The Meletian schism originated during the last Great Persecution of Christians, which in Egypt lasted from AD 303-312. The Meletian controversy did not occur over theological disagreements, but rather over how to treat the lapsi, i.e. those Christians who had fallen away from the church during the persecutions. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, had a more moderate approach of readmitting those who had fallen away. Meletius of Lycopolis, Peter’s suffragan, believed that the lapsi needed to be treated in a stricter manner. During much of the persecution, Peter was either in hiding or in prison. In his absence, Meletius began performing acts reserved for the metropolitan, such as ordaining bishops. Because Peter was still alive and remained in contact with his diocese, this was a major breech of conduct. Meletius was consequently deposed around 307 by an Egyptian council and was banished to the mines of Palestine. He later returned to Egypt in 311 after Galerius issued his edict of toleration.

Towards the end of the persecution, Peter was imprisoned and beheaded on 25 November 311. He had not been successful in counteracting Meletius’ call for stricter treatment of the lapsi, and the Meletians, as the followers came to be called, had significantly grown in number. According to Epiphianus, they began referring to themselves as the “Church of the Martyrs” (Adv. Haer. 68.3).

The controversy was finally dealt with at the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council decided that Meletius would be allowed to retain his position as bishop of Lycopolis, but he would have no authority to ordain or even make nominations for ordinations. Since he had already hitherto ordained bishops, their offices would need to be confirmed by Alexander of Alexandria. Even though they would still be allowed to hold their positions, they would be considered inferior to those who had been initially ordained by Alexander.

Unfortunately, the Meletian problem did not completely go away. Contrary to the provisions of the Nicene Council, Meletius named a successor by the name of John Archaph. The Meletians made an alliance with Eusebius of Nicomedia and his followers during the summer of 330. The schism continued to flourish with Eusebius acting as one of the main instigators, and he used the controversy to work against his enemy Athanasius, current bishop of Alexandria.

A majority of the documents in the table come from Athanasius’ Apologia Contra Arianos, and since they act as a defense for Athanasius, they deal mostly with the time from Eusebius’ alliance with the Meletians in 330 to the climax of the controversy in 335, which resulted in Athanasius’ exile following the events of the Council of Tyre. It should be noted that the controversy continued for years after the council, but the table only contains documents from the most eventful period.

Fortunately, a large number of documents have survived in full, while a couple others are just fragments, as indicated in the table. Some of the documents listed are only references to letters, and these are indicated by a shaded background. A brief overview of the contents for such documents can be accessed by clicking the link. Varying accounts of the controversy, especially from the years 333-335, can cause a great deal of confusion. A table summarizing four of the main accounts can be accessed here.

