Pamphilus of Caesarea

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MrMacSon
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Pamphilus of Caesarea

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According to Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamphilus_of_Caesarea
  • Eusebius' Martyrs of Palestine attested that Pamphilus was of a rich and honorable family of [Berytus]/Beirut [and] that he gave all his property to the poor and attached himself to the "perfect men"
  • Photius said Pamphilus was a Phoenician born at Berytus
    • Berytus was known as 'Laodicea in Phoenicia' (Ancient Greek: Λαοδίκεια ἡ ἐν Φοινίκῃ) or 'Laodicea in Canaan' for ~100 years from the mid 2nd century BCE to 64 BCE when it was conquered by the Romans of Pompey (ie. during the late decades of the Roman Republic) and again named "Berytus" as a reference to the old original Phoenician port-village. In 14 BCE, during the reign of Herod the Great, Berytus became an important Roman colonia: it was considered the most Roman city in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire; the only one with full Ius Italicum (exempt from imperial taxation). Roman emperors promoted the development of high-level culture in the fully Romanized city (even in Greek language as with Hermippus of Berytus [2nd century AD/CE]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berytus
  • Photius quoted 'Pamphilus's Apology for Origen' to the effect that Pamphilus went to Alexandria, Egypt, where his teacher was Pierius, the head of the famous catechetical school there
  • In Alexandria, Pamphilus became devoted to the works of Origen of Alexandria
  • Pamphilus settled in Caesarea Maritima, where he was ordained a priest
  • According to Eusebius, he suffered martyrdom in the third year of the Diocletianic persecution, after spending two years in prison. While he was in prison, Pamphilus and Eusebius worked together on five books 'in defence of Origen' (Eusebius wrote the sixth book on his own)
  • Of the Apology for Origen, only the first book is extant, in a Latin version made by Rufinus
    • Jerome stated in his De Viris illustribus that there were two apologies—one by Pamphilus and another by Eusebius, but apparently, at some point, Jerome charged Rufinus, among other things, with palming off under the name of Pamphilus what was really the work of 'the heterodox', Eusebius, and with suppressing 'unorthodox passages'
      • As to the first accusation, there is abundant evidence that the Apology was the joint work of Pamphilus and Eusebius
      • Against the second may be set the negative testimony of Photius who had read the original; "Photius, who was severe to excess towards the slightest semblance of Arianism, remarked no such taint in the Apology of Origen which he had read in Greek" (Ceillier (1688 – 1761), a Benedictine monk)
    • The Apology of Origen : https://www.google.com.au/books/edition ... =en&gbpv=1
      It defended Origen as orthodox and presented Origen as a model Christian

      Pamphilus refuted accusations concerning Origen’s thought on the Trinity, the incarnation, the historicity of Scripture, the resurrection, punishment, the soul and metempsychosis. In the process of defending Origen, Pamphilus affirmed his denial of eternal punishment, therefore the Apology itself was controversial. Pamphilus and Eusebius refuted the accusations made against their hero and defended his views with many passages quoted from his own works. https://copticchurch.net/patrology/scho ... ter04.html (<- worth a read in full)

  • The canons of the alleged Council of the Apostles at Antioch were ascribed by their late fourth century compiler to Pamphilus (von Harnack, Spread of Christianity, I, 86-101)
  • A Summary of the Acts of the Apostles among the writings associated with Euthaliuso bears in its inscription the name of Pamphilus (Patrologia Graeca LXXXIX, 619 sqq.)
    • 4th - 7th centuries: a deacon of Alexandria and later Bishop of Sulca

The Catholic Encyclopedia entry for Pamphilus: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11436b.htm

Another biography : https://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict. ... 20Caesarea

Photius' Bibliotheca / Codices 1-165 : https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/phot ... otheca.htm : see 118 (search 'Pamphil')

Also http://earlychristianwritings.com/pamph ... sarea.html




In 394, as a result of the attacks by Epiphanius of Salamis upon the doctrines of Origen made during a visit to Jerusalem, a fierce quarrel broke out, which found Rufinus and Jerome on different sides. Although both Jerome and Rufinus had previously been great admirers of Origen's work, in the light of Epiphanius' criticism of Origen, Jerome felt that Rufinus was not fierce enough in attacking the works of Origen. Three years afterwards a formal reconciliation was brought about between Jerome and Bishop John, with whom Rufinus sided, but this was to prove only temporary.

In the autumn of 397 Rufinus embarked for Rome, where, finding that the theological controversies of the East were exciting much interest and curiosity, he published a Latin translation of the Apology of Pamphilus for Origen, and also (398-99) a somewhat free rendering of the Περὶ Αρχῶν (or De Principiis) of that author himself. In the preface to the latter work he referred to Jerome as an admirer of Origen, and as having already translated some of his works with modifications of ambiguous doctrinal expressions. This allusion annoyed Jerome, who was exceedingly sensitive as to his reputation for orthodoxy, and the consequence was a bitter pamphlet war, with Rufinus' Against Jerome and Jerome's Against Rufinus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannius_Rufinus#Life


This dispute involved several references by the interlocutors to Pamphilus:

Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus (402 AD/CE):
  1. Book I : https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27101.htm
  2. Book II : https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27102.htm
  3. Book III : https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27103.htm
Rufinus Apology Against Jerome:
  1. Book I : https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27051.htm
  2. Book II : https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27052.htm


Many of Rufinus' extant works are defences of himself against attacks by Jerome eg:
  • De Adulteratione Librorum Origenis – an appendix to his translation of the Apology of Pamphilus, and intended to show that many of the features in Origen's teaching which were then held to be objectionable arise from interpolations and falsifications of the genuine text
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannius_Rufinus#Works



http://prenicea.net/doc3/32601-en-01.pdf has
  1. "Translation of Pamphilus’ Defence of Origen, written at Pinetum a.d. 397" (which is different to the text in the above url); and
  2. 'Rufinus’s Epilogue to Pamphilus the Martyr’s Apology for Origen': otherwise, 'The Book Concerning the Adulteration of the Works of Origen'
    1. also https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf203.vi.v.html



https://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txub/rufinus2.htm contains
  1. Rufinus' Apology in Defence of Himself, sent to Anastasius, Bishop of the City of Rome
  2. The Letter of Anastasius, Bishop of the Church of Rome to John Bishop of Jerusalem Concerning the Character of Rufinus
    "Rufinus' translations of Origen's Peri 'Archon and of Pamphilus' Vindication of Origen, and his own book on the Falsification of Origen's works were taken at Rome as a defence of Origenism generally."
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