Saint Philastrius | |
|---|---|
 The holy bishops Apollonius and Philaster. Detail of thesarcophagus of Bishop Berardo Maggi | |
| Died | ~387 AD |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Feast | July 18 |
Philastrius (alsoPhilaster orFilaster)Bishop of Brescia, was one of the bishops present at asynod held in Aquileia in 381.
Philastrius was born around 330 and ordained at the age of 30.[1] Hagiographical accounts describe him as leaving his homeland and family inheritance to devote himself fully to religious life, likening his departure to that ofAbraham.[2]
He traveled extensively throughout the Roman world, preaching against pagans and heretics, particularly theArians. InMilan, he became a significant supporter of the Catholic faction during the tenure ofAmbrose's Arian predecessor, Auxentius.[3]Augustine of Hippo met him in Milan around 383 or shortly thereafter. AtRome, he held both private and publicdisputations with heretics and reportedly converted many individuals.
His travels ended when he was appointedBishop of Brescia.[4] He died sometime before 387 and was buried in the ancient cathedral of St Andrew at Brescia. The Catholic Church venerates him as a saint, with his feast day observed on 18 July, as recorded in the latest official edition of theRoman Martyrology.[5]
Among the writings ofGaudentius of Brescia was asermon purporting to be preached on the fourteenth anniversary of Philastrius's death. Historians such asLouis Ellies du Pin have questioned the genuineness of this sermon. Friedrich Marx thought the sermon a forgery of the eighth or ninth century. The chief objection to its genuineness, rather a weak one, seems to be that it is not found in the manuscripts containing the undoubted sermons of Gaudentius. Marx was answered by Knappe, "Ist die 21 Rede des hl. Gaudentius (Oratio B. Gaudentii de Vita et Obitu B. Filastrii episcopi prædecessoris sui) echt? Zugleich ein Betrag zur Latinität des Gaudentius" (Osnabrück), who endeavoured to prove the genuineness of the sermon in question by linguistic arguments. HisBollandist reviewer thought he has made a strong case (Anal. Boll., XXVIII, 224).[4]
Philastrius composed a catalogue ofheresies (Diversarum Hereseon Liber) about 384.[4]Richard Adelbert Lipsius discovered that in Philastrius's "Catalogue" of heresies, for theChristian heresies up toNoetus, the compiler drew from the same source asEpiphanius of Salamis, i. e. the lostSyntagma of Hippolytus. By the aid, therefore, of these two and thePseudo-TertullianAdversus Omnes Haereses it has been possible in great measure to reconstruct the lost treatise of Hippolytus.
Philastrius' comments and spellings do not always accord with those of Epiphanius or Pseudo-Tertullian, for example his description ofNazaraei does not match well with either theNasaraioi orNazoraioi which Epiphanius attempts to distinguish.[6]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Philastrius".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
