The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Maximus the Cynic
fl. AD 380–381 (death unrecorded) · Philosopher-adventurer · Intruded bishop of Constantinople · Alexandria → Constantinople
The Nicene Age
Who Maximus the Cynic was
The Cynic philosopher with suspiciously perfect curls who attached himself to Gregory of Nazianzus, was praised by him from the pulpit — and then, one night, was clandestinely consecrated bishop of Constantinople in Gregory's own church by Egyptian suffragans, the tonsuring interrupted by daybreak and finished in a flute-player's lodgings. The Council of 381 wrote its verdict into canon: Maximus neither was nor is a bishop. Gregory's memoirs never forgave the haircut.
Also listed in the bishops of Constantinople.
Common questions
When was Maximus active?
Maximus the Cynic is dated fl. AD 380–381 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Maximus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Maximus?
Maximus the Cynic is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Gregory of Nazianzus and Socrates Scholasticus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Maximus from?
The archive associates Maximus the Cynic with Alexandria, Constantinople. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Maximus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Maximus the Cynic to 2 other figures, including Gregory of Nazianzus and Emperor Theodosius I. 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.
Gregory of Nazianzus, On His Own Life (the midnight ordination of the Cynic)
c. AD 382[Gregory tells of the night the Egyptian bishops ordained the Cynic in Gregory’s own church while he lay ill — the episode that broke his hold on Constantinople.]Gregory of Nazianzus · On His Own Life (De vita sua)
Gregory of Nazianzus's De vita sua (Carmen II.1.11), some 1,950 lines of autobiographical verse written c. AD 382 after he left Constantinople. Greek: Christoph Jungck (Heidelberg, 1974); Migne, Patrologia Graeca 37.1029. English translations by Denis Meehan, Fathers of the Church 75 (1987), and Carolinne White, Gregory of Nazianzus: Autobiographical Poems (Cambridge, 1996); no public-domain English exists.
Socrates, Ecclesiastical History V.8 (with canon 4 of Constantinople)
c. AD 439Concerning Maximus the Cynic and his disorder at Constantinople: that Maximus neither was nor is a bishop, nor are they clergy who were ordained by him — all that was done concerning him being annulled.Socrates Scholasticus · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Maximus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.