The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Paul of Samosata
deposed AD 268; d. thereafter · Bishop of Antioch · Adoptionist heresiarch · Antioch
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Paul of Samosata was
Bishop of Antioch (c. 260–268) and financial officer (ducenarius) to Zenobia of Palmyra, whose worldly pomp and heterodox teaching united the Eastern church against him. He taught a form of adoptionism — that Christ was a man on whom the Word rested as an influence, not the pre-existent Son incarnate — and reportedly banned hymns to Christ as innovations while enjoying a tribunal and a retinue like a magistrate. Three synods at Antioch (264–268) tried him; the presbyter Malchion finally exposed him, and the third deposed him, condemning even the term homoousios in the sense he abused — a fact that would embarrass the Nicene party sixty years later. Backed by Zenobia, he held the church building until Aurelian’s ruling evicted him in 272. The archetype of the worldly, heretical bishop.
Also listed in the bishops of Antioch and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When did Paul live?
Paul of Samosata is dated deposed AD 268; d. thereafter in the archive, which places Paul in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Paul?
Paul of Samosata is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The Synod of Antioch, Athanasius of Alexandria, Hilary of Poitiers and Epiphanius of Salamis. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Paul from?
The archive associates Paul of Samosata with Antioch.
Who were Paul’s contemporaries?
The archive links Paul of Samosata to 16 other figures, including Malchion of Antioch, Domnus of Antioch, Emperor Aurelian and Firmilian of Caesarea. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (4)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History VII.30 (synodal letter)
c. AD 268He has forsaken the standard of faith, and has turned aside after base and spurious teachings… setting himself up on a lofty tribunal, and smiting his thigh, and stamping on the platform.The Synod of Antioch · VII.30 · source text
On the Councils 45 (why Antioch's fathers rejected his 'homoousion')
c. AD 359The bishops who condemned the Samosatene understood 'coessential' in a corporeal sense, and therefore wrote that the Son is not coessential.Athanasius of Alexandria · On the Councils 45 · source text
On the Councils 81 (the Latin account of the Samosatene's condemnation)
c. AD 359Panarion 65
c. AD 375Connected in the archive
People
- Malchion of Antioch
- Domnus of Antioch
- Emperor Aurelian
- Firmilian of Caesarea
- Sabellius
- Artemon (Artemas)
- Demetrianus of Antioch
- Helenus of Tarsus
- Felix I of Rome
- Zenobia of Palmyra
- Maximus of Alexandria
- Hymenaeus of Jerusalem
- Maximus of Bostra
- Nicomas
- Protogenes
- Bolanus (signatory at Antioch 268)
Named alongside Paul in the sources
These figures are placed with Paul by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Paul naming them in return.
- Aelianus (signatory at Antioch 268)
- Eutychius (signatory at Antioch 268)
- Hierax (bishop, signatory at Antioch 268)
- Lucius (signatory at Antioch 268)
- Paul (signatory at Antioch 268)
- Proclus (signatory at Antioch 268)
- Theodorus (signatory at Antioch 268)
- Theophilus (signatory at Antioch 268)
Events in this lifetime
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Paul.