The First Synod of Tyre or the Council of Tyre (335 AD) was a
gathering of bishops called together at
Tyre by Emperor
Constantine I
Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
for the primary purpose of evaluating charges brought against
Athanasius, the
Patriarch of Alexandria
The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot").
The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major epi ...
, who was deposed by the council.
Background
Athanasius was involved in the early Christian
christological and
trinitarian debates, and supported the position of the
Council of Nicaea in opposition to that of
Arius and his
followers.
In 328, Athanasius was elected as
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
or
patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...
of Alexandria.
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
happened to be the city in which Arius was a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
. Opponents of Athanasius tried to prevent him from becoming bishop by alleging that he had not been elected properly,
or that Athanasius had not yet reached the age of 30, which was the minimum age for bishops in the church;
at Tyre, they alleged that he had facilitated his election through
bribery
Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
.
After Athanasius succeeded to the see of Alexandria, the Arians had accused Athanasius of, among other things: immoral conduct, illegally taxing the Egyptian people, supporting rebels to the Imperial throne, and even murdering a bishop and keeping his severed hand for use in magical rites.
More to the point, Constantine was persuaded to ask Athanasius to re-admit Arius to the church—which he would not do. In 334 Athanasius was summoned before a synod in
Caesarea, which he did not attend.
The Synod
The emperor Constantine had ordered a Synod of bishops to be present at the consecration of the church which he had erected at Jerusalem (the precursor to the
Holy Sepulchre). He directed that, as a secondary matter, they should on their way first assemble at
Tyre, to examine charges that had been brought against Athanasius. The Emperor also sent a letter to Athanasius, making clear that if he did not attend voluntarily, he would be brought to the Synod forcibly.
Eusebius of Nicomedia played a major role in the council and, according to
Epiphanius of Salamis, presided over the assembly. About 310 members attended. Athanasius appeared this time with 48 Egyptian bishops. The council affirmed Arius's views as orthodox, admitted the
Melitians to communion, and condemned Athanasius, who had already fled, convinced that he was not getting a fair hearing;
from there, Athanasius went to
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
to make an appeal to the
emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
.
Aftermath
According to Athanasius's account of the council, the emperor was sympathetic to Athanasius's cause until Athanasius's opponents produced the further charge that Athanasius had threatened to cut off the grain supply to Constantinople from Egypt.
This one charge, which was important to the Empire's livelihood, was enough for the emperor to exile Athanasius to
Trier
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
, then part of the
Gallic prefecture of Rome (in present-day
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
).
Athanasius did not return from exile until the death of Constantine in 337.
Arianism was ultimately condemned by the
First Council of Constantinople
The First Council of Constantinople (; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the ...
.
See also
*
4th century in Lebanon
References
*''Westminster Dictionary of Church History'', ed. Jerald C. Brauer (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyre
335
330s in the Roman Empire
Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England
4th-century church councils
Tyre, Lebanon