Damian of Alexandria
Saint Damian of Alexandria | |
|---|---|
Coptic Orthodox Christian | |
| Residence | Saint Mark's Church |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 25 June (18 Paoni in the Coptic calendar) |
Damian of Alexandria (died 605) was the
Coptic pope and patriarch of Alexandria
from 576.
Originally from Syria, where his brother was a prefect in
Edessa,[1] he became a monk in his early years and spent sixteen years in the Egyptian desert of Scete, where he was ordained a deacon in the monastery of St. John the Short. Afterward, he went to a monastery near Alexandria and continued to practice asceticism
.
When
non-Chalcedonian views.[1]
He reigned for almost thirty-six years.
Controversies
While serving as Patriarch, Damian performed some controversial actions in trying to complete his predecessor's attempt to depose
Chalcedonian patriarch, probably Gregory of Antioch, discovered the plan and prevented it, forcing Damian and his colleagues to flee.[1] Damian then went to Constantinople, where he consecrated some bishops and took part in a church council, which he later repudiated.[1]
The Synaxarium entry for Damian recounts the following two theological controversies in which he was involved:[3]
- The first involved some Melitians who drank wine before Communion, claiming that Jesus had given the disciples two cups at the Last Supper and that only for the second did he say "This is My Blood." Damian explained that the first cup was the cup of the Jewish passover, which Jesus nullified with the second cup. Damian also informed them that the church canons ban those that eat before communion from partaking of the Eucharist. Damian's counsel persuaded some, but those who rejected his teaching were driven away.
- The second involves Damian's dialogue with church fathers, he was never able to persuade Peter and, as a result, he ordered that Peter's name not be mentioned in the Divine Liturgy while Peter remained alive. The schism between the Alexandrian and Antiochene churches lasted for almost a decade after Damian's death.[1]
Damian was very active in fighting views that he considered heretical, including not only tritheism, but also the
Stephen of Alexandria and Paul of Beth Ukame.[1] The Barsanuphians split from the Acephali during the time of Damian and established their own episcopal hierarchy.[4] Although most of Damian's writings are lost, he did influence many writers in his own time, such as John of Parallos, who, like Damian, focused on combating heresy.[1]
See also
References
- General
- البابا داميانوس [Pope Damian] (in Arabic). Official website of St. Takla Haymanot's Church. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e f g Alois Grillmeier, Theresia Hainthaler, O.C. Dean, Christ in Christian Tradition, Vol.2, Pt.4, pp.75-81.
- ISBN 9780814631867
- ^ "The Departure of St. Damianos", Synaxarium readings at the Coptic Orthodox Church Network, accessed 20 July 2010.
- ^ Arieh Kofsky (2004), "What Ever Happened to the Monophysite Monasticism of Gaza?", in Brouria Bitton Ashkelony; Arieh Kofsky (eds.), Christian Gaza In Late Antiquity, Brill, p. 191.