Pamphilus of Caesarea
Encyclopedia
Saint Pamphilus (latter half of the 3rd century – February 16, 309), was a presbyter
of Caesarea and chief among Catholic Biblical scholars of his generation. He was the friend and teacher of Eusebius of Caesarea
, who recorded details of his career in a three-book Vita that has been lost.
, but the assertion that he gave all his property to the poor and attached himself to the "perfect men" does not square with his magnificent patronage of the library at Caesarea Maritima and his constant generosity to scholars through his lifetime. Photius, quotes Pamphilus's Apology for Origen to the effect that Pamphilus went to Alexandria
, where his teacher was Pierius
, the head of the famous catechetical school there, before settling in Caesarea Maritima, where he was ordained a priest
. In Alexandria
, Egypt
, Pamphilus became devoted to the works of Origen of Alexandria. Photius says that Pamphilus was a Phoenician born at Berytus, and a scholar of Pierius, who collected sacred literature. According to Eusebius, he suffered martyrdom in the third year of the Diocletian persecution, after spending two years in prison. While he was in prison, Pamphilus and Eusebius worked together on five books in defense of Origen.
The Diocletian persecution
began in earnest in the year 303. In 306 a young man named Apphianus-–a disciple of Pamphilus "while no one was aware; he even concealed it from us who were even in the same house"–-interrupted the governor in the act of offering sacrifice, and paid for his boldness with martyrdom. His brother Aedesius, also a disciple of Pamphilus, suffered martyrdom about the same time at Alexandria under similar circumstances. St Pamphilus's turn came in November, 307. He was brought before Urbanus, the governor of Palestine, and upon refusing to offer sacrifice, was cruelly tortured, and then relegated to prison. In prison he continued copying and correcting manuscripts. He also composed, in collaboration with Eusebius, also imprisoned, an Apology for Origen in five books, which Eusebius edited and to which he added a sixth book. St Pamphilus and other members of his household, along with Valens, deacon of the Church of Jerusalem and Paul of Jamnia, men "in the full vigour of mind and body", were without further torture sentenced to be beheaded in February, 309. While sentence was being given a youth named Porphyrius - "the slave of Pamphilus", "the beloved disciple of Pamphilus", who "had been instructed in literature and writing" – demanded the bodies of the confessors for burial. He was cruelly tortured and put to death, the news of his martyrdom being brought to Pamphilus before his own execution.
by the Roman Catholic Church
and the Eastern Orthodox Church
. His feast day is celebrated on February 16 and on June 1.
Universalist historians Hosea Ballou II
and J. W. Hanson (1899) have advanced that Pamphilius was a teacher of universal reconciliation
, however this appears to be based on association with Origen, where modern research shows this to be a misunderstanding of Patristic conceptions of apokatastasis.
David Hume
adopted the evocative pseudonym Pamphilus for his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
.
Presbyter
Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
of Caesarea and chief among Catholic Biblical scholars of his generation. He was the friend and teacher of Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
, who recorded details of his career in a three-book Vita that has been lost.
Biography
Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine attests that Pamphilus was of a rich and honorable family of BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, but the assertion that he gave all his property to the poor and attached himself to the "perfect men" does not square with his magnificent patronage of the library at Caesarea Maritima and his constant generosity to scholars through his lifetime. Photius, quotes Pamphilus's Apology for Origen to the effect that Pamphilus went to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, where his teacher was Pierius
Pierius
Pierius was a Christian priest and probably head of the catechetical school of Alexandria, conjointly with Achillas. He flourished while Theonas was bishop of Alexandria, and died at Rome after 309. The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on 4 November....
, the head of the famous catechetical school there, before settling in Caesarea Maritima, where he was ordained a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. In Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Pamphilus became devoted to the works of Origen of Alexandria. Photius says that Pamphilus was a Phoenician born at Berytus, and a scholar of Pierius, who collected sacred literature. According to Eusebius, he suffered martyrdom in the third year of the Diocletian persecution, after spending two years in prison. While he was in prison, Pamphilus and Eusebius worked together on five books in defense of Origen.
