Marcellus of Ancyra Fragments

Marcellus was Bishop of Ancyra already by 314.  He was in attendance at Nicaea in 325 and spoke out against the teachings of Arius.  A decade later he refused to accept the ruling against Athanasius handed down by the Synod of Tyre, controlled by an anti-Nicene group led by Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius of Nicomedia.  He subsequently wrote a book Against Asterius, the sophist/philosopher who had written in defense of some of Arius's followers.  This led to Marcellus himself being deposed by the Synod of Constantinople (336), and this decision was reaffirmed by several subsequent eastern synods.  Eusebius of Caesarea wrote two works, Against Marcellus and On the Theology of the Church in opposition to Marcellus.  The deposed bishop went to Rome where he pled his case to Bishop Julius, being cleared of all charges after submitting a letter and profession of faith to a Roman synod (341).  This restoration was confirmed by the western Council of Sardica (343), but nagging doubts about some of his theological tenets left him isolated during the coming decades.  He died in 374.  While his Against Asterius has not survived as a whole, many excerpts were incorporated into patristic works and have been collected most recently in the editions of Klostermann and Vinzent.  No English translation has ever appeared in print.  We offer here translations of select fragments.

Created by JRZ
Last updated: 12/11/06 JRZ
Copyright 2006 Wisconsin Lutheran College
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