Maximus of Jerusalem | |
---|---|
Bishop of Jerusalem | |
Born | unknown |
Died | 347 |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
Feast | May 5 (Catholic Church) May 9 (Orthodox Church locally) August 26 (Orthodox Church Universally) |
Saint Maximus of Jerusalem (Maximus III of Jerusalem) was an early Christian saint and bishop of Jerusalem from roughly 333 AD to his death in 347 AD. He was the third bishop of Jerusalem named Maximus, the other two being in the latter half of the 2nd century. [1]
During one of the persecutions of his era he was tortured for his Christian faith, and thus became known as a confessor, although modern sources disagree as to whether this happened in the reign of Galerius Maximianus or the reign co-emperors Diocletian and Maximian. He was a priest in Jerusalem, and it is said by Sozomen that he was so popular among the people for good character and for being a confessor that when Saint Macarius attempted to appoint him as bishop of Lydda (also known as Diospolis) the populace insisted upon his retention in Jerusalem. Upon Macarius' death Maximus became bishop of Jerusalem, and was present in 335 at the first synod of Tyre, and signed that council's condemnation of Athanasius. During Athanasius' return from exile, circa 346, Maximus convoked a synod in Jerusalem of sixteen Palestinian bishops that welcomed Athanasius. Socrates Scholasticus recorded that Maximus "restored communion and rank" to Athanasius, Athanasius receiving support against the Arians and Maximus advancing the desire of the bishops of Jerusalem to have their see be equal in status to the metropolitan see of Caesarea, a desire later achieved in 451 AD. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Maximus was succeeded as bishop of Jerusalem by saint Cyril, though the process is unclear. Sozomen and Socrates say that Maximus had been deposed in favor of Cyril by Acacius of Caesarea and Patrophilus of Scythopolis, both Arians. Jerome says instead that Maximus' intended successor was Heraclius, whom Maximus had named upon his death bed, but that Acacius and Cyril deposed Heraclius and made Cyril bishop. Rufinus (CH, 10.24) mentions only that the ordination was in some unspecified way "irregular". Regardless of how the succession came about, Cyril and Acacius would become bitter enemies during the next few years, disagreeing both in the Arian controversy and in terms of the precedence and rights of each see. [1] [6] [7]
The Roman Catholic Church marks his feast day on May 5, [8] and the Eastern Orthodox Church on May 9, locally. Eastern Orthodox Liturgics Wikipedia also notes his Universal and therefore main feast as August 26. [9]
Cyril of Jerusalem was a theologian of the Early Church. About the end of AD 350, he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of Caesarea, and the policies of various emperors. Cyril left important writings documenting the instruction of catechumens and the order of the Liturgy in his day.
Pope Julius I was the bishop of Rome from 6 February 337 to his death on 12 April 352. He is notable for asserting the authority of the pope over the Arian Eastern bishops, as well as setting December 25 as the official birthdate of Jesus.
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills.
Saint Meletius was a Christian bishop of Antioch from 360 until his death in 381. However, his episcopate was dominated by a schism, usually called the Meletian schism.
Macedonius was a Greek bishop of Constantinople from 342 up to 346, and from 351 until 360. He inspired the establishment of the Pneumatomachi, a sect later declared heretical.
Macarius I was Bishop of Jerusalem from 312 to shortly before 335, according to Sozomen. He is venerated as a saint within the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church.
Eustathius of Antioch, sometimes surnamed the Great, was a Christian bishop and archbishop of Antioch in the 4th century. His feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Church is February 21.
Acacius of Caesarea was a Christian bishop probably originating from Syria; Acacius was the pupil and biographer of Eusebius and his successor on the see of Caesarea Palestina. Acacius is remembered chiefly for his bitter opposition to Cyril of Jerusalem and for the part he was afterwards enabled to play in the more acute stages of the Arian controversy. The Acacian theological movement is named after him. In the twenty-first oration of St. Gregory Nazianzen, the author speaks of Acacius as being "the tongue of the Arians".
Semi-Arianism was a position regarding the relationship between God the Father and the Son of God, adopted by some 4th-century Christians. Though the doctrine modified the teachings of Arianism, it still rejected the doctrine that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-eternal, and of the same substance, or consubstantial, and was therefore considered to be heretical by many contemporary Christians.
Marcellus of Ancyra was a Bishop of Ancyra and one of the bishops present at the Council of Ancyra and the First Council of Nicaea. He was a strong opponent of Arianism, but was accused of adopting the opposite extreme of modified Sabellianism. He was condemned by a council of his enemies and expelled from his see, though he was able to return there to live quietly with a small congregation in the last years of his life. He is also said to have destroyed the temple of Zeus Belos at Apamea.
The Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J.P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique, Paris.
The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria.
Paphnutius of Thebes, also known as Paphnutius the Confessor, was a dubiously historical early Christian figure, said to be a disciple of Anthony the Great and a bishop of a city in the Upper Thebaid in the early fourth century. He is accounted by some as a prominent member of the First Council of Nicaea which took place in 325. Neither the name of his see nor the precise date of his death are known.
The First Synod of Tyre or the Council of Tyre was a gathering of bishops called together at Tyre by Emperor Constantine I for the primary purpose of evaluating charges brought against Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria, who was deposed by the council.
The Arian controversy was a series of Christian disputes about the nature of Christ that began with a dispute between Arius and Athanasius of Alexandria, two Christian theologians from Alexandria, Egypt. The most important of these controversies concerned the relationship between the substance of God the Father and the substance of His Son.
The Pneumatomachi, also known as Macedonians or Semi-Arians in Constantinople and the Tropici in Alexandria, were an anti-Nicene Creed sect which flourished in the regions adjacent to the Hellespont during the latter half of the fourth, and the beginning of the fifth centuries. They denied the godhood of the Holy Ghost, hence the Greek name Pneumatomachi or 'Combators against the Spirit'.
Patrophilus was the Arian bishop of Scythopolis in the early-mid 4th century AD. He was an enemy of Athanasius who described him as a πνευματόμαχος or "fighter against the Holy Spirit". When Arius was exiled to Palestine in 323 AD, Patrophilus warmly welcomed him.
The Diocese of Scythopolis is a titular see in Israel/Jordan and was the Metropolitan of the Roman province of Palestina II. It was centered on Modern Beth Shean (Bêsân).
Cecropius of Nicomedia was a bishop of Nicomedia and a key player in the Arian controversy.
Heortasius was a 4th-century bishop of Sardis and attendee at the Councils of Seleucia and Constantinople. He was a proto-Catholic who was sent into exile by the Semi-Arian faction following their victory at the afore-mentioned Councils.
Maximus of Jerusalem.