Heraclas of Alexandria
Heraclas of Alexandria ( Greek Heraklas ; † 248 ) was from 232 to 248 as the successor of Demetrius Bishop of Alexandria .
Heraclas, although at least five years older than Origen , was, as Eusebius of Caesarea reports in his church history , as his pupil and assistant and, when Origen was forced into exile, took over the presidency of the Alexandrian catechist school. It was Heraclas' knowledge of philosophy and Greek that persuaded Sextus Iulius Africanus to visit him in Egypt. Heraclas was ordained a priest by Bishop Demetrius , who himself had been a staunch opponent of Origen since he began to preach in Caesarea without being ordained. The dispute had escalated further when Origen was ordained a priest without Demetrius' consent; Demetrius then called a synod that declared this ordination invalid. Soon afterwards Demetrius died and Heraclas became his successor in the episcopate. Origen returned to Alexandria back, but to Heraclas obviously felt the decision of the Synod bound and confirmed the dismissal of Origen, whom he drove out of Alexandria and he alleged about the heresy that Anathema was imposed.
Eutychius of Alexandria reports that Alexandria was the only bishopric in Egypt until the beginning of the 3rd century and that Demetrius created three and Heraclas another 20 new bishoprics there. Heraclas was apparently the first Egyptian bishop to receive the honorary title of “Papa” (“Pope”, actually: “Father”), which the heads of the Coptic Church still wear today - the Roman bishop first got the name under Marcellinus around 70 years later on. Heraclas can therefore also be considered the first Egyptian metropolitan .
Successor in office was Dionysius . Heraclas is venerated as a saint. Its feast day is July 14th in the west , while the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches commemorate it on December 4th .
literature
- Richard Goulet: Héraclas. In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques . Volume 3, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-271-05748-5 , pp. 550-551
- Hans Lietzmann : Heraklas 2 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VIII, 1, Stuttgart 1912, Col. 423.
Web links
- Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Demetrius |
Bishop of Alexandria 232–248 |
Dionysius |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heraclas of Alexandria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Heraclas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Alexandria |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 248 |