upon the death of his patron and steadfast supporter Damasus in 384, he found
it necessary, or deemed it prudent to withdraw from the persecution. He accordingly
sailed from Rome in the month of August, 385, accompanied by several friends;
and after touching at Rhegium and Cyprus, where he was hospitably received by
Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis, reached Antioch. There he was soon afterwards joined
by the most zealous of his penitents, the rich widow Paula, and her daughter Eustochium,
attended by a number of devout maidens, along with whom lie made a tour of the
Holy Land, visited Egypt, and returning to Palestine in 386, settled at Bethlehem,
where Paula erected four monasteries, three for nuns and one for monks, she herself
presiding over the former until her death, in 404, when she was succeeded by Eustochium,
while Jerome directed the latter establishment. In this retreat he passed the
remainder of his life, busied with his official duties, and with the composition
of his works. Notwithstanding the pursuits by which lie was engrossed in his solitude,
the latter years of Jerome did not glide smoothly away. The wars waged against
Rufinus, against John bishop of Jerusalem, and against the Pelagians, were prosecuted
with great vigour, but with little meekness; and the friendship formed with Augustin
must have been rudely broken off by the dispute regarding the nature of the difference
betwen St. Peter and St. Paul, but for the singular moderation and forbearance
of the African bishop. At length the rancorous bitterness of his attacks excited
so much wrath among the Pelagians of the East, that an armed multitude of these
heretics assaulted the monastery at Bethlehem; and Jerome, having escaped with
difficulty, was forced to remain in concealment for upwards of two years. Soon
after his return, in 418, both mind and body worn out by unceasing toil, privations,
and anxieties, gradually gave way, and he expired on the 30th of September, A.
D. 420.
The principal sources of information for the life of Jerome, of which
the above is but a meagre sketch, are passages collected from his works, and these
have been thrown into a biographical form in the edition of Erasmus, of Marianus
Victorinus, of the Benedictines, and of Vallarsi. See also Surius, Act. Sacwt.
vol. v. mens. Septemb.; Sixtus Senensis, Bibl. Sacr. lib. iv.; Du Pin, History
of Ecclesiastical Writers, fifth century; Martianay, La Vie de St. Jerome, Paris,
4to. 1706 ; Tillemont, Men. Eccles. vol. xiii.; Schrock, Kirchengesch. vol. xi.
pp.; Sebastian Dolci, Maximus Hieronymus Vitae suae Scriptor, Ancon. 4to. 1750;
Engelstoff, Hieronymus Stridonensis, interpres, criticus, exegeta, apologeta,
historicus, doctor, monachus, Hafn. 8vo., 1797; Bahr, Gesch. der Rom. Litterat.
Suppl. Band. II. Abtheil, § 82; but perhaps none of the above will be found more
generally useful than the article Hieronymus, by Colln, in the Encyclopadie of
Ersch and Gruber.
In giving a short account of the works of Jerome, which may be classed
under the four heads -- I. EPISTOLAE; II. TRACTATUS; III. COMMENTARIIS BIBLICI;
IV. BIBLIOTHECA DIVINA, we shall follow closely the order adopted in the edition
of Vallarsi, the best which has yet appeared.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
342 - 420
St. Jerome, Eusebius Hieronymus
ΑΡΕΘΟΥΣΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Marcus, bishop of Arethusa, a city of Syria, on or near the Orontes, was one of three bishops sent to Rome A. D. 342 by the Eastern emperor Constantius II., to satisfy the Western emperor Constans of the justice and propriety of the deposition of Athanasius of Alexandria and Paulus of Constantinople. Marcus and his fellowprelates are charged with having deceived Constans, by presenting to him as their confession of faith, not the Arian or Eusebian confession, lately agreed on at the synod of Antioch, but another confession, of orthodox complexion, yet not fully orthodox, which is given by Socrates. Mark ap pears to have acted with the Eusebian or Semi-Arian party, and took part on their side, probably in the council of Philippopolis, held by the prelates of the East, after their secession from Sardica (A. D. 347), and certainly in that of Sirmium (A. D. 359), where a heterodox confession of faith was drawn up by him. It is to be observed, that the confession which is given as Mark's by Socrates is believed by modern critics not to be his. These critics ascribe to him the confession agreed upon by the council