Filastrius of Brescia

Filastrius of Brescia (also Brixiensis , Brixianus ; * probably around 330, † before April 4, 397) was traditionally the sixth bishop of Brescia . He was ordained a priest in 360 and a bishop in 380, but was not a native of Brescia. He went on numerous mission trips that took him all over the Roman world. He dealt with the Jewish religion, the ancient Roman belief in gods and the late antique heresies (including especially Arianism). In Milan he took a stand against the Arian bishop Auxentius . In 381 he took part in the Synod of Aquileia .

Presumably in the period from 370 to 380 he wrote the Diuersarum hereseon liber , a detailed work against the heresies, in which he treated one heresy in 156 chapters. The source he used was the Panarion of Epiphanius von Salamis , which is generally classified as being of higher quality. Together with the Panarion, the Diuersarum hereseon liber served again as a source for Augustine when he wrote his book De haeresibus . In terms of content, Augustine deals critically with the Diuersarum hereseon liber and is of the opinion that Filastrius described doctrines as false doctrines, which are actually not, which seems plausible with the number of 156 alleged false doctrines.

His successor Gaudentius gives the day of his death on July 18th. A note in a medieval manuscript shows that Filastrius was buried in the Church of St. Andrea at the Porta Romana in Brescia. Today his relics are together with those of St. Apollonius in the Cathedral of Brescia.

He is a saint of the Catholic Church with a feast day on July 18.

swell

• Gaudentius of Brescia : tract. 21 (eulogy of Filastrius)
• Augustine : ep. 222

literature

• Dirk Kurt Kranz:  Filastrius of Brescia. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 320-324.

Web link

• Latin text of the "Liber De Haeresibus" at Documenta Catholica Omnia

predecessor	Office	successor
Faustinus	Bishop of Brescia	Gaudentius