The Diocletian persecution
Persecution of Christians
Persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith can be traced both historically and in the current era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land...
began in earnest in the year 303. In 306 a young man named Apphianus-–a disciple of Pamphilus "while no one was aware; he even concealed it from us who were even in the same house"–-interrupted the governor in the act of offering sacrifice, and paid for his boldness with martyrdom. His brother Aedesius, also a disciple of Pamphilus, suffered martyrdom about the same time at Alexandria under similar circumstances. St Pamphilus's turn came in November, 307. He was brought before Urbanus, the governor of Palestine, and upon refusing to offer sacrifice, was cruelly tortured, and then relegated to prison. In prison he continued copying and correcting manuscripts. He also composed, in collaboration with Eusebius, also imprisoned, an Apology for Origen in five books, which Eusebius edited and to which he added a sixth book. St Pamphilus and other members of his household, along with Valens, deacon of the Church of Jerusalem and Paul of Jamnia, men "in the full vigour of mind and body", were without further torture sentenced to be beheaded in February, 309. While sentence was being given a youth named Porphyrius - "the slave of Pamphilus", "the beloved disciple of Pamphilus", who "had been instructed in literature and writing" – demanded the bodies of the confessors for burial. He was cruelly tortured and put to death, the news of his martyrdom being brought to Pamphilus before his own execution.
Veneration
St Pamphilus is regarded as a saintSaint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
. His feast day is celebrated on February 16 and on June 1.
Works and influence
- Of the Apology for Origen only the first book is extant, in a Latin version made by RufinusTyrannius RufinusTyrannius Rufinus or Rufinus of Aquileia was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is most known as a translator of Greek patristic material into Latin—especially the work of Origen.-Life:...
. It begins with describing the extravagant bitterness of the feeling against Origen. He was a man of deep humility, of great authority in the Church of his day, and honoured with the priesthood. He was above all things anxious to keep to the rule of faith that had come down from the Apostles. The soundness of his doctrine concerning the TrinityTrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
and the IncarnationIncarnationIncarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
is then vindicated by copious extracts from his writings. Then nine charges against his teaching are confronted with passages from his works. Saint JeromeSaint JeromeSaint Jerome is a Christian church father, best known for translating the Bible into Latin.Saint Jerome may also refer to:*Jerome of Pavia , Bishop of Pavia...
stated in his De Viris illustribus that there were two apologies—one by Pamphilus and another by Eusebius. He discovered his mistake when Rufinus's translation appeared in the height of the controversy over Origen, and rushed to the conclusion that Eusebius was the sole author. He charged Rufinus, among other things, with palming off under the name of the martyr what was really the work of the heterodox Eusebius, and with suppressing unorthodox passages. As to the first accusation there is abundant evidence that the Apology was the joint work of Pamphilus and Eusebius. Against the second may be set the negative testimony of Photius who had read the original; "Photius, who was severe to excess towards the slightest semblance of ArianismArianismArianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
, remarked no such taint in the Apology of Origen which he had read in Greek." The canonsCanon lawCanon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
of the alleged Council of the Apostles at Antioch were ascribed by their compiler (late fourth century) to Pamphilus. - The ascription to Pamphilus, by Gemmadius, of a treatise Contra mathematicos was a blunder due to a misunderstanding of Rufinus's preface to the "Apology".
- A Summary of the Acts of the Apostles among the writings associated with EuthaliusEuthaliusEuthalius was a deacon of Alexandria and later Bishop of Sulca. He lived towards the middle of the fifth century and is chiefly known through his work on the New Testament in particular as the author of the "Euthalian Sections"....
bears in its inscription the name of Pamphilus.
Universalist historians Hosea Ballou II
Hosea Ballou II
Hosea Ballou II was an American Universalist minister and the first president of Tufts University from 1853 to 1861. He promoted the establishment of seminaries for religious training, something which was at that time opposed by a number of influential Universalists including his uncle Hosea...
and J. W. Hanson (1899) have advanced that Pamphilius was a teacher of universal reconciliation
Universal reconciliation
In Christian theology, universal reconciliation is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God.Universal salvation may be related to the perception of a problem of Hell, standing opposed to ideas...
, however this appears to be based on association with Origen, where modern research shows this to be a misunderstanding of Patristic conceptions of apokatastasis.
David Hume
David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
adopted the evocative pseudonym Pamphilus for his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a philosophical work written by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. Through dialogue, three fictional characters named Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes debate the nature of God's existence...
.
Further reading
- Pamphilus, Defence of Origen: Introduction to Book 1, from Rufinus' Latin version (in English)