Merozanes, Mehružan, or Meruzan (in Greek Μερουζάνης, in Armenian Մերուժան) was a Christian bishop present in Armenia around 240 to 270.[1]
The only mention of this individual, with an Iranian origin name, comes from Eusebius, who, in his Church History,[2] states that around 250, Dionysius of Alexandria sent a letter of "repentance to the brethren in Armenia, of whom Merozanes was bishop."[3][4][5][6]
Given the onomastics of the person, it is possible that he was a Syriac bishop, perhaps in Taron.[4] Indeed, it is likely that a large Christian community already existed in this province before the arrival of Gregory the Illuminator, who would later ally himself with a Syriac chorbishop, Daniel, in order to communicate with the faithful in this region.[4][7]
References edit
- ^ "" Liste des Catholicos de l'Église apostolique d'Arménie "" (PDF). Église arménienne. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2010..
- ^ Eusebius, Church History, Book VI, Chapter 46.
- ^ Gillman, Ian; Klimkeit, Hans-Joachim (2006). Christians in Asia before 1500 (Transferred to digital printing ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7007-1022-5.
- ^ a b c Stopka, Krzysztof (2017). Armenia Christiana: Armenian religious identity and the Churches of Constantinople and Rome (4th-15th century). Jagiellonian studies in history. Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 978-83-233-4190-1.
- ^ "CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book VI (Eusebius)". www.newadvent.org. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ "Eusèbe de Césarée : Histoire ecclésiastique (livre V)". remacle.org. Archived from the original on 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ Sarkissian, Sarkis (2017-12-05). Le substrat préchrétien et la réception arménienne du christianisme (phdthesis thesis) (in French). Université Paris sciences et lettres. Archived from the original on 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2023-12-02.