Epiphanius of Salamis | |
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![]() St. Epiphanius in a fresco painting (Gračanica Monastery) | |
Bishop of Salamis (Cyprus), Oracle of Palestine | |
Born | c. 310–320 Judea |
Died | 403 (aged 82–93) at sea |
Venerated in | Catholicism Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches |
Feast | 12 May[1] 17 Pashons (Coptic Orthodoxy) |
Attributes | Vested as a bishop in omophorion, sometimes holding a scroll |
Controversy | Iconoclasm |
Epiphanius of Salamis (Greek: Ἐπιφάνιος; c. 310–320 – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy. He is best known for composing the Panarion, a compendium of eighty heresies, which included also pagan religions and philosophical systems.[2] There has been much controversy over how many of the quotations attributed to him by the Byzantine Iconoclasts were actually by him. Regardless of this, he was clearly strongly against some contemporary uses of images in the church.[3]