Chair of Antioch. But soon enough, the clergy of his Church
became firmly convinced of his unsound doctrine and
worthless character. A Council was convoked at Antioch, to
consider the matter. Abba Dionysius was invited to attend
but could not go, on account of his failing health. However,
he exerted his remaining energy in writing an epistle,
described by an English bishop in the following terms: "That
divine soul, on the eve of departing to his God, divinely
expounded the divinity of the Saviour".^15 And even while
the Council at Antioch was still deliberating its problem,
Abba Dionysius was called to the joy of his Lord. He had
served his Church for almost twenty years, under the rule of
five different emperors. One can certainly say of him that he
had fought the good fight.
Unfortunately, the original writings of this great and
learned Pope do not exist in their original languages any
more. Greek translations of them exist, however, which
makes their loss less severe.l6
- It is worth remarking, in conclusion, that in his letters
to the Bishop of Pentapolis, Abba Dionysius addressed him
by the title of "son". Since bishops are equal and brethren,
such appellation was not used by one bishop to another, not
even by the bishop of Rome. But the position of the
Alexandrian Pope, and the high regard for the See of
Alexandria, warranted such an appellation. At the time
Alexandria had come to be described as ‘a second Jerusalem’,
the centre and bulwark of Christian scholarship.^17