Geographical distribution of bishops who showed sympathy with Arius’s theology
This map has four ancient sources of evidence, indicated in the sixth column. Click the link to read a translation of the source material:
A | Arius’s letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia (Urkunde 1) cites this person as having been condemned for Arian views. |
L | Philostorgius, Church History 2.14 or 3.15 cites this person as a Lucianist (does not alone amount to support for Arius). |
P | Philostorgius, Church History 1.8 cites this person as one of the Arians present at Nicaea. |
P* | Philostorgius according to Nicetas Choniates, Treasury of the Orthodox Faith 5.7 cites this person as Arian-minded. |
P** | P* according to Williams‘ emendation (Williams, pp. 67-68). |
T1 | Theodoret, Church History 1.5.5 cites this person as supporting Arius. |
T2 | Theodoret, Church History 1.7.14 cites this person as supporting Arian views at Nicaea. |
The fifth column indicates probable support of Arius at Nicaea, at least initially, according to Parvis, p. 46.
Y | Yes, the bishop probably supported Arius at Nicaea |
Y* | The bishop refused to sign the condemnations at Nicaea, therefore deposed and exiled |
Y** | The bishop was deposed and exiled 3 months after Nicaea |
This map is based on Sarah Parvis’s study in Marcellus of Ancyra And the Lost Years of the Arian Controversy 325-345, pp. 40-46. Each dot represents the location of a bishop listed on the right; hover over the dot to see which bishop it refers to.
Name | Bishopric | Province | Nicaea | Sources | ||||
1 | Dachius | Beronice | Libya | Y | P* | |||
2 | Secundus | Tauchira | Libya | Y | P* | T2 | ||
3 | Zopyrus | Barce | Libya | Y | P* | |||
4 | Secundus | Ptolemais | Libya | Y* | P | |||
5 | Theonas | Marmarice | Libya | Y* | P | T2 | ||
6 | Sentianus | Boreion | Libya | P* | ||||
7 | Melitius | Lycopolis | Upper Egypt | P* | ||||
8 | Eusebius | Caesarea | Palestine | Y | A | P* | T1 | |
9 | Patrophilus | Scythopolis | Palestine | Y | P* | T2 | ||
10 | Aetius | Lydda | Palestine | Y | A | T1 | ||
11 | Paulinus | Tyre | Phoenicia | A | P* | T1 | ||
12 | Gregory | Berytus | Phoenicia | Y | A | T1 | ||
13 | Theodotus | Laodicea | Syria | Y | A | T1 | ||
14 | Leontius | [Antioch] | Syria | |||||
15 | Athanasius | Anazarbos | Cilicia | A | L | P* | T1 | |
16 | Amphion | Epiphanea | Cilicia | P** | ||||
17 | Narcissus | Irenopolis | Cilicia | Y | P* | T2 | ||
18 | Tarcondimatus | Aegeai | Cilicia | Y | P* | |||
19 | Antonius | Tarsus | Cilicia | L | ||||
20 | Leontius | Caesarea | Cappadocia | L | P* | |||
21 | Basil | Amasea | Diospontus | P | ||||
22 | Longinus | Neocaesarea | Pontus Polemoniacus | P* | ||||
23 | Melitius | Sebastopolis | Armenia | P | ||||
24 | Eulalius | Sebastea | Armenia | Y | P* | |||
25 | Eusebius | Nicomedia | Bithynia | Y** | A | L | P | |
26 | Theognis | Nicaea | Bithynia | Y** | L | P | T2 | |
27 | Maris | Chalcedon | Bithynia | Y | L | P | ||
28 | Menophantus | Ephesus | Asia | Y | L | T2 | ||
29 | Asterius, traveling Sophist, never ordained | L |
Facts from Parvis, p. 39: Rufinus and Sozomen say there were 17 bishops who originally supported Arius at Nicaea. Theodoret only says a “few” supported him at Nicaea, and lists 6 men explicitly, but also states there were others. Philostorgius lists 22 “Arian-minded” individuals according to Nicetas. See Sarah Parvis, Marcellus of Ancyra And the Lost Years of the Arian Controversy 325-345 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 38-46. Arius’s page Go back to the chart of Early Arian Documents Created by AJW Last updated: 9/25/07 AJW Copyright 2006 Wisconsin Lutheran College Fourth-Century Christianity Home
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