Paul of Samosata

Paul of Samosata was bishop of Antioch in the middle of the third century and a high official under Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. A series of synods charged him with teaching that Christ was a man filled with the divine Wisdom or Word rather than the Word incarnate, and a council about 268 deposed him. Nothing of his writing survives except short quotations preserved by later opponents, so the fragments come through hostile hands.

Dates

fl. ca. 260-268 (bishop of Antioch until his deposition) (approximate)

See or city

Antioch

Region

Syria

Notes

Bishop of Antioch, condemned and deposed by a synod at Antioch (usually dated 268). His own writings are lost; what survives are brief fragments quoted by his opponents.

Works

• Further fragments of the disputation with MalchionFragmenta Pauli Samosateni · ca. 264-268 · CPG number not yet checked