Meletie al Antiohiei

La acest articol se lucrează chiar în acest moment! Ca o curtoazie față de persoana care dezvoltă acest articol și pentru a evita conflictele de versiuni din baza de date a sistemului, evitați să îl editați până la dispariția etichetei. În cazul în care considerați că este necesar, vă recomandăm să contactați editorul prin pagina de discuții a articolului.

Acest articol (sau părți din el) este propus spre traducere din limba engleză! Dacă doriți să vă asumați acestă traducere (parțial sau integral), anunțați acest lucru pe pagina de discuții a articolului. De asemenea, dacă nu ați făcut-o deja, citiți pagina de ajutor Traduceri din limba engleză.

Sf. Meletie, episcopul Antiohiei

Cel întru sfinți părintele nostru Meletie al Antiohiei (gr. Μελέτιος) a fost un episcop ortodox al Antiohiei de la anul 361 și pănâ la moartea sa în anul 381. Pentru sprijinul său ferm față de ortodoxia Sinodului I Ecumenic de la Niceea a fost exilat de trei ori sub împărații arieni. Unul dintre ultimele sale acte a fost de a prezida al doilea Sinod Ecumenic în 381. Prăznuirea sa se face la data de 12 februarie.

Viața

Meletius was born at Melitene in Lesser Armenia, an area now part of northeast Turkey, of wealthy and noble parents. Meletius apparently began an ascetic life in his youth. He was the bishop of Sebaste, the capital of Armenia Prima, from about 358, but he did not remain there very long as his predecessor who had been deposed, Eustathius of Sebaste, had been a strong Nicene advocate and very popular.

Through the years following the Council at Nicea, the Church of Antioch was rented by disputes between and among the various sects of the Arians and the Orthodox with the see often controlled by Arians. In 360, when Eudoxius, an Arian, became the Bishop of Constantinople, the succession to the see of Antioch was reopened. Meletius, who had been a personal friend of Acacius, an Semi-arian of the Homoean sect, was elected to the see of Antioch. His election apparently was due to Meletius' promises to both parties were such that Orthodox and Arians thought he was on their side.

Meletius apparently believed that truth lay in delicate distinctions, yet his formula was so indefinite that even today it is difficult to define it with precision. He was not dogmatically a Nicene nor a Arian, such that to an Anomean, Homoiousian, Homoian, or Neo-Nicene, he remained outside any inflexible classification. In a time when men became weary of interminable debate, the mild temper of Meletius seemed to have shown promise of a desired peace.

Meletius was not an Athanasius in temperament. His qualities were genuine, a life of simplicity, morality, and a sincere piety. When he entered Antioch, he began to reform various abuses, not arousing enmity by avoiding all questions in dispute. To force his hand, the emperor Constantius II, a strong Arian, convened a meeting of bishops for Meletius to explain himself. In a presentation that avoided technical language and vain discussion, he ended in a summary wherein he extended three fingers and then closed two saying "Three Persons are conceived in the mind but it is as though we addressed one only", and thus established his orthodoxy.Through this profession of faith he dealt a severe blow to the Arians.

Constantius and the Arians took quick revenge. In 361, Constantius exiled Meletius to his native Armenia, having occupied his see for less than a month. With his exile the religious life in Antioch became in chaotic. The churches were largely in Arian hands. The Arians placed Euzoius, who earlier had been deposed and expelled from the church with the heretic Arius by St. Alexander of Alexandria, as head of the see of Antioch. The Orthodox were divided between supporters of Eustathius led by Paulinus and those for Meletius led by Flavius and Diodorus. This schism remained unhealed until 415.

Later in November 361, Constantius died suddenly and was succeeded by Iulian Apostatul, who immediately revoked the the decrees of banishment. The next year, Meletius returned to Antioch, but to an atmosphere of schism with the Eustathians, who would not recognize Meletius as his election occurred with the help of the Arians. A further estrangement occurred when attempts at mediation by Eusebius of Vercelli were negated by the consecration of Paulinus as bishop of Antioch by Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari. Thus, Meletius became the leader of one of three factions in Antioch that accepted the Nicene Creed. In 365, emperor Valens exiled Meletius again, to Armenia. The date of his return is uncertain although he may have returned to Antioch in 367.

