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| Heraclas becomes Bishop of Alexandria. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter
XXVI.—Heraclas becomes Bishop of
Alexandria.
It was
in the tenth year of the above-mentioned reign that Origen removed from
Alexandria to Cæsarea,1996
1996 The tenth year of Alexander Severus, 231 a.d. On Origen’s departure from Alexandria at this
time, see below, p. 396. On Heraclas, see chap. 3, note 2. | leaving the
charge of the catechetical school in that city to Heraclas. Not long
afterward Demetrius, bishop of the church of Alexandria, died, having
held the office for forty-three full years,1997
1997 On the episcopacy of Demetrius, see Bk. V. chap. 22, note 4.
Forty-three years, beginning with 189 a.d.,
bring us down to 232 as the date of his death, and this agrees
excellently with the statements of this chapter. | and Heraclas succeeded him. At this time
Firmilianus,1998
1998 Firmilian, bishop of Cæsarea, the capital of Cappadocia (to
be distinguished from Cæsarea in Palestine), was one of the most
famous prelates of his day in the Eastern Church. He was a friend of
Origen, as we learn from the next chapter, and took part in a council
called on account of the schism of Novatian (see chap. 46), and also in
councils called to consider the case of Paul of Samosata (see Bk. VII.
chaps. 28 and 30). He was one of the bishops whom Stephen
excommunicated because they rebaptized heretics (see Bk. VII. chap. 2,
note 3, and chap. 5, note 4), and he wrote an epistle upon this subject
to Cyprian, which is extant in a Latin translation made by Cyprian
himself (Ep. 74, al. 75, in the collection of
Cyprian’s epistles. See Dict. of Christ. Biog. I. 751,
note). Basil (de Spiritu Sancto, 29) refers to works
(λόγοι) left by
Firmilian, but none of them are extant except the single epistle
mentioned, nor do we hear from any other source that he was a writer.
Jerome does not mention him in his De vir. ill. The exact date
of his accession is unknown to us, as it very likely was to Eusebius
also. He was a bishop already in the tenth year of Alexander (231 a.d.), or very soon afterward, and from Bk. VII.
chap. 30, we learn that he died at Tarsus on his way to Antioch to
attend a council which had been summoned to deal with Paul of Samosata.
This synod was held about 265 a.d. (not in 272
as is commonly supposed; see Bk. VII. chap. 29, note 1), and it is at
this time, therefore, that we must put the death of Firmilian; so that
he was bishop of Cæsarea at least some thirty-four
years. | bishop of Cæsarea in
Cappadocia, was conspicuous.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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