The Nicene Age · AD 313–400

Theodoret of Cyrus

b. Antioch c. AD 393; bishop of Cyrrhus from c. 423; d. c. 457/458 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) · Bishop of Cyrrhus · Church historian · Theologian · Antioch → Cyrrhus, Syria

The Nicene Age

Who Theodoret of Cyrus was

Bishop of a poor Syrian diocese of some eight hundred parishes, and the author of the last of the three fifth-century continuations of Eusebius. The archive cites him forty-two times — but until now under two names, ‘Theodoret of Cyrrhus’ and ‘Theodoret of Cyrus’, which are two English renderings of the one see, Kýrrhos. They are one man. His Religious History preserves thirty lives of Syrian ascetics from his own observation, and he reports in the Compendium of Heretical Fables that he personally collected and destroyed more than two hundred copies of Tatian’s Diatessaron in his own churches, replacing them with the four gospels. His death year is unsettled: Tillemont argued by 453, Gennadius’ statement that he died under Leo would put it at 457–458, and some give 466. Held at the archive’s AD 400 ceiling, as Augustine, Jerome and Chrysostom are.

Verified single attestation

One attestation only — the work is self-attesting: the author names himself, his office or his circumstances inside his own text, and no independent ancient source describes him.

Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.

Common questions

When did Theodoret live?

Theodoret of Cyrus is dated b. Antioch c. AD 393; bishop of Cyrrhus from c. 423; d. c. 457/458 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) in the archive, which places Theodoret 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.

What did Theodoret write?

Theodoret of Cyrus has 3 catalogued writings in the archive: Ecclesiastical History, The Religious History (Philotheos Historia) and Compendium of Heretical Fables.

Which early sources mention Theodoret?

Theodoret of Cyrus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Gennadius of Marseilles. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Theodoret from?

The archive associates Theodoret of Cyrus with Antioch, Cyrrhus, Syria. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Writings (3)

Ecclesiastical History

c. AD 449–450, continuing Eusebius to 428
[The third of the fifth-century continuations, and the one most interested in Antioch and Persia.]

Earliest witness · Byzantine minuscule tradition (11th c. onward)

Read the interlinear source text →

The Religious History (Philotheos Historia)

c. AD 440
[Thirty lives of the Syrian ascetics, most of whom he had met.]

Earliest witness · Byzantine hagiographic tradition (10th c. onward)

Read the interlinear source text →

Compendium of Heretical Fables

c. AD 453
I myself found more than two hundred such copies held in respect in the churches of my diocese, and, having collected them all together, I had them put away, and introduced instead of them the Gospels of the four evangelists.

Earliest witness · Byzantine minuscule tradition (11th–14th c.)

Read the interlinear source text →

Primary-source mentions (1)

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

On Illustrious Men 89 (the continuation of Jerome)

c. AD 490
Theodoretus, bishop of Cyrus… is said to have written many works.
Gennadius of Marseilles · On Illustrious Men 89 · source text

Connected in the archive

People

Named alongside Theodoret in the sources

This figure is placed with Theodoret by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Theodoret naming them in return.

Events in this lifetime

Place

Places served

The 3 places the sources put Theodoret, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.

  1. 1Antioch
  2. 2Cyrrhus
  3. 3Syriaprovince only

See these places on the atlas →