The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Maris of Chalcedon
fl. 325 – c. 360 · Arian bishop of Chalcedon · Arius's early ally · Chalcedon, Bithynia
The Nicene Age
Who Maris of Chalcedon was
One of Arius's first and longest-serving episcopal supporters — at Nicaea under pressure, at Tyre against Athanasius, at every synodical turn of the four decades between. The historians save his best scene for last: old and blind, he confronted the apostate Julian, who jeered, 'Thy Galilean God will not heal thine eyes' — 'I thank my God for my blindness,' Maris answered, 'that I cannot see thy face.' An Arian with an anti-pagan's courage.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When was Maris active?
Maris of Chalcedon is dated fl. 325 – c. 360 in the archive, which places Maris 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 Maris?
Maris of Chalcedon is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Maris from?
The archive associates Maris of Chalcedon with Chalcedon, Bithynia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Maris’ contemporaries?
The archive links Maris of Chalcedon to 2 other figures, including Arius and Eusebius of Nicomedia. 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.
Socrates, Ecclesiastical History III.12
c. AD 439Maris, bishop of Chalcedon, being blind with age, rebuked the emperor as impious; Julian answered, 'Thy Galilean God will not cure thee' — 'I thank my God,' said Maris, 'for taking my sight, that I might not behold thy face, who hast fallen from him.'Socrates Scholasticus · source text
Church History V.4 (the blind bishop's rebuke of Julian, retold)
c. AD 445I thank God for depriving me of my sight, that I might not behold the face of one who has fallen into such impiety.Sozomen · Church History V.4 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Maris, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.