St. Pachomius Library

Acacius, Bishop of Berea

IV/V Centuries
In the 370s, a priest of Aleppo named Acacius corresponded with St. Epiphanius of Salamis about how to keep straight the ever-proliferating heresies afflicting the Church, and with St. Basil the Great about maintaining Orthodoxy in the face of opposition. Increasingly, the heresy which Acacius found the most problematic was Apollinarianism; he would journey to Rome to testify on the subject before Pope Damasus.
As bishop of his diocese, Acacius was famous for his personal integrity and holiness. However, he gradually came (like many veterans of the struggle with Apollinarianism) to hold views close to those of Nestorius. When the Nestorian crisis reached full seriousness, Acacius was one of the oldest and most respected bishops in the East, reputedly more than 100 years old; he attempted to use his seniority to bring about a compromise solution. This arguably succeeded in the short run, but not in the long.
Acacius' reputation is also somewhat marred by his strong opposition to St. John Chrysostom, perhaps motivated by personal rather than theological disagreements, and by his involvement in the chaotic Meletian schism in Antioch.
Norman Hugh Redington

ABOUT:
- From Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography. --- Isidore of Seville
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, p. 43.
- St. Basil the Great: Epist. 220 Commending the faith of the Bereans, as reported by Acacius.
- St. Basil the Great: Epist. 256 Encouraging the Berean clergy, including Acacius, in the wake of an arson attack.
- Socrates Scholasticus: Hist. Eccl., VI, 18.
WORKS: Read with caution.
- Epistolæ 1-2 Acacii et Pauli ad S. Epiphanium, initio Panarii, (Two Letters of Acacius and Paul to St. Epiphanius). PG 41:155. St. Epiphanius wrote his famous Panarium in response to these letters, which he reproduced in the preface.
- Epistola ad Cyrillum Alex. PG 77:99.
- Epistola ad Alexandrum Hierapolitanum. PG 84:647.
- Propositiones directæ ad Cyrillum. PG 84:658.
- Confessio fidei, (Confession of Faith). PG 84:851.

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