A disputa entre nicenos e arianos em Antioquia: João Crisóstomo e a defesa de Melécio como herdeiro de Eustácio.

Abstract

Arianism, one of the most important religious movements of the 4th century, was responsible for triggering an intense conflict that shook the daily life of the churches. Contrary to what is commonly believed, the conflict intensified after the Council of Nicaea (325). In Antioch, the metropolis of the province of Syria-Coele, even before the Council, the local bishop, Eustathius, had already rallied against the theses of Arius. Around 328, Eustathius was deposed, leading to the predominance of Arian bishops in the city. In 360, Meletius was elected to the episcopate, subsequently breaking with the Arians by declaring his adherence to the Nicene Creed. In 362, Paulinus, a former presbyter loyal to Eustathius, was also ordained bishop, so that Antioch then had three bishops, two Nicene and one Arian. In this article, we intend to reflect on the association that John Chrysostom, soon after being ordained a priest in 386, established between Eustathius and Meletius, making the latter the heir to the Nicene cause backed by the former. The preacher's purpose was to strengthen the position of Flavian, Meletius' successor, who in the 380s faced hostility from the Paulinists and sectors of the Western episcopate, who refused to recognize him as bishop because he had belonged to the entourage of Meletius, who was considered a heretic even after embracing the doctrine of consubstantiation.