Methodius of Olympus

d. c. 311 · Bishop · Theologian · Critic of Origen · Martyr · Olympus, Lycia (→ Patara)

The Ante-Nicene Church

Methodius of Olympus — historical depiction 1 — Methodius of OlympusAnonymous Unknown author · Public domain · Commons

Who Methodius of Olympus was

Bishop and theologian of the turn of the fourth century, the first significant critic of Origen from within the church — attacking his allegorizing and his teaching on the pre-existence of souls and the nature of the resurrection body, while himself remaining deeply shaped by Origen’s method. His Symposium (Banquet of the Ten Virgins), a Christian answer to Plato’s dialogue, is a praise of virginity in the mouths of ten women; his On the Resurrection and On Free Will defend bodily resurrection and answer Gnostic determinism. Jerome reports he was martyred at the end of the last great persecution. He stands at the hinge between the Ante-Nicene age and the debates that would define the fourth century.

Also listed in martyrs, bishops beyond the great sees and the great persecution.

Common questions

When did Methodius die?

Methodius of Olympus is dated d. c. 311 in the archive, which places Methodius in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

What did Methodius write?

Methodius of Olympus has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Symposium (The Banquet of the Ten Virgins).

Which early sources mention Methodius?

Methodius of Olympus is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Epiphanius of Salamis and Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Methodius from?

The archive associates Methodius of Olympus with Olympus, Lycia (, Patara). The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Writings (1)

Symposium (The Banquet of the Ten Virgins)

c. 290

I begin, then, with that which is the sum and crown of all — chastity; for chastity is a great and glorious thing, surpassing others in the greatness of its renown.

Earliest witness · Patmos, St John's Monastery cod. 202 (10th–11th c.)

Read the interlinear source text →

Primary-source mentions (2)

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

Panarion 64 (his On the Resurrection excerpted at length against Origen)

c. AD 375

Epiphanius of Salamis · Panarion 64 · source text

On Illustrious Men 83

c. AD 393

Methodius, bishop of Olympus in Lycia and afterwards of Tyre, wrote against Porphyry… and at the end of the recent persecution, or, as others affirm, in the reign of Decius and Valerian, was crowned with martyrdom.