Pierius was a Christian priest and probably head of the
Catechetical School of Alexandria
The Catechetical School of Alexandria was a school of Christian theologians and bishops and deacons in Alexandria. The teachers and students of the school (also known as the Didascalium) were influential in many of the early Christian theology, ...
, conjointly with
Achillas. He flourished while
Theonas was
bishop of Alexandria, and died at Rome after 309. The ''
Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...
'' commemorates him on 4 November.
His skill as an
exegetical writer and as a preacher gained for him the appellation, "Origen the Younger".
[Jerome, ''de Viris Illustribus'' 76. Online in the ''NPNF'' translation a]
CCEL.org
Accessed 31 January 2010. Philip of Side,
Photius
Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...
, and others assert that he was a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
. However, since
Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known ...
assures us that he survived the
Diocletianic Persecution and spent the rest of his life at Rome,
the term "martyr" can only mean that he underwent sufferings, not death, for his faith.
Works
He wrote a work (''biblion'') comprising twelve treatises or sermons
(''logoi''), in some of which he repeats the dogmatic points attributed by some authors to
Origen
Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...
, such as the subordination of the Holy Ghost to the Father and the Son, and the pre-existence of human souls. His known sermons are: one on the ''
Gospel of St. Luke'' (''eis to kata Loukan''); an Easter sermon on
Osee (Hosea) (''eis to pascha kai ton Osee''); a sermon on the Mother of God (''peri tes theotokou''); a few other Easter sermons; and a eulogy on
St. Pamphilus, who had been one of his disciples (''eis ton bion tou hagiou Pamphilou'').
Only fragments of his writings are extant. They were edited by
Martin Joseph Routh, and in ''
Patrologia Graeca''; Carl de Boor added some fragments.
[For an English translation see Stewart Dingwall Fordyce Salmond in ''Ante-Nicene Fathers'' (New York, 1896), 157.]
Notes
References
*Radford, ''Three Teachers of Alexandria'' (Cambridge, 1908);
*
Bardenhewer, ''Gesch. der altchrist. Lit.'', II (Freiburg, 1903), 198–203;
*____, ''Patrologie'', tr. Shahan (Freiburg, 1908), 158;
*
Harnack, ''Gesch. der altchrist. Lit.'', I (Leipzig, 1893), 439–44;
*''
Acta Sanctorum
''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...
'', II November, 254–64.
;Attribution
{{Authority control
Church Fathers
4th-century Christian saints