of Ariminum, A. D. 359, and also given by Socrates. During the short reign of Julian Marcus, then an old man, was cruelly tortured in various ways by the heathen populace of Arethusa, who were irritated by the success of his efforts to convert their fellow-townsmen to Christianity. He appears to have survived their cruelty, at least not to have died under their hands; but we read no more of him. His sufferings for the Christian religion seem to have obliterated the discredit of his Arianism; for Gregory Nazianzen has eulogised him in the highest terms, and the Greek church honours him as a martyr. (Athanas. de Synodis, c. 24; Socrates, H. E. ii. 18, 30, 37, with the notes of Valesius ; Sozomen, H. E. iii. 10, iv. 17,v. 10; Theodoret. H. E. iii. 7; Gregorius Naz. Oratio IV.; Bolland. Acta Sanctor. Mart. vol. iii. p. 774, &c.; Tillemont, Memoires, vol. vi. and vii.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΒΕΡΟΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
322 - 432
ΒΟΣΤΡΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Antipater (Antipatros), bishop of BOSTRA in Arabia, flourished about 460 A. D. His chief work was Antirresis, a reply to Pamphilus's Apology for Origen, some fragments of which are contained in the Acts of the 2nd council of Nice. He also wrote a homily on John the Baptist, and some other discourses. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. x.; Cave, Hist. Litt. sub ann. 460)
ΕΜΕΣΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Eusebius of Emisa, born of a noble family at Edessa in Mesopotamia at the end
of the third century. He was a man of considerable learning, having received instructions
from Eusebius of Caesareia and other teachers of high repute. he went to Alexandria,
that he might avoid ordination, and devote himself to philosophy, but afterwards
removed to Antioch, became intimate with Flaccillus, its bishop, and was ordained.
At this time Athanasius was deposed from the see of Alexandria, and Eusebius of
Nicomedeia, then bishop of Constantinople, wished to instal his namesake into
the vacant office. He wisely declined the questionable honour, knowing that the
Alexandrians were too warmly attached to Athanasius to tolerate any other patriarch.
He accepted, however, the see of Emisa in Syria (the city from which Elagabalus
had been chosen emperor by the soldiers); but on proceeding there to take possession,
he was driven away by a tumultuous mob, who had heard a report of his being a
sorcerer, based upon the fact that he was fond of astronomical studies. He fled
to Laodiceia, and lived with George, bishop of that place, by whose exertions
he was afterwards restored to Emisa. He was a great favourite with the emperor
Constantius, whom lie accompanied on some military expeditions. He died at Antioch,
about A. D. 360. His enemies accused him of Sabellianism, but the truth of the
charge is denied by Sozomen (iii. 5). He wrote several books enumerated by Jerome
(de Script. 90), e. g. a treatise against the Jews, Homilies, &c. Some homilies
on the Gospels, and about fifty on other subjects, are extant under his name;
but they are probably spurious, and of more recent date. They were published at
Paris, 1575, and at Antwerp, 1602. Some of the homilies ascribed to Eusebius of
Caesareia, are attributed to this Eusebius.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΟΙΛΗ ΣΥΡΙΑ (Αρχαία επαρχία) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Aetius (Aetios), surnamed the Atheist, from his denial of the God of Revelation,
was born in Coele Syria at Antioch, and became the founder of the Anomnoean (anomoion)
form of the Arian heresy. He was left fatherless and in poverty when a child,
and became the slave of a vine-dresser's wife, then a travelling tinke or a goldsmith.
Conviction in a fraud or hambition led him to abandon this life, and he applied
himself to medicine under a quack, and soon set up for himself at Antioch. From
the schools of medicine being Arian, he acquired a leaning towards heresy. He
frequented the disputatious meetings of the physicians and made such progress
in Eristicism, that he became a paid advocate for such as wished their own theories
exhibited most advantageously. On his mother's death he studied under Paulinus
H., Arian Bishop of Antioch, A. D. 331; but his powers of disputation having exasperated
some influential persons about Eulalius, the successor of Paulinus, he was obliged
to quit Antioch for Anazarbus, where he resumed the trade of a goldsmith, A. D.
