Aerius of Sebaste

fl. c. AD 355 – after 370 · Presbyter of Sebaste · Founder of the Aerians · Sebaste, Pontus

The Nicene Age

Who Aerius of Sebaste was

Eustathius of Sebaste's fellow-ascetic and rival, who — passed over for the bishopric — pressed ascetic logic into ecclesiology: a presbyter is no less than a bishop, prayers and offerings for the dead avail nothing, fasts are free. Driven with his followers to open-air meetings in the snow, he gave Epiphanius the Panarion's seventy-fifth heresy and later centuries a name to conjure with whenever the episcopate itself was questioned.

Common questions

When was Aerius active?

Aerius of Sebaste is dated fl. c. AD 355 – after 370 in the archive, which places Aerius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Aerius?

Aerius of Sebaste is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Epiphanius of Salamis and Augustine of Hippo. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Aerius from?

The archive associates Aerius of Sebaste with Sebaste, Pontus. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were Aerius’ contemporaries?

The archive links Aerius of Sebaste to 1 other figure, including Eustathius of Sebaste. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Primary-source mentions (2)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Panarion 75

c. AD 377

What is a bishop, saith he, more than a presbyter? The one differs in nothing from the other — the same laying on of hands, the same ministry. And why name the dead in the offerings? What can it profit them?

Epiphanius of Salamis · 75 · source text