Theopistus of Alexandria
Theopistus accompanied Dioscorus I to the Council of Chalcedon and is associated with the Life of Dioscorus, an anti-Chalcedonian account whose attribution differs among the supplied sources.[^1][^2][^6]
Life and historical setting
Theopistus of Alexandria accompanied Dioscorus I of Alexandria to the Council of Chalcedon. After Dioscorus was sentenced to exile at Gangra, Theopistus went to the Pentapolis, where he wrote an account of the council challenging its decisions.1
The Life of Dioscorus
Theopistus is the author of the so-called Life of Dioscorus. Internal references suggest that he composed the work in Greek in the Pentapolis, perhaps at Cyrene about 455; the location and date are therefore tentative.2
The Greek original is lost, but a complete Syriac version and Coptic fragments survive. The fragments belong to a papyrus codex now in the British Library, under the shelfmark Or. 7561. Comparison suggests that the Coptic and Syriac texts derive from the same Greek version.3
Despite its title, the work is a fictitious and polemical account of the Council of Chalcedon rather than a conventional biography of Dioscorus. It belongs to an anti-Chalcedonian literary setting in which historical events were reshaped through miraculous narratives and theological controversy.4
Attribution
The supplied articles differ in their attribution of the work: the article on Theopistus names him as its author, whereas the article on Macarius of Tkow calls its author “Pseudo-Theopistus of Alexandria.” The latter also suggests that episodes concerning Macarius in the Life provided material for the Panegyric on Macarius, Bishop of Tkow, whose author expanded them and added other traditional stories.26
Theopistus in the Panegyric of Macarius
Theopistus also appears as a character in the [[Panegyric of Macarius of Tkow]], attributed to Dioscorus. According to the account summarized in the article on Theopistus, Macarius did not know Greek and Dioscorus did not know Coptic, making an interpreter necessary. When Theopistus questioned why Dioscorus had brought Macarius to the council, Dioscorus replied that Macarius was superior to both of them.5
References
Sources
- 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 521)
Theopistus accompanied DIOSCORUS I of Alexandria (444-458) to the Council of CHALCEDON. After Dioscorus was sentenced to exile in Gangra, Theopistus went to the Pentapolis where he wrote an account of the events of the council, challenging its decisions.
- 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 521)
As a literary writer, Theopistus is known as the author of the so-called Life of Dioscorus. Internal references lead one to suppose that he produced it in Greek in the Pentapolis (perhaps at Cyrene about 455).
- 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 521)
The Greek original has been lost; a complete Syriac version has survived (ed. Nau, 1903) and also various fragments from a papyrus codex now in London (British Library, Or. 7561, 85, 87, 90-102; ed. Crum, 1903; Wenstedt, 1906). As far as comparison can indicate, the Coptic and Syriac texts both appear to have their source in the same Greek version.
- 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 521)
The content of the text reflects the tastes of the time, and especially that of the anti-Chalcedonian circles in which Timothy moved. They produced such works as the Plerophoriae of JOHN OF MAYUMA and the Life of Peter the Iberian, in which historical facts that were actually the basis of the accounts tended to be replaced by the miraculous element and "pious fraud" of a polemico-theological type. The text is not a true life of Dioscorus but an account (fictitious and polemical) of the Council of Chalcedon,
- 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 521)
He is named in the Panegyric of Macarius of Tkow, which is attributed to the same Dioscorus. In this text (ed. Johnson, 1983, chap. 1, pp. 10-13), the bishop-monk Macarius is portrayed as an uneducated holy man who did not know Greek, just as Dioscorus did not know Coptic. When he saw that an interpreter was needed in order to talk with Dioscorus, Theopistus asked Dioscorus why he had brought Macarius to the council; Dioscorus replied that Macarius was the superior of either of them.
- 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 346)
The chief source for his life is the Panegyric on Macarius, Bishop of Tkow by Pseudo-Dioscorus of Alexandria. This work cannot have been composed earlier than the second quarter of the sixth century. It appears to be based on episodes dealing with Macarius drawn from the Life of Dioscorus by Pseudo-Theopistus of Alexandria, which the author of the Panegyric amplified and to which he added other traditional stories.
Explore
Related articles
- Cronius of Nitria
Cronius of Nitria was a saint and ascetic associated with Scetis who later served Saint Antony of Egypt and met Palladius in Alexandria.[^1][^2]
- Saint Verena
Saint Verena was a fourth-century Egyptian holy woman associated with the Theban Legion, remembered in Switzerland for asceticism, healing, religious instruction, and care for the poor and sick.[^1]
- Coptic alphabet
The Coptic alphabet combines predominantly Greek letters with signs derived from demotic Egyptian. Its several varieties reflect the writing traditions of different Coptic dialects.[^1][^2]
- Islamization of Nubia
Nubia’s transition from Coptic Christianity to Islam was gradual and regionally varied, involving weakened church institutions, political change, migration, intermarriage, and Sufi teaching.[^1][^5][^7][^8]
- Pope Mark II
Saint Mark II was the forty-ninth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (799–819), a preacher and writer commemorated on 22 Baramudah.[^1]
- Bohairic Coptic
Bohairic is a dialect of Coptic attested in Gospel manuscripts, saints’ lives, and liturgical texts, including the Anaphora of Saint Cyril.[^1][^2][^3]
This article was drafted from the sources listed above with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor before publication.