331. Here a professor of grammar noticed him, employed him as a servant, and instructed
him; but he was dismissed in disgrace on publicly disputing against his master's
interpretation of the Scripture. The Arian Bishop of the city, named Athanasius,
received him and read with him the Gospels. Afterwards he read the Epistles with
Antonius, a priest of Tarsus till the promotion of the latter to the Episcopate,
when he returned to Antioch and studied the Prophets with the priest Leontius.
His obtrusive irreligion obliged him again to quit Antioch, and he took refuge
in Cilicia (before A. D. 348), where he was defeated in argument by some of the
grossest (Borborian) Gnostics. He returned to Antioch, but soon left it for Alexandria,
being led thither by the fame of the Manichee Aphthonius, against whom he recovered
the fame disputation which he had lately lost. He now rezsumed the study of medicine
under Sopolis and practised gratuitously, earning money by following his former
trade by night or living upon others. His chief employment, however, was an irreverent
application of logical figures and geometrical diagrams to the Nature of the Word
of God. He returned to Antioch on the elevation of his former master Leontius
to that See, A. D. 348, and was by him ordained Deacon, though he declined the
ordinary duties of the Diaconate and accepted that of teaching, A. D. 350. The
Catholic laymen, Diodorus and Flavian, protested against this ordination, and
Leontius was obliged to depose him. His dispute with Basil of Ancyra, A. D. 351,
is the first indication of the future schism in the Arian heresy. Basil incensed
Gallus against Aetius, and Leontius' intercession only saved the latter from death.
Soon Theophilus Blemmys introduced him to Gallus, who made him his friend, and
often sent him to his brother Julian when in danger of apostacy. There is a letter
from Gallus extant, congratulating Julian on his adesion to Christianity, as he
had heard from Aetius. Aetius was implicated in the murder of Domitian and Montius,
but his insignificance saved him from the vengeance of Constantius. However, he
quitted Antioch for Alexandria, where St. Athanasius was maintaining Christianity
against Arianism, and in A. D. 355 acted as Deacon under George of Cappadocia,
the violent interloper into the See of St. Athanasius. Here Eunomius became his
pupil and amanuensis. He is said by Philostorgius to have refused ordination to
the Episcopate, because Serras and Secundus, who made the offer, had mixed with
the Catholics; in A. D. 358, when Eudoxius became bishop of Antioch, he returned
to that city, but popular feeling prevented Eudoxius from allowing him to act
as Deacon.
The Aetian (Eunomian, see Arius)
schism now begins to develop itself. The bold irreligion of Aetius leads a section
of Arians (whom we may call here Anti-Aetians) to accuse his to Constantius; they
allege also his connexion with (Gallus, and press the emperor to summon a general
Council for the settlement of the Theological question. The Aetian interest with
Eusebius, the powerful Eunuch, divides the intended council, but notwithstanding,
the Aetians are defeated at Seleucia, A. D. 359, and, dissolving the council,
hasten to Constantius, at Constantinople, to secure his protection against their
opponents. The Anti-Aetians (who are in fact the more respectable Semi-Arians,
see Arius)
follow, and charge their opponents with maintaining a Difference in Substance
(heteroousion) in the Trinity, producing a paper to that effect. A new schism
ensues among the Aetians, and Aetius is abandoned by his friends (called Eusebians
or Acacians, see Arius)
and banished, after protesting against his companions, who, holding the same principle
with himself (viz. that the Son was a creature, ktisma), refused to acknowledge
the necessary inference (viz. that He is of unlike substance to the Father, anomoion).
His late friends would not let him remain at Mopsuuestia, where he was kindly
received by Auxentius, the Bishop there : Acacins procures his banishment to Amblada
in Pisidia, where he composed his 300 blasphemies, captious inferences from the
symbol of his irreligion, viz. that Ingenerateness (agennesia) is the essence
(ousia) of Deity; which are refuted (those at least which St. Epiphanius had seen)
in S. Ep. adv. Haer. 76. He there calls his opponents Chronites, i.e. Temporals,
with an apparent allusion to their courtly obsequiousness.
