Part of a series on |
Eastern Christianity |
---|
Eastern Christianity portal
|
History |
Orthodox Church History Asian Christianity Coptic Egypt · Ukraine |
Traditions |
Orthodox Church Others: Oriental Orthodoxy Ethiopian Tewahedo Church Coptic Church Church of the East Eastern Catholic Churches Syriac Christianity |
Liturgy and worship |
Sign of the cross Divine Liturgy Iconography Asceticism Omophorion |
Theology |
Hesychasm · Icon Apophaticism Filioque clause Miaphysitism Monophysitism Diophysitism Nestorianism Theosis · Theoria Phronema · Philokalia Praxis · Theotokos Hypostasis · Ousia Essence vs. Energies Metousiosis |
The Church Father and Saint Methodius of Olympus (died ca. 311) was a Christian bishop, ecclesiastical author, and martyr.
Contents |
Few reports have survived on the life of this first scientific opponent of Origen; even these short accounts present many difficulties. Eusebius does not mention him in his Church History, probably because he opposed various theories of Origen. We are indebted to Saint Jerome for the earliest accounts of him[1]. According to him, Methodius was Bishop of Olympos in Lycia and afterwards Bishop of Tyre. The latter statement is not reliable; no later Greek author knows anything of his being Bishop of Tyre; and according to Eusebius[2], Tyrannio was Bishop of Tyre during the persecutions of Diocletian and died a martyr; after the persecution Paulinus was elected bishop of the city. Jerome further states that Methodius suffered martyrdom at the end of the last persecution, i.e., under Maximinus Daia (311). Although he then adds, "that some assert", that this may have happened under Decius and Valerian at Chalcis, this statement (ut alii affirmant), adduced even by him as uncertain, is unlikely. Various attempts have been made to clear up the error concerning the mention of Tyre as a subsequent bishopric of Methodius; it is possible that he was transported to Tyre during the persecution and died there.
Methodius had a comprehensive philosophical education, and was an important theologian as well as a prolific and polished author. Chronologically, his works can only be assigned in a general way to the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth century. He became of special importance in the history of theological literature, in that he combated various views of the great Alexandrian, Origen. He particularly attacked his doctrine that man's body at the resurrection is not the same body as he had in life, as well as his idea of the world's eternity. Nevertheless he recognized the great services of Origen in ecclesiastical theology.
Like Origen, he is strongly influenced by Plato's philosophy, and uses to a great extent the allegorical explanation of Scripture. Of his numerous works only one has come down to us complete in a Greek text: the dialogue on virginity, under the title Symposium, or on Virginity (Symposion e peri hagneias)[3]. In the dialogue, composed with reference to Plato's Symposium, he depicts a festive meal of ten virgins in the garden of Arete, at which each of the participators extols Christian virginity and its sublime excellence. It concludes with a hymn on Jesus as the Bridegroom of the Church. Larger fragments are preserved of several other writings in Greek; we know of other works from old versions in Slavonic, though some are abbreviated.
The following works are in the form of dialogue:
While large portions of the original Greek text of both these writings are preserved, we have only Slavonic versions of the four following shorter treatises:
Of other writings, no longer extant, Jerome mentions (loc. cit.) a voluminous work against Porphyry, the Neoplatonist who had published a book against Christianity; a treatise on the Pythonissa directed against Origen, commentaries on Genesis and the Canticle of Canticles. Other authors attributed a work On the Martyrs, and a dialogue Xenon to Methodius; in the latter he opposes the doctrine of Origen on the eternity of the world. Gregory Abu'l Faraj attribute to Methodius some kind of work dealing with the patriarchs.[4]
The 7th-century Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius is falsely attributed to him. His feast day is September 18. Among the editions of his works are: P.G., XVIII; Jahn, S. Methodii opera et S. Methodius platonizans (Halle, 1865); Bonwetsch, Methodius von Olympus: I, Schriften (Leipzig, 1891).
Methodius taught that Jesus Christ remained a virgin His whole life as an example for men:
"What then did the Lord, the Truth and the Light, accomplish on coming down to the world? He preserved His flesh incorrupt in virginity with which he had adorned it. And so let us too, if we are to come to the likeness of God, endeavor to aspire to the virginity of Christ." (Symposium 1.5)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "St. Methodius of Olympus". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.