The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Demophilus of Constantinople
d. c. AD 386 · Last Arian bishop of Constantinople · Berea, Thrace → Constantinople
The Nicene Age
Who Demophilus of Constantinople was
The Homoian who held the capital's cathedral for the Arian communion's last decade — and who, when the newly baptized Theodosius offered him the choice in 380, creed of Nicaea or the doors, chose the doors: gathering his people, he cited the Gospel ('when they persecute you in one city, flee to another') and led them out to worship beyond the walls. Forty years of Arian Constantinople ended in that procession; he died in the suburban meetings he had chosen over the throne.
Also listed in the bishops of Constantinople and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When did Demophilus die?
Demophilus of Constantinople is dated d. c. AD 386 in the archive, which places Demophilus 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 Demophilus?
Demophilus of Constantinople is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Philostorgius and Socrates Scholasticus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Demophilus from?
The archive associates Demophilus of Constantinople with Berea, Thrace, Constantinople. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Demophilus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Demophilus of Constantinople to 2 other figures, including Emperor Theodosius I and Gregory of Nazianzus. 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.
Church History IX.10–14 (the last Arian tenure of the capital, from the inside)
c. AD 430Socrates, Ecclesiastical History V.7
c. AD 439'If you reject the Nicene faith,' said the emperor, 'depart from the churches.' And Demophilus, gathering his congregations, said: 'Brethren, it is written, when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another' — and from that day they assembled without the walls.Socrates Scholasticus · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Demophilus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Thraceprovince only
- 2Constantinople