On Constantius's death, Julian recalled the various exiled bishops,
as well as Aetius, whom he invited to his court, giving him, too, a farm in Lesbos.
Euzoius, heretical Bishop of Antioch, took off the ecclesiastical condemnation
front Aetius, and he was made Bishop at Constantinople. He spreads his heresy
by fixing a bishop of his own irreligion at Constantinople and by missionaries,
till the death of Jovin, A. D. 364. Valens, however, took part with Eudoxius,
the Acacian Bishop of Constantinople, and Aetius retired to Lesbos, where he narrowly
escaped death at the hands of the governor, placed there by Procopius in his revolt
against Valens, A. D. 365, 366. Again he took refuge in Constantinople, but was
driven thence by his former friends. In vain he applied for protection to Eudoxius,
now at Marcianople with Valens; and in A. D. 367 he died, it seems, at Constantinople,
unpitied by any but the equally irreligious Eunomius, who buried him. (Phil. ix.
6.) The doctrinal errors of Aetius are stated historically in the article on Arius.
From the Manichees he seems to have learned his licentious morals, which appeared
in the most shocking Solifianism, and which he grounded on a Gnostic interpretation
of St. John, xvii. 3. He denied, like most other heretics, the necessity of fasting
and self-mortification. At some time or other he was a disciple of Eusebius of
Sebaste. Socrates speaks of several letters from him to Constantine and others.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Sep 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΛΑΟΔΙΚΕΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Georgius of Laodiceia, one of the leaders of the Arian, or rather Semi-Arian party
in the ecclesiastical struggles of the fourth century. His family were of Alexandria,
and it is probable that he was born and spent his early life there. He was a presbyter
of the church of Alexandria before the council of Nice (A. D. 325), and was anxious
to soothe the irritation caused by the dispute between Alexander, the bishop,
and Arius. The letters which he wrote for this purpose, both to the bishop and
to the Arian clergy, of which extracts are given by Athanasius (De Synodis, c.
17), show that he held the Son to have been produced by the Father. It was probably
this opinion that led to his deposition from the office of presbyter; though.
Athanasitus says (Ib.) that there were other charges against him, but does not
state what they were. He elsewhere says he was deposed "for his wickednesss"
dia ten kakian autou (Apol. de Fuga sua, c. 26), but this is probably only another
word for heresy. George is said to have subsequently been a presbyter at Arethusa
in Syria; and after that he succeeded Theodotus in the bishopric of Laodiceia,
in the same province. Athanasius says that he named himself bishop; but it is
difficult to understand what the charge means, except that perhaps George solicited
the office, instead of affecting any coyness in accepting it. He was aided in
obtaining it by his Arian friends, and must have been in possession of the bishopric
before the meeting of the council of Antioch (A. D. 329 or 330), at which Eustathius
of Antioch was deposed; for he was present at the council. His account of the
proceedings there was one of the authorities used by Socrates and Sozonten; though
Socrates says that some of his statements were inconsistent with each other. He
afforded shelter about the same time to Eusebius of Emesa or Emisa, when driven
from his see, and succeeded in procuring his restoration. In A. D. 335 he was
present at the council of Tyre. In A. D. 347 he did not attend the council of
Sardica, his enemies said it was through fear: in his absence he was sentenced
to be deposed and excommunicated, but the sentence does not appear to have been
carried into effect. He admitted to communion Cyril of Jerustalem, who had been
deposed (A. D. 358) by Acacius, bishop of Caesareia in Palestine, and int A. D.
359 headed the predominant party of the Semi-Arians, at the council of Seleuceia
in Isauria, where Cyril was restored. George and his party had at this time to
withstand the orthodox on the one hand and the Aetians or Anomoeans on the other.
He wrote to the council of Ancyra (A. D. 358) a letter against Eudoxius of Antioch,
whom he charged with being a disciple of Aetius; and he excommunicated the younger
Apollinaris, who was a reader in the church at Laodiceia, on account of the friendship
he had formed with Athanasius. He took part in the appointment of Meletius to
the bishopric of Antioch, and delivered one of three discourses then preached
at the desire of the emperor Constantius II. on Prov. viii, 22--" The Lord possessed
me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old." Iis exposition of the
passage was the least orthodox of the three; that of Meletius, the new bishop,
the most orthodox. We know nothing of George after the death of Constantius, A.
