Voices from Antioch and Rome

This episode contains two epistles, each dealing with heretics and written by Christians outside of Alexandria. The first, was composed around A.D 269 by Malchion, a man well-versed in secular education and a presbyter of the Church in Antioch. The epistle summarizes a decision made by a synod convened in Antioch to evaluate Paul of Samosata. While the original text has been lost, much of the work has been preserved in Eusebius’ Church History, where it is related that Malchion was the only one able to identify Paul’s heresy despite his craft and subterfuge.

The details of this disputation have been lost, but the letter of condemnation has survived and is presented here. It is worth noting that the concerns mentioned in the epistle are not theologically focused but rather relate to practical and process issues. Paul was, by this account at least, an arrogant man unbecoming of a Bishop.

The second text presented here is a refutation of Sabellius, who argued that there was no distinction between the Father and the Son. It comes to us through Athanasius, who apparently found it helpful in discussing the nature of the Trinity. The refutation was written by Dionysius, the Bishop of Rome referenced in Malchion’s epistle, sometime between A.D. 259 and 269. This refutation serves to demonstrate the orthodoxy of a Church which up to this point in the series has remained largely in the background.

If you would like to read more of the writings of the Early Christian Fathers, please visit ccel.org to view the full collection.