Cappadocian Fatherswriter
Who he was
- He was born at Diocaesarea in Cappadocia and became a lawyer at Constantinople about 364.
- His desire to live as a hermit remained unfulfilled because in 374 he was, at the request of St. Basil the Great, consecrated bishop of Iconium.
- He was an intimate friend of the Three Cappadocians: Basil dedicated De Spititu Sancto to him, and Gregory of Nazianzus was very probably his cousin.
- Amphilochius governed his diocese very successfully, restoring order and discipline everywhere.
- He was a prominent figure in the controversies of his time.
- He seems to have acted vigorously against heretics, taking part in the Council of Constantinople (381), where he was praised for his Orthodoxy in the Law of Emperor Theodosius on 30 July 381, and in local synods against Macedonians and Messalians.
- He is last mentioned in 394, when he attended the
Synod of Constantinople which settled the Episcopal succession in the diocese of Bostra.
- The year of his death is unknown.
What he wrote
- All of Amphilochius’ writings are controversial.
- He defended the Christian doctrine in his speeches and writings against the Arians, Messalians, and Encratities. 1. Epistula synodalis(Synodical Letter)
- One of the few things that have come down to us complete.
- It is a profession of faith which defends the true divinity and consubstantiality (co-essentiality) of the Holy Spirit against the Pneumatomachi. 2. Against the Apotactites and Gemellites
- This polemical treatise is extant in a Coptic version only; it was probably composed between 373 and 381.
- It combats extremists, who for ascetical reasons rejected marriage, wine, the partaking of the Lord’s blood, and meat. 3. Contra haereticos(Against the Messalians) 4. Epistula iambica as Seleucum(Iambics for Seleucus).
- A short, well written didactic poem which instructs Seleucus in the life of study and virtue. 5. Homilies
- He wrote eight homilies on various texts from the Bible. 6. Lost Writings
- On the Holy Spirit.
- Oration on the Son.