D. 361. His character is not impugned, except for his heresy, by any other writer
than Athanasius, who charges him with living intemperately, and thereby incurring
reproach even from his own party. It is hard to determine whether there is any,
or how much, truth in the charge. Fabricius states (Bibl. Gr. vol. xi.) that George
became in his latter days an Eunomian or Aetian, but he does not cite his authority,
and we doubt the correctness of the statement. George of Laodiceia had studied
philosophy. He wrote, 1. Letters to Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, and to the
Arians of Alexandria, already noticed. 2. Enkomion eis Eusebion ton Emisenon,
Encomium Eusebii Emiseni, containing the account already mentioned of the council
of Antioch. 3. A work against the Manichaeans, now lost, mentioned by Heraclian
(apud Phot. Bibl. cod. 85). (Athan. Apol. contra Arian. c. 36, 48, 49, Hist. Arian.
ad Monach, c. 4, 17, Apol. de Fuga sua, c. 26, Epistol. ad Episcop. Aeyypt. et
Libyae, c. 7, De Synodis, c. 17; Socrates, H. E. i. 24, ii. 9, 10; Sozom. H. E.
iii. 6, iv. 13; Theodoret, H. E. ii. 8, 31, v. 7; Philostorg. H. E. viii. 17;
Tillemont, Memoires, vol. viii. ix.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΥΡΡΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
393 - 457
The Life and Writings of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus.
ΒΕΡΟΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Antonius, a Greek Monk, and a disciple of Simeon Stylites, lived about A. D. 460. He wrote a life of his master Simeon, with whom he had lived on intimate terms. It was written in Greek, and L. Allatius (Diatr. de Script. Sim. p. 8) attests, that he saw a Greek MS. of it; but the only edition which has been published is a Latin translation in Boland's Act. Sanctor. i. p. 264. (Cave, Script. Eccles. Hist. Lit. ii. p. 145.) Vossius (De Hist. Lat. p. 231), who knew only the Latin translation, was doubtful whether he should consider Antonius as a Latin or a Greek historian.
ΕΠΙΦΑΝΕΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Evagrius, of Epiphaneia, known also as Evagrius Scholasticus and Ex-Praefectus.
He was a native of Epiphaneia on the Orontes, in the province of Syria Secunda,
as we gather from the title of his Ecclesiastical History, where he is called
Epiphaneus. (Comp. also his Hist. Eccles. iii. 34.) Photius says (Biblioth. Cod.
29), according to the present text, that he was of a celebrated city (poleos de
epiphanous) of Coele-Syria; but the text is probably corrupt. Nicephorus Callisti
(Hist. Eccles. i. 1, xvi. 31) twice cites him as ho epiphanes, "the illustrious;"
but this is probably an error, either in the transcription of Nicephorus or in
that of his authorities. The birth of Evagrius is fixed by data furnished in his
own writings in or about A. D. 536. (Evagr. Hist. Eccles. iv. 29, vi. 24.) He
was sent to school before or when he was four years old, for he was a schoolboy
when he was taken by his parents to the neighbouring city of Apameia to see the
exhibition of "the life-giving wood of the Cross," during the alarm
caused by the capture of Antioch by Chosroes or Khosru I., king of Persia, A.
D. 540. Two years afterwards (A. D. 542), he was near dying from a pestilential
disorder which then first visited the Byzantine empire, and which continued at
intervals for above half a century, if not more, to cause a fearful mortality.
Evagrius gives a melancholy catalogue of his own subsequent losses through it.
It took off, at different times, his first wife, several of his children (especially
a married daughter, who, with her child, died when the pestilence visited Antioch
for the fourth time, A. D. 591 or 592, two years before Evagrius wrote his history),
and many of his kindred and domestics. Evagrius was a "scholasticus"
(advocate or pleader), and is often designated from his profession. It is probable
that he practised at Antioch, which, as the capital of the province of Syria,
would offer an important field for his forensic exertions, and with which city
his writings shew that he was familiar. (Comp. Hist. Eccles. i. 18, iii. 28.)
