Amphilochius of Iconium

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Amphilochius of Iconium (* around 340 in Cappadocia , † around 395 ) was Archbishop of Iconium (today Konya , Turkey) and the province of Lycaonia and a close friend of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzen .

Only a few fragments have survived from Amphilochius himself. What is known about his life goes back mainly to his correspondence with Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzen. Several letters to Amphilochius have survived from both of them. Hieronymus mentions him in “De Viris Illustribus” and Theoderet knows an anecdote about the meeting of Amphilochius with Emperor Theodosius I and he is quoted by several councils.

Amphilochius was the son of the father of the same name. He came from a noble Cappadocian family and was probably a first cousin of Gregor von Nazianz. He studied rhetoric and jurisprudence, among others with Libanius in Antioch, and had an influential position, which cannot be precisely determined, where he got into financial or legal difficulties, as Gregor von Nazianz mentions in letters to him and to Gregory's brother Caesarius.

Around 369 he retired from public life to Ozizala near Nazianz, where he practiced religious asceticism and planted vegetables, among other things. During this time he also met Basil of Caesarea. He probably also spent some time working on the social projects of Basileus in Caesarea.

At the beginning of 374, at the age of about 35, he came to the important bishopric of Iconium, presumably through the influence of Basilius, where, as the letters of Basilius show, he became its important collaborator. He often visited Basil in Caesarea.

After the death of Basilius in 379 he was in a very personal correspondence with Gregor von Nazianz. In 381 he took part in the first council of Constantinople . His encounter with Jerome should also take place around this time.

Theoderet reports that Amphilochius greeted Emperor Theodosius with all due respect during an audience, but ignored his son Arkadius , who had recently been made Augustus. When Theodosius angrily declared any disregard for his son was a rudeness to himself, the bishop replied: “You see that you do not tolerate disregard for your son and that you harbor bitter anger against those who are rude to him. So believe that God, Lord of the whole world, detests those who are ungrateful and disregarding his only begotten Son, their savior and benefactor. ”Theoderet reports that the emperor was so impressed that he immediately issued an edict that forbade heretics' meetings. This encounter can be dated quite precisely, since Arcadius had been made Augustus in early 383 and the decree of Theodosius appeared in September of the same year.

394 his name appears in the list of the bishops who were present at the consecration of the St. Peter and Paul Basilica in Constantinople. According to Orthodox hagiography, he died in 395.

Amphilochius is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. His feast day is November 23rd.

Works

  • Amphilochii Episcopi Iconiensis Epistola ad Seleucum . Pardubicenus, Pragae 1613. ( Online )
  • Amphilochii Episcopi Iconii De Recta Studiorum Ac Vitae Ratione Epistola ad Seleucum . Denuo Edita / Curante & reviewer Cvnrado Rittershvsio. Altorfii 1644. ( Online )

literature

Web links

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  1. ^ Gregor von Nazianz, Ep. LXIII.
  2. ↑ Theoderet: Chapter XVI. — Of Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
personal data
SURNAME Amphilochius of Iconium
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop, saint
DATE OF BIRTH at 340
PLACE OF BIRTH Cappadocia
DATE OF DEATH at 395