Chart Guide:
Doc. No. The document number assigned by FCC
Date The date in which the document was written
Description The details on who wrote the document/letter to whom; translations of the documents can be accessed by clicking the link
Ancient Sources The location of various ancient sources in which the document can be found
Ancient Descriptions The location of various ancient sources in which the document is described
Doc. No. Date Description Ancient Sources Ancient Descriptions
1 c. 303-306 Four Bishops to Meletius of Lycopolis Codex Veronensis, LX, ed. M.J. Routh, Reliquae Sacrae, IV, 91-4; Migne, P.G. X, 1565-8, XVIII, 519-10
2 c. 303-306 Peter of Alexandria to the Alexandrians Codex Veronensis, LX, ed. M.J. Routh, Reliquae Sacrae, IV, 91-4; Migne, P.G. X, 1565-8, XVIII, 519-10
3 325 Council of Nicaea to Alexandria Soc. HE 1.9; Ath. Defense of Nicene Definition 36; Theodoret HE 1.9.2; Gelasius HE 2.34.2
4 327 Meletius to Alexander of Alexandria (breviarium Melitii) Ath. Ap. 71
5 330/1 Eusebius of Nicomedia to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 59; Soz. HE 2.22.1-2; Soc. HE 1.23.3b-4a
6 330/1 Eusebius of Nicomedia to Constantine Soz. HE 2.22.1-2; Soc. HE 1.27.2-3 and 1.23.4b
7 330/1 Athanasius to Constantine Soz. HE 2.22.3-5
8 330/1 Constantine to Athanasius (fragment) Ath. Ap. 59 Ath. Ap. 59; Soz. HE 2.22.3-5; Soc. HE 1.27.4-5
9 330/1 Athanasius to Constantine
Ath. Ap. 59; Soz. HE 2.22.6; Soc. HE 1.27.2-3
10 Winter 331/2 Constantine to the Meletians and Athanasius Ath. Ap. 60; Soz. HE 2.22.7; Soc. 1.27.8b
11 332 Constantine to Alexandria Ath. Ap. 61/2 Soc. HE 1.27.9-10; Soz. HE 2.22.8-9; portion in Theodoret HE 1.27
12 332/3? Ischyras to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 64
13 c. 333 Constantine to Dalmatius, censor of Antioch Ath. Ap. 65; Soc. HE 1.27.18-21
14 c. 333 Dalmatius to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 65
15 c. 333 Athanasius to the clergy in Egypt Ath. Ap. 65; Soz. HE 2.23
16 c. 333 Pinnes to John Archaph Ath. Ap. 67
17 c. 333 Athanasius to Constantine Ath. Ap. 65; Soz. HE 2.23
18 c. 333 Constantine to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 68 Soz. HE 2.23
19 c. 333 Constantine to Eusebius of Nicomedia and his followers Ath. Ap. 65
20 c. 333 Alexander of Thessalonica to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 66
21 c. 333 Arsenius to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 69
22 c. 333 Constantine to John Archaph Ath. Ap. 70
23 19 March 334 Aurelius Pageus to the Priors of Hathor monastery
24 May-June 335? Letter of Callistus
25 335 Constantine to Athanasius Ath. Ap. 71; Soc. HE 1.28; Theodoret, HE 1.28.2-4
26 335 Constantine to the Council of Tyre Theodoret, HE 1.29; Eusebius, Vita Const. IV.42
27 335 Alexandria to the Council of Tyre Ath. Ap. 73
28 335 Clergy of Mareotis to the Council of Tyre Ath. Ap. 74/5
29 8 September 335 Clergy of Mareotis to Philagrius, Prefect of Egypt Ath. Ap. 76
30 335 Bishops of Egypt to the Council of Tyre Ath. Ap. 77
31 335 Bishops of Egypt to Flavius Dionysius, consul of Tyre Ath. Ap. 78
32 335 Bishops of Egypt to Flavius Dionysius, consul of Tyre Ath. Ap. 79
33 335 Alexander of Thessalonica to Dionysius Ath. Ap. 80
34 335 Dionsysius to the Eusebians (fragment) Ath. Ap. 81
35 6 November 335 Constantine to the Bishops at Tyre Ath. Ap. 86; Gelasius, HE 3.18; Sozomen, HE 2.28.2-12; Socrates, HE 1.34

Bibliography

Barnard, L.W. “Athanasius and the Meletian Schism in Egypt.” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 59 (1973): 181-189.

Barnes, T.D. Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire. London: Harvard University Press, 1993.

Bell, H. Idris. Jews and Christians in Egypt: The Jewish Troubles in Alexandria and the Athanasian Controversy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1924.

Hardy, Edward Rochie. Christian Egypt: Church and People. New York: Oxford University Press, 1952.

McHugh, Michael P. “Meletius of Lycopolis.” In Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990.

Simonetti, M. “Melitius of Lycopolis, Melitian Schism,” “Peter I of Alexandria,” “Tyre.” In The Encyclopedia of the Early Church. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Telfer, W. “Meletius of Lycopolis and Episcopal Succession in Egypt.” The Harvard Theological Review 48 (1955): 227-237.

Williams, Rowan. Arius: Heresy and Tradition. Revised Edition, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001. (pp. 32-41)

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Last updated: 5-10-2012

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