ANASTASIUS, PATRIARCHS OF ANTIOCH, SS.

Anastasius I, Patriarch of Antioch; d. c. 599. He was apocrisiarius of the See of Alexandria at Antioch and was elected patriarch in 559. He showed himself an intrepid defender of orthodoxy, opposing strenuously Emperor justinian I's edict on Aphthartodocetism (565), and was exiled to Jerusalem in 570 by Emperor justin ii. Pope gregory i, then apocrisiarius of Pope pelagius ii at Constantinople, sent several consoling letters to the exile, and on becoming pope interceded with Emperor Maurice for Anastasius' reinstatement (593). In exile Anastasius wrote much against heresy; five of his philosophical works are available in Latin translations. Because of the diversity of his argumentation, he is considered a precursor of scholasticism. He exercised great influence on later Greek theologians.

Feast: April 21.

Anastasius II, Patriarch of Antioch; d. c. 609. His letter to Pope Gregory I announcing his election and profession of faith is lost, but Gregory's reply exists (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Epistolae 7:48). His Greek translation of Gregory's Liber regulae pastoralis also has disappeared. He was killed during an insurrection of the Jews when Emperor Phocas attempted to convert them by force.

Feast: Dec. 21.

Bibliography: Anastasius I. Patrologia Greaeca 89:1293–1308. a. raes, Bibliotheca sanctorum (Rome 1961) 1:1064–65. e. stommel, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:490–491. s. vailhÉ, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al. (Paris 1903–50) 1.1:1166. r. janin, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 2:1460. b. altaner, Patrology (New York 1960) 619. l. duchesne, L'Église au VI e siècle (Paris 1925). r. devreesse, Le Patriarcat d'Antioche (Paris 1945) 81, 83, 99, 118, 119. Anastasius II. a. raes, Bibliotheca sanctorum (Rome 1961) 1:1052–53. h. rahner, Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:491. r. janin, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 2:1460.

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