He appears to have been the legal adviser of Gregory, patriarch of Antioch; and
some of his memorials, drawn up in the name of the patriarch, obtained the notice
and approval of the emperor Tiberius, who gave Evagrius, not as some have understood,
the quaestorship, but the rank of a quaestorian or ex-quaestor. (Evagr. Hist.
Eccles. vi. 24, where see the note of Valesius.) On the birth of Theodosius, son
of the emperor Maurice (A. D. 584 or 585), Evagrius composed a piece, apparently
a congratulatory address, which obtained a farther manifestation of imperial favour
in the rank of ex-prefect (apo eparchon), which designation he bears in the title
of his own work, and in Nicephorus. (Hist. Eccles. i. 1.) He accompanied the Patriarch
Gregory to a synod at Constantinople (A. D. 589), to the judgment of which the
patriarch had appealed when accused of incest and adultery. On his return to Antioch,
after the acquittal of Gregory, Evagrius (in October or November of the same year)
married a second wife, a young maiden. His reputation and influence are evidenced
by the fact that his marriage was celebrated by a general festival at the public
expense; but the rejoicing was interrupted by a dreadful earthquake, in which,
as some computed, 60,000 of the inhabitants perished. This is the last incident
in the life of Evagrius of which anything is known, except the death of his daughter,
already noticed, and the completion of his history, in A. D. 593 or 594.
Evagrius wrote (1) An Ecclesiastical History, which extends, besides
some preliminary matter, from the third general council, that of Ephesus, A. D.
431, to the twelfth year of the reign of the Emperor Maurice, A. D. 593-4. He
modestly professes that he was not properly qualified for such a work (me deinos
ego ta toiauta), but says he was induced to undertake it, as no one had yet attempted
to continue the history of the Church regularly (kat eirmon) from the time at
which the histories of Sozomen and Theodoret close. He has the reputation of being
tolerably accurate. His credulity and love of the marvellous are characteristic
of the period rather than of the individual. Photius describes his style as not
unpleasant, though occasionally redundant; and (as we understand the passage)
praises him as being more exact than the other ecclesiastical historians in the
statement of opinions: en de tei ton dogmaton orthoteti akribes ton allon mallon
historikon. Some however interpret the passage as a commendation of the historian's
orthodoxy. Nicephorus Callisti (Hist. Eccles. i. 1) notices, that Evagrius dwells
much on secular affairs, and enumerates the writers from whom he derived his materials,
namely Eustathius the Syrian, Zosimus, Priscus and Joannes, Procopius of Caesarea,
Agathias, " and other writers of no mean character." His history has
been repeatedly published. The edition of Valesius (Henri de Valois) which comprehends
the other early Greek Ecclesiastical Historians, has a valuable biographical preface,
a Latin translation, and useful notes. It was reprinted with some additional "
variorum" notes by Reading, 3 vols. fol. Camb. 1720. (2) A volume of Memorials,
Letters, Decrees, Orations, and Disputations, including the Memorials and the
address which procured for Evagrius his rank of Quaestorian and Ex-praeftect.
This volume is mentioned in the Ecclesiastical History, but appears to be now
lost. Some pieces of little moment have been ascribed to Evagrius, but most or
all of them incorrectly. (Evagrius, Hist. Eccles. iv. 26, 29, vi. 7, 8, 23, 24;
Photius, Biblioth. Cod. 29; Nicephorus Callisti, Hist. Eccles. i. 1, xvi. 31;
Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΣΥΡΙΑ (Αρχαία χώρα) ΣΥΡΙΑ
Isaacus. Surnamed SYRUS, lived in the middle of the sixth century, and was bishop of Niniveh, but abdicated and retired to a convent, of which he was afterwards chosen abbot. After having lived several years in that convent he went to Italy and died near Spoleto. It is probable that he is the author of the work De Contemtu Mundi, which is mentioned in the preceding article. He also wrote 87 Sermones Ascetici, which some attribute to the preceding Isaac, and which are extant in MS. in Greek, in the imperial library at Vienna. Some Homilies of this Isaac are extant in MS. in the Bodleian and other libraries. It is probable that Isaac wrote originally in Syriac. (Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. i. p. 519-520; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. xi. p. 215, &c.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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