Melitians

"Church of the Martyrs" redirects here. For other uses, see Church of the Martyrs (disambiguation).
"Melitian" redirects here. For the breed of dog, see Maltese dog.
"Melitian schism" redirects here. For the schism in the church of Antioch, see Meletian schism.

The Melitians,[a] sometimes called the Church of the Martyrs,[b] were an early Christian sect in Egypt. They were founded about 306 by Bishop Melitius of Lycopolis and survived as a small group into the eighth century. The point on which they broke with the larger Catholic church[c] was the same as that of the contemporary Donatists in the province of Africa: the ease with which lapsed Christians were received back into communion. The resultant division in the church of Egypt is known as the Melitian schism.[d]

  1. ^ Schwartz 1905, p. 164n.
  2. ^ Carroll 1989, p. 1.
  3. ^ Cross & Livingstone 2009.
  4. ^ McGuckin 2004, pp. 222–223.
  5. ^ Carroll 1989, pp. 94, 170.
  6. ^ Hauben 1998, p. 331.
  7. ^ Gregory 1991.


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