Asterius of Cappadocia

This article is about the 4th century theologian. For the late 4th century bishop, see Asterius of Amasea.

Asterius of Cappadocia (Ἀστέριος; died c. 341) was an Arian Christian theologian from Cappadocia.

Few of his writings have been recovered in their entirety; the latest edition is by Markus Vinzent).[1] He is said to have been a pupil of Lucian of Antioch, but it is unclear to what extent this was the case. He is said to have relapsed into paganism during the persecution under Maximian in 304 and thus, though received again into the church by Lucian and supported by the Eusebian party, never attained to ecclesiastical office. He was present at the synod of Antioch in 341.[2]

His extant works include a Commentary on the Psalms made up of 31 sermons , a letter to Eusebius, the Syntagmation, and a few fragments.[3] Fragments of his Syntagmation are preserved by Athanasius of Alexandria and Marcellus of Ancyra.

Asterius was a firm defender of Arianism and Eusebius of Caesarea's theology, emphasising the derivative nature of the Son as a spontaneous manifestation and generation of the Father's will.

  1. ^ R.P.C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God (1988), pp. 32–41. has a long discussion and a translation of all his fragments. The underlying Greek text is found in Marcus Vinzent. Asterius von Kappadokien, Die Theologischen Fragmente. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 20. (Leiden: Brill, 1993).
  2. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Asterius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 792.
  3. ^ His works are listed in Mauritius Geerard, Clavis Patrum Graecorum. Volumen II: Ab Athanasio ad Chrysostomum, (Turnhout: Brepols 1974) pp. 137–39.