Helenus of Tarsus was a bishop of Tarsus and a metropolitan in the 3rd century.
He is known for being involved in the controversy surrounding rebaptism – according to Dionysius the Great of Alexandria, Helenus became involved in the dispute between Cyprian and Pope Stephen I in 256, siding with Cyprian. Stephen renounced communion with Helenus and others for insisting on rebaptising those previously baptised by heretics. Dionysius placed Helenus among the "most distinguished bishops of the East".
Helenus also attended synods held at Antioch in c. 253, 265 and 272, presiding over the last following the death of Firmilian. The synod of c. 253 was against the Novatian heresy. The third synod of 272 is referred to as the Synodus Heleni (Synod of Helenus) in the Synodicon Vetus.
Helenus died sometime after 268.
References
- Wilson, Mark (1 May 2003). "Cilicia: The First Christian Churches in Anatolia". Tyndale Bulletin. 54 (1): 15–30. doi:10.53751/001c.30220.
Tarsus largely disappears from church history until around AD 250 when Dionysius of Alexandria reckons Helenus of Tarsus among the most distinguished bishops of the East (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 7.5.4; 7.28.1; cf. 6.46.3).
- Smith, William (1877). A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines: Being a Continuation of the Dictionary of the Bible. Vol. 2. London: John Murray. p. 886.
- Ladocsi, G.; Samulowitz, S. (2014). "Helenus". In Di Berardino, Angelo (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. p. 2:204. ISBN 978-0-8308-9717-9.
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