Barsanuphians
The Barsanuphians were an Alexandrian group associated with the Acephaloi, separated from patriarchal communion in the late fifth century and reconciled with the Coptic Church under Mark II.[^1][^6]
Origins and name
The Barsanuphians were an Alexandrian group belonging to the Acephaloi, meaning “headless,” who were Monophysites who had rejected communion with their patriarch. They separated from the Jacobites during the latter part of the fifth century, under Emperor Zeno.1
The group took its name from a Barsanuphius who was a claimant to episcopal rank, not from Saint Barsanuphius the anchorite.2 Their separation was connected with opposition to Peter III Mongus (480–488), who accepted Zeno’s Henotikon of 482, and they refused to recognize subsequent patriarchs.3
Relations with the Coptic patriarchate
Patriarch Agathon of Alexandria (661–677) attempted to establish communication with the Barsanuphians and the Gaianites as part of his efforts toward ecclesiastical reconciliation.4 During the patriarchate of Alexander II (705–730), John of Sa brought the Barsanuphians at al-Muna into communion with the church.5
A separate account concerning Rashid reports that Bishop John of Sa successfully opposed at least one of these two groups there during Alexander II’s patriarchate. The source explicitly notes that it is unclear whether the group active in Rashid was the Barsanuphians or the Gaianites.7
Reconciliation under Mark II
Their collective return to church communion took place at the beginning of the ninth century. Patriarch Mark II baptized their leaders, George and his son Abraham, at the Church of the Martyr Saint Menas at Maryut, after which the remaining Barsanuphians followed them into communion.6
The article on Mark II gives a different detail: it states that George and Abraham were ordained bishops by Mark and that their followers then returned to the church. Both accounts describe reconciliation under Mark, but one emphasizes baptism and the other episcopal ordination; the supplied passages do not explain the relationship between these events.36
References
Sources
- 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 76)
BARSANUPHIANS, one of several Alexandrian splinter groups of those Monophysites who, because they had rejected the communion of their patriarch, were known as Acephaloi (headless). They separated themselves from the Jacobites in the latter part of the fifth century under Emperor Zeno.
- 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 76)
The Barsanuphius from whom the sect derived its name was not BARSANUPHIUS the Anchorite monk but a pretender to the episcopal rank.
- 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 451)
Orthodox Church, although they had been fierce adversaries of PETER III MONGUS (480-488), who had accepted the HENOTIKON (482) of Emperor Zeno. The Barsanuphians had refused to recognize any patriarchs after Peter III, but when their chiefs, George and his son Abraham, were ordained bishops by Mark, their faithful followers returned to the church as well.
- 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 169)
AGATHON OF ALEXANDRIA, thirty-ninth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (661-677). ... The patriarch tried to establish communication not only with the Sicilians but also with the local heretical sects known as the Gaianites and BARSANUPHIANS. He continued the policy of Benjamin I of ordaining more bishops to attend to the spiritual needs of the faithful and to win back those who had strayed into disunion with their mother church.
- 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 76)
In the patriarchate of ALEXANDER II (705-730), John of Sa converted the Barsanuphians at al-Muna to orthodoxy.
- 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 76)
At the beginning of the ninth century MARK II, patriarch of Alexandria, baptized the two leaders of the Barsanuphians, George and his son Abraham, at the Church of the Martyr Saint Menas at Maryut. The rest of the Barsanuphians then followed their leaders back into the communion of the church.
- 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 47)
In Christian-Arabic sources from the Arabic period, Rashid is first mentioned in connection with the heresy of the BARSANUPHIANS and Gaianites (see GAIANUS). The HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS relates that during the patriarchate of ALEXANDER II (705-730), Bishop John of Sa contended successfully with at least one of these groups in Rashid. It is not clear from the text, however, which of the two groups was active in the city.
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This article was drafted from the sources listed above with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor before publication.