During the decades of the 360s and 370s, support for Meletius' orthodoxy increased as the number of bishops supporting him increased. In 370, St. Vasile cel Mare became the bishop of Caesarea and became a strong supporter of Meletius. The decade of the 370s became period of long distance negotiations among the Nicene factions. With the rise of Gratian to the imperial throne, peace was restore to the Church. In late 378, Meletius was restored in Antioch and exiled bishops were recalled to their sees. In 379, Emperor Theodosius I came to the Roman throne in the East. An ardent Nicene Orthodox, he expelled the Arian, Demophilus, as bishop of Constantinople and restored Meletius as bishop of Antioch. In October 379, Meletius presided at a council in Antioch of the bishops to assure the restoration of orthodoxy in the East. In May 381, Meletius and Theodosius convened what became the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople to bring harmony to the divided church. The council, opening with Meletius as its presiding officer, began by electing Grigorie Teologul as the Bishop of Constantinople, who was then enthroned by St. Meletius, before continuing on to confirmation of the Nicene creed. During these sessions in 381, St. Meletius died suddenly.

The funeral services for St. Meletius were held in the Church of the Apostles after which his body was transferred to Antioch for a second funeral service before he was laid to rest alongside his predecessor, St. Babylas.

Viața după Minei

Pentru bunătatea cea desăvârşită şi dragostea curată ce avea către Hristos, sfântul Meletie, era foarte iubit de mulţi. Astfel chiar de la începutul activităţii sale, când intra în cetate, în ziua hirotoniei sale, mânaţi fiind oamenii de dragostea ce aveau către dânsul, îl chemau pe la casele lor, socotind că acestea se vor sfinţi chiar şi numai prin intrarea lui. Dar nici nu împlinise treizeci de zile în cetate, că a şi fost izgonit de către vrăjmaşii adevărului, care cu îngăduinţa lui Dumnezeu au înduplecat pe împărat la aceasta. Iar după această izgonire, întorcându-se, a stat mai bine de doi ani la Constantinopol. Şi iarăşi în urma unor scrisori împărăteşti a fost poftit să meargă tocmai în Tracia. Acolo s-au adunat şi alţi episcopi din multe părţi ale lumii, chemaţi fiind şi ei cu scrisori împărăteşti, că începeau Bisericile lui Dumnezeu să dobândească pacea şi liniştea, mântuindu-se de iarna cea îndelungată a prigoanei. Atunci deci, arătându-se acolo marele Meletie, care era cinstit în chip deosebit de toţi, şi-a dat sufletul său în mâinile lui Dumnezeu, adormind în pace, în pământ străin. Pe acest fericit şi dumnezeiescul Ioan Gură de Aur şi Grigorie al Nissei, l-au cinstit cu cuvinte de laudă.

Imnografie

Tropar, glasul al 4-lea:

Îndreptător credinţei şi chip blândeţilor, învăţător înfrânării te-a arătat pe tine turmei tale adevărul lucrurilor. Pentru aceasta ai câştigat cu smerenia cele înalte, cu sărăcia cele bogate. Părinte ierarhe Meletie, roagă pe Hristos Dumnezeu ca să mântuiască sufletele noastre.

Condacul, glasul al 2-lea:
Podobie: "Cu curgerile sângelui Tău..."

Cu obiceiurile Ortodoxiei împodobindu-te, te-ai arătat ocrotitor şi apărător al Bisericii, fericite Meletie, luminând marginile cu învăţăturile, luminătorule preastrălucit al Bisericii.

Icos

Întocmai la obicei cu apostolii şi întocmai mărit şi de un scaun, toţi credincioşii pe tine cunoscându-te, părinte cuvioase, şi preot şi slujitor al Treimii şi mare învăţător al Bisericii, punându-ţi sufletul tău pentru dânsa, de trei ori fericite, şi de râvna cucerniciei aprinzându-te, de Dumnezeu înţelepţite Meletie, toţi cu un glas te lăudăm pe tine, cinstind sfânta ta adormire, preastrălucite luminător al Bisericii.

Casetă de succesiune: Meletie al Antiohiei
Precedat de: Eustatie	Episcop de Sebastia 358-361	Urmat de: ?
Precedat de: Eustaie	Episcop al Antiohiei 361-381	Urmat de: Flavian I

Surse

• wikipedia:Meletius_of_Antioch
• Meletius of Antioch
• St. Meletius, Patriarch of Antioch
• Mineiul pe luna februarie

Legături externe

• http://www.calendar-ortodox.ro/luna/februarie/februarie12.htm
• St Meletius the Archbishop of Antioch
• wikipedia:List_of_Patriarchs_of_Antioch
• List of Patriarchs of Antioch