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St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus
IV/V Centuries
One of the first and most vociferous opponents of Origen, St. Epiphanius
was born c. 315 in Palestine. His parents were Christians, and he studied
languages in Egypt before returning to his native land, where he
established a monastery near Eletheropolis. An ardent proponent of
monasticism and Nicene Christianity, Epiphanius was elected metropolitan
of Constantia in 367 and continued as abbot of his monastery until his
death. He also attacked the theology of Apollinaris of Laodocia and of
Melitus of Antioch, but he regar ded Origen as the source of all error and
urged Patriarch John of Jerusalem to condemn Origen and his thought. When
John refused, Epiphanius excommunicated him, an action which Jerome
supported. Epiphanius later ordained Jerome's brother Paulinus to the
priesthood, although Paulinus was under John's jurisdiction.
When Patriarch John Chrysostom of Constantinople granted refuge to the
Tall Brothers, whom Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria had condemned as
Origenist, Epiphanius began to attack Chrysostom, his friend. Epiphanius
left Constantinople before the Council of the Oak, which deposed
Chrysostom, and died at sea in 403.
Epiphanius' most famous work is the Panarion, also known as a
Refutation of All Heresies. Ancoratus is
an exposition of tritarian theology that
contains a draft of the Nicene Creed. He also wrote On Weights
and Measures, a manual for studying the Bible, and On Gems,
an explanation of
the priest's breastplate. His criticisms of the use of art in worship
prefigure iconoclasm.
Karen Rae Keck
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