Fabius of Antioch

Fabius of Antioch († 256 ) was Bishop of Antioch in the years 253-256 as the successor of Babylas .

Several letters have survived about Fabius, which he exchanged with the bishops of Rome and Alexandria and which have come down to us from Eusebius of Caesarea in his Historia ecclesiastica . It was about his stance in the Novatian schism, which arose when two people claimed the Roman bishopric in 251: Cornelius and Novatian . The differences mainly revolved around how the so-called lapsi were dealt with , the Christians who fell from the faith in the course of the Christian persecution of Emperor Decius . While Cornelius took a moderate stance here and wanted to enable these sinners to return to the religious community, Novatian took the stand that God alone could forgive such apostates and that they should therefore remain excommunicated. In this attitude Novatian was supported by Cyprian of Carthage and Fabius was initially inclined to agree. But then the Bishop of Alexandria, Dionysius , turned to Fabius and tried to change his mind. A council was supposed to be held in Antioch, to which Helenus of Tarsus, Firmilian of Caesarea in Cappadocia and Theocritus of Caesarea in Palestine as well as Dionysius were invited, but a decision was not reached because Fabius had previously died after three years in office. His successor Demetrianus then took over the more moderate attitude of Dionysius, which contributed to the fact that the dispute over the lapsi, which had caused considerable unrest in the west, did not spread to the east.

The letters to Fabius are significant in terms of ecclesiastical history as they give a good insight into the conditions in the parishes of Rome and Alexandria. Dionysius of Alexandria describes numerous details of Decius' persecution of Christians there, while a letter from Bishop Cornelius provides an insight into the organization of the Church in the city of Rome. It is mentioned, for example, that 42 priests, 7 deacons and 7 sub-deacons work there.

literature

• Eusebius of Caesarea : Historia ecclesiastica , VI, 43ff.

predecessor	Office	successor
Babylas	Bishop of Antioch 253–256	Demetrianus