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Philogonius, Bishop of Antioch

Wace's Dictionary of Early Christian Biography

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Philogonius, bp. of Antioch, 22nd in succession, following Vitalis c. 319. He affords an example of a layman, a husband, and a father being raised at once, like Ambrose at Milan, to the episcopate of his city. He had been an advocate in the law courts, and gained universal esteem by his powerful advocacy of the poor and oppressed, "making the wronged stronger than the wronger." The few facts known of his history are gathered from a homily delivered at Antioch by Chrysostom on his Natalitia (Chrys. Orat. 71, t. v. p. 507, ed. Savile). Chrysostom comments upon the great difficulties ( δυσκολίαι ) Philogonius met with at the commencement of his episcopate from the persecution which had so recently ceased, and says that his highest eulogy is the pure and flourishing condition in which he left the church. The earliest ecclesiastical building in Antioch, "the mother of all the churches in the city," traditionally ascribed to apostolic times, the rebuilding of which had been begun by Vitalis, was finished by him (Theod. H. E. i. 3). He was denounced by Arius as one of his most determined opponents ( ib. 5). He was succeeded by Paulinus, the Arianizing bp. of Tyre, c. 323. He is called Philonicus by Eutychius (p. 431), who assigns him 5 years of office (Tillem. Mém. eccl. t. vi. p. 194; Neale, Patr. of Ant. p. 84